Complaint Review: Intercoastal Marine - Middle River Maryland

Buyer Beware!!! I took my 28 ft Wellcraft Monte Carlo to Intercoastal Marine in November of 2011. Art Lilly at Lilly Sport Boats was too busy at the time.

Which at that time Terry Martin and his wife Nichol Martin 1606 HOLLY TREE RD, MIDDLE RIVER, MD, 21220 and 2925 Eastern Blvd Baltimore, MD 21220 Wrote an Estimate for Parts and Labor to install 9 Gauges and 11 Switches at a Labor cost of $1520.00 and Install a Depth finder and a VHF Radio a Labor cost of $760.00. I then decided to provide all the Parts for the Project Since I wanted VDO Gauges and Livorsi Products which Terry never used before. That should have been a Red Flag. Keep in mind before you read the rest of this it took 15 months for this project.

In January 2012 I took him all the Parts and one Extra Livorsi Trim and Tab Indicator to install. I gave Terry a $1600.00 as a down Payment with a balance due of $700.00 to install the 9 gauges, Depth Finder and VHF Radio 

He then said he needed Fuel to run my Motors and he recommended 4 new Filters for the Fuel and oil. So I sent him a Check for $220, $180.00 for fuel and $40.00 for filters on 09/ 12/ 2012 check number 1314. When I picked up my boat on Easter Weekend 03/30/2013 and got it home the Fuel Tank was Empty. The Reason why I know this I was told by his mechanic that Terry Ran my boat on a Portable Gas Can. The 180 Gallon Inboard Tank had been disconnected when the fuel had been pumped out during winterizing in 2011 and when I put in the Fresh Cam 2 Fuel in April it took 30 Gallons to move the needle on the fuel gauge, which is correct, the Sender is set for a 30 Gallon Reserve. 

Moving forward

He then Called and said It would cost extra for installing the Indicators in the Dash, the actuators and the Cables and I needed a new Control for the Trim Switches. So I sent him a new Control that I purchased on 10/27/2012 and the Cables for the Dash Indicators. Then He called and said the Trim Tab Pump and the two Trim Pumps for the Drives should be replaced so I sent him new Trim Pumps. So I asked him How Much it would be, he said to install the Control and the Cables, actuators and the new pumps would be $1800.00 so you can see things got increasingly more expensive. So on 09/ 26/ 2012, I sent Him $2500.00 which included the $700.00 for the VHF Radio and the Depth Finder Check no 1318.

Note Trim Tabs did not work when I got the boat home on Easter weekend 2013 and still are not working. Also he broke the Port Side of my new control and used parts from my old control to fix it. So now the Port side Shifter is real hard to shift and the Starboard Shifter shifts like cutting butter… like it is supposed to. So if the cables needed to be replaced on the port side, he should have notified me.

Then in November 2012 I was told I needed 3 New Marine Batteries and New Trays. One was a Large House Battery. Terry Called me and he said the cost for the batteries and Labor to install them would be $386.95. So I then sent him a Check for $386.95 on 11/07/2012, Check no 1333. When I got the Boat home and saw he installed three Interstate Srm-24 Deep Cycle/Starting Batteries which cost at my local Auto Parts Store $79.00 a total of $237.00 for all three, and he never installed the new trays and the large Deep Cycle house battery that my boat had and requires. He replaced it with the SRM-24.

Also in November 2012 Terry calls me and says it will cost a little more to install the new Control. I then said ok and I asked him if I sent him some Royal Purple for my Drives and Motors what would the total be and would he change those fluids .He said $400.00 So then I sent him $400.00 on 11/17/2012 Check no 1338, 12 months later and the boat at this time is still not completed. 

On 12/03/ 2012 he calls and said it took more Labor to installs the Control and Pumps I said how much he said $300.00 So I sent him $300.00 on 12/03/2012 Check no 1345. So at this time I have paid him $4800.00 in labor plus the $386.95 for the batteries and $220.00 for the Fuel he never pumped into my boat and the filters. Again please keep in mind all the rest of the parts and materials I supplied and shipped those parts to his front door. He had to do nothing but install them.

Moving towards a finish date he calls me and said he can not get my New VDO Tachometer Gauges to work so he needed Different Gauges. So since my VDO gauges had Hour Meters on them I asked him how much more money now to install the different Tachometers and Hour Meters in my Engine Department. He said $500.00 So on 03/05/2013 I sent him $500.00 Check No 1388. The two new Hour meters I sent him that he installed, you can not see the Hour Meters to read them unless you remove my back seat.

Now with a total Labor of $5300.00 paid to change fluids, install three batteries, install 9 gauges, 11 switches, one Depth Finder, one VHF Radio,

4 cables and three Trim Pumps and the boat still is not completed. Note He used all the original wiring from engine compartment to the dash and old fuse panel in my Boat for all the New Gauges, VHF Radio, and Switches.

There is more… he then calls and say he needs more money and the boat can be picked up and everything works. I said how much? He said another $500 to shake hands and take it to your cabin in Lake George. 

On Saturday March 30th the day before Easter I Arrive at his shop to pick up my boat and pay him the $500 and take delivery of my boat and bring it home to Danville PA.

When my wife and I arrive he is nowhere to be found He said everything works and he was to busy with customers to help us hitch up our boat that Bob the Mechanic would help us if needed. I then paid $420 with a balance of $80.00 in which I would have paid one week later if everything worked and there was not major Damage to my New Dash and My Upholstery. Now with Grand Total of $6326.98, “$5720.00” which was Labor … I still do not have a boat that is usable worst condition now then when I took it to have Rigging done in 2011

Before I left on 03/30/2013, I Asked Terry about the New VDO Gauges he removed from my boat and if his wife Nicole Martin sent them back to VDO so I could receive my credit of $398.00 . As of 07/02/2013 VDO still has never received them.

So I did a visual at that time noticing the Black,what now is known to be Epoxy on my seats and my $1300.00 New Dash that Livosi made for me. But I was pressed by his Mechanic that the boat needed to be moved and that it was in the way... So I uncovered it and hooked up and headed back to Danville, PA, Thinking every thing works and that I would clean what I thought to be Grease off my dash and seats when I get home. This is the first time I picked up a boat without Sea Trial showing me that everything that was installed works.

Now I know why because when I started testing things when I got my Boat home, The Fuel Tank is bone dry Empty it Took 30 Gals for the Needle to move off the E, Which is correct the boat has a 30 gal reserve. The horn does not Work, The GPS does not communicate with my VHF Radio. The Trim Tabs do not work. The Trim pumps for my Motors work but the Indicators move only Halfway before they stop. The Tachometers are in crooked, Terry’s Mechanic got Black Epoxy all over my $1300.00 Dash and my new $3500 Back seat which ruined both, the Dash and the new upholstery is a mess and will be expensive to fix and is in the process of being completed. He mounted my Cup holder Flush to the top of my Dash Instead of 8 inches below the dash which that is where it was mounted when Terry removed it. I can not move it because I will have holes in my boat top of my Dash and next to my new instrument Panel. So now I have to remove my drinks every time I want to walk through my windshield. 

The cost of fixing everything so far is estimated to be $4,455.00.

I have asked for a refund of $1625.00 and so far after 3 months he has not sent that refund or returned any of my phone Calls. Before offering the refund Terry offered to Repair the things that did not work as long as I paid a small fee!! Since it took 15 months the first time and it seems Terry or his technicians are not qualified to work on my boat, I refused his offer and I will not give him another dime of my money.

I hope after Reading this you will not to take your boat to Terry and Nicole Martin at Intercoastal Marine. If you do, consider that what happened to me might happen to you. Small jobs like fluid changes and tune ups are all maybe Terry Martin is qualified to do. 

Re- Rigging absolutely not!!!! Email me at (((redacted))) and my return Email will have my phone number .You can then call me. I have all the documents to back up this information. 

Thanks