Lake County Watersports — Local services in Wauconda

I own a 1997 smokercraft with a two-stroke 1997 Mariner 40 hp outboard on it. I have had it for three years with 0 issues whatsoever. In July I was cruising along and my motor randomly starting beeping and shut off. I tried to start it back up, but the engine would not turn over and it would just keep beeping every time I turned the key.

My job gets really busy in August-October, so I did not try to get it fixed because I knew I would not have time to use it anyway. Fast forward to mid October and I started calling places to get an estimate on what it costs to fix it. I had no idea this would happen, but almost no one wants to even deal with engines older than 2000 and even less so if it is a 2 stroke. I prefer to stay local, but since no one within 30 minutes would even look at it (or they were over booked with winterizing boats), I settled on Lake County Watersports. They were probably the 15th place I called. I scheduled it to be looked at on November 10 (about three weeks out) and called on November 6th to see if that date was still good and they said YUP, bring it in.

On November 10, I dropped it off at 8:30 AM and by 2:00 PM they had called me to let me know the float on the oil tank was faulty and I should also replace the gas line. They gave me a couple of options for the fix, but I wanted it done the right way and permanently and they agreed that was best. Less than a week later, they called me and said it was good to go. When I go there on November 18th to pick it up, the mechanic explained what was wrong and now it is fixed. The price was what they told me it would be, no surprises. I took it out on the lake on November 19th and it worked great! Feels good to have my boat back in working order and everything from beginning to end with Lake County Watersports was smooth and as expected. The bill was not too expensive either, I thought it was a fair price for the work they...

Super fast turn around time given the time of the year! I was expecting 1-2 weeks at least before they got to my boat, however I dropped the boat off on a Monday night and they had it done by mid-day Wednesday! This was simply the easiest marina experience I've ever had. The only reason I had to put 3 stars was the cost was a bit higher than I was expecting. I called Monday and asked what the cost would be for winterization and they said $125 (Was really $135, but they knocked it down to $125 for me after I pointed it out). What I either didn't understand or wasn't informed about was that was the labor fee and all the fluids, parts, etc were additional. Out the door it was $200, which isn't far off from where other marinas quoted me for cost, so I'm not terribly upset about it.

Update (3 stars now down from 4): A few days after picking up my boat I noticed a mysterious $300 charge on my bank statement. It appears they mistakenly charged me for someone else's repair as well. I left them a voicemail over the weekend and I promptly got a call Monday apologizing and letting me know their front office lady was out until Tuesday. Tuesday I got a call in the morning apologizing for the mixup. They promised to refund the $300, we'll see how quickly that happens. They were very courteous and apologetic about the mistake, but If that $300 was at any other time of the month I would have been screwed paying bills.

5 year update (up to a 5): I bought an Evinrude 60hp from them in 2020. Out of all the marinas I've been to, they've been the best. I've had my 60hp for a few different non-engine related issues and they've been super quick and...

Last year I winterized my motor,and I crossed the plug wires,so it did not start this year ,took it to them,put the plug wires in the right order told me it started right up took it home going take it out that week,decide to run ,nowater passing threw the motor,he started right all right but did run it,took it in said a elbow was plugged working fine,I decided to have them put a water pump kit in ,10 year old motor.They called me it is ready,go home I notice the seal on the cover is folded over into the cover,now the seal is misshapen, and loose,they told me I had to much oil in motor so they took some out,said to watch out doing that.Went used it once,put in the garage,pulled out of garage to use,oil on garage floor,the left oil drain plug read to fall out now I have to change oil and filter,I could have water in the oil,somebody is working there that should not be working this stuff,and management is just as gulit,doint take...