Ward's Marine - Kingston, Ontario

Michael D.

I recently purchased a 2025 Polaris Sportsman 450HO from Wards Marine, and the entire experience was excellent from start to finish. Greg and his team were knowledgeable, helpful, and took the time to walk me through all the features of the machine. Highly recommend Wards Marine if you're in the market for a new ATV, boat, etc... Great service, great staff, and a great product!

Craig T.

Great Service!
The workmanship is very good, and having a pickup and delivery service is very convenient.
Pricing is competitive, and having a 36 hour turn around time is great.
I haven't purchased anything from Ward's, but have had my Ranger serviced a number of times.
Based on my service experiences, I wouldn't hesitate to make my next recreational purchase at Ward's

Tyler L.

Not happy with what I got.. 30 dollar part came to 265.73..... I asked for my engine, 6hp outboard serviced.
Never cleaned carb and no gear oil.
Should have called me because I wouldn't have proceeded.
1 star

Ian D.

Horrible service. I would recommend any other marina in town.

They took my boat due to a continuous alarm, likely due to an oil delivery problem (later diagnosed by another marina). The technician disconnected the alarm (cut one of the leads) to remediate the issue (which was 3done at the marina, as it was brought in BECAUSE of an alarm!) When the boat and motor were returned, several engine connections were not re-attached (that is, the detonation sensor was not connected, brown-blue wire and the ground wires were not connected). They stated at that time, to my dismay, "This is how they return boats." I had never agreed to this service had I known this from the onset, I was also not on a tight budget to diagnose this motor.

The charge was $900, and I was told the problem was the detonation sensor, which was not available through Mercury. I purchased a used Sensor immediately, and when I received it 6 weeks later (ebay is slow) I discovered all of these challenges, including that they had removed the Trim-Tab, and it was nowhere to be found (they also argued that they had not removed the lower end, however, I had been invited into the shop by the tech to see the lower end on the bench.)

When I brought this to the attention of the Owner, he complained about the motor wiring (this was the first I had heard of this) and demanded to know why I had not informed them about the trim tab missing. Understandably, I tell them that I had not done any work on the motor as I was awaiting the detonation sensor from eBay. The owner said he would replace the trim tab that week as of September 1st, it's been three weeks, and I have not heard from the marina about the replacement trim tab.

The amount of 'gas-lighting' in this one transaction is truly unbelievable.

I recommend proceeding with caution and take photos of your engine before and immediately after any work by this shop to ensure your mutual protection.

James G.

Purchased a new boat from Wards marine and am very pleased with the process from start to finish. Douglas was great to deal with, went over everything the boat did and didn’t have, showed several
Models to compare. Picked out my boat and wanted many additions, options etc and was accommodated. Issues I did have were factory issues and out of the control of Wards. They were quick to address all of the issues, and it took a while to sort them out, but they got done. The techs, mechanics, did an awesome job installing my gear and getting any after sales issues cleared up. Excellent work actually in electrical install. In my opinion I would definitely use Wards again.

Keegan G.

Owner personally helped me after hours to fix my trailers lights. Legend. Also I got a beauty of a motor will definitely be back

Patty P.

I should start by saying I have purchased almost all of my lawn equipment from Ward Marine. I recently took my leaf blower in and inquired to see if they would be able to replace or fix the cord that had pulled away from the plug. The employee said they would see if that could be done. I telephoned to see if it was possible and was told it would cost $265 to do this. I made the decision to take it elsewhere for a price comparison. When I went in to pick it up they said there was a charge of $53.68 for the diagnosis of the problem. Really no diagnosis was needed anyone looking at it could see what the problem was, in fact, I didn't ask them to diagnose the problem, I asked them if they could fix what was obvious. The employee, was unsympathetic and unpleasant. In the end, they were going to charge me $318.68 to change a ragged power cord. They have lost at least one good customer.

Elaine P.

Brought my bowrider with outboard engine into them for service. They had the boat for almost the entire 2022 year. Gave it back to me three times without the initial problem fixed. Fleeced me for thousands of dollars and I got nothing for it in the end. I had half a mind to take them to small claims court. I wouldn't trust them to tie my shoes, find another Marina... Any other Marina.

If you look carefully at their Google reviews you will see that the reviews based on sales are five star. Meanwhile, reviews based on service are one star. So by all means buy a boat from them but don't expect them to service it reliably or at a Reasonable rate.

----------------------

In response to your reply Greg:
Plus why would you wait 2 years to give me a Google review ?

Answer: I was driving by your establishment today and I thought to myself, potential customers need to be warned. Admittedly I should have made the review immediately after the service. But at the time I was more concerned about getting my boat repaired. Thankfully the next place I tried were able to repair the engine.

Most customers would talk to me first to discuss their issues.

Answer: Greg I spoke to the service manager on multiple occasions... You had many opportunities to help me... You could have had some compassion and put my job to the front of the line given I had brought it in multiple times and was patient each and every time and did not rush you..... You could have helped me out with the billing given that your technicians were clearly improperly diagnosing the engine but you didn't ..... It was clear that your service technicians were ill-equipped to complete the repairs but you still insisted on charging me for each and every visit despite their failures...

My complete account:

Step one came in and described in painful detail what was going on with the engine.

(I later came to realize) Your counter help took jot notes of the problem and paraphrased what I was saying so the initial problem was completely lost in translation. You returned the engine having completed a bunch of repairs that did not address the initial complaint. $500 or dollars. I told you at the time that the work you completed had nothing to do with my initial complaint but you insisted that it would fix the problem so I trusted you and took the boat away.

Step two I returned the boat advising you that you hadn't addressed the initial complaint. After having the boat for months (because your technicians were incredibly busy I'm told, despite the fact that I had already waited months for the initial repair) I finally got a call saying that the technician had missed an electrical issue and that should solve the problem and to come in and pick up my boat a second time. $350 or so dollars (this time you actually water tested it I'm told).

Step three the initial complaint still isn't addressed. It was evident after 2 minutes in the water that it hadn't in fact been water tested as you described because the problem was still persistent.. I returned the boat a third time. This time you open up the engine and actually look at it closely and you tell me that it's a write-off and that it'll cost as much as a new engine to repair. $850 or dollars for the diagnosis and to replace a head gasket. I flat-out refused to pay the entirety of this amount and we ended up compromising to a lesser amount After arguing back and forth.

While I agree Greg there are normally two sides to every story. This is the honest and truthful one. I have no vested interest in your business. And yet I take the time to warn other people of my experiences.

If you truly wanted to make me into a happy customer you could have taken the time to address the problems in a professional and courteous manner. But you just wanted to get my money and get me out the door. So these reviews are the only means I have of expressing my distaste for your business practices.