Stellar service

On Wednesday, I went to St. Cloud to pick up the used boat that I bought from Miller Marine. The excitement was building as I cruised up Interstate 94. But, I had car trouble on the way. The heater was working intermittently and the temperature gauge was spiking upward toward the red zone.

I got to St. Cloud and immediately told Eric Graham, the sales rep who sold me the boat. Fortunately, the place is also a car sales and service center and he quickly took me back to talk with the mechanics. One of them heard me describe the symptoms, then said I was low on antifreeze. He promptly filled up the reservoir so I would have enough for the trip home. They didn't charge me a dime, even though the stuff costs nearly $20 a bottle.

The great service continued at the maintenance shop down the road where my boat was. They had installed a bow-mount trolling motor and new batteries, complete with wiring. They also recommended an on-board battery charger, which I bought and the mechanic installed on the spot.

They didn't charge me for any of this work, which came as a very pleasant surprise. Not only that, but when I first talked to Eric about the boat, he dropped the price $1,500 right off the bat. I didn't even have to haggle with him. Based on my research, the original price was fair, the reduced price was great. The boat is in excellent shape -- a 1997 Crestliner. I can't wait to use it this spring!