Yamaha v. Mercury 175 4 Stroke - Advice

[Rick from Rocky Mount]

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.

Go with what dealer recommends or is more comfortable working on. We had a choice of a Mercruiser IO or Volvo Penta IO and dealer pretty much sells nothing but the Volvo's due to reliability and dealer's familiarization with the Volvo. (Also, the new Volvo easy drain system was a big factor as well!)

 

[Rick from Rocky Mount]

Go with what dealer recommends or is more comfortable working on. We had a choice of a Mercruiser IO or Volvo Penta IO and dealer pretty much sells nothing but the Volvo's due to reliability and dealer's familiarization with the Volvo. (Also, the new Volvo easy drain system was a big factor as well!)

Volvo also had the better warranty as well. 5 years vs 3 years, I believe.

 

[kaydano]

+1. My decision was easy. There were no Yamaha dealers on our lake.

If you have both, you have a tough decision to make. I'm happy with Merc. It was about 3k less than the Yamaha 150 at the time.

 

[Alicedream]

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.

I want to state out front that I am skeptical of this view on mercury also. My dealer told me same thing. That mercs are always in for work and that he hardly ever has to do anything but yearly service on Yamaha. I wonder sometimes if certain dealers get better pricing on a brand that makes them say these things. In other words they make more profit when they sell a Yamaha. My Mercury 115 which I had for 10 years never had an issue just yearly service every year.

 

[Renegade34]

It makes me wonder as well. The first dealer that I dealt with strongly pushed Evinrude, almost to the point that irritated me. I don’t know why he’d care so much as I’m the one paying and they carried Yamaha and Merc. I’m sure it benefits him financially but I can’t prove it. The dealer where I bought from said Evinrude keeps the service department employed. He then recommended Yamaha over the Merc. When I told him that I’d have to pay duty on the Yamaha when I import it into Canada his tune changed a bit and Mercs were all of a sudden great engines too.
I’ve had several Mercs up here and have had really good luck with them. I would’ve gladly taken the Yamaha as well but would’ve had to pay an extra 6% at the border (plus the jet black Merc looks better with my blackout package They were almost the same price initially.
It’s funny as it seems like Merc is more popular in the north (definitely around here anyways) and Yamaha more in the south.

 

[TomS]

I want to state out front that I am skeptical of this view on mercury also. My dealer told me same thing. That mercs are always in for work and that he hardly ever has to do anything but yearly service on Yamaha. I wonder sometimes if certain dealers get better pricing on a brand that makes them say these things. In other words they make more profit when they sell a Yamaha. My Mercury 115 which I had for 10 years never had an issue just yearly service every year.

I could not agree more, and call BS on this sort of thing from a dealer. ALL of these newer big outboards are fantastic running engines, very reliable, despite being so feature rich. They also tend to leapfrog each other as new product introductions march forward. Our Merc Verado, over 4 years of ownership, was absolutely flawless throughout and a joy to own. I much preferred it to the competitive engines, including Yamaha, for my own reasons, but it's exactly that, a preference! It's great to have choices.

I find the newly announced Merc V6 and V8's very intriguing and would not hesitate to give one a go. I really don't think they would have dropped the legendary Optimax line (think bass boats everywhere), without thoroughly wringing these out from a reliability and service-ability standpoint. All good news for buyers in this market.

 

[adkboater]

Just like we disused in another thread, you can have an issue with any manufacture now a days. The dealers always throw shade where they think it helps, if some thing is that bad of a product they wouldn’t sell it anyway! I think you’re fine with either brand and buy what fits your budget and piece of mind.

 

[Jack M]

Your dealer should have a demo ,look at what he is using .

 

[GTango27]

Personally I like the Merc. Mainly for the noise factor. I came from a 2 stroke and was sick of having to yell over the motor. I test drove a 200hp Yamaha and a 200hp Merc. The Merc was much quieter, so I went with that based on the reliability of both motors.

 

[Bamaman]

I have been a proud Yamaha owner since 1985, and owned one of the first ones on our lake. Cumulative repairs in 33 years are only $241--excluding normal maintenance.
But going from a F150 and F200 hp is very expensive. Mercury outboards are also substantially less wholesale cost than Yamaha's at any horsepower level.
Today, I would be looking at the new generation Mercury V-6 in a 200 hp for your boat. They are already available in dealerships too.

 

[Michiman]

I
Today, I would be looking at the new generation Mercury V-6 in a 200 hp for your boat. They are already available in dealerships too.

Actually, I think the new Merc's are V8's.

 

[GTango27]

The new Verado Pro’s are all L6 models. 6-cyl supercharged. The 200-300hp are actually identical motors off the production line, but they are programmed at different hp. You can actually buy a chip and flash a 200hp to 317 for low cost.

 

[TomS]

The new Verado Pro’s are all L6 models. 6-cyl supercharged. The 200-300hp are actually identical motors off the production line, but they are programmed at different hp. You can actually buy a chip and flash a 200hp to 317 for low cost.

Both the Verado 250 and 300 are V8's now, as the only supercharged L6's left are the 350 and 400R. I'm sure those will be replaced in due time as well. Also, the 200 is a V6 now, not a supercharged model, so chipping would likely have less effect.

 

[Jack M]

And your decision was ?

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.

 

[Merc225]

I could not agree more, and call BS on this sort of thing from a dealer. ALL of these newer big outboards are fantastic running engines, very reliable, despite being so feature rich. They also tend to leapfrog each other as new product introductions march forward. Our Merc Verado, over 4 years of ownership, was absolutely flawless throughout and a joy to own. I much preferred it to the competitive engines, including Yamaha, for my own reasons, but it's exactly that, a preference! It's great to have choices.

I find the newly announced Merc V6 and V8's very intriguing and would not hesitate to give one a go. I really don't think they would have dropped the legendary Optimax line (think bass boats everywhere), without thoroughly wringing these out from a reliability and service-ability standpoint. All good news for buyers in this market.

We love the new 225 mercury four stroke. Plenty of power down low and mid to high 40 mph speed wot. Quiet smooth outboard.

 

[Merc225]

I have the New four stroke Mercury 225 hp. Im thrilled w the power and how smooth it runs.

 

[Vikingstaff]

Looking forward to hearing more about the new Mercury motors as more people get them.

 

[Merc225]

Ill let u know alot more im having a custom prop built specifically for this boat and 225. From Bret at BBlades props in Wisconsin.. so far w Enertia im real happy. But i believe i could lose some cavitation w 4 blade.

 

[DavidDrake]

I have the New four stroke Mercury 225 hp. Im thrilled w the power and how smooth it runs.

I am waiting on my new Bennington with the new Mercury 225. What prop are you running, how big is your boat and what type of top end are you seeing?