We bought a used pontoon from Smith and although we like our choice, we probably would have been happier buying it at a different dealer. Fred, the owner has a million dollar personality, but I was so disappointed in their promises made to promises kept ratio. We were told the interior of the boat was being sent to be reupholstered. One small seat was the extent of the work. We really were needing the boat so we just swallowed our anger over the seats and hauled the boat away. When we got the boat into the water, it didn't want to start. Fred and his mechanic both told us the motor had been checked out and ran fine. We tried to check out the lights, nothing worked and the ignition pulled right out of the dash. Back we went to Fred and were told the mechanic had personally checked out the lights and they all worked, even explaining how he had put a brand new rear light on. Fast forward a week and after checking the lights again, we realized that the wires were not hooked up, they were all cut off way short. Final episode, we stopped in and showed Fred the photos of the reason the lights didn't work and he said to bring the boat back and they would fix it. 2 1/2 hours on the road both ways was out of the question, so we just said no thank you. Besides, we had lost all faith that they could actually do anything correctly.
I know Fred probably means well, but he tells you what you want to hear and seems to deflect blame to others. Personally I would not buy anything from Smith Marine and I wouldn't trust Fred as far as I could throw him. Same goes for his mechanic. Buyer beware. read more