Mercury extended coverage.....

BigKahuna

Well-Known Member
Messages
6,205
Reaction score
5,977
Location
North Carolina
This was our first year with our Mercury 150 outboard. Couldn't be happier with it's holeshot, quiet operation, and overall performance. Today Mercury sent me a Platinum extended service warranty offer for when my original warranty expires in 2022. For an additional 5 yrs. of coverage Mercury charges $2527 and if we decide to purchase it we have to do so before the 1 year anniversary of when we bought the boat which is in December. What do you guys think of the price which comes out to about $505 a year and has anybody taken the extra coverage past the original warranty?!?
 
I bought a new boat this year with a Mercury 200. Dealer offered the extended warranty, I didn’t get it but seem to remember it was quite a bite more than your amount. Did this offer come to you unsolicited from Mercury? Just wondering if I should be on the lookout for a similar offer.
 
In 2014 I had a 150 Merc on my R .Platinum warranty extension for 7 years total was about $700 complete .
 
Put the money in the bank .... law of averages ... you won’t need it.
 
Both Merc and Yamaha 150’s are arguably some of the most reliable motors out there, so having one grenade on you is highly unlikely. That being said, I tend to be an ELW guy since I tend to be tougher on my toys and love that extra peace of mind.

But for $2,500, no way. Agree with Semperfi - put that $$ in Amazon stock and you’ll come out ahead 99 times out of 100. If you can get it cheaper it may be worth it.

A lot of recommendations over at THT to call David Wade Marine to get a quote for much cheaper. I know with many car OEMs you can buy ELWs from any dealer in the US and the pricing can be dramatically different - I bought a 2 year extended CPO for $1k less by shopping around.

Give it a shot and let us know results!

 
Last edited:
I bought a new boat this year with a Mercury 200. Dealer offered the extended warranty, I didn’t get it but seem to remember it was quite a bite more than your amount. Did this offer come to you unsolicited from Mercury? Just wondering if I should be on the lookout for a similar offer.
Yes Joe this was unsolicited direct from Mercury. There are other options on the letter. You can also choose 1, 2, 3, and 4 yrs of additional coverage at various prices of course. The stipulation is that you purchase it before your one year of ownership is up.
 
Yes agree w/ Semp and Potomacbassin....... Put the money away if something major does happen. We rarely get the extended warranty on anything we buy. We did get it one time on a 71 inch Samsung rear projection TV back in the day and nothing ever happened to that TV. We changed the bulb and the TV was brand new again! We've never had a new outboard engine before so I thought I'd run it past you guys.....
 
We got 3 years of the Platnum on our 200 Mercury when we bought our boat as an incentive, and I believe we added 2 more years ourselves at a supposedly discounted rate as part of that incentive. I don’t remember what we paid for it in 2017. Of course we have not needed any of it, and it runs out in 2022. We probably never will need it. I regret even having added the extra 2 years we paid for at the time.
 
There is a game to extended warranties as well, which probably requires a thorough evaluation of risk factors. I agree as others have noted that EW’s are a form of insurance, and as such rates are calculated to make money both on the initial sale of the EW but also on the time value of money (they get your money upfront and can invest it, your claims are paid out over time). But the actuaries calculating the rates only have aggregate historical loss data - this is where our individual use of the products really matters. Some considerations:

1) will we use our motor more hours per year than average

2) will the motor see harsher operating conditions than normal (imagine a motor on a flat lake vs. jumping waves in the ocean and constantly barking the prop)? Salt vs fresh water?

3) load on the motor and operating profile (lots of stops and starts? Easy mid-range cruising, frequent WOT blasts or low speed trolling?)

4) quality of fuel and maintenance

5) quality of person(s) performing the maintenance

I think these risk factors should be considered when evaluating an EW. Motors are more likely to fail and thus a warranty makes more sense if we tend to live in the upper ends of the bell curve, vs. ones that are babied. I generally believe these EW’s make very little sense for most, but for a select few it could get closer to break even or beyond.
 
We recently bought a new Lexus. They sent us through the "mandatory" sales pitch by the extended service contract administrator. She led us to believe we bought a car with very expensive service and repair work that would save us money if we bought an extended agreement up front. I told her we were convinced we bought the wrong car after talking to her. We told the Sales Manager about her pitch and that it was focused on lots of expensive service and repairs for what is designated as THE most reliable and least expensive vehicle to service annually in the world today. She was fired !! Moral of the story is don't fall for the extended service pitches. You will most always lose.
 
I think my Yamaha had a free extension to 5 years.
 
You can fix a lot with $2500!!!

I'd keep the money. I've been very happy with our Merc 150.
 
We recently bought a new Lexus. They sent us through the "mandatory" sales pitch by the extended service contract administrator. She led us to believe we bought a car with very expensive service and repair work that would save us money if we bought an extended agreement up front. I told her we were convinced we bought the wrong car after talking to her. We told the Sales Manager about her pitch and that it was focused on lots of expensive service and repairs for what is designated as THE most reliable and least expensive vehicle to service annually in the world today. She was fired !! Moral of the story is don't fall for the extended service pitches. You will most always lose.

Fired? Yikes! Perhaps a re-training would have been more appropriate. Good grief.
 
Back
Top