Alright guys it's time for a new boat. Mercury 250 proxs 4 stroke or Yamaha 250 SHO. Mercury 8 years or warranty. Yamaha 6 years of warranty. Boat will be kept for 5-8 years. My last 2 have been Mercury 250 proxs 2 strokes. My current one is on the second power head and 3rd lower unit. It is a 2012 model. I seem to be hearing more complaints about the Mercury lower units still than Yamaha. I would love to have a Suzuki but there is nobody around to work on it so these are the two options. Thoughts?

Mercury vs. Yamaha single choice

Mercury 250 proxs 4 stroke (36%, 23 Votes)

Yamaha 250 SHO 4 stroke (64%, 41 Votes)

Total Votes: 64 Voting on this poll ends: 01/07/24 05:00 PM

Your hard on a motor. Have a 2019 250 proxs. Never had any issues just service when needed. Never failed yet.

I assure you I'm not hard on a motor. My previous Mercury did not have any issues nor did my previous Yamaha hpdi. And I'm not bashing Mercury with this post. Just asking opinions. I know stuff happens and no products are perfect.

I don't dislike Mercury at all. Great motors. I by far prefer Yamaha though. They have proven themselves to me as extremely reliable.

+1. Always had Mercs with no real complaints. The SHO is legit.

I've had several. All have been great. Every Mercury I've had ended up in the shop a time or three. Never once with my Yamahas. I'm pretty good about routine maintenance etc.

I voted Mercury because that's all I know. The Mercs I've had have all been good to me.

Mercury leans more performance, Yamaha tilts more reilablility. Suzuki is kinda like Toyota, most reliable and usually you won't have to work on them but they are heavier and slower than both Merc and Yamaha.

No issues or complaints with my SHO but I think their both good motors. Local service and support would be my first consideration if purchasing a new rig.

Posted this recently but I go down to the Alabama coast and fish with a guide and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of boats down there at any given time. Probably 90% of the outboard driven ones running Yamahas and the rest divide the last 10% with Mercury probably coming in dead last. Honda and Suzuki a distant second to Yamaha. A lot of these folks down there pay there bills with their boats.
My guide runs Suzuki's and absolutely loves them. They put several hundred hours on them and if they go on a yellow fin tuna run they'll fill up the boat with fuel and have to idle back the last hew miles to keep from running out of gas. The boat has twin 300's and I figure at least a 100 gallon fuel tank and they make that run a lot when the tuna are in the area.

One big thing for me is Mercury has 8 yrs of warranty if purchased, and my last Yamaha I could only get 5yrs. But like many above I never had a single problem out of my Yamaha.

The mercury issues were well known and documented. Lower units and trim items especially

Mercury has the bass boat market and yamaha has the salt water market

Is this poll really going to sway your decision?

Yes possibly. I am leaning Yamaha but I will get 2 less years of warranty. I searched before making the post but I did not find what I wanted.