Even though I didn't end up purchasing a boat here, I want to highlight the exceptional service I received from SHELDON. After my initial inquiry, Sheldon stayed in touch via text and remained incredibly professional. Even after I told him I was looking at other brands, he continued to search for options that might fit my needs and followed up regularly without ever being pushy. Out of over 30 dealers I contacted, Sheldon at Boaters World was easily the most hard-working and professional. I truly appreciate the effort. read more

Ordered a part on Monday. Ended up having to give the lady the google part number because the part number I gave her (which was exact one I googled) she couldn't find. Was told it would be in Tuesday. Called Tuesday was told would be there Wednesday called Wednesday was told it would be there for sure Thursday by 1pm. Came in at 3:00 pm to get my part. They said it was in but than could not locate the part. So had to re order. Note already paid for the part. We're on vacation to fish and looks like no fishing this trip. Should have just ordered from Amazon. read more

Boaters world in lake placid has major management, communication, problems and will hardly ever return call. No one at boaters world can answer any question and will say they will check with management and get back to you. Never happens! Very unprofessional in all areas and most employees have only been there a couple of months including management. Stay clear of boaters world, lake placid, Fl. because you most likely will have an extremely bad experience. They have damaged my boat, and given me the run a round to the point I'm seeking legal help to get my boat damaged by them fixed! read more

There is no communication at all. Salesman don't know anything about the boats they just lie to make it sound good. Service department listens to a computer on what parts to change and does not have any mechanical skill. I bought a jet ski and was told I had to pay a registration fee because everything has to leave registered. Paid the fee and they did not register, never gave me a title. After 5 months of back and forward they took my money for registration did not register and sent an electronic title to the dmv.Place is a complete joke. Once you buy the boat you're on your own. Don't waste your money. Better off taking the drive to a better place spend the extra money and deal with honest people. read more

Stay away from these crooks! Of course when you buy a new boat from them they are going to be nice and shake your hand and tell they appreciate you, probably send you a birthday card! But don't be fooled they are just waiting for you to bring it back to sell because you don't use it anymore! I didn't purchase my boat from them but I have it posted for sale and they just troll the internet looking to pounce! They contacted me and offered me a ridiculously low amount for my barely used boat so they could make big profit! I refused so what ever right! Then the same day the manager calls me back to insult me again! When he realizes I'm not hurting for money and he's not getting my boat he has the audacity to say and these are his exact words WE PREY ON PEOPLE TRYING TO GET OUT OF DEBT!!! I would never lie on anyone just wanted to let everyone know who they actually are! Don't buy from dishonest companies that profit at that scale! read more

My husband and I recently visited the Lake Placid Boaters World to purchase a bass boat. We were blown away by their amazing selection and customer service! The office is nice and clean. Our sales rep, Nick, was very friendly and took us right out to see the boat we were interested in purchasing. He was able to answer every question we had and made us feel right at home. We were also helped by Dawson who was extremely knowledgeable and helped us select warranty and protection packages for our boat. I would recommend Boaters World to anyone interested in purchasing or selling a boat. These guys know their boats! read more

honestly not sure why anyone would do business with this company I have been lied to multiple times and they lost my spare key as well as all the books for our boat I had on consignment with them. always have an excuse about everything. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE/COMPANY. I have heard many horror stories about Boaters world since I received our boat back. hard to even give them a 1 star review read more

I have a semi-custom flats boat listed on market place with multiple lines stating for brokers not to contact me. Jaclyn Cariveau of Boaters World decides to ignore this with her "I'm not a broker" spin and how she wants to consign it with no storage fees. I'm not in a rush to sell this so I throw her a bone. Get a couple of voice messages about how nice the boat is and she'd have no problem selling it in 90 days. Then comes back with something about her GM asking my "bottom dollar" because she can't find any records of sale on a boat where only 2-3 have ever been sold second hand. I provide a solid link to one that sold in St Augustine recently for a high price with more hours and comparable specs only to be told "they're not going to agree to $72k". A - It's $73k, so good job with failing to read yet another detail. B - I didn't want your opinion or message to start with. I get at least one message a day from some crap broker claiming they can move my boat quickly while ignoring my wishes. I decide to give one a chance and they try to screw around wasting time I do not get back. Your location deserves this review for hiring reps who can't read. read more

I'm very disappointed with Boater's World. I hired them to sell my boat and waverunner on consignment. They beat me down on price. The way it works, is that you tell the the amount you are willing to accept, and they get everything on top of that. They had my boat and waverunner for a year, and they could not sell either one. By the way, the waverunner had 27 hours on it, and the boat had about 30 hours. Get this... They did not even list the hours on their listing. This was the single best selling point. And when I checked online, the boat listing was not even there. To make matters worse, they sold me a trailer for my tri-toon, but they sold me a trailer that only supports two bunks. I did not notice or know that the middle toon needs to be supported as well. It's looking more and more like I will have to take this unprofessional company to court. They are ignoring my emails now. They are completely incompetent. I would recommend going anywhere but here to sell your boat. And if they are this bad selling boats, I certainly would not want to buy one from them. I wish I had read all of the negative reviews before dealing with these people. Buyer Beware! read more

I purchased a Yamaha 225 sho and found the personal to be cordial and dealing with issues in a very complimentary way. Excellent service. Thank you guys for helping me Louis williams read more

Do not, I repeat DO NOT have your boat serviced here. You will bring it home with a whole new set of problems. Getting service in the first place was an ordeal in and of itself but now we have damage caused by this company. Find any other place or mechanic. Beware. read more

i called kyle a month ago about the pontoon boat thats 12 .977 made arrangements to come and see it on the way half way there he tells me it was sold but i see its still advertise . i believe thats called false advertisment . think i going to see my lawyer. hate companies that play games. is this a company you want to deal with thats not honest read more

We had the best experience working with Chance at boaters world to sell our boat. They came to our home and picked up our boat. They did all the testing on the boat and produced the paper work for whoever was interested in the purchase. Chance kept us updated on the process and sale of our boat. Within 2 weeks our boat was sold. We had a phenomenal experience and would recommend Boaters World to anyone interested in selling their boat and don't want to deal with all the headaches going into selling a boat. Boaters world did it all for us! read more

I recently consigned my boat with boaters world. I would not recommend this to anyone. This is the worst business I have ever dealt with. They lie about everything and the communication is non existent. Cliff, the GM, is an embarrassment to the company. It took a month from when the new owner of my boat took deliver to get my funding from the sale. They lied about the date of the sale. Made up "issues" with the boat before the sale after I already payed for their safety inspection that came back perfect. You'll never deal with the same person twice. I'm shocked they're still in business. There's a reason why they have such terrible reviews, listen to the reviews! read more

I recently had posted an experience with Boater World Marine Centers in Bradenton, Florida, on 64, and I feel it's crucial to share my thoughts about their services. Unfortunately, my initial review, supporting my claims, was mysteriously removed from places where they have control. Adding to this, it's important to note that the salesman, Kyle, is the owner's son and is, of course, going to be protected whether wrong or right by the company. I strongly believe this places coworkers and other employees in a very tough situation, instilling a sense of fear for their job security when they try to correct Kyles mistakes. One significant aspect of my experience was that Kyle, the salesman, significantly mishandled the sale of our boat Feb 2023, being shielded due to his familial ties with the dealership. Rather than addressing the issue honestly, the blame was wrongly shifted onto another employee at the the time, the GM who was subsequently fired. This blame game extended to include the sales representative from the manufacturer, creating an atmosphere of finger-pointing rather than accountability. They went all the way to say, I was at fault for not knowing the product line.. Moreover, I discovered that the dealership pulled my credit without my consent a year later after already completing a sale for no apparent reason, causing a fraud case that is currently being gone researched. To date, I have yet to receive an explanation for this unwarranted action. Within my rights, I will continue to share what is truth backed with proof that has happened to me until there's a resolution. No more bullying me and strong-arming me into silence. It's worth noting that sooner or later, such practices catch up with a company. The way they treat wrongdoings with customers can only be hidden and lied about for so long. As consumers, we value open communication, and I hope that sharing my experience sheds light on the importance of protecting our rights to share honest opinions. In closing, it's disheartening to realize that the dealership is resorting to falsifying positive reviews, a practice known as "conflict data" on various reviewing platforms, in an attempt to hide the truth and manipulate their online reputation (easily confirmed on Yelp, Facebook or Google platforms, take a look for yourself). I believe in the power of transparency, and I hope this review serves as a reminder of the importance of genuine and honest customer feedback. read more

We the Family Ware buying the used boat Nautic Star 2003 on 11/09/2024 from Boater's World MARINE CENTER In Brendon FL dealer. When we signed the contract, the dealer prepared a $1299 guarantee for a pre-test service safety inspection. The purchase of the boat had two requirements - replacing the dashboard and replacing the steering wheel. It was agreed that the first test drive was postponed as we waited for parts. Six days later, after testing the boat, we found many problems that needed to be fixed. We again left the boat in the shop with the promise that everything would be professionally and thoroughly inspected, the boat's gas tank would top off . At 11.29, the office responded that the boat had passed the service tests (all problems were fixed) and we could receive it. We would like to note that in any communication between us and their representative there was no documentation (such as a check list). When we finally managed to get the boat, it was left on the side of the building and we were told to go get it. If it wasn't for the store merchandise clerk, we would never have gotten the boat ready to travel home as there were no other employees around to help. During the transportation of the boat from Bradenton to North Port we noticed that the trailer did not have brakes. We immediately brought this problem to the attention of the seller's representatives Max and Craig Haselbush who promised to tell us when the problem would be fixed with the necessary service. What is the conclusion from everything said so far and our not-so-pleasant experience with the employees of this office? We as customers buying a used boat feel ignored when it comes to the safety and security of the boat. This should be the first rule in any business. From the experience we have with one of representatives, we would not recommend your business due to the employees' irresponsibility towards customer safety. read more

I recently purchased a boat through Boater's World which I found online. Although I live in Tampa, I went all the way over to Lake Placid to acquire the boat. I was concerned as I didn't feel comfortable making such a large purchase based on conversations, photos, and online information. However, Greg Thornhill did a great job providing me with all the information I requested and was very transparent. After deciding to move forward with the purchase and making the 2-plus hour trek to pick up the boat, I was greeted by Cliff and Laz. Between the both of them, they went over and beyond to assist me from arrival until I departed with the boat. As a business owner myself, the entire team did an outstanding job from A to Z. Thank you guys for all the help. read more

Tried to buy buy an outboard from them. The prices and availability on their website have nothing to do with reality. Price online for a 30 Tohatsu was $2995 when you finally get someone on the phone it's around $5100. This is a true shame for such a large company. Bait and switch at its finest. read more

Boater's World - 30hp $2995 not so! - Boat Repair Near Me - Lake Placid, Florida

TERRIBLE mechanics!!! Beware, you are far better off learning how to mechanic on Youtube than trust your boat to this company. Larry, the service manager, should be fired. They failed to repair out boat the first time, albeit a relatively easy fix. Then they didnt realize they ordered the wrong part (umm, thats why all good mechanics know to double check the part number based on the VIN) and had our boat captive for almost 3 weeks. There's more but I'll spare you the agony of reading what we have had to deal with. read more

This review focuses on the exceptional service of Sr. Sales Representative, Robert Brown. Around two weeks ago, I inquired about a boat I saw advertised with Boater's World. It was already sold, so I asked Robert to call me if they received more boats for sale that were no more than 10 years old in specific models no more than a specific price. I then got a call about a week later from Robert who told me they were getting a 2019 Key West 293 FS. He sent me pictures and we talked about the boat specs and other details. I paid a $500 deposit to hold the boat at the price he quoted. When the boat arrived at the dealer, Robert called me to let me know that the boat was in better condition than he imagined and it included upgrades and additional accessories. Score! We scheduled a test drive on the lake across the street a few days later and had the boat delivered to our home outside of their service area at no charge after they received information of our wire transfer. One star reduction for miscommunication with Candie in the Finance office who promised to get our wire faxed this past Monday, but never communicated to us that she wouldn't be in the office. We had left messages and called a few times before we could reach Robert, who arranged for the wire transfer to be submitted on time. Our boat was also supposed to be detailed before delivery, but it did not appear to be done. read more

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Scammers. Liars. STAY AWAY. I wouldn't trust this place as far as I could throw them. Read the other reviews. They are deceitful and the business is in trouble as a result. These people have no idea how to run a business and couldn't care less about you. They will be out of business very soon. read more

AVOID!!!! Brought my 20149 bass tracker in for a simple warning horn. I got 3 different stories over 10 days for a simple problem. When I picked up my boat, it was different again and they had been working on the wrong problem, charged me -$287 for for their mistake. Myran would not discuss the problem at all blamed it on me. AVOID!!!! read more

LIES, LIES, and MORE LIES! This place is a disaster of deceitful business practices and unreliable conduct. NEVER EVER consign with these people. They ONLY inflate the price to get your boat into their yard with no possibility of ever selling it for anything close to what they tell you. They recently "DUMPED" hundreds of boats that had built up in their inventory because they were doing a terrible job of sales but continued bringing in customers consignments. They FAIL when it comes to communication and returning phone calls or texts. You get bounced around to all manner of people, never knowing who you will be talking with next. They took in our boat and FAILED to follow up with offers that did come in costing me THOUSANDS of dollars in the end. I could name names here but they probably already have turned over employees and have different people employed. Best advice I could offer, is whether buying or selling, STAY AWAY from this place. read more

If you want to buy a boat, they have great boats. We love our boat. But once you buy the boat, good luck reviving your titles, paperwork, etc in the mail. And good luck getting anyone on the phone or to call you back. And once you do, excuses after excuses on why we didn't get phone call back. It took 50 days to get our registration, paperwork, numbers for boat, and tag read more

So they have a boat on boat trader with literally no details. It is a make/model I want so I call...and call...and call. Third time was the charm to actually talk to someone. Generally, sales people are at least nice to perspective buyers, not in this case. Sorry I burdened you with trying to buy a boat you have in stock. So I ask for basic details everyone asks when trying to buy a used boat(engine hours, service records if possible, etc). Nothing unreasonable or out of the ordinary. The girls said I would need to pay a deposit for them to show I was actually serious about the boat. LOL. I called 3 times to inquire about basic information. Let's just say I wasn't about to give them a deposit to look at the control on the boat. This place is a joke. I would never purchase a boat from them. read more

I purchased a brand new Mako 17 foot center council on June of 2020. The boat only gets used in the summer time and sits the other 5 to 6 months out of the year.*** never had issues with the boat until last week, July of 2023. After checking the boat I found the manual pump to be bad. So I decided to take the boat to Boaters World service department in Lake Placid, Fl where I purchased the boat. Being that it was under warranty and I had extended warranty I thought that they would replace the fuel pump at no charge. After dropping the boat off I was called the following day with an estimate to repair the boat for $2,900. Being that the boat has only 60 hours on it I couldnt understand why I was given a $2,900 estimate and told that the pump wasnt covered under the warranty. So I decided to pick the boat up and order a factory OEM pump and replaced it myself. After I replaced the pump the boat ran fine with no issues. I found that the old pump was defective. I than took the pump and my estimate of $2,900 back to the service center and asked them to explain to me why I was being charged so much when I fixed the boat for $139. I was given an explanation of the estimate to replace parts that didnt need to be replaced. That didnt make sense to me. I definitely feel that I had not been able to fix the boat myself they would of gotten me for the $2,900. I could only imagine how many other people this has been done to. Sadly I wont t be using Boaters World for any future baiting needs. Beware of their service department practices. VERRY BAD BUSINESS. read more

I bought a used wave runner, best experience I have ever had. Nobody better then Bob Brown, honest, credible, did exactly what he said. Could not have gone smoother. 5 start. Do not use Lake Placid Marine, they SUCK, rip offs artist. read more

There is a reason these morons have a 1 star rating. They want you to practically buy the boat before letting you test it out. I had the unpleasant experience of dealing with Cliff, who is either lies or is just stupid. I'm going with liar! After putting a deposit on a boat Cliff and his cohorts tried to sucker me with a 14% loan, saying only one lender responded to my application. I seriously doubt that. I have a 775 credit score and I was putting down a large down payment I told him I would probably just pay cash and would be there early on Saturday morning. I drove 2 1/2 hrs just to have this jackass Cliff tell me that the boat wasn't ready because he misunderstood me. They had no problem with seeing a 12000 cash sale walk out the door. Probably looking to scam someone else with a rip off loan. This is how they treat potential customers. I can only imagine how they treat you one you once you are a customer. Avoid Avoid Avoid! You have been warned!!!! read more

I can't get a return call or email. I have written 5 days inquiring about boats and I get nothing. Are the open. Unbelievable poor service. I'm shopping elsewhere and taking the cash there. read more

5 weeks later Candie in the admin office has yet to finish the papers, and I'm making payments on a boat I cant register. Love the boat, hate the dealer. read more

Purchased a new boat from Lake Placid Boater's World on June 4th. Salesperson, Robert B., was great to deal with up until we actually purchased the boat. As part of our discussions and negotiation, Robert asked if we would like add a Boat Cover. We said, yes, that would be great. We were then told we would be able to pick it up when we finalize the boat purchase. Also, we were told that Boater's World charged us $295 for administrative fees for FL Numbers and processing. Once we finalized the deal, Robert tells us that they do not have a boat cover 'in stock' and will need to order from the manufacturer. Initially we were told that they would have it ship directly to our home... 10 days later and no update from Robert or Boater's World, they say that it has to be shipped Boater's World and then forwarded to us. Robert said he would get back to us.. 10 days later again and multiple voicemails and calls to the Lake Placid Boater's World... NOTHING. No call back. No update. No CUSTOMER SERVICE. We are laid back people and enjoy quality, genuine people... but, this place lacks CUSTOMER SERVICE beyond the actual SALE. It is disappointing because the Owners voice their wishes to be Customer Friendly (small town). Unfortunately, they have been far from accommodating. It is not unreasonable to communicate with an existing customer. We have tried to call and cancel the boat cover and get is ourselves ($1000.00)... but they won't even let us do that because they will not call back or answer our calls. Beware of the "front" of Customer Service and GET EVERYTHING in WRITING, DETAILED LINE ITEMS WHEN PURCHASING. read more

I recently purchased a new 150HP Mercury motor from Boaters World in Lake placid. I expressed up front that i needed the motor installed on my boat in time for a trip to the keys. Mike Yeazel promised me he would have the install done in the time i required. I can say that i have never been more pleased with a transaction in all my life. Mike is very professional, knowledgeable and truthful. I also had a fish finder and battery charger installed. The cost of the motor and labor was reasonable. The installs were very professionally done and everything worked perfectly. Had a great trip to the keys. I highly recommend this company. Thanks Mike ! read more

Great place to buy a boat. Bad place if you expect them to service what they sell you. They care more about the sale than customer service. Called over 5 times for a service appointment, no response. Think about buying from this place and question their customer service mantra that they sell you. read more

Don't know where to start other than buyer beware!! Purchased a new Key West BR210 from Boater's World back in April. Had to constantly call about the paperwork and missing items from the boat. Made the 3 hour round trip to have some warranty issues addressed, and continued to get the run around for several weeks. To this day I still do not have the anchor they owe me and also still do not have the replacement nav lights for the front that they said they would mail to me. After the sale you are nonexistent to them and good luck even getting someone to answer the phone. I expected much much more for the more than 60k I spent with them. The only reason for the one star is because I can't put less. As I said in the beginning, buyer beware!! read more

We bought our boat from them in 2021. We live out of state and drove to pick it up. Delivery was fine and the sales experience wasn't bad at all. We had them put a new trolling motor on as part of the deal. They had to relocate starting batteries to accommodate to new trolling batteries. Well we used it and the batteries wouldn't charge. Figured out later they didn't hook up the wires to the batteries from the charger. Then this year the trolling motor kept shutting off...Found loose wires arching in the plug they installed and had burnt the plug. I could just pull the wires out of the plug. We also had issue registering as the bank said the dealer hadn't sent the title in over a year. Bank told us to contact the dealer, and like some of the other reviews they have not called back in over two weeks. They also connected a hot wire to the battery shut off switch which allowed all the accessories to stay on even with the battery kill switch on. Not sure they have to most mechanically inclined people working for them. read more

I worked with Amelia to buy a used boat. It was an 11 hour round trip for me, so I wanted it all done in one day, as I knew I wasn't coming back for further repairs. The boat had some issues, but Amelia worked wonders and before the end of the day, I had a different motor swapped on the boat, along with a few other things attended to. I had the feeling she was more focused on me being a satisfied customer rather than making the sale. read more

Seven months ago I was solicited by Fred to give them the listing on my 18.8 ft Sea Fox. The boat was in perfect working condition and showroom condition. After posting really poor and unprofessional pictures that literally didn't highlight any of the features, as well as a very poor description i was forced to pull the listing after 7 months of nothing. After getting the boat back to my house I discovered the "pisser" was clogged by mud daubers, meaning it never ran.... both brand new trolling motor batteries were dead a result of never being charged, the GPS had been tampered with to the point it had to be disconnected and reset from scratch. I called at least ten times today to discuss the issues but no joke no one answered the phone until the eleventh call (no surprise the boat didn't sell). I generally wouldn't post something like this but the next time you get solicited do your homework. read more

Question how do we get someone to answer our phone calls after purchasing a boat?Motor has 77 hours told it works and we have about 4 hours on it and it keeps stalling on the lake. Keep asking for them to send a service person to find an answer..we are getting no response ..have called everyday this week and no answers ..no call backs.. Please help! read more

So happy with the great service I received from Josh! So professional and always a pleasure to speak with him! He drove all the way down to our home (1 1/2 hours away) and handed us a check to purchase our boat! It was a fair deal and quick! I wish other transactions were as painless as this one! Thank you Josh! It was a pleasure! read more

Great selection of boats and amazing costumer service from the minute I stepped on the lot to when I left with my first boat!