Prince William Marina anyone?

[estoltz]

I am in the market and may be getting a boat at PWM. I'm also considering docking there. Are there any current slip holders that can give me a candid opinion on being there?

 

[ZZ13]

Most there love it and love the condition of a PWM used boat. That's why they are willing to pay more for a boat sold by PWM (than you'd pay for the same boat from another seller). There are a couple of recent threads on this. Try searching for "Prince William Marina".

 

[fwebster]

Carlton Phillips' operation is consistently considered one of the top dealers in the Sea Ray system. He can't get excellent customer service scores from his customers without doing it right. Pricing depends upon a lot of variables like demand for the model you want, whether PWM owns the boat or its brokered, and how good a negotiator you are.

 

[AllTideUp]

I've bought my last 3 boats there (all sea ray), one new and, 2 used (Traded). I've had a great time with them and they go the extra mile to make their customers happy. My 340 I purchased last year had a vibration that was initially thought to be a prop problem. I purchased the boat while the props were sent out to be trued but it didn't fix the problem. They ended up pulling the motor and overhauling the top end even though technically their responsibility was over.

They kept me happy and I will go back to them. Their slips are a bit pricey considering you have a 30-40 min no-wake zone to go through before getting to the river but their services/amenities are nice (pool, clubhouse, restaurant, etc.)

They have both floating and fixed docks with varying prices but it is a very active marina doing holiday parties, boat decorating contests, etc often.

There are several other marinas in that area that have various pricing/amenities.

 

[Mikemapva]

I bought my previous boat from PWM (brokered). They run a great operation, and have excellent customer service. The owner, Carlton, is very active in the daily operations and is a great guy.

As mentioned above, the marina is a long ride through the no wake zone and I have heard it is pretty pricey. For lower prices and a shorter ride out of the no wake zone try Captain John S. Beach or renting a slip from one of the owners at Fairfax Yacht Club. I've been at both, and we are now at FYC.

Good luck with your search!

Mike

 

[WDCboater]

I've bought both of my boats from PWM. Customer service is their thing and if you buy from them they will always take your call and will always service your boat. They have a large service department and are very fast to respond. Doug Phillips, who runs the service dept, is Carlton's son. Mark, the service manager is great. They will all get to know you by name.

They will do a boat show at their facility in Feb/March. It's always a good opportunity to strike a deal.

I don't dock there since I live closer to DC, but I have had my boat there for a little bit. The fixed docks have a bit more space to get in/out. The floating docks are very very tight and in the wind you have to be on the ball. The facilities are excellent and there's a decent restaurant. It is pricey to dock there, but if you ever need work completed, the techs can do it during the work week and allow you to have your weekends to enjoy the boat.

 

[blaster]

Even during the height of the season the service department will generally fix your boat and have it back to you within a week, you can't put a price on that.

As long as you understand the value of their service, the prices are reasonable.

The no wake zone is long but I don't mind it. I'm not sure about other people but when I go boating I'm not in a big hurry.

 

[dpmulvey]

On the flip side, I was coming home from a friends house in northern VA. I stopped in PWM with some sales/brokerage/purchase/maintenance questions and was treated like a bastard stepchild.

Not impressed.

 

[WDCboater]

On the flip side, I was coming home from a friends house in northern VA. I stopped in PWM with some sales/brokerage/purchase/maintenance questions and was treated like a bastard stepchild.

Not impressed.

If you did not buy your boat from them they won't really help you. This is their well known policy. They treat customers like family.

 

[dpmulvey]

If you did not buy your boat from them they won't really help you. This is their well known policy. They treat customers like family.

I did not know that policy. I just saw a boat place and had questions.

Interesting business plan. I guess it works for them.

 

[Capt. Rusty Higgins]

Premium dealer run by premium owner. Carlton tells me that he does not have customers, only friends.

Mr. Phillps and the PWM staff have my 100% admiration and respect.

Capt. Rusty

 

[k-nutz]

If you did not buy your boat from them they won't really help you. This is their well known policy. They treat customers like family.

While I did start a thread before on how their policy sucks, I must say that I disagree, they will in fact help you if you didn't buy a boat from them, you just have to go about it the right way. Their service dept/parts folks have been very courteous with me (In person), and most helpful when I have service questions or parts requests. BUT the only way I have gotten service questions answered is if I physically go into the office.

When I called in the past since my name wasn't on their roster of customers I got the standard no help to non customers. Parts questions are never a problem over the phone or in person. So knowing now what I didn't know before here is my process:
-I have made it a point to be extra nice to Mary when I go to the parts department.
-My parts questions/purchase will then lead to a service question.
-Mary will call the service manager or technician over to talk to me.
-Service manager/technician assumes I bought the boat from them and answers all my questions.

If you have a service question and just call about it good luck, the first thing they do when you call service is look you up in their system. They stay pretty busy keeping their customers boats maintained/repaired so they say there isn't enough time to help anyone over the phone that won't be serviced by them.

Having said all of that, I will also say that I don't think I have ever met anyone that purchased from them that was not satisfied with their experience, so as long as you know what you are getting into (higher prices for the boat and for the slip) then you will likely have a great experience with them.

 

[estoltz]

Most there love it and love the condition of a PWM used boat. That's why they are willing to pay more for a boat sold by PWM (than you'd pay for the same boat from another seller). There are a couple of recent threads on this. Try searching for "Prince William Marina".

Thanks ZZ13. I tried but the search engine gives me things with PRINCE and/or WILLIAM and/or MARINA. Needless to say its a long list.

 

[estoltz]

Good feedback. We have put a deposit down on a 2005 Sea Ray 260 Sundancer there. The one we found for cheaper was cheaper for a reason. Missing all the isinglass and gauges were cracked. If this were not my first boat I might haggle and fix it up. So hopefully we can get a week or two of warm weather to survey before April. I've got my financing in order already.

 

[blaster]

Good feedback. We have put a deposit down on a 2005 Sea Ray 260 Sundancer there. The one we found for cheaper was cheaper for a reason. Missing all the isinglass and gauges were cracked. If this were not my first boat I might haggle and fix it up. So hopefully we can get a week or two of warm weather to survey before April. I've got my financing in order already.

It should be warm enough the next couple days to melt the ice in the river. I did my sea trial in February during a period of sub freezing temps. After the trial they winterized the boat and stored it in the boatel until April first at no extra charge.

Congratulations, this being your first boat, you made a wise choice purchasing from PWM. They will give you a proper orientation and they offer classes in maintenance and operation. They also will pay for your coast guard certification. Their top notch and they want happy customers.

 

[JimFromMD]

Thanks ZZ13. I tried but the search engine gives me things with PRINCE and/or WILLIAM and/or MARINA. Needless to say its a long list.

You've probably seen this somewhere before in reading here, but if you don't get good results from csr's internal search, go to google and type in your search terms followed by site:clubsearay.com.

so for example in the google search box type... Prince William Marine site:clubsearay.com
you can also use quotes for exact phrases like "prince William marine" to get those words together. you wont get PWM hits, or Prince William marina hits though.

You'll get a lot more results... sometimes with a text-only view, but if you then click the thread, you can see it in the view you do here as long as you are logged in.

 

[dpmulvey]

...Having said all of that, I will also say that I don't think I have ever met anyone that purchased from them that was not satisfied with their experience, so as long as you know what you are getting into (higher prices for the boat and for the slip) then you will likely have a great experience with them.

Again, interesting business plan that works for them. I doubt it would work for everybody.

 

[estoltz]

It should be warm enough the next couple days to melt the ice in the river. I did my sea trial in February during a period of sub freezing temps. After the trial they winterized the boat and stored it in the boatel until April first at no extra charge.

Congratulations, this being your first boat, you made a wise choice purchasing from PWM. They will give you a proper orientation and they offer classes in maintenance and operation. They also will pay for your coast guard certification. Their top notch and they want happy customers.

Surveyer said he won't do it unless we have 4-5 days. Apparently a soft wet hull can test as solid when its been sitting out in the cold. It also doesn't help that the boat is on the hard behind the hill so it doesn't get that much sun. Either way I have it locked up on deposit and am ok with not paying a note before it even gets put in the water.

 

[MancaveII]

Premium dealer run by premium owner. Carlton tells me that he does not have customers, only friends.

Mr. Phillps and the PWM staff have my 100% admiration and respect.

Capt. Rusty

Capt. Rusty...the quote in your signature block is what every Sea Ray dealership should say every day...."How can I help improve your boating...." PWM does that if you're in the family, otherwise you're really more of an annoying neighbor. I was actually set to buy a boat from them, but during the sea trail, I got the speech on buying from them v. others...it was made clear that any Sea Ray bought outside of their dealership would not be welcome. Exceptions made for military, but the normal guy better buy there or forget it. That said, they are a premium dealership and can afford to have that policy...their location and large affluent local population keep a steady and loyal following. Disappointing to me, I thought a Sea Ray would always get great service and attention from any Sea Ray dealership. I get the priority to the actual PWM customers on site, but they actively engage in not supporting others outside of that family. If my Ford dealership did the same thing, I'd never buy another Ford, ever...the concept of where I purchased my truck and cars never comes up.

 

[themikehyde]

I can agree with the above. Every Time i call for a part, i get the " you didn't buy your boat here, right?" I have to answer "no, but it is a Sea Ray?"