A few years ago i walked into Skipper Bud's to get parts for an old 1978 Evinrude motor. I was restoring an old boat and was dressed in my "grubbys." The salesman (when i entered Skipper) looked me up and down and then half-disgustedly sent me downstairs to the parts department. I ended up going to DON'S MARINE who was happy to give me the help i needed - and they made me feel like I was important throughout the process. A month ago i bought a Skeeter bass boat from Don's. I spent a lot of money there. I will continue to do so. All because they didn't make me feel like the Skipper Bud's salesman did. Lesson for the day: Don't judge a book by it's cover. 3 years ago i was "into" restoring old boats - even though i had the money to buy a new one. DON'S MARINE gained a lifelong customer because the guy looking for a 1978 Evinrude part was just as important (to them) as the guy looking to buy a new pontoon in the next room. read more

After 3 short years the gas line from my tank to the 25 hp mercury outboard completely disintegrated! The bulb and hose were cracked and sucking air. It was an after market hose kit so was not the best quality I guess. On this boat there is a female connector on both ends of the gas line and was hard to find one that fit. The technicians at Don's took the time to find the right one and modify it to fit my setup. Most of the negative comments for Don's are at least five years old so I would say to disregard them. The staff here were professional and friendly. The whole store is well stocked with everything you might need for your boat and has many OME products rather than the off market brands you get online. This is October so the mad rush is on to get boats winterized so make sure you communicate with them what you want on your service request. Remember-that mice can get into your stored boat and take precautions like dryer sheets or traps to avoid damage. read more

Just called to schedule an appointment to get my boat winterized. Brian claims they aren't able to schedule appointments and I need to drop it off. I explained I'm driving from over an hour away and I could schedule it several weeks out, but he was still no help. I guess Don's Marine can't plan the work, or work the plan. Unsure how they can claim 95% customer satisfaction on their website because this isn't the first time they disappointed. read more

DO NOT go to this place for a repair of an older boat. I took a fishing boat there with a 25 hp Mariner which I purchased and was told was tuned the prior year and ran great. I was told by Don's that the cylinders were rusted and pitted, could not be recorded or fixed. They told me to junk the motor and a 1989 Johnson that they'd be happy to sell me for $1200! I took it to another boat mechanic who said the cylinders were fine, sent me pictures, tuned it, and it ran great. He charged me $200. DO NOT GO TO THESE CHEATERS read more

Stay away from this fraudulent, crooked and poor workmanship boat company. Took them a boat and trailer last year for a complete inspection, maintenance and winterizing. Took the boat out this year and with in 30 miles the trailer tire locked up and burnt out a bearing, destroyed a hub. Had the trailer towed back to Don's and Derrick came up with this bogus claim the axle needed replace. I asked how this wasn't caught last year during their inspection, Derrick said to me how would it be caught when we don't even take the tire off the ground. Then we looked and the brake line was not hooked up. Don's Marine we kill you with their poor inspections. Or is it that Don's wanted to defraud us of $3,000 on a axle that wasn't needed. We took the boat trailer elsewhere and in two hours the trailer was repaired correctly. Don's Marine Sucks and surely will kill someone. read more

Just bought a new Yamaha F25 from them. It was a great experience. I'll be going back when I'm ready buy a bigger boat.

I wish there was a way to give a 0 star review. We have been winterizing our boat here for the past 6 years. Upon the 7th year (this year), we called ahead to alert them we wanted to pick up our boat and to NOT remove the shrink wrap since we like to do so ourselves. When we arrived to pick up the boat, we were alarmed to see that the shrink wrap had been removed. But we still paid Don's and went on our way. When we were putting gas in the boat, we noticed that something didn't SMELL right. So we took a peek in the engine bay, to then only find there was piles of feces, chewed up foam, and other items to have been chewed through. This is when we realized that an ANIMAL had been living in our boat, after Don's promised up "full service winterization" of our boat. We drove back to Don's to demand a refund, to only have them argue with us for 10 minutes how that somehow isn't their fault. Finally, they gave us a refund, but didn't even offer to pay for damages to the boat. This kind of service is absurd and completely unacceptable. After being a loyal customer for 7 years, it is a slap to the face to have our property be treated in such disregard and to be told somehow this is OUR fault is rude, unprofessional, and downright unforgivable. Please avoid this place at ALL COSTS if you value your time, money and property. read more

Don's Marine is awesome. We bought a used boat there last fall. It overheated the first time out this year. I took apart the lower unit and discovered there was an old ring that had come out of place. Not only did Don's Marine take care of warranty on that, which they rightfully should have, they also discovered that our trailer bearings were squeaking a little bit. So they replace those at no charge while we were there. I am in awe. Completely trustworthy and honest and did the right thing. We are very glad that we bought here! Thanks to Jerry, Derik, Kasey, Chase. read more

Don's Marine - Don's Marine is awesome. - Boat Dealers Near Me - Lodi, Wisconsin

We bought our used boat from Don's in 2019. Very happy with the boat and the service we receive from Don's. I find their prices fair, their service excellent and some of the guys there are hilarious. read more

I've been to dealers all around Madison but as Skipper Buds takes over the world there are fewer options. Have had nothing but good experiences with them where Buds doesn't even bother to answer the phone most of the time. Pharo is the only other shop I trust but it is more expensive and is a smaller shop. read more

This place is a disappointment, to say the least! My Father just recently handed his boat down to me. He has owned this boat since it was new and had purchased a 50 horse Honda motor for it that has practically 20 hrs on it, the ONLY problem is that it has not been run for about three years. I took this boat into Don's to have basic motor work done (Oil and spark plug change and some carb cleansing) and also have them look at the trailer, thought maybe it needed the bearings replaced..........I received the call with the quote and was I baffled?........$2,000.00, I just about spit my coffee out!!!! I had asked why it was soooo much, when I only asked to have basic work done to it. Don's told me that since one of the wheels on the trailer was making some noise that they would most certainly have to change the bearings on it and since the Motor hasn't been run in three years that they would have to more than likely pull the engine off the boat, do the repairs to include rebuild the carbs, and then put the engine back on- which also means that they would have to inspect the transom to make sure that it was safe to put the engine back on it, which brought up another topic that the motor had not been properly installed on the boat because is was missing silicone around the bolts on the mount?????? At this point, I asked them to refigure the quote (pull off the trailer work and just do the basic motor request). I received the call back and it was still going to cost me $1,400.00. I went and picked up the boat and took it else where. Hobb's Service Center, Tomahawk, Wisconsin..........Did everything I asked for up above for $350.00- said the Motor is running great and only needed minor carb adjustment and that the trailer hubs look awesome....need to do nothing with them.......Now this is customer service and satisfaction!!!! Kudos to Hobb's and much appreciation! Very sad that a local establishment (Don's) would piss away business like this..................... read more

Had a great experience with Dons Marine! This was the 5th boat we bought and the first new pontoon purchase. the Sales Team an Service team were outstanding. When they delivered the pontoon to us Brandon spent over an hour with us showing us how to use boat. Ben the Sales Manager was great to work with. He went out of his way to put together a great deal and help expedite delivery on our 2017 Bennington Pontoon. Would recommend Dons Marine to everyone. Awesome people to work with!!! Sending our friends their way to purchase a boat. You won't be disappointed!!!! read more

Don's Marine - Boat Dealers Near Me - Lodi, Wisconsin

Liars! Don't do business with them! I called about a trailer they had listed online and spoke with a salesman. I asked them if they had any room to work on the price. They told me $2100 would be the lowest. The trailer was listed as Stored indoors (looked well weathered) New Lighting (replaced what didn't work) New wheel bearings (admitted when I got there they were not done "yet") After driving 2.5 hours to get it, I got there and found a well weathered trailer with rusty bearing caps showing no signs of removal, and cut wires to the abandoned electric brakes (they told me it didn't have brakes) I asked them to discount the price to compensate for just the parts needed to do the bearings and they told me they couldn't do it. False advertising Lying Rude Good luck with them!!! read more

Can not say enough about the friendly and thorough service at Don's Marine. Even did things at no charge. Hats off to Derick!

Just remember there are two sides to every story and only hearing from one side typically means you didn't get the whole story. In addition they have been open for seventy eight years so obviously they are doing something correctly.... read more

I had my Seadoo Speedster winterized this past week at Don's Marine. I called for a quote and then brought the boat in for the weekend to be winterized. When I got there to pick it up the price was more than double what was quoted over the phone. I was not happy to say the least. The explaination was they thought it was a single engine when in reality it was a dual engine boat. My mistake was thinking they knew that the boat was a dual engine. So I was resigned to pay the price and except my mistake, when Derek and Chase approached me and said that the mistake was on their part also for not knowing more about the boat and asking more questions. I explained that the previous marina I had gone to for many years, (since retired) charged me a lower price. They agreed on that price for the winterization. This was beyond what I expected and was very much appreciated. Because of their understanding in this matter, I would not hestitate to continue to business with Don's Marine in the future. read more

Couldn't be more disappointed with the level of service and quality that these guys bring to the table. We stored our pontoon boat here for a few years straight until last year. The reason we decided not to continue working with them is for two reasons. 1. The boat was covered in mold when we got it back, it was clear that they put it away wet which for a "full service" winterization is unacceptable. 2. They didn't put oil in the motor when they put it back in the water, causing about $400 in repairs. They took ZERO responsibility for not putting oil and said it was our fault and they had properly put it in. We had the boat out for an hour and it was a two year old four stroke with very little usage. In addition to that they very much act like the only game in town. When you're working with them they come across professional enough but as soon as something goes wrong they take no responsibility whatsoever. Clearly doing business the right way doesn't mean anything to these guys. After this experience I started talking to some other people on the lake and this is commonplace. Reputation is everything to me, the $ is everything to Don's Marine. There are better, more reasonably priced options for Lake Wisconsin. read more

This has got to be the worst repair experience I have ever had. Took my boat in cause the trim tilt was not working. After 9 days they called and said it would need a new trim motor $1000. 5 days later I picked up the boat cause they had failed to return my calls. Looked up the part online and ordered for $100 figured I'd do it myself. The new part arrived and I began to look at the old one only to find out the wire harness was unplugged. Really 2 weeks you had my boat and told me the repair would be $1000 only to find out they never even looked at it. Con artists at their finest ladies and gentlemen. read more

Derick and Chase are great. I have learned a valuable lesson. It is cheaper to maintain a boat than it is to repair a boat. The work is done right the first time on time. read more