New 2020 Evinrude E-tec 90H.O.

[tonto]

I guess I really don’t understand all the sceptism. What is the difference between Etec and other discontinued motors? BRP is still in business and is currently hiring in there boat propulsion division. Selling parts is profitable income for companies.

[Bobby Winds]

Originally Posted by tonto

I guess I really don’t understand all the sceptism. What is the difference between Etec and other discontinued motors? BRP is still in business and is currently hiring in there boat propulsion division. Selling parts is profitable income for companies.

Originally Posted by tonto

I guess I really don’t understand all the sceptism. What is the difference between Etec and other discontinued motors? BRP is still in business and is currently hiring in there boat propulsion division. Selling parts is profitable income for companies.

In one word...resale. Regardless of verbal commitments or actual availability of parts, the death of a brand is simply too much to overcome to maintain an engines value. Let's also remember it is a 2s engine and in today's outboard market in the US, that's like owning a flip phone!

The reason this motor has failed is simple. They stayed on an old technology path too long. While they got a bit of extra mileage out of the 2s technology, they finally ran out of gas (and oil). It was clear to the world that 4s was the way to go. But no, BRP marketing folks won over and drove Evinrude right onto the ground.

Best to jump over to other mainstream brands now, rather than take a financial beating later.

[Mrxlh]

Bingo, ask any Fitch owner how expensive and available the parts for their motors are, the same will happen to the E Tec parts prices and availability. Dealer network will diminish pretty rapidly, and without new products and Factory support, problems that do arise (in the last 2-3 years build time) will largely go unresolved.

[Bobby Winds]

Originally Posted by Mrxlh

Bingo, ask any Fitch owner how expensive and available the parts for their motors are, the same will happen to the E Tec parts prices and availability. Dealer network will diminish pretty rapidly, and without new products and Factory support, problems that do arise (in the last 2-3 years build time) will largely go unresolved.

So Merc Opti Smokers are OK but a much better and refined E-TEC is not..... Haters are always gonna Hate.

[Mrxlh]

Bobby, Mercury doesn’t make a 2 smoke anymore....I have a Fitch in my driveway that the owner doesn’t want to buy a $900 fuel pump for if I can even find one. For the same year Mercury 2 stroke, I can still get complete power heads with warranty, let alone every other part on it......

[wh500special]

To the OP: Buy the motor you like. You’re presumably not outfitting your boat for the next owner, so if you like E-Tec’s and can find a deal you can live with on the Evinrude then buy it. You have to use the motor every time you go out so pick what you like.

Having owned the 60HO you already know the advantages of easy ownership. Unless something breaks on it, there is little to maintain in these things other than spark plugs and water pumps. As I get ready to tuck my four stroke in for the winter and have to screw with changing the oil and timing belt I can’t help but think evinrude was on to something.

No question about it though, the E-Tec is not going to be as popular for buyers of your boat someday when you decide to sell it. That will absolutely translate to lower resale value. But if you can make up the difference now in the price, who cares?

If you are truly concerned about resale, I think Mercury and Yamaha are really your only options. Tohatsu, Honda, and Suzuki are great but it looks like they are
Always cheaper on used boats than the merc and yammie.

You also know there were already fewer Evinrude dealers around and even fewer of those, it seemed, had competent service departments that actually understood how these sophisticated motors work. That’s not going to get better as we move into the future after BRP orphaned us.

If I was in your shoes and planned to keep the boat for a long time, I’d buy the motor I like best. That would probably be the E-Tec (but the price needs to be right). You’ll have to weigh whether you appreciate the minimal maintenance these things require versus the ease of finding dealer service and parts for competing engines.

If I planned to resell it maybe 5 years from now or less, I’d probably go with something other than the ‘rude just to make life easier on the sale end.

There are trade offs regardless of what path you take. You already know the E-Tec advantages. But you’ll definitely give up marketability.

Good luck.

Steve

[DW]

Anyone know where to get parts for a Rambler?

[Bobby Winds]

Originally Posted by DW

Anyone know where to get parts for a Rambler?

Rockauto.com

[muskyed]

Doesn't matter if parts would still be available, no dealer is going to invest the time and money into training for an Etec from now forward. You may get lucky in finding a trained mechanic in the future, but every year will get worse. In fact, as time goes on, dealers will gradually quit accepting Etecs for service, and once that happens, if their mechanics stay with them, that will be more and more qualified service people out of the pool. What you will have then is service people that just throw parts at it hoping sooner or later it works. Dont let anyone tell you resale doesn't matter, if so, I guess you plan on throwing the boat and motor in the trash can when you are done using it. Also if you want the real word on resale, talk to a dealer that isn't invested in Etech, or you could just look on the internet to see haw the resale is for the same boat, Ranger Etc, Ranger 4 stroke Mercury.