Thread: Help on Finding Yamaha

Originally Posted by TheGrandPoohBah

Nope.
What's up with your Mercury 115? I love mine, it's been tough as nails.
The new motors are as high as giraffe ears.

It has a cracked block. $5300 to get it rebuilt and installed. Trying to decide if more prudent to spend another 4 grand and get a new one with warranty. Old one is a 2007

Not all used motors have issues... I've got the perfect scenario for someone buying a used motor, but it's just at the wrong time. I bought a new to me 2016 boat a couple months ago and it has a 115 Yamaha SHO on it. It's a great motor. The boat is rated for a 150 and I would love to put one on it to get more top end speed. I've been kicking around selling mine and getting a 150 but I don't need to spend that money right now. I don't even have a clue what a 4 year old motor with less than 200 hours on it is worth.

Yep, I'll have to agree that not all used motors have issues. I know several people who buy and sell all kinds of things just on a whim.
So very much depends on who owned it and how it was treated.

To me it’s all about where the dealer is that will service the motor you buy. If your Merc mechanic has done you right, I would buy another Merc. When I moved back to FL I had a Mercury for the first time in my life. I went to three or four tackle and mechanic shops and asked who was the guy for the older Mercury’s. No hesitation from any of them, my guy was the first words out of their mouth. And they were right. I’m about to buy another Merc just so that I can stay with this guy. Other mechanics make me nervous. I tell my problem and they smile and get a glint in their eyes and my wallet gets hit hard. I take care of those who take care, not advantage, of me.

That said, I like the Suzuki motors and have heard lots of good things about them. I’ve heard some buzz about the paint not liking salt water but you wouldn’t deal with that anyway. If your dealer is within a comfortable distance to you I would think they’re a good option. Lots of them being run offshore here and if they don’t make the trip both ways, they aren’t on the back of those boats very long, so that speaks for itself.

I have had Mercury, Johnson, Evinrude and my last two have been Suzuki, one a 200 HP on a pontoon the other a 140HP on a center console 20' aluminum boat. I have had very few problems with any of them but the two Suzuki engines have a 6 year warranty. To me that was a big draw. If you think about it most people including myself are not able to fish more than 2 days a week for 2/3 of the year. A 6 year warranty has to be set up for at least some commercial use. Six years of possible commercial use would be equal to 2 lifetimes of fishing for me. Like I said I have had very few problems out of any of the manufacturers and have used them a lot but the 6 year warranty is a deal maker for me. Also I noticed that there were a large percentage of new Suzukis on the water now. My current boat engine is really smooth. I am getting old and I plan on this motor lasting for the remainder of my fishing time. I also have a lot more time to fish than when working.