Since a lot of these negative reviews look a bit older, i can at least shed light on my recent experiences with RMS and Rick/Mitch. Overall: extremely positive and will continue to use them for all my needs I have an 18' center console on a shore mooring that i love to wrench on myself. When i can't YouTube something, or just want trustworthy hands to guide me, i call Mitch. I used Rick back in the day and love the way he explained to me ways to troubleshoot even ahead of coming to ensure i needed his services. Mitch does the same. They always show up, respond quickly, and get the job done right. Not only that, he has always met me on my mooring or neighbors dock to do the work (amazing for those of you who don't have trailers and keep your boat in the water). Nothing in boat repair will ever be perfect forever and you need to understand that things can always go wrong. Mitch has often followed up with me after repairs to check on his work. I find them to be extremely reliable and very fair in pricing. I haven't had any issues on payments either; i always pay them for their work done and would happily advance their pay if needed for another day. I trust them and their work and will continue to give them my business when things break that are out of my wheelhouse or depth of knowledge. Recent repairs: -Full steering removal and overhaul from cable to hydraulic: work done in 1 day with lifting motor off transom due to space restrictions of cable removal; i purchased all parts ahead of meeting him at the dunes on a buddy's trailer i borrowed -Air in fuel line issue: replaced multiple elements of fuel-line/filtration system and primed engine; work done in 2 hours with various parts i acquired/prepped upon his advice to have ready for him when he arrived read more

Rick and his Son Mitchell are scammers. Never pay them up front they are two sweet talking people who are absolutely despicable. Poor service , but make lofty promises. Do not do any business with he or his son ever. Left me in a dire position when I needed and trusted them after giving them the money upfront ghosted and never delivered after making promises. Be Warned!! read more

Needed to complete a quick annual maintenance on my Yamaha 250. Rick was great, timely, knowledgeable, and willing to spend extra time talking through the boat systems. Highly recommend. read more

Good service friendly they know their motors easy to schedule mobile service they were easy to fix the problem .

Horrible company, do not use them! Super unprofessional!! They made me buy all the parts they recommend and we schedule for them to come out to fix and no show. Tried calling the ghosted me. What a scam of a company. Asked for cash upfront and I told them they would be paid when they complete the work, so I guess he couldn't do the work and it was a scam! I'm telling everyone about these guys and they are never allowed at Newport Dunes again!! read more

Won't use these guys again. My fuel line on the engine was linked and caused weeks of downtime and another $800 in time and labor later to diagnose. I ended up figuring out the issue myself. I take my boat to a reputable Mechanic now. read more

Reliable Marine Services - Yamaha F225 - Boat Repair Near Me - Laguna Hills, California

We had an appointment for this morning. No show. No answer to my 3 calls. Voicemail and text. Super unprofessional.. will not recommend. read more

Beware of Rick at Reliable Marine Services. Seems like a nice guy but is not. He will not finish the job after you pay him. Went completely ghost on me after I paid him to fix my boat. My boat is not running bc of him. read more

Good , quick service. Came to my house and worked on the boat in my driveway. Fixed it up quick and left me with a handful of tips on best operations practice read more

Contacted them for a starter issue, they charged us $700 to fix something. nothing is fixed, Rick Will not return my phone calls. They only take cash, and that should say something. Opening up small claims lawsuit. read more

Please don't use these guys! I was excited to find someone to get my boat ready for the summer. We went to launch today only to find he didn't install the lower correctly.... so poorly that the oil was coming out of the sides of the engine. Come to find out he didn't even tighten the bolts, they were hand tight. Not only did he not earn the $850 I paid him he almost ruined my alpha one drive. Please stay away read more

SHADY BUSINESS! we hired Rick and his son Mitch (RMS) to repair our yacht but we are very disappointed with their service and how they don't care for their clients after paying almost 4K!! we have a water leak in our exhouast system that is entering our boat so we called Rick and apparently he has blocked us from calling him so then we decided to call Mitch and his response was surprisingly shocking... SMH I explaining to him our issue and he said that they would not come out to assist us even though water is entering our boat that they caused. Our boat was never leaking water in before the repair. its so sad to see my husband so distressed with no regard even though he was an ex marine who served his country and was awarded 2 Purple Heart metals. shame on you Rick and Mitch! wow! read more

This is the second time that I worked with Rick at Reliable Marine Service and had a great experience on both occasions. Rick was very responsive and answered all of my questions, prior to coming over. He showed up with Mitch when he said they were going to show up. They did a great job. They work fast and clean. I will gladly recommend them to any of my friends and family with boats. Thanks Rick also helped me troubleshoot an issue with a Seadoo, today. He took the time to talk me through it over the phone and got me up and running. Thanks again! read more

I contacted Rick from reliable Marine services regarding an older boat that I have A couple of months ago. When he met me he said he can fix it in a couple hours for $300. At the end the day when he wanted to get paid I asked him to turn on the engine and it wasn't turning on but asked me for the money first. Then he said oh there was a piece that was broken in the engine which I know wasn't broken before. Then he says I have to order and I'll have a few days well it took a few months to get this piece finally he puts it in and my son who I was fixing it from it we just got back from the Coast Guard check it out to the water at the first time and the boat worked worse than it did before my $800 repair. We contacted him about it and at first he says oh I'm so sorry i'm away this weekend but I'll call you when I get back and take care of it. He never called us back we've been trying to get in touch with him now he tries to say it's something we did I don't know how it was something we did when it was the first time we took it out on the water after he fixed it. This guy is a lying sleazy repair guy do not use him because he will just take advantage and not honor his word or his work. read more

Reliable Marine Services - Boat Repair Near Me - Laguna Hills, California

This is an honest, fair and very competent shop. They do excellent work and are trustworthy. I'm glad to have found a local shop that I can depend on going forward. read more

I never write bad reviews because I believe that off days, one-off mistakes, and miscommunications are the cause of many bad experiences. I also don't write bad reviews because it would take 20 good reviews to counter one bad one. However, Rick Nelson and Reliable Marine Service proved to my boat partner and I that they are not a company that our boating community should be using. The first issue happened about a year ago when we hired Rick and Reliable Marine Service to service our Merc SeaCore 8.2L and Bravo3 Duoprop outdrive. We also had a couple issues with a couple alarms on our vessel view, an hour meter that ticks hours when the battery is on, etc. A short list but a list. Rick came down and performed a service on the engine. He wanted to get paid in cash in full at the end of the day. Only a portion of the entire list of work (just the service) was completed but, as he said he was super busy and he would need more time to look at the other things, we, in good faith, paid him. I went to the boat a few days later and was eager to take her to Catalina Island with my family for the day. During my pre-trip, the engine temp soared in idle within minutes of being turned over. Rick was the last person on the boat just a couple days before. I immediately texted him and he tried to deny that he had anything to do with the engine overheating, at the dock, in idle, three days after the service. After going back and forth, he came down the next day or so and fixed the issue which was directly linked to the service provided. There was no apology. Fast forward almost a year. We need an engine service again. The above list of non-critical but annoying items had not yet been completed. Again Rick said that he would do the work but somebody had to come down with cash at the end of the day. Again, he said that we didn't tell him about the other things and that he was too busy and would have to come back. When we said that he we had been down this road with him before and we are not interested in paying a contractor for low hanging fruit if he is going to leave us high and dry for the items that might require him to dig in a little deeper. He got very defensive and demanded to be paid in cash in full. My partner paid him. When I found this out, I contacted Rick and tried to relate the issue...If I need to get my house painted, and someone tells me that they can do a quality job at a reasonable price, I will solicit the service of the painter. I don't pay in cash for the spraying of one side of the house and then hope that he comes back and finishes the detail work and the rest of the house before the side needs to be sprayed again.. His reply, "Maybe you guys just need to find a new mechanic". The next day the dry stacks (where the boat is stored) called and said that the engine was spewing oil all over from a bad oil filter replacement when they went to flush the engine. Thankfully, Rick said that he always stands by his work and put the right gasket on. This would have been great except we were left with a bilge full of oil and oil residue in the engine compartment. Once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. I get it. For all contractors, right now there is a ton of work. Contractors of all kinds including marine mechanics can be selective, sloppy, and bullheaded and still get work. Our experience needs to be out there so that when things slow a little bit, the good contractors with good customer service and attention to detail will continue getting work. read more

affordable prices they did awesome job I have a problem with my shifter and when we open the outdrive the shifter was broking they fix it for me less than four hours read more

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After a small mix up with my appointment, i was afraid that going with this company might have been a mistake. I was completely wrong. Not only did he do everything he could to make my service happen tha day but when he showed up he did a GREAT job! Im a new boat owner and he didnt mind all my newbie questions and answered all my questions. Im a loyal coustomer for as long as i have my boat. read more

I got my annual maintenance done on my Mercury outboard with Robert and Rick. After getting screwed over by other mechanics, their honesty, knowledge and low price was refreshing. Robert is very good at what he does and you can see that he cares for his clients. Other mobile mechanics quoted me $500+ for an annual maintenance but Robert only charged me $345 (impeller replacement, oil change, compression test and various small repairs). Thanks Robert! read more

My Dad and my cousin trusted Rick & is son! We went to havasu for the weekend neither boats would run!!! Do not use this service.PRIOR both BOATS had no issues! ONE was overheating the other was spuddering out. read more

Can I leave zero stars? Absolutely terrible. We took our boat here because they supposedly specialize in MerCruiser engines. They came back to us multiple times with things that needed fixed, overlooking the major problem with the engine block. To make a long story short, they wanted $2800 to tell us they couldn't fix our boat but had fixed other peripheral issues that weren't causing the main problem (including an additional $700 for the battery and starter, which were working perfectly fine when we took the boat in). At the end of the day they agreed to take out those replaced parts and we still paid $1800 for a boat that is now more broken than it was to start. Evidently they threw out the starter, which was working perfectly fine so now our boat doesn't even have a starter. When you pay $110 an hour for boat service technician work, you would think they would be able to appropriately diagnose the problem. read more

I called reliable to get some pricing and check on available dates. Those guys were at my house a week later. Took care of my boat. I called a few shops and they were about 6 to 8 weeks out. So this was very timely and affordable. Great service great people. read more

I am a US Marine Veteran who was treated terrible for not having enough money upfront. My boat keys were kept for ransom and job wasn't completed until I had the remainder balance of $1,016.25 even though I had made a $820 cash deposit and had a come to an agreement with RICK about paying the rest when my military pension would come in a week and a half... I was called a liar when I paid him the remainder balance and my wife was next to me! I've used RICK and MITCH "reliable marine services" and I've always paid in full CASH and it's always been $400+ and that's even for bilge pump replacement labor (parts not included) This time I had contacted them to inspect my boat because my port side engine would spill out coolant from the heat exchanger cap. They came out and advise me to change out water pumps, thermostats, Rizors and Manifolds. I was informed that it would take six hours for this job and so I immediately did my calculations based on my budget and ordered all the parts necessary informed by RICK. ($1,833 in parts cost) Parts arrived and unfortunately that was not the case because it took 4 days for this to be completed! Manifolds luckily came out easily within five minutes except for one bolt on starboard right manifold that was rusted on. I would figure since they call them selfs "professionals" they would have all tools at hand but that wasn't the case. I was sent out to the hardware store to buy a electrical cord and other items that he requested. At one point RICK got irate and started yelling at me telling me that he had a buy $300 tools to drill out the bit head. I responded to him by telling him that wasn't my problem and that it sounds WEAK for the "Master technician" to tell his clients that and that's why you get paid $125 per hour. A leak was Found on the starboard left riser gasket so manifold had to be drained out and oil change due to entering pistons.. After 4 Stressful days, job was completed and I had Cough up $1016.25 extra and I was treated horrible. Unfortunately I will no longer use or refer them to anyone. I've requested my invoice to emailed to me but yet have revived it. I now question if they are even a licensed marine technicians as they say in their adds... total for this service: ***$1,836.25*** Total in parts for this job: ***$1,962.00*** Grand total: ***$3,798.25*** My observations and report: I've figured out Rick's strategy and it's to slow down the work flow and run the clock as much as possible Because he has to pay MITCH and himself otherwise RICK gets Underpaid so their jobs have to always be double for both of them to get paid. You would figure that two men would get the job done faster but that's not the case at all! MITCH is a good worker but RICK Slows him down or creates hassle elsewhere for them to run the clock longer. Very disappointing to have come to this realization. read more

Do not contact RIck at Reliable Marine Services. He only accepts cash and will take your money without repairing your boat.

Only 3 stars for now. Robert was not able to keep our appointment due to his busy schedule. He kept me informed and was was honest about the delay. read more

Rick and Mitch cruised out to my pad to get some issues I had solved. In a time where reliable mechanics are being stretched thin with work out the ass. These dudes straight mobbed out and made it on my time schedule with short notice too! I have had to turn down appointments cause people weren't able to be flexible with my crappy work schedule... diffrent days off each week type of deal! Like how can I try and even begin to plan a month out let alone two . Anyways Rick was super chill/knowledgeable, and his son Mitch is certified and handy! No joke they came down to san diego from dana point area to help me out. Prices are pretty competitive to everyone else but at the same time; it's supply and demand so not bad at all then factor in the gas to make this happen I really feel like I got the better taste of what all the good reviews were all about. I mean I had one dude quote me at a $150 an hour price tag... na bro I'll pass instantly status lol. Plus the clutch thing about them working in a pair was they tackled different projects at the same time! Showed me all kinds of tips and tricks along the way too! Idk I saw a couple negative reviews but reading them idk seems like the op wasn't really on the bright side... i made an educated decision about the positive reviews compared to the two bad ones... you see me writing this review so that speaks for itself as to what the impression I was left with! People want cheap and they get cheap labor... you want it done right and reliable then RMS is the people you need to be calling!!! All in all they came out and did a grip of work. I asked them for 100 hour service, install fish finder, install trolling motor and check my trim tabs. They maintained the engine and showed some love while doing it. Installed fish finder and had it wired up to run on accessory. Cleaned the rats nest of a wire job the previous owner left me with and started to organize it. Did everything they could to un-sieze my lenco trim tabs. They're shot out but being 16 years old I think thats fair to understand me needing new tabs lol. Trolling motor well my dumb ass forgot to get the cables to the batteries so that was a no go lol they offered to start the work and finish on the next visit. However i was content with all the cool stuff they did on the side... i mean what wasn't asked of them to do!! Mitch's response was "you're paying to have a professional work on your boat so if I see somthing I'm just going to fix it" 5 star reviw from me right there lol. Just the initiative taken when seeing something that needed attention too is a trait long lost this day and age! Owner Rick was so kind to promise me time put aside to finish cleaning up the wires on the next visit out! This is me talking here but who would be like yeah this shits fucked but I gots you on the next visit on us? Well some reliable ass marine service dudes that's who! If you don't know then now you know! Don't sleep on these guys! They get shit done status in half the time!!! One definitive happy boat owner here with the services received . read more

Great service guys. These guys made time to service my boat on short notice and got my boat going just in time for Labor Day weekend ! thanks Rick ! read more

I worked with Rick to get my pontoon boat outboard repaired. He was knowledgeable and very helpful. He even called me from his cell when he was on the road to another state. Great job. Highly recommend. read more

very disappointed!! After spending $1000.00 on repairs on my 90 HP suzuki outboard, they suggested one more service and BROKE 4 bolts off. Next day sent another guy to get out broken bolts and he made a BIG mess out of it . He drilled into the bolt and went off center and into the aluminum block. All 4 bolts. Now, over month later, Richard won't return any of my calls or texts and I'm basically back to square one with a non-usable boat and $1000. gone!! That does NOT sound like good business to me! read more

They worked on my boat and immediately requested payment telling me it was repaired, but it never properly ran. When I asked then to come fix the issue they only came once, but never got it running. The boat now sits as they don't return calls anymore. I would never use them again and cautious anyone with ever using them ever!!! read more