My first experience with Tom's was at least 8 years ago when we bought a brand new Honda 20hp for our small boat. Worked great, and I would take it back to them for my annual servicing. I didn't have any issues until we upgraded to a new bigger boat and took it in for servicing. This is where we started having issues with the servicing and lack of customer service. I understand that have limited space and can only take in a certain number of boats, which is why they have a waiting list. The problem is have is that they don't call you when there is an opening, you have to constantly call them. They also take in commercial boats over people that are waiting to take in their boats as well as putting your boat on hold if it is in the shop already. I guess regular recreational fishermens money is not as good as the commercial fishermen. This has happened on several occasions. More recent example i took my boat in for servicing and winterizing a month ago. I didn't get any call informing me of the status. This is for an entire month. So I called them on Monday and I'm told that they haven't even gotten to it yet because they were short handed, people were out either on vacation or sick, but they were able to work on the commercial boats. Wtf!? So now that my batteries are probably drained completely because it hasn't been on the trickle charger i might have to get new batteries again. Thanks Tom's. Now to talk about my servicing nightmare. A couple of seasons ago I took in my new boat to get serviced. Apparently I found out that they didn't tighten or put on the oil cap on my main motor. Last season when I went shrimping my friend asked me if that oil slick on the water was normal for my boat. I was like, umm no, but I had just gotten my boat serviced and this is the first time out since then. So, it is definitely not a normal thing on a new Honda 150 4 stroke outboard. We opened the cowling on the water because that oil slick was pretty bad. Oil was everywhere in the cowling all over the motor. Just a mess. Luckily we made it back to the launch with no major issues at that time. I called Tom's as soon as we got the boat out of the water. They asked if I could bring it in and they would decrease and clean it up. I thought after they cleaned it, all my problems would be over. We'll, the problems were just starting. It's now another season had just started. I paid good money for them to fix whatever issue they might have caused. I took the boat out again the start of Kind Salmon season. It seemed like everything was working OK. We only ran the main motor a short distance and ran the kicker motor the for the next several hours. However when I ran the main motor to shoot it across from Owen's beach to Dalco it started with the alarm beeping and the voltage spiking again as we just made it across. Very disappointed. I called them up the next day to see when I could bring it in. The guy said he would call me back later in the day. No call. So several hours later I decide to call before they close. No answer, so I left a message. No call back again today. I call again. Left another message. I believe at this point they should just replace my whole main motor. I'm going to write to the better business bureau and also talk to an attorney. This is ridiculous. They should be trying to get my boat in ASAP due to what I believe they caused all these on going issues. read more

Brought in a small outboard that had been in the boat house unused for 6+ years. Tom's did a complete check-out and got it running again. Job was done quickly for a very fair price. What really stood out though was the staff took a good deal of time and walked me thru everything they did and everything I needed to do and watch for to keep it healthy in the future. I learned more from Tom's than I did from the original dealer and more than what I had forgotten since originally reading the manual a decade ago. Outstanding customer care! read more

Nothing but good to say about this place. I just finished rebuilding the lower unit of my outboard, and got great advice and help over several trips into Toms for parts. Every time they were pleasant and super helpful, helping me through the process and getting the right parts for the motor. Their new store also has a good selection of general boat maintenance stuff available as well. Highly recommend! read more

I visited Tom's Outboard for the first time today. as a new boat owner I had lots of questions about products. I'm considering buying a new kicker motor there and the gentleman helping me with my questions was more than knowledgeable. the woman who priced the kicker and the young lady who rang me up were so friendly and helpful. From now on, Tom's Outboard is my new supplier of boating goods. read more

Totally disappointing. I like to give local businesses the opportunity for my business but this is one store that i will definitely avoid and send all my friends away from. The young guy was rude and totally lied about a to hat su engine they had in stock and sold it from under my feet,, crazy doing business this way. I will stay well clear in future which is a shame as they are in Olympia and are the tohatsu dealer. I guess I'll head up to Tacoma unfortunately... sorry guys but it would let me give you 0 zero stars which you deserve. Dan. read more

Repaired our boat. Used it once and it broke down. Not a big deal things happen but I called twice to get them to repair it and no one called back. Stated Tom Will call me back and completely ignored us. No call back read more

This is a well respected, old school shop. It's been a fixture in Olympia as long as I've been around. And that's a really long time. I know several guys that bring their motors here exclusively for years and I've never heard a bad word spoken about Tom's. That is until the 2 sour grapes reviews here on Yelp. Used to be Tom's dealt exclusively with OMC outbards and Volvo Penta. Now they no longer work on I/Os, but do work on Honda, Yamaha, & Tohatsu in addition to Johnson/Evinrude. As I understand it they'll work on Mercs too. So if you need work done on you OB this is the place. I just wish they'd still work on my Volvo Penta I/O. Dang it. read more

Toms is great! People are kind, knowledgeable and helpful. They are great at getting your boat back on the water. (Sold mine)

I recently bought a new out board from Tom's. This week it was due for break-in service. Both visits were very pleasant and I was treated very well. Yes, they are a very busy shop and I spent some time waiting. But, they were still willing to spend a significant amount of time with me answering my questions and discussing various options suitable to my particular circumstance. All staff I interacted with were very helpful and friendly. I imagine that they are so busy because people know they provide high quality service and don't mind waiting a few extra minutes. As another reviewer mentioned, this is an old school shop. They provide old school, personalized service. Just the type of place I prefer. I went there based on high recommendations from friends and I also highly recommend this great shop! read more

I have had outstanding service from Tom's over the years. They repeatedly serviced my old 1962 Johnson which I finally retired as a matter of respect after 50 years of good service. More recently, they resuscitated my 35 year old Johnson 4 hp after another shop had pronounced it unrepairable. read more

I have taken motors to Tom's before with no real issue, however, this time was quite different. As I was dropping my motor off, I heard a customer complaining that he was not notified that the work he wanted completed was going to cost $180 instead of the $100 he was quoted, Tom gave him some run down of how he was saving money, the customer said it was OK, but he really would have appreciated a call letting him know about the change in price. I dropped my motor off and told them it wasn't working and I would like them to check the compression and spark, and give me their opinion on the carb, I expected all this to take about half an hour, at least as far as charging me, although I don't think it would take any mechanic more than 15 minutes to do that. They said they would give me a call on Friday and let me know what was up. Come Friday, I get a call saying my motor is all fixed and I owe $150, I expressed my concern about the price, but being at work, I did not have time to discuss it. Today I went to Toms to talk to them about it, and explained that I did not want the carb rebuilt, nor had I asked them to do so. What ensued was a large amount of profanity about how I was trying to rip them off and that if they had known that they never would have taken it it, that he's here to make money "not deal with little B.S." . After a bit more profanity and explaining that this is what they do for a living and times are tough for everyone he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I really had no idea, since I never asked him to do this work, and wasn't expecting to pay for more than 1/2 an hour of what should have been easy money for him. He said, fine, that he would take all the new stuff out, put the old stuff back in and charge me for a half hour, and how did that sound? I told him it sounded perfect, he then walked about spitting out more profanity. At this point I half expect to get my motor back in about a month with more broken on it than when I dropped it off, at least that's the feeling I was left with when our "conversation" was over. I did not walk into this looking to rip anyone off, I just wanted an opinion about a $60 motor, and was expecting to pay about $40 for that opinion not $150 for unauthorized repairs. Needless to say, this ended up being a fairly bad experience and I will not be returning. I don't suggest working with anyone who treats their customers with such little respect over something that was clearly a misunderstanding, and instead of trying to figure out a way to work it out, so everyone is happy, just to go off the deep end and cost him self more money and time. However, if you do decide to go to Tom's I suggest you get EVERYTHING in writing and sign a written estimate. read more

Have been here a few times and have gotten real nice service. What i appreciated the most is that they offered advice on my motors to fix it myself and did not seem like they where money hungry. When i did have something fixed it was fairly priced. read more

Tom and crew were amazing in customer service and support. I had problems starting my 90hp Evinrude and bought the battery from Tom. After installing it still did not crank fast enough so I brought my 1957 Skagit express cruiser on the trailer to Tom. He checked and suggested a newer model of starter (not direct drive but geared drive starter motor) which he retrofitted. I dragged it to Swantown to launch and it still could not start. My wife called about the on-going problem while I was at work the following day. Tom actually came out to the house (close to Boston Harbor) checked and found I had the battery too far from motor, even though both were new. I had changed the battery location and screwed up the install. Tom told me I inadvertently "welded" the new starter from cranking with such voltage drop. While he installed a second brand new starter I moved the battery closer and it fired right up. Even though I insisted on paying he said no charge!?!!!!!!! Thank you Tom for such amazing service and generosity. read more

See all

I walk into this place and wasn't given the time of day I had to ask somebody to ask a question and they didn't seem very interested at all in helping me. I was here to look for a new motor for my boat. I figured with how much a motor costs they would really want to help me so they can make money. I commuted all the way from Tacoma because I heard this place was good. I Definitely wont come back here for sure! Sounds like the Tracker boat center at Bass Pro is where I will take my business. read more

Just got some phone help on a Suzuki outboard. The gentleman I spoke with was helpful and friendly. Didn't seem rushed at all. I work in a service environment and I know how easy it is to get burnt out on the same questions over and over. Greatest part was I think he got me pointed in the right direction. They will defiantly get my business in the future. Thanks guys! read more

Eddie & Bebo Great customer service! Great place for veterans! Tom helped us out tremendously a huge thanks goes out to him and his shop. I will definently recommend Toms Outboard to anyone with a boat I come across. Once again thanks TOM!! read more

Interesting that Michael L had to wait for service. All of my experiences have been just the opposite. Moments after i walk in the door, someone is offering assistance. Just one of the reasons I bought my kicker motor there. I also very much appreciate the mechanics' detailed explanations. Tip of the hat to Beau!! read more

What a great place. They fixed my boat. really great service. I feel confident that my outboard will cause me no trouble.

Jon your the man! These guys were over the top awesome to me, $1900 bucks (plus tax) for a 9.9hp Tohatsu outboard. While the motor was a great deal it was the customer service that sealed the deal! Everyone there was helpful and knowledgeable. What else can you ask for? read more

This place is terrible. It took ten months for them to start working on an engine I had brought in last spring and I had to keep calling and stopping in to get them to even start it. They did not call me once during the course of the entire ten months they had my engine. read more

Bent the prop in my inboard/outboard. Ordered a replacement at Tom's. The wrong one came in, but I don't think it was their fault. The spline for my boat prop comes in several varieties, and it is not apparent from just looking at the part number on the old prop. Anyway, they lent me a spare and quickly reordered the correct one. Tom also gave me a good price on a second one to use as a spare. I had my two new props in a couple days. I am a happy camper. read more

I've been in there about twenty times over a ten year period. Always for advice or parts. They have always been quick to come up with an answer or the desired parts. I have dealt with Tom or his wife and have always been treated with respect. read more