Mercury Pro

[BIGSHOW]

This seems to be a pretty popular motor for the pros. Seems like most of the boats have them on the major tournaments. Is this because of sponsors? I'm looking to get a new boat and motor and really looking into whats my best option. I've jumped back and forth several times. e-tec to yamaha to verado? Hard choice

[blakstr1]

im sure sponsorships have something to do with it, but the track history of mercury is hard to beat...although i think all of the new motors are good.  it comes down to preference and price on a new rig.

[Frank]

Go ask your favorite mechanic what he thinks you should buy and why?  There seem to be more Mercury specialists out there than any of the others.

[Waterfoul]

The Pro XS motors you see on the pro's boats are in most cases factory matched to the boat.  For the weight and hp they are the fastest motors out there (I'm not trying to start any brand arguments here!) with a good reliablity track record.  But, the same can be said for the most case for Evinrude and Yamaha.  They are all good motors these days.

[Firefighter Jeff]

    I agree that most all motors are good now a days.  Any brand can have a few that just seem to act up.  I ran a 2002 Yamaha 150 Vmax on my last boat and was very happy with it.  My current boat has a 2006 Evinrude Etec on it.  I've had a few issues with the injectors on it, but they were all covered under warranty.
   A huge factor for me when I purchased my boats and what motor to go with depended on my local marina. Well, local to where we have our trailer on Hamlin Lake. I figured if something went wrong while on vacation they'd be close. Plus if I needed them to do some work for me, I'd just leave it there and pick it up the next trip. So they needed to be able to work on and warranty the motor that I chose. It has worked out well.  

[BIGSHOW]

Good point jeff. I guess if you buy what your dealer/mechanic works on then you don't have to go through hoops to get it fixed if there is a warranty issue. About speed, I heard the E-tec were under rated and have more horsepower than the rating. Just what I heard.

[Firefighter Jeff]

Sorry, I have no clue on that one.

[Crankinsmallies]

From my personal experience, Mercury has been the best motor for me.  Their warranty is no questions asked, if it breaks it gets fixed.  I have had 3 mercs, blew up two of them, granted one was 25 years old and the other just had a bad block to begin with, but when it came to getting the one with warranty fixed, it was simple bring it in get it fixed, no out of pocket money.  I am a strong believer in customer service and Mercury has it figured out.  How can you beat a five year warranty on a new motor, with great customer service?

[BIGSHOW]

I believe if you have a 5 yr warranty the bugs should be worked out and alot of some issues are the owners. The climate doesn't help here either. I have a mercury now (115 efi). It runs fine. I would just love to double the HP though.

[dartag]

The pros are probably getting a discount on the motors and service trailers at the events.