Back to the main site

Yamaha v. Mercury 175 4 Stroke - Advice

Which engine do you prefer?

  • Yamaha

    Votes: 24 66.7%

  • Mercury

    Votes: 12 33.3%
  • Total voters
    36
M Jay Farr

M Jay Farr

Well-Known Member
Messages
176
Reaction score
267
Location
Smith Mountain Lake
All,
In the process of buying our first boat. Looking at a 2018 22SSRXP. What is your experience with Yamaha v. Mercury? From what I can gather Mercury might be the best choice, but looking for guidance/suggestions?

Not using for water sports, but still, like a boat that can get up and go. Options include the sports performance package.
 
Go Yamaha. The local marina dropped all other factory certifications besides Mercury because that is what's always coming in for repairs. He says Merc is paying for his shop. I'm sure there are a lot of people that will tell you they love theirs and have no trouble and I'm not trying other bash them but I'm leaning towards what the shop says.
 
M Jay Farr said:
Yes it does.
Click to expand...
So power steering is awesome and I think you'll really want it and won't be able to fully utilize sps and 175 without it. That said. If you go Yamaha with electric assist hydraulic i think it will Be covered for 10 yrs as part of Bennington's bow to stern. If you go merc and power steering is part of motor it will only be covered as part of the motor warranty. Just something by to consider. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Last edited:
Jb75 said:
So power steering is awesome and I think you'll really want it and won't be able to fully utilize sps and 175 without it. That said. If you go Yamaha with electric assist hydraulic i think it will Be covered for 10 yrs as part of Bennington's bow to stern. If you go merc and power steering is part of motor it will only be covered as part of the motor warranty. Just something by to consider. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

You have to go digital controls if you get the Mercury, but I am pretty certain power steering is separate from that. At least I believe it was when we ordered our 2017 last year. Either way, the power steering is part of the 10 year Bennington warranty, not bundled with the motor warranty.
 
Good to know Vikingstaff. Being a yammie guy i wasn't sure how that would be handled since it's part of the motor. And also forgot to mention to m jay farr I don't think you can go wrong either way. Modern outboards are really an engineering wonder.
 
The new Mercury 4 stroke's can be ordered with or without digital controls
 
Jb75 said:
And also forgot to mention to m jay farr I don't think you can go wrong either way. Modern outboards are really an engineering wonder.
Click to expand...

Ditto the comment above 100%! Perhaps base the decision on which of the two brands you can most easily, reliably and competently get serviced near your location. With either brand you will be thrilled.

As for Merc’s reliability as referenced in the post above, I am highly skeptical of the “local shop”. Our largest local service dealer (lots of volume in sales, service, storage, etc...) says they focus on Merc’s for the opposite reason - more reliable, less repairs, and thus happier customers. And of course they may be biased due to market area, etc too.

As for the “local marina shop”, do they deal with a lot of old Merc’s due to location and clientele? Is it an area that is Merc saturatied so the real reason is simply volume mixed with keeping certification and worker familiarity? Are they a bunch of bumpkins basing business on personal opinion? Internet research can dig into actual modern points of praise, issues, complaints, etc. Both brands are in fact top notch and reliable.

Here are a few links to articles that hit on different aspects (typically strengths) of the various outboards. Even if not specific to pontoon boating, each offers some take always:

https://www.fishtalkmag.com/blog/ya...boards-versus-mercury-verado-outboard-engines

https://www.sportfishingmag.com/selecting-best-outboard-motor

https://www.tradeboats.com.au/tradeaboat-reviews/engines

https://powerboating.com/pbcs-marine-power-review-2017/
 
Last edited:
the-little-B said:
Go Yamaha. The local marina dropped all other factory certifications besides Mercury because that is what's always coming in for repairs. He says Merc is paying for his shop. I'm sure there are a lot of people that will tell you they love theirs and have no trouble and I'm not trying other bash them but I'm leaning towards what the shop says.
Click to expand...
Yamaha and Mercury have partnered on engine manufacture for years. In previous years I have interchanged Yamaha and Mercury parts, usually using the Yamaha parts on a Mercury because Yamaha"s price was much cheaper.
 
I’d be very sceptical as well about “Mercury keeping the service department going”. I’ve heard the exact same thing but with just about every other manufacturer’s name thrown in there at different times. News travels lightning fast these days so if any manufacturer had that many issues they wouldn’t be in business very long. I don’t think you can make a wrong choice with those two.
 
Vikingstaff said:
Ditto the comment above 100%! Perhaps base the decision on which of the two brands you can most easily, reliably and competently get serviced near your location. With either brand you will be thrilled.

As for Merc’s reliability as referenced in the post above, I am highly skeptical of the “local shop”. Our largest local service dealer (lots of volume in sales, service, storage, etc...) says they focus on Merc’s for the opposite reason - more reliable, less repairs, and thus happier customers. And of course they may be biased due to market area, etc too.

As for the “local marina shop”, do they deal with a lot of old Merc’s due to location and clientele? Is it an area that is Merc saturatied so the real reason is simply volume mixed with keeping certification and worker familiarity? Are they a bunch of bumpkins basing business on personal opinion? Internet research can dig into actual modern points of praise, issues, complaints, etc. Both brands are in fact top notch and reliable.

Here are a few links to articles that hit on different aspects (typically strengths) of the various outboards. Even if not specific to pontoon boating, each offers some take always:

https://www.fishtalkmag.com/blog/ya...boards-versus-mercury-verado-outboard-engines

https://www.sportfishingmag.com/selecting-best-outboard-motor

https://www.tradeboats.com.au/tradeaboat-reviews/engines

https://powerboating.com/pbcs-marine-power-review-2017/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the additional info, more questions, more info :)
 
Mercury is a good engine. Yamaha is a better one. Suzuki is a good engine. Yamaha is a better one. Evinrude is a good engine. Yamaha is a better one. Honda is a good engine. I believe Yamaha is better, if not better they're certainly more connected to the market, more prolific and current.

I'm wondering why it is you have a choice. Is it on the very same boat? Is it a boat you're ordering or one on the ground already? These are usually pre-rigged for one brand or the other with all of that brands' gauges, harnesses, throttle and "plumbing." If it's already on the dealer's lot pre-rigged from the factory, I'd probably stick to the brand it came pre-rigged for unless they can assure you they're changing ALL of that stuff.
 
The choice comes with purchasing a new boat and ordering it for 2019 as this will be a custom build I have the option. This is a retirement gift to me :). I doubt that I will ever buy another boat so I am willing to eat the cost of depreciation. After speaking with a number of other owners I was not too interested in purchasing a used boat. The Bennington 10 year warranty is part of this decision. I have not heard anything negative about the Yamaha, but my dealer handles both, so figured I needed to do my homework. BTW: the stock engine for them is the Yamaha.
 
M Jay Farr said:
The choice comes with purchasing a new boat and ordering it for 2019 as this will be a custom build I have the option. This is a retirement gift to me :). I doubt that I will ever buy another boat so I am willing to eat the cost of depreciation. After speaking with a number of other owners I was not too interested in purchasing a used boat. The Bennington 10 year warranty is part of this decision. I have not heard anything negative about the Yamaha, but my dealer handles both, so figured I needed to do my homework. BTW: the stock engine for them is the Yamaha.
Click to expand...

Don't know your timeline but may want to hold off on the order for a few months. My dealer said the 19 r series is really slick.
 
Thanks, not planning on placing the order until this fall, so I will have to keep an eye out. I am spending the summer learning as much as I can.
 
Like I said in my post , I wasn't attempting to bash anyone's choice in engines and you can be skeptical of the "local shop" I referred to but he has been there for 30 years and knows his stuff. And myself , I may be new to pontoons as of a couple of years ago but have been boating for almost 40 years myself and am far from a novice. I've had several Johnson's , Evenrude , some off brand engines , and even a Merc once upon a time.

Take advice or leave it. Either way you get exactly what you paid for said advice. I'm just passing along some of what I've been told and I also have several first hand experiences with Merc either by me personally or close friends and my opinion remains between the Merc or a Yamaha...buy a Yamaha.
 
I agree. Whichever is easier to service in your area and whatever dealer that your the most comfortable taking it to is what I’d go with. To me, Merc, Yamaha, and Suzuki is like Chev, Ford, and Dodge. All good and comes down to personal preference and quality of dealer that’s close to you. I didn’t include Evinrude because it’s not a 4 stroke (for better or worse).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top