and what they said sort of surprised me. They sell mercury, evinrude, Yamaha, and Suzuki engines. While looking at my next boat while I was getting some service done on my current boat (non-engine related BTW), I started talking engines with the sales guy.

What really surprised me was how hard they were pushing Suzuki engines. I was told that out of about 1100 sold in the past 5-6 years, they have had 13 warranty issues come up. They also told me that they really don't recommend the e-tec because of all the warrant issues they have had with them. I have an e-tec and love mine and was thinking of going up from a 40 to a 150 on my next boat. They told me that they have had problems with the e-tecs in the 60-115 HP range but haven't had many problems with anything over 115. Of course, the sales guy told me that they have only sold one 150 in the past 5 years. That really surprised me.

The sales guys were recommending suzuki first, yamaha's second. the mercury optimax was their first choice if you wished to stick with a 2 stroke. I was told that the optimax has hardly had any warranty problems in their experience. They did say to stay far away from the 4 stroke mercs though as they have many warranty issues with them.

Not trying to start a war or anything but what do you guys think? I know Suzuki makes smaller engines but I have been starting to see them pop up on boats from time to time. Are they as good as these guys are saying?

Not trying to start a war or anything but what do you guys think?
I think the dealer probably makes more money on Suzukis than Yamahas.

X2 on the Suzuki recommendation.
Many Suzuki's of all sizes in our areas, with next to 0 issues by any of the owners.
Also, if you look at the Suzuki's for the last few years, this manufacturer continues to be on the cutting edge of technology and manufacturing. They simply do a quality job in manufacturing a very well designed motor.

Good luck
REW

My guess is that the dealership in NOT in a saltwater area

My guess is that the dealership in NOT in a saltwater area

Nope, N WI.

They also told me that they really don't recommend the e-tec because of all the warrant issues they have had with them. I have an e-tec and love mine and was thinking of going up from a 40 to a 150 on my next boat. They told me that they have had problems with the e-tecs in the 60-115 HP range but haven't had many problems with anything over 115.



Very common. My local dealers tell me they make most of their money on Etec warranty work alone. They love them. It's their bread and butter.

Talked to three dealerships, yesterday. All sell Evinrude and competing brands. All were complementary toward other manufactures, but totally enthusiastic about the ETECs. All three have Evinrudes mounted on their personal boat(s).

His job is sales. He is paid commission. It is his job to lead you to the best product that will make both you and he happy. Just like anyone else, he has his own preferences, just like we all do here. You are smart for taking it all with a grain of salt....

Suzuki is fantastic. But it also says something if they have only sold a single 150hp E-tec.

As you have seen here and on the E-tec owners group, issues are very rare with the E-tec as they are with all of the outboard manufacturers. The biggest issues arise from owner neglect, stupidity, and poor dealer support.

The Suzuki is a fantastic outboard, but that salesman is also talking out his a$$ about the E-tec. Personally I would question his credibility....

pulls up chair

:popc1:

Im from Eagle River, which dealer was spreading this Non sense???? Was it the Rhinelander guy? I can clear any confusion and have NO dog in this fight.....Brannon 847-450-4011

It's all opinions.

Ours
His
Yours

However........it's your money. Do your own research and buy what you are comfortable with. Relying on someone else to spend your money isn't the way to go. I understand the point of your question. But you won't get a straight unbiased answer here either. :muahaha:

Wanna start an arguement on the internet? Post your opinion.....and wait.

It's all opinions.

Ours
His
Yours

However........it's your money. Do your own research and buy what you are comfortable with. Relying on someone else to spend your money isn't the way to go. I understand the point of your question. But you won't get a straight unbiased answer here either. :muahaha:

oh you cant say that...

here is a straight unbiased answer:

I dont know.

waiting for bell.

I agree, he probably has the highest margin, or the highest inventory of Suzuki motors. I had a dealer tell me that he sells more Honda's than any of the brands. He went on to say that he likes that, beacause he never see's the motor again. Mine spent 13 weeks in the 2 years that I owned it in his shop. They can all make a lemon!

and what they said sort of surprised me. They sell mercury, evinrude, Yamaha, and Suzuki engines. While looking at my next boat while I was getting some service done on my current boat (non-engine related BTW), I started talking engines with the sales guy.

What really surprised me was how hard they were pushing Suzuki engines. I was told that out of about 1100 sold in the past 5-6 years, they have had 13 warranty issues come up. They also told me that they really don't recommend the e-tec because of all the warrant issues they have had with them. I have an e-tec and love mine and was thinking of going up from a 40 to a 150 on my next boat. They told me that they have had problems with the e-tecs in the 60-115 HP range but haven't had many problems with anything over 115. Of course, the sales guy told me that they have only sold one 150 in the past 5 years. That really surprised me.

The sales guys were recommending suzuki first, yamaha's second. the mercury optimax was their first choice if you wished to stick with a 2 stroke. I was told that the optimax has hardly had any warranty problems in their experience. They did say to stay far away from the 4 stroke mercs though as they have many warranty issues with them.

Not trying to start a war or anything but what do you guys think? I know Suzuki makes smaller engines but I have been starting to see them pop up on boats from time to time. Are they as good as these guys are saying?
Colt I'm going to hang out on a limb here and take a guess....Wild River Sport in Trego? I bought an Alumacraft with a Zuki 90 from them two years ago. Was supposed to get a Yamaha but they were having trouble getting one. So...I ended up with the Zuki and got pretty much the same pitch...same numbers...and guess what. I was very very happy with that motor. Never once had any issue with it whatsover although I only put about 175 hours on it in 2 years. If I had to say something bad about it I would say that WOT noise is slightly more than an Opti. Up until WOT it's very quiet. Lots of guts too.
That aside I see 4 stroke Mercs all the time and will have a v-rod in a couple weeks. I don't hear any more bad things about them than any other brand. So whatever you get, break it in according to the manual. Perform the prescribed maintenance and treat it nice and unless you get a lemon, which happens with any brand, you'll be fine.

Very common. My local dealers tell me they make most of their money on Etec warranty work alone. They love them. It's their bread and butter.

Weird, my local dealer told me the same thing about every other brand of motor and Lund boats.
If your line of crap were true it would be the first time I ever heard a dealership of any kind being happy about warranty work. Warranty work means unhappy customers and generally doesn't pay enough for the time a tech has invested.
Matter of fact from what I was told a dealer doesn't actually get paid for warranty work, what they do get is a credit toward future parts orders.

If you want real opinions on outboards talk to marine techs and not salesman. After my 3rd trip in (less than a year old) I talked to the tech and he leveled with me on my motor. Etec was gone shortly there after and I bought a Zuki. Best motor I have ever owned. 2nd best was my Evinrude 4 stroke 50hp....made by Suzuki. I was always an Evinrude person until that etec.

Might even have secret kickbacks for every 10 they sell. New suzuki is fine motor while old ones not that great.

Weird, my local dealer told me the same thing about every other brand of motor and Lund boats.
If your line of crap were true it would be the first time I ever heard a dealership of any kind being happy about warranty work. Warranty work means unhappy customers and generally doesn't pay enough for the time a tech has invested.
Matter of fact from what I was told a dealer doesn't actually get paid for warranty work, what they do get is a credit toward future parts orders.

Good point Phowler!!! Whatever said dealer isn't selling is always junk I guess! I don't have a lot of faith in dealers talk about other manufacturers as being "junk" instead of telling me why their product is good. If you sell a good product, then sell that. Don't bad mouth everyone elses stuff.

When i bought my ranger the dealer told me basically the same thing about suzuki and i ended up with a 175 on the back. The only knock on suzuki is dealer support, but other than that i have been very very happy. The motor is fantastic. I was leary at the start to be honest but i would buy a suzuki again without hesitation. My last choice would be a 4S merc or Etec. I would go Yamaha, then Opti if they don't have suzuki. Oh and BTW, i talked to the service techs before my purchase. I am sure they didn't care what i bought but they all had great things to say about suzuki.

Another thing, i guess the coast gaurd up on lake superior has gone with suzuki outboards as well on their new rigs. I saw them at the dealer when i was there last year.

And she looks so **** cool too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I purchased a used 1992 Lund 1700 Pro-V in 1997. The boat was used by the owner for fishing 5-6 PWT events a yr. plus his 2 weekly trips to Oahe, S.D. The boat is a tiller w/ a 55hp Suzuki (1994), the outfit was used, but well taken care of. I still have the same rig today, and have had 'many' hrs of enjoyment out of it. 6 trips to Canada, 3 trips trips to L.O.W. , 3 trips to Winnie, 4 trips to Mille Lac, 3 trips to Charlevoix, Mi. & numerous weekend outings over the yr's to Minn.,Wisc.,& N.W. Iowa. I have absolutely done squat to this boat & motor; added new tires twice to the trailer. She may need re-carpeted this yr. but that is about it, still using the orig. 4 Lund seats that btw are is great shape. I try to take care of my stuff. But...all I can say is that Suzuki is a great motor...has never failed to start...and I'll tell ya...when you are out on Mille Lac, Winnie, LOW, and its hard to see the shore line, you surely appreciate a motor that doesn't fail. I for one would recommend and most diffidently purchase another Suzuki outboard motor when the time comes to upgrade.

Northern WI...Suzuki, Yamaha, Evinrude, and Merc dealer....you are surely talking about Hayward Power Sports.

My Suzuki 175/Ranger 1860 is from them.

Unfortunately, I was one of their 11 warranty issues that they've encountered in the past 5-6 yrs.

The Suzy's are good motors. At one time or another I have sold all brands of motors. We made the best margins on the Suzy's or the Honda's. Both good motors. With less competition, partially because of a much smaller dealer network we could make more money on those two brands and we did just that. We pushed them and made more money! Simple economics.

All five brands are now good motors. Etecs problems seem to be behind them. That has been and is my personal choice now. I am very satisfied with the 3 Etecs I have had.

We go to a resort that has renatal boats with 90 to 140 hp motors. They have Suzuki and Yamahas. Some of the boats have 2000+ hours. The dock attendants tells us they wouldnt have a Suzuki and the Yamahas are a better motor. They see down time on the fleet and know what is breaking down. The boats probably average 40 hours of use per week during prime summer time. It is not a nothern state so it has a longer season then MN.

I have an '09 DF140 Suzuki and love it. The boat I purchased came with the Suzuki as a last of the year combo deal. It is the second Suzuki that I have owned. The previous model was one of the first oil injected models from about 1984. It and my present motor are excellent.

Matter of fact from what I was told a dealer doesn't actually get paid for warranty work, what they do get is a credit toward future parts orders.

The last two trips to a dealer for warranty work cost me money. The dealers charge for labor was more than the manufacturers allowance and the difference came out of my pocket.

The last two trips to a dealer for warranty work cost me money. The dealers charge for labor was more than the manufacturers allowance and the difference came out of my pocket.

That surprises me !
Labor is not covered in warranty? Wow, I'd be on the phone real quick :sad:

Angler 53 - get on to the manufacturer - no way is an end user supposed to pay labour on warranty work.
The only case where this is acceptable is when the unit is out of warranty and the manufacturer makes a special arrangement to suppy the parts and you supply the labour.
That dealer's name should be spread far and wide for doing that

I didn't push it due to escalating labor prices in just about every trade at the time due to the higher cost of money (uh profits). They had it posted when I delivered the boat that their labor rates had increased. The service manager told me they were having to fight to cover their labor on warranty work. I guess I should have raised a stink about it, or gone somewhere else, but I was tired of fighting it. I haven't had any further issues that require dealer service that I can't do myself, so bump them all. When it comes time for new stuff, they'll have a different names on the side of it.
As for dealers, they are all bad that I've had the pleasure to deal with. I'm not naming names so I'll just say stay clear of the southeast corner of the champion state and all ranger dealers within a one hundred mile radius there of.
Maybe things have changed for the better now. I don't know. Hopefully, those that made it through the recent tough years have emerged better people, but somehow I doubt it. There's profit involved.

Two of my buddies have suzukis, one has a 2008 175 hp on a skeeter, 48mph and has not had one single problem. The other has a 2010 115 hp on an alumacraft, 41 mph and has not had one problem.
My brother and I both own 06 200 hp e-tecs and fish alot, like 100 days a year for him and probably 50-60 for me. Pull tubers and skiers alot on non-fishing days and have not had one problem, knock on wood.
Another buddy of mine has a 2006 115 hp e-tec, and does not take care of his stuff at all and has not had a problem, he fishes alot also. Hope this helps, I would not be scared of either brands, and I might go to a suzuki on my next boat, they fly pretty good for 4-strokes, im impressed.

While reading on pontoonforums.com a guy over there just had a new boat come in with the new mercury 150 4 stroke an it blew up during the sea trial something u may want to check out if your considering a new boat with that engine package.