ComplaintsforAdventure Marine & Powersports, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  07/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Originally took my boat in for overheating. Replaced outdrive impeller. Fixed the overheating problem, but they dropped the boat and trailer, bending the landing wheel. When I got home, I noticed none of the hose clamps in the engine compartment were tightened, so I did that before testing the boat on the lake.At the lake, the boat runs, but will not accelerate. I took it back to them. They diagnosed a broken engine coupler, and fixed it. Once again, the repair is done, but VERY wrong. When I got home, I checked the boat again before putting it in the water. The battery was not connected at all, and the connectors were missing. There was also miscellaneous screws and some type of oil pooled up on the intake manifold, and the air filter housing was loosely resting on the engine with the wrong nut forced onto the mounting stud. I fixed all this, and lake tested the boat to find out the problem still existed, not fixed, and my boat was taking on lake water, approximately 2 gallons in 15 minutes on the lake.I gave up on Adventure Marine at this point, and took the boat to A-Rock Prop and repair. They properly diagnosed and repaired the performance and incoming water problems in a day. The performance is unrelated to Adventure Marine, but the incoming water was caused by doubling up a gasket on the outdrive when Adventure was reassembling the boat. This water caused the Gimble bearings and U-joints to be damaged, which A-Rock replaced.I took the boat once again to test, and everything seemed fixed, until I loaded it on the trailer. At this point, the boat would not go into reverse, and "killed" the motor.I took it back to A-Rock, thinking it's just a simple adjustment.A-Rock investigated, discovering that Adventure Marine put the intermediate shift cable in wrong, causing it to rub against and eventually wrap around the drive shaft.A-Rock disassembled the outdrive, removed the transom mount, and placed a new shift cable in correctly. I want repairs reimbursed.

  

  Business response

  08/02/2022

  Originally the customer brought his vessel is due to the engine overheating and he could smell rubber. It was explained to the customer that we needed needed to perform an inspection of the exhaust hoses and exhaust shutters to see is any damages had been done to the rubber components as well as the raw cooling impeller. After inspection the customer was notified that the raw cooling impeller had worn - that it needed to be replaced as well as the exhaust hoses from the elbow to the exhaust y pipe needed to be replaced as they received damages from operating the engine in a overheat status. The customer agreed to and authorized these repairs. The customer also explained to Adventure Marine that he did not want us to perform any other actions or repairs as he did not want to put any more money into the vessel other than what he authorized. We explained to the customer that the only repairs that would be performed are the ones that were authorized. The repairs were completed. The engine was started and checked to verify correct operation for raw cooling impeller flow and suction as well as the exhaust hoses installation. At that time all systems were in correct operating condition to manufacture specs. The customer was then notified that the vessel was ready for pick up. After the weekend that customer had called back into the shop explaining that some hose clamps were loose on the engine - that he had started and ran the vessel in his driveway to check over the repairs and noticed that several hose clamps on the engine were loose and leaking water. Adventure Marine asked that he stopped back by with the watercraft so that Adventure Marine could go through the repairs completed as well as any of his concerns - although the additional hoses were not part of the original repairs completed, that we would be happy to go through them with him, and get them corrected for him. The customer explained that he had already corrected the concerns and that he was going to take the vessel to the lake. 

   

  A couple of days passed and Adventure Marine received a phone call from the customer. The customer proceeded to yell at Adventure Marines receptionist - that Adventure Marine did something wrong and damaged his boat as he was currently at the lake and the watercraft would not accelerate on plane as it should. The receptionist, seeked managements help to assist with the customer. The receptionist was then instructed to inform the customer to have them come down to the shop - so that we could see what was going on with the vessel. That we would stay open after hours to make sure that the customer had plenty of time to drop the vessel off. When the customer arrived the owner for Adventure Marine asked the customer to stay - so that they could inspect the boat together. The customer agreed. Then the owner and the customer went over what happened at the lake with customer and proceeded with the diagnosis. The owner explained to the customer each step that they were looking at so that the customer could understand what was going on with his boat. After approximately 45min is was found and determined that the engine coupler has been spun and that was the root cause of why the vessel would not accelerate. The outdrive, internal gears, u-joints and gimbal bearing were all inspected at this time and found to be in working order. The u-joints and gimbal bearing were noted that they were nearing replacement at this time as the had some surface rust as well as some rough spots when operating. The customer asked for a quote only for the engine coupler replacement. The quote was given to the customer for the engine coupler replacement only. The customer was advised about the u-joints, gimbal bearing, and bellows to be replaced as well. The customer explained in detail that he was unhappy of the cause as well as the cost of repairs his vessel needed. The customer then authorized only the engine coupler replacement and was very attement that ONLY the engine coupler to be replaced. The customer also explained how he hated the boat and how he wished it would just sink or someone would buy it. To help ease the customer - the owner then drafted a work order for the item that the customer approved only. The customer approved and signed the work order. The work order included on replacement of the engine coupler only.  No diagnosis time was charged to the customer as well as a courtesy for the customer. The part needed was ordered. During the course of waiting for the parts to arrive - the customer had called into Adventure Marine and wanted to still ensure that only the engine coupler was going to be replaced as well that he did not want any other repairs to be completed. Adventure Marine reassured that no other repairs would be performed and only the repairs authorized would be performed. 

   

  Once the parts were received the vessel was transferred to the service department for repairs. The repairs were completed 4 days after receipt of the customer parts. The vessel was cleaned and the customer was notified that the watercraft was ready for pick up. The customer picked up the watercraft and paid for the repair order. 

   

  As soon as we received this noticed the customer was contact to go over the details. We were not able to get in touch with the customer - so we reached out to the other repairs facility. The other repair facility explained to us what they had found. Since we could not reach the customer the owner of Adventure Marine told the other repair facility to but the customers repair order on our account and that Adventure Marine would take care of the repair order. Adventure Marine had also reached out to the customer via text and email since no response was heard with several options for the customer for reimbursement for the repairs that the other shop completed.
  

   

  Some time later the customer messaged Adventure Marine back stating that he would not accept payment for the repairs at that time. Adventure Marine received a notification from the other repair facility that when the customer picked up his unit - he refused to have his repair order be paid for by Adventure Marine. 

   

  Adventure Marine would like to help the customer out however, with no to little communication from the customer or willingness, it does make it difficult to rectify the situation. Adventure Marine also notes that additional repairs were recommend to the customer and each time the customer had denied any and all additional work recommended.

   

  Since this complaint has transpired the customer has now messaged Adventure Marine indicating he had take the vessel out over the weekend and his drive "imploded" on him while operating. The customer messaged the following "My outdrive imploded yesterday. I'm not settling this until I know it's fixed, and I can't trust your shop to fix it correctly, so I'll keep you posted." 

   

  The water craft has now been service and inspected by one other repair facility - and multiple times. At this time without visual inspection at Adventure Marine to determine the cause - Adventure Marine can not claim responsibility.  

  Customer response

  08/03/2022

  Complaint: ********
  I am rejecting this response because:
  1-I never yelled at, disrespected, or attacked anyone at your establishment, ever.
  2-your timeline is inaccurate. The impeller and related repairs were done at the first occasion. The call to NOT do any further repair was after I dropped it off the second time, and that was in regards to engine work that you suggested, 'since we need to pull the motor anyway'..
  3-I never disputed paing for the authorized repairs, my complaint is that the repairs were incomplete and incorrect, causing further damage to my boat. A-Rock Prop and Boat Repair diagnosed the problems and verified that Adventure Marine did in fact replace the impeller and engine coupler, it was just done wrong. The outdrive unit had multiple gaskets stacked, causing Lake water to enter the boat and ruin the gimble bearing and u-joints. They also improperly reattached the drive and engine, causing the intermediate shift cable to become wrapped around the drive shaft, tearing the bellows and preventing shift movement into reverse.
  The restitution I'm seeking is the cost of repairs due to improper installation, nothing else.
  I don't have confidence in the boat repairs at this time, but the cost of the repairs A-Rock has done is $1580 so far, and have receipts to prove it. I'm taking the boat out tonight to verify that it's actually fixed. If it is, that will be the total restitution expected. If something else is broken and verified to be Adventure Marine work, I will expect compensation for that as well.
  Adventure Marine is NOT, under any circumstances, allowed to move, inspect, or work on my boat without my prior permission and my personal attendance to the activity. I'm expressing a vote of No Confidence in their work at this time.
  ***********************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩