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boboncc
06-03-2013, 09:53 AM
I've changed direction on the boat I was originally getting to a 4.5m runabout with a 60hp 4 stroke.......there goes my original budget!!

For the boat I want, the local dealer only sells Mercury and I was wondering of what you thought of a 60hp Mercury 4 stroke, are they in general okay?

I can pretty much get the same boat at almost the same price from another dealer with a 60HP Yamaha 4 Stroke. I think I would prefer the Yamaha, but the trouble is the dealer is 2.5 hours away and I'd like to stay local for any follow up warrantee work etc.

Thanks
Bob

Noelm
06-03-2013, 10:07 AM
Merc motor is fine, it just needs to lose about 20KG, but it is every bit as good as any Yamaha, forget all the hype you will hear about Yamaha being the be all to end all.

Noelm
06-03-2013, 10:07 AM
I forgot to ask, what sort of boat is it?

boboncc
06-03-2013, 10:52 AM
Thanks Noelm for the reply. I don't think the 20kg is going to be a problem.

I was originally getting a Stacer 399Proline, I've done a lot of looking around and now I'm keen on a Quintrex 450 Escape. A big difference I know, but I came to the conclusion that the boss would be more comfortable with having more shelter and the choice of 4 stroke was due to fumes as she can get queezy. Even though this is going to be my toy, I would like that she would be happy to go on the occasional outing with me. (occasional!)

I have also considered a Stacer 449 Seaway with a 60hp Suzuki (slightly cheaper), but the 450 Escape has one more seat which makes it flexible for when I take family along.

Cheers!
Bob

Malcolm W
06-03-2013, 11:15 AM
They all look pretty much the same,
Mercury 112 kg 995cc
Yamaha 113 kg short leg 117 kg long leg 996cc
Suzuki 107 kg long leg 941cc

Merc and Yammie 4 cylinders and suzuki 3 cylinders.

Any of these would do the job.

Noelm
06-03-2013, 11:20 AM
yep, they do seem to measure up pretty well even.

patrol50
06-03-2013, 01:28 PM
gday bob a 60 or 50 hp merc is fine and 3 + 2 warranty certainly gives peace of mind although they appear to now be made in china nowdays as my recent purchased 60 hp 4s big foot says made in china on it - i do think homda, yamaha and suzuki 60 hp 4 s may have a slight edge over the mercs as they are all supposedly made in japan or maybe Taiwan or similar but the edge is very small if any really and price wise the mercs usually are a few hundred better - i have had 2 now and both have been fine so far - every manufacturer make a friday ob though and you just have to hope its not the one you get

the quin 450 escape is a pretty good boat bob and will do all you want i am sure - i do have a 2008 quintrex coastrunner 470 but i personnally would not buy a quintrex again - no big problems with mine but just dont like there qa and the finish very much ( floor is crap structural ply with marine carpet glued on it not marine or exterior ply as it should really be and has softened up in a few spots; the battery isolator was fitted about 150 mm away from the fuel filter etc and a lot of other minimisation of cost stuff in there also so i have had to alter quite few other things to get it more or less how i want it - but thats just me !

i am sure you will be pretty happy with your final choice if you go 450 escape and 60 4s merc
cheers

murf
06-03-2013, 02:46 PM
had a 2004 merc 60 4str and it nearly had 3000hrs on it when I sold it. I haven't checked of late but they were a Yamaha powerhead on the Merc. I recon that old merc was the best starting motor I have seen (been in a few boats hey folks haha) loved every bit about the old bigfoot motor getting 4km/lt 4.75m CC Bluefin the power trim motor was always the bugger that rusts up, one would hope they have fixed that by now though.

cheers Murf

boboncc
06-03-2013, 03:28 PM
Malcolm - Rob - Noel - Murf

Thanks guys for your input!

Cheers!
Bob

LittleSkipper
06-03-2013, 03:54 PM
gday bob a 60 or 50 hp merc is fine and 3 + 2 warranty certainly gives peace of mind although they appear to now be made in china nowdays as my recent purchased 60 hp 4s big foot says made in china on it - i do think homda, yamaha and suzuki 60 hp 4 s may have a slight edge over the mercs as they are all supposedly made in japan or maybe Taiwan or similar but the edge is very small if any really and price wise the mercs usually are a few hundred better - i have had 2 now and both have been fine so far - every manufacturer make a friday ob though and you just have to hope its not the one you get

the quin 450 escape is a pretty good boat bob and will do all you want i am sure - i do have a 2008 quintrex coastrunner 470 but i personnally would not buy a quintrex again - no big problems with mine but just dont like there qa and the finish very much ( floor is crap structural ply with marine carpet glued on it not marine or exterior ply as it should really be and has softened up in a few spots; the battery isolator was fitted about 150 mm away from the fuel filter etc and a lot of other minimisation of cost stuff in there also so i have had to alter quite few other things to get it more or less how i want it - but thats just me !

i am sure you will be pretty happy with your final choice if you go 450 escape and 60 4s merc
cheers

They would still have the same high level of quality control you'd get with the other major players.

What isn't MADE IN CHINA these days?

This is a list of Mercury's Manufacturing locations:

http://www.mercurymarine.com/about/plant-and-locations/

boboncc
06-03-2013, 05:18 PM
Excluding Japan, I'm a little bit weary of mechanical things made in Asia. I've had some experience as my two daughters bought cars (new) that were made elsewhere other than the original manufacturer's country, both were good brands but these cars were lemons. Dad had to come to the rescue.

Having said that, my Hilux was made in Thailand and it hasn't skipped a beat in the last 4 years.

stevemid
06-03-2013, 07:00 PM
I have heard the Merc's in your HP range are actually Yamaha's with merc legs. If you look at displacement, 996 vs 995 cc. Bore and stroke are identical.
Steve

murf
07-03-2013, 04:10 PM
Excluding Japan, I'm a little bit weary of mechanical things made in Asia. I've had some experience as my two daughters bought cars (new) that were made elsewhere other than the original manufacturer's country, both were good brands but these cars were lemons. Dad had to come to the rescue.

Having said that, my Hilux was made in Thailand and it hasn't skipped a beat in the last 4 years.

and my Hilux D4D was the biggest POS out and couldn't wait to get rid of it haha (had Hilux's since I was 17yo)

the electrics are the better Merc electrics I am led to believe but a Yam powerhead

cheers Murf

boboncc
07-03-2013, 07:17 PM
Thanks Murf

Noelm
08-03-2013, 07:07 AM
not 100% sure Yamaha and Mercury are still friends, I think the rebadging went on early in the piece, but not now, but then, I could be wrong.

ozscott
08-03-2013, 07:22 AM
I dont thnk 20kg is the issue as long as boat can handle it...in fact you would think the extra weight may mean extra strength but the made in China thing would worry me. They do make some good stuff for sure but there are just too many horro stories like a certain major brand of power boat that used to be Australian and Great Wall utes. For me it would have to be much cheaper than a Japanese or US made motor to have any attraction. My TCW.

Cheers

patrol50
08-03-2013, 07:59 AM
yes i must admit i was less than pleased when i saw the made in china sticker ( in very small writing ) on my new merc 60 hp 4 s big foot as i thought they were still made in usa or mexico or similar - but what to do as signed sealed paid for and already mounted on the boat before i saw it and the change over price for the new merc was just within my budget and was quite a few hundred dollars cheaper than the next best priced repower option of a yamaha 60 4s which was well over my budget and the suzuki 60 4 s change over price was just simply off the map dollar wise - so i shall see what happens over time with my china made 60 hp merc 4 s and will be very dilligent about maintaining the 3 + 2 years merc warranty but hopefully i got a good one !!!

not everything made in china is bad these days and some quite good gear is coming out of china but usually its been cheapened up in some way with usually plastic bits instead of more expensive metal items (and china metallurgy is not quite up to western standards yet as far as i can see) but manufacturers dont go to china to improve quality they go there to lessen their costs so its all about how good there QA system is - if ita a good QA system most of that manufacturers gear coming out is probably ok if not well its probably buyer beware !! - still merc do offer a 3 year standard + 2 year conditional bonus manufacturers warranty and they would not be doing that if they were expecting significant warranty issues

cheers rob

boboncc
08-03-2013, 10:21 AM
but manufacturers dont go to china to improve quality they go there to lessen their costs
cheers rob

Ain't that the truth. I would not buy a car made in China, so I will not buy a motor made in China.
Perhaps when they have had twenty more years experience I may change my mind, but then I'll be too old! ;D

Cheers!
Bob

patrol50
08-03-2013, 11:37 AM
Ain't that the truth. I would not buy a car made in China, so I will not buy a motor made in China.
Perhaps when they have had twenty more years experience I may change my mind, but then I'll be too old! ;D

Cheers!
Bob

well thats your call bob and cant really argue with that - as far as i am aware some of the merc ob have been built in china for a while now and not too many warranty issues around them at this stage otherwise they would be up in bright red flashing lights by now on this forum so they must be performing ok to date - - of course longeviety may be an issue in the future but it may not be either depends on mercs QA system in its china assembly factory and then how well they are looked after and serviced in use i guess and rest assured if mine does not perform to my expectation it will be up on here in bright red lights and mercury australia will be getting hammered by me but i have to say that the 5 year factory warranty is a bit reassuring for me as i am in for the long haul with my merc 60 hp 4s big foot now

so good luck with your choice and of course every manufacturer does have the odd friday built ob so try not to buy that one bob !!!
cheers rob

JB
08-03-2013, 03:21 PM
That 3+2 warrenty sucks i rekon, u have to jump through hoops to keep that + 2years part... at least honda and suzuki give you 5 years no iffs or buts..

patrol50
08-03-2013, 03:46 PM
That 3+2 warrenty sucks i rekon, u have to jump through hoops to keep that + 2years part... at least honda and suzuki give you 5 years no iffs or buts..

well i guess you wont buy a merc then and i assume you dont own one so thats your choice so no prob - and yes you have to get it serviced each year by a merc accredited dealer to get the extra 2 years - dont see that as any big deal really as that is what most of us do and would do any way to look after any new ob - and with the exception of garry or spaniard king who i think is only accredited for honda but who is really very good and can service virtually anything i am quite happy to get my obs serviced by an accredited merc dealer for the first 3 years to get the extra 2 years - so bit of a no brainer really and not a big deal for me -

Makita
08-03-2013, 05:17 PM
I've got a merc 115 4 stroke & I love it ! Quiet , great fuel economy , starts first time , I'm only new to boating & still finding my feet but so far so good with my merc

boboncc
08-03-2013, 05:46 PM
Rob ............. sorry no offence meant, I've just had a couple of bad experiences with cars not made in their original country of origin. I don't have a problem with the way they extend the warrantee.

Cheers!
Bob

patrol50
08-03-2013, 06:09 PM
Rob ............. sorry no offence meant, I've just had a couple of bad experiences with cars not made in their original country of origin. I don't have a problem with the way they extend the warrantee.

Cheers!
Bob

no worries bob and absolutely no offence taken at all and to be honest had the yamaha 60 hp 4 s heavy duty gearbox model been able to be fitted by a yam dealer in brisbane within my repower budget ( and i got a price from 3 yam outlets ) i would have bought it rather than the merc - but it wasnt and so its the merc 60 hp 4 s bigfoot for me

cheers mate - enjoy the moment when you order the new boat and which ever ob you choose
rob

Spaniard_King
08-03-2013, 06:51 PM
well i guess you wont buy a merc then and i assume you dont own one so thats your choice so no prob - and yes you have to get it serviced each year by a merc accredited dealer to get the extra 2 years - dont see that as any big deal really as that is what most of us do and would do any way to look after any new ob - and with the exception of garry or spaniard king who i think is only accredited for honda but who is really very good and can service virtually anything i am quite happy to get my obs serviced by an accredited merc dealer for the first 3 years to get the extra 2 years - so bit of a no brainer really and not a big deal for me -

JB has been converted. I changed his 60 HP merc efi 4 stroke over to a new Honda 60 4 stroke, so he is someone you can get good info on the performance and the difference between a 60 honda or Merc.

patrol50
08-03-2013, 09:00 PM
ahh garry once you retire its sadly the available budget that controls such decisions and you buy what you can afford at the time and hope for a good trouble free outcome - honda always beautifully engineered and top quality gear but just a bit outside my available budget

cheers rob

Spaniard_King
09-03-2013, 05:11 AM
Rob,

sometimes it's who you ask for something that can make all the difference :)

patrol50
09-03-2013, 09:10 AM
apologies garry i looked at the honda advertised retail price of $11K + for the 60 hp 4 s compared it to the merc price and sadly crossed it off the list - bad call
cheers mate