Mail-order outboards?

[crashnburn63]

Well, this is sort of an engine question, but it's not specific to any one brand so I hope it is ok to post here.

I'm looking to get a new small 4 stroke in the 20-25HP range. Local selection of this size of outboard is pretty limited - most dealers don't even stock this size. And of course the pricing is therefore quite high.

Trolling the net, I see places like NewOutboards.com (for example) offering much lower prices than what I can obtain locally.

I'm a little concerned about the reliability of any of these outfits, and also question how easy it will be to obtain warranty service from a local dealer (and in the case of some brands, the nearest local dealer might be a 1 or 2 hour drive away).

Anyway, I'm just interested in hearing of any experiences folks have had, pro or con, with ordering an outboard and having it shipped to your door.

Thanks,

-dm

P.S. - is it just me, or is the iboats web server really slow lately?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Mail-order outboards?

What brand of outboard are they selling? If it's Tohatsu, those are good outboards. If it's one of the Chinese imports, run away as fast as you can.

You can tell if it's one of the Chinese ones if you don't recognize the name of the outboard. Everyone I've heard of who bought one considers them junk. That they pack spare parts with the outboard is a good indication.

Parts are non-existant for those outboards, and service is even harder to find.

 

[JoeCrow]

Re: Mail-order outboards?

Check the cost of shipping
I got a great price on my outboard
But the $256 it cost to ship pretty much negated most of the savings

 

[Campylobacter]

Re: Mail-order outboards?

Looks like that particular outfit sells Suzuki outboards; they are top quality units and have good warranties. Also looks like free shipping.

I don't know for sure, but I believe any authorized dealer or servicer will repair any motor regardless of where it was bought. They are paid either way (by you for non warranty issues, buy the manufacturer for issues covered by the warrant), so I don't see a problem.

BTW, I have not noticed a difference in the speed of the website.

 

[crashnburn63]

Re: Mail-order outboards?

The motors that I have seen for sale by mail-order so far are Nissan/Tohatsu and Suzuki. I've heard good things about Suzuki, but they don't make an engine in the 20HP size, and their 25 is really heavy, probably too heavy for my 14ft aluminum boat. Recommended engine size for the boat is 8 to 25. I've got a heavy Merc 9.9 bigfoot on it right now. It hasn't been the most reliable thing in the last month (2 breakdowns in 2 weekends) and leaves the boat slightly under-powered (planes fine with one adult, marginal with 2, 3 or more forget it).

I think the small Mercs are really made in the same factory as Nissan/Tohatsu anyway, but carry a higher price. I gather other folks are having good luck with the small Tohatsus?

Thanks,

-dm

 

[tommays]

Re: Mail-order outboards?

You have to be CAREFUL as the bigger outboards REQUIRE a dealer PDI to be covered under warranty , I cant say were the size cut is