Bought new pontoon picked up in april.Better boat and price than local dealer in northern MN. Had problem with motor and brought back to them Monday before memorial weekend. Fixed freak problem by Wednesday in a very busy week for service dept.Would buy from them again read more

Believe the negative reviews!! If you want customer service after you purchase, DO NOT BUY FROM HERE. If the owners responses to reviews aren't enough of a clue that this place is beyond unprofessional, here has been our experience. While our initial showroom experience was positive--Randy was helpful and attentive--the service quickly deteriorated after we made a deposit. Getting in touch with anyone became nearly impossible. Calls and messages went unanswered, forcing us to call multiple times just to get an answer and have to repeatedly visit the store in person just to complete basic steps that should have been handled in a single visit. Even then, things weren't ready as promised, and we couldn't take the boat home when expected due to the table not being installed. As first-time boat owners, we asked for a thorough walkthrough and some guidance, but were met with impatience and condescension. The "orientation" lasted only a couple of minutes, and staff seemed eager to rush us out rather than help. They couldn't even be bothered to stand outside and help get the trailer on the hitch. They also forgot to give us key items, including the boat cover and a necessary pole, which required multiple additional follow-ups that went unanswered, and another trip to the store. To make matters worse, customer service was outright hostile. After multiple attempts to resolve the missing pole, one associate called back and immediately became verbally aggressive that we are the problem and proceeded to hang up on us. We've never experienced this level of unprofessionalism. All we've asked for is returned phone calls, answers to our questions, and some support as new boat owners. Even after spending $40k with them, this is apparently too much to ask of Boat World, their owner, and associates. read more

We looked at a used boat and trailer. Randy, the owner, showed us the boat. I told Randy we wanted to have a surveyor look at it, as I know nothing about inboard motors. He immediately got an attitude, "i have been doing this for --years and i have never had anyone bring a surveyor in here". From that time on he was rude and dismissive. We had a surveyor look at the boat, it wouldn't stay running for more than a few minutes, surveyor thought it was probably just old gas and filter. Told them we would take the boat, wanted them to change the filter, drain the gas. While we were there with surveyor Randy walked by a couple times and gave us the side-eye. We picked up the boat, they had said the trailer is not covered under warranty and that they didn't service trailers. They said they had repacked the bearings on the trailer. We took the trailer to a trailer place as we wanted to make sure it was in good order. The surge brakes-master cylinder were all rusted out, locked up, so no brakes. The safety cable in case the trailer came disconnected was hooked to NOTHING. So if it came off the vehicle the brakes would not come on (not that there were any). The wheel bearings had NOT been repacked. Cost us $1800 to get the trailer up to safe standard. We went back to Boat World with the rusted out cylinder in a box, talked to them about how unsafe the trailer was. They said "we don't guarantee a working trailer". I said at a minimum I would expect them to make sure a trailer was safe to be on the road and this one definitely was not. Again, Randy walked by a few times and gave the side-eye but never came over. The maintenance manager kept interrupting me "why didn't you bring it back here?....I don't know why you didn't bring it back here". Finally, I asked "will you let me finish a sentence"? We didn't bring it back here because you said you didn't work on trailers. Also, you said you had repacked the bearing and you hadn't so not sure I would trust you to do the work. He said we aren't paying for it. I offered to split the cost, he said he would talk to his manager and get back to me. He never did. I did call back 2 weeks later and he said "we aren't going to do anything" which is what i figured. I have never been treated so poorly by any place in my life. I would never trust this place to do work on a boat and would not recommend buying from them. Even if they hadn't paid anything to repair the trailer, they could have handled it very different and not been so rude and condescending. If the boat hadn't been exactly what I was looking for I would have walked away. I guess I have to give one star, I would actually give zero. Just read the responses from Randy on the complaints, always snarky and the customer always wrong read more

Buyers definitely beware. I live in FL. I purchased a brand new Tahoe Cascade Funship and when it arrived, it wouldn't start. How much fun is that...launching a brand new boat that doesn't start! The marina manager spent about 2 hours helping us try to figure out the problem, while Boat World's service manager admitted they never fully tested the boat since it was December in MN, then actually hung up the phone on us rather than help. We found loose battery cables and ultimately loose shift-linkage that caused the no start problem. Later we found electrical issues as well. My mistake was purchasing outside of my local area and actually the manufacturer informed me that Boat World should have advised me to work with a local dealer (they have contracts for each area). The manufacturer was extremely helpful. Boat World sales(Louis) told me to get the necessary work done by authorized dealer/services, then send him the invoices and they would help me to make up for the aggravation. Silly me, I actually believed they would stand behind the boat they sold me. Tahoe had a local dealer take care of the electrical issue at no charge and I found an authorized local Honda servicer for the shift-linkage repair cost $321.00. Now, Boat World sales is telling me that I needed to bring the boat back to them from FL to MN for any work...over a $321.00 invoice! I would never recommend Boat World. There is a serious lack of ethics, lack of customer service, lack of support, but they'll happily accept your money. read more

Buyer beware. Multiple issues with a brand new boat from Boat World. 1. Hydraulic line hits transom. Needed 90 degree fittings or a stopper. 2. Tech didn't connect the harness for TRL button. Never worked. 3. Fuel gauge says 1/2 full but tank is empty stranding us on lake. 4. Trim gauge pegged at up. Never worked. 5. High temp light on. Never went out from the first time I turned the key. Piling on now. I asked tech about a transom saver. He said he's rigged lots of 200's and 300's without one. Manual specifically talks about using one. Also asked the tech about the plugs in the pontoon and having to drain them. He laughed at me and said you don't drain pontoons. If you have water in your pontoon, you have issues. Reading the manual states that plugs should be removed during storage and to check for water in the pontoons. Tech did not use grommets to protect the transducer wires. I added some to protect the cable. Tech did not cut off any zip tie tails. He left them hang. Took delivery with 1" ratchet straps holding boat to trailer. I swapped them to something stronger. Boat World is not willing to pick up my boat and make the repairs. It's against their company policy even when you have multiple issues. They did not budge on this policy. Ghosted me when I complained to management forcing me to call the factory and another dealer. They claim to have performed a full functionality check before it left the shop. With the ground wire disconnected from the gauges and the TRL button unplugged, how could that be true? Dealing with the factory and a different dealer to fix all the issues. We don't recommend Boat World in East Bethel due to the issues we had and their unwillingness to accommodate the customer. read more

We bought our first pontoon from Boat World several years ago. We had great service and honesty. We are in the market for a new pontoon and would not go anyway else but Boat World. Our son bought a Montego Bay pontoon last Spring from Boat World and has been very pleased with the transaction and the boat. read more

These guys are terrible. Bought a used 2015 Pontoon from these guys. Brought it to the lake three hours away. Discovered no battery, bought one and carried on. We were past our 30 day warranty given our ice wasn't out until May 15 and didnt get in water until Memorial Day due to our daughter graduating from high school so figured we were SOL. Problems have continued, had to change spark plugs and fuel filter to get it to run correctly, radio does not work, table leg is busted, and stern light doesn't work. called to tell them and reasonably ask for them to pay us at least for the battery and was told they wouldn't do anything. it's past the 30 days. completely unreasonable and horrid customer service. They clearly don't care and can do whatever they want boats are in such demand. If you are desperate enough to buy from them demand they show you everything works before buying. read more

Don't but used from this company. They don't stand behind their equipment. Used motor needs a water pump after 4th time ine the water 2 months after purchase. I had to pay for the repair. Boo!!!! read more

My husband and I went in there looking to purchase a boat. The sales staff was not at all interested in selling us or knowledgeable. We actually were planning to purchase one and called the night before we were coming in to see if they would hang onto it and they said they wanted to charge us $1000 nonrefundable to hold onto it for four hours. So we decided against purchasing from here and bought a boat the very next day from another dealership and thankful we did. We are super excited about the Bennington that we purchased after comparing it to the pontoon boats at this dealership we would never buy anything else. And the service we received from River Valley sports was amazing. I highly recommend using them read more

Look elsewhere! Steve does not stand behind his products. Purchased a brand new 2021 Princecraft boat that already had a safety recall on the motor that they did not bother to fix before delivery. Got it in the water, had issues the very first day with a high throttle, and had to take it out of the water, rent a trailer for $100.00 and drive an additional 4 hours hauling it back and forth for the repair. Would have been great if they would have at least covered the trailer rental, but not willing to help out. Besides that the ignition is not tight and spins when you try to turn on the boat, and the fuel gauge stopped working within a couple weeks. Cords were detached. read more

We purchased our pontoon in January and Boat World stored it for us until we picked it up in April! Best service ever from Mike and couldn't be happier with our purchase! What a fun summer!! Thanks for straight up pricing! read more

This place sells boats with salvaged titles and does not inform the buyer! Do not get scammed! Do not buy a boat from these scumbags!

STAY AWAY!! Boat World sold me a boat with a total loss history from an insurance company and then lied about it. Damage was hidden from view. Warranty that they offer is virtually worthless. Deceptive sales. DO NOT BUY FROM BOAT WORLD! You will regret it. read more