Zimmerman Marine Reviews

I hired Zimmerman to identify the reason our boat was tripping dock side GFCI devices. I made this decision based on the recommendation of a respected marine consultant with a relationship with the company. The problem was not resolved, in fact miss identified. In conclusion, it appeared their objective was to expand billable hours first and resolve any problems after. The reply I received when questioning the charges was; we are expensive, but the very best. I can agree with the first statement only. I would not recommend doing business with them based on this experience.

User's recommendation: Do your research before hiring experts.

I have had a series of overcharging, botched work that created more problems and poor follow up. This is not about a single issue or personal matter. I gave this business several chances to redeem themselves and they continued to *** their work and severely over bill me. This business, incompetently spent 44 hours (over $4,000 of labor) replacing unnecessary parts only to find the problem with my generator was a bad fuel lift pump. This should have been $1000-**** at most. 1. failure to service my fuel / water separators even though Yanmar engine specs requires service every 100 hours. I expect a Yanmar dealer to follow the servicing guidelines just like I would expect Audi or BMW to do the same on my car. 2. Throttles not being properly tested in gear before completion requiring a tow. 3. Duplicate labor charges for the wrong carburetor even though I specifically told the tech it was a European model on my Dinghy. Charged me to install the wrong part, remove it and install the correct one. Refused to remove charge for wrong one. This business botched 5 of the 6 projects I had them do. The only formal credit they offered me was two hours for the throttle mistake and charging me for two shipping charges for the wrong carburetor. They never once really seemed to be apologetic for their numerous errors, but instead was totally dismissive.

When I first reached out to Zimmerman I was pleasantly surprised with their customer service and prompt follow up. Trisha M. in their main office was always a pleasure to deal with. Unfortunately one of the first few jobs they did wasn't done properly and the issue with my toilet was never fixed (even though they said everything was functioning properly) Steve Wallace promptly resolved the matter and apologized and I continued doing business with them as a result of how he handled the matter. After reaching out to Steve for a new job in January 2019 and agreeing to a fixed price in writing ($125.00 to install two gaskets in a small port window) he proceeded to charge me nearly $250.00 to take the old sealant out of the window and didn't even install the gaskets. He then quotes me over $500.00 to finish the job. If you do business with them, you will most likely need to know a heck of a-lot more than I do about boats so you can check behind their work and ensure their techs are doing what you paid them to do. Also - make sure you get everything in writing and ensure that the scope of work is clearly outlined in writing with the pricing noted. I refuse to do business with them after the stunt they pulled and highly recommend you avoid them unless you are prepared to check behind everything they do. Sad and unfortunate ending to what I thought was going to be a great new relationship with a new boat repair company in Charleston, SC.