Im currently looking at used boats, as this would be my first outboard I'm curious about how many hours on average a Yamaha, Mercury or Erude usually last for before having to be rebuit or have a power head replaced. Some of the boats im looking at have between 350 and 500+ hours. Probably a stupid question just want an idea of what the road looks like going forward.

depends on how they have been maintained if a boat has been left outside an beat up you can pretty well bet the motor is the same the newer motors have ecm s on them you can look at the hrs an how many codes it has on it. with the invent of side imaging its not unusual on a 500 hr motor to have 300 hrs under 2 thousand rpm. the best advice on buying a used boat is take it to the lake an run it that saves a lot of misery down the road.

Carb and EFI motors should easily last 4-6,000 hours with proper maintenance. Cheap oil and garbage gas will shorten the life some.

Average Texas use is about 80 hours a year, that's a club fishing guy who's on the water a few times a month.

Again hours don't really mean squat, I'd much rather have a motor with 1,000 hours of proper use and good fluids than one with 50 that's been sitting up for four years.

500 hours is nothing for a well maintained motor. Like Pat said 4k-6k is possible, at 80hrs a week you are looking at decades before you will wear it out.

You can only use your best instincts. I ask the owner questions that every boat owner should know. Like how long should I let it idle before I go full throttle? How often do you replace the water pump impeller? Spark plugs, fuel filter etc. Who does your maintence? Do you have logs of that maintence? See I figure I take good care of my rig and I keep records, receipts and have all the correct oils, grease and spare fuel filters in my garage. So if the guy I am buying from doesn't have some of that then I get worried.

Then I start looking at obvious condition issues. I look at the a skeg, prop condition, under the cowling, then I look at the Boat for obvious problems that most guys would fix, like broken hatches, gouges in the gel coat, rusted parts and so on. These things point to a guy that uses a rig and then puts it up never messes with it until it is time to go out again and so on. Rust on the trailer, torn carpet on the bunks the list goes on and on. Basically if you think, "Man I would of fixed that", then it is a red flag for me.

You can get a good idea if the guy takes care of his stuff by just looking at his own property, house, truck and yard. Does he keep it in the garage, does he cover it well outdoors.

I have bought a few used outboards nothing over 90hp and never been burnt using this method. So find a guy like me that loves his boat and is a little OCD and chances are you will be safe! Sry for the wall of text.

I bought a boat that had 475 hours on it, it was owned by a heart surgeon who was meticulous about the boat. I ran the boat and had it checked out by a shop prior to purchase. I now have 550 hours and haven't had a hiccup yet. I believe proper maintenance and care is the main key. WHATEVER you do, take the boat out on the water and run it.
Best of luck with your purchase.

My current motor on my scooter is a prime example of hours don't mean diddle.
Ten years old with MAYBE three hours on it. maybe. It was on a lifeboat on a 110' big yacht. They used it, tilted the motor up and broke the lower unit when it got cold. Traded it in on a new four stroke. I didn't need the lower unit, I've got a jet pump to put on it. I have been around a lot of motors my whole life, nothing to say anything but it was really un used.

I've had to replace every single piece of the ignition system and ECU. They don't like not being stressed from time to time. So, lesson learned.

Hours of use are a poor indicator of outboard performance. A leakdown test will tell you all you need to know. I have a 2000 225EFI that has been modified and has thousands of hours and runs perfectly. Good fuel and oil makes a difference.

I probably have a couple thousand hours on my 2001 225 efi. And i dog the h*ll out of it.