Hey guys, been awhile since I posted. I have a boat im interested in. this thing is in mint condition., I mean showroom condition. not a single defect in the gelcoat, zero knicks or scratches. you can tell he was particular about his boat. its a 2003 Ranger 18'8 boat with a 2003 Yamaha hpdi vmax 200 hp on it. it has 350 hours on the motor with good compression and the guy selling say he has never had an issue out of it ever. regular maintenance has been performed on this motor as it should. I was wondering if this year model was a problem motor or if I should stay away from it. didn't know how many more hours I could expect from it before it goes. thanks for the quick reply.

it's hard to say. mine was a 02 and it always ran good till this year and it stalls and coughs now. the biggest factor to me would be if it's been running ethanol fuel. seem the ones that run non E have less trouble. guys on THT forum are crazy about the 200's on non E. if you get it and ever need parts, give me a call, i'm parting mine out.

I have a lot more than that on my 2005 200 HPDI

Runs great, just keep it maintained and change filters


Smooth move.. I need the arm attached to the trim switch. (not the collar steering rod)

Not sure if comparable, but I have an '04 150 vmax (carbed). It has been great in almost 4 years of ownership so far. Recently, I did the worst thing for an outboard that you can do --- let it sit for an extended period of time --- and had to clean the carbs, impeller, stats and poppet valve. Now it's like back to excellent running form. I was skeptical at switching from Mercury to Yamaha, but I have to say it's been fine. I think they are pretty reliable motors. As long as you keep them serviced, they should be fine. And of course, as a mechanic reminded me years ago, don't let them sit for too long because they are made to be run.