Jgebhardt
07-23-2019, 04:53 PM
Mirage Boats and Mike Mullins
I hate to make a post like this because I am a huge fan of Mirage Boats but this needs to be put out there.
Back in mid March, I contacted Mike Mullins about building me a boat. We talked about details of the boat and how much I had to spend. I told him that I had $12,000 for just a hull because I already had a trailer. He said he would build the hull for $10,500. I DID NOT ASK HIM TO BUILD IT THAT CHEAP. He said he would put a layer of carbon Kevlar in the bottom (which he did) he also said he would vacuum infuse the bottom (which he did not). After he gave me the price, I asked about steering and the front seat. He asked if I was going to pay in cash and I said yes. He said since I was paying cash, he would include the front seat and steering for the price he quoted me. I said “deal, I’ll be there in the next few days to get this thing started”. I showed up on March 15 and gave him $9000 to start the boat. Before I left, I asked “am I looking at 4-6 weeks before I get the boat?”. He said “yes”. Fast forward two months and not only do I not have a boat, it hasn’t even been started and I got tons of excuses every week or two. Another month goes by and it’s finally started. After another month, he tells me it’s time to pick it up. I show up with my trailer and they are still working on it for another two hours after I got there. While I waited, Mike and I did paperwork and I paid him the rest of the money.
I was in a hurry to beat Orlando traffic on my way back from his shop with the boat, so I didn’t look it over real hard. When I got home, I looked it over and found a few blemishes in the gel coat, screws missing from the rub rail and mismatched screws in the rear cowling hinges. They only gel coated the areas that can easily be seen. Then I looked at the steering he gave me with the boat. It was a Pro Marine brand 1000 psi system that he paid $505 and total not suitable for high speed applications. I contacted Mike about the blemishes and the steering. He said they would fix the blemishes but played like he didn’t know about the steering. Then he said Pro Marine said it should be ok. SHOULD BE OK. Yeah I want my life depending on should be ok. I was supposed to be ok with using the steering, because he “threw it in”. We went back and forth about the steering for two days and he finally agreed to at least swap the help out for a 1500 psi helm.
While he had my boat in his shop to fix the blemishes, I asked him to fix a scratch on the bottom and get the rear seat upholstery done and I’d pay him for it. When it was in his shop, he saw that I commented on someone’s post, looking for a boat on High Performance Boating, that I would sell them my brand new, never seen the water Mirage for $16,000 fully rigged with brand new everything on a trailer. Mike called me pissed of because I was selling it for way more than I paid for it. Keep in mind I bought an empty hull with no trailer from him and I was selling a fully rigged boat with a trailer. Of course it would be more.
Fast forward to today. I contacted the vinyl shop to order the stickers for the boat that Mike didn’t put on it. They told me Mike told them not to sell stickers without his permission. I contact Mike ask him if I can buy some stickers. He said yes, for $325. Last time I bought them they were $35 a set. I asked why they were ten times as much and he said “there will be no more deals” here and then complained more about me trying to sell MY BOAT.
I hate to make a post like this because I am a huge fan of Mirage Boats but this needs to be put out there.
Back in mid March, I contacted Mike Mullins about building me a boat. We talked about details of the boat and how much I had to spend. I told him that I had $12,000 for just a hull because I already had a trailer. He said he would build the hull for $10,500. I DID NOT ASK HIM TO BUILD IT THAT CHEAP. He said he would put a layer of carbon Kevlar in the bottom (which he did) he also said he would vacuum infuse the bottom (which he did not). After he gave me the price, I asked about steering and the front seat. He asked if I was going to pay in cash and I said yes. He said since I was paying cash, he would include the front seat and steering for the price he quoted me. I said “deal, I’ll be there in the next few days to get this thing started”. I showed up on March 15 and gave him $9000 to start the boat. Before I left, I asked “am I looking at 4-6 weeks before I get the boat?”. He said “yes”. Fast forward two months and not only do I not have a boat, it hasn’t even been started and I got tons of excuses every week or two. Another month goes by and it’s finally started. After another month, he tells me it’s time to pick it up. I show up with my trailer and they are still working on it for another two hours after I got there. While I waited, Mike and I did paperwork and I paid him the rest of the money.
I was in a hurry to beat Orlando traffic on my way back from his shop with the boat, so I didn’t look it over real hard. When I got home, I looked it over and found a few blemishes in the gel coat, screws missing from the rub rail and mismatched screws in the rear cowling hinges. They only gel coated the areas that can easily be seen. Then I looked at the steering he gave me with the boat. It was a Pro Marine brand 1000 psi system that he paid $505 and total not suitable for high speed applications. I contacted Mike about the blemishes and the steering. He said they would fix the blemishes but played like he didn’t know about the steering. Then he said Pro Marine said it should be ok. SHOULD BE OK. Yeah I want my life depending on should be ok. I was supposed to be ok with using the steering, because he “threw it in”. We went back and forth about the steering for two days and he finally agreed to at least swap the help out for a 1500 psi helm.
While he had my boat in his shop to fix the blemishes, I asked him to fix a scratch on the bottom and get the rear seat upholstery done and I’d pay him for it. When it was in his shop, he saw that I commented on someone’s post, looking for a boat on High Performance Boating, that I would sell them my brand new, never seen the water Mirage for $16,000 fully rigged with brand new everything on a trailer. Mike called me pissed of because I was selling it for way more than I paid for it. Keep in mind I bought an empty hull with no trailer from him and I was selling a fully rigged boat with a trailer. Of course it would be more.
Fast forward to today. I contacted the vinyl shop to order the stickers for the boat that Mike didn’t put on it. They told me Mike told them not to sell stickers without his permission. I contact Mike ask him if I can buy some stickers. He said yes, for $325. Last time I bought them they were $35 a set. I asked why they were ten times as much and he said “there will be no more deals” here and then complained more about me trying to sell MY BOAT.