Coastal Marine Engine

Expensive and slow. 3 weeks to get an appointment. 3 weeks to get an invoice. Invoice was wrong and not complete so another 3 weeks for tech to revisit the boat and shop to update the invoice. $ 843 for a simple 50 hour new engine fluid change service. Tech was careless in documentation and really no evidence that he even performed the work.

Coastal Marine is part of the Canal Boat Yard complex. I really love Canal boat yard, you can see another review from me on them. I have not had that many dealings with Coastal, but I can tell you that my mechanic, Ben Rhodes has. They have lent me tools when I needed them without charge, they gave quality second opinions on some real difficult situations with my motors and they are genuinely nice people. I just wish they did MercCruiser as well as Volvo Penta. We could use another high quality MercCruiser dealer on the Canal.

It’s nice to know there are still honest businesses out there. I had my annual service done and not only were they prompt but the service was excellent at a reasonable price. I will definitely return.

I asked these gentlemen to do a survey on a boat I was purchasing. While the service manager «Larry» presented very well by phone he sent an individual who had no business being a mechanic. He was extremely passive and was not very helpful
It turns out he missed several very costly fixes that I unfortunately had to pay for out of my own pocket the day after I bought the boat. All of the items I ended up paying for were visible to the naked eye in the first minute by the other mechanic who reviewed the engine.
The amazing thing is that after I politely explained what had happened, they still insisted on charging me for the inspection. All I can tell you is caveat emptor. They do not appear to be qualified nor do they appear to have any integrity whatsoever.
FOLLOW UP
I did receive a call from the service manager who refunded my money which brings this experience into acceptable territory. He explained that he needed to speak with the people involved with the situation, which is understandable.
John

these are the go-​to guys in seattle for volvo marine engines, sales and maintenance. i haven’t put them through the ringer, but i have ordered some really old spares from them to keep my really old engine running, and they’ve been consistently sharp, helpful, fast, knowledgeable, friendly and attentive. they usually have some free advice, too, which makes going there well worth the trouble.