Yall educate me on them. Specifically the older ones...like 15-20yo mercs. Are they like everything else...some good, some bad...all bad?

I’ve got a 115 that’s 15 years old on my barge at the warrior. It’s spent way more time in the water than out. Has been abused to no end and still cranks and runs every time I turn the key over. It’s the only one I can speak for, but I’d buy another one in a heartbeat.

Well..in that time frame…as long as you stay under like 100hp..you either gitn a yamamerc or a tohatsu that says mercury on it…i “think”…..it been awhile since i researched that..i personally wouldnt touch a 4 stroke that mercury built as a standalone engine with a 10 ft pole….an thats just me bein in the offshore fishin engine funk….i like a japanese 4 stroke…particularly yamaha on anything big…but suzuki has come a long way and hondas are very reliable as well…they are just heavy and gutless. To be honest…im just leary of all mercurys old 2 strokes and their really new 4 strokes…the efi and carburated engines of the early to mid 2000’s that aint an optimax…i likem…i know plenty of folks who have had really good luck withem…an im ok with an optimax from around 06 and up…as long as its been took pretty good care of and its very cheap. This is my 2 cents…and..i aint looked at any of this in awhile..so my info may be skewed..

My son said the older merc 4 strokes weren't even good for paper weights. They've been running tohatsu's on their duck boats. We've had 3 boats with opti's the last 5 years and they ain't been bad. I'm looking at an older boat with a 02 merc on it. but also a couple boats with 150 efi's...I like them too. Just trying to gather as much info before making a decision.

Uhhh…them yamamercs werent bad…ive been around a few…but you talkin like nearly 20 years ago..i think they went to yamaha because the couldn’t build a reliable 4 stroke and bring it to market…im a big fan of tohatsu…i thik they build an excellent little motor…and all their big engines are hondas…ive only been on a couple boats with hondas and they lovet them vtecs…but a buncha them older 4 strokes had corrosion issues..whether they was in saltwater or a clearwater lake…but. Ive said it before..i was raised on omc and they committed suicide when they lanched the ficht engines…after that..ox66 yams and hpdi yams…lots of folks had issues with the hpdi yams cause they was a dozen small screens to keep changed iut on them things…but i had a 200 and we kept the screens replaced once or twice a year…and that thing was a stone cold fish killin machine…but i am a 4 stroke guy now…i like reliability and fuel economy over lightweight and power. Ive owned some mercury engines…but…i have never had great results with them and i just steer towards what i know and am comfortable with

Have a 2017 115 and haven't had one single issue. Just normal maintenance.

Just looked it up…mercury 4 strokes up to 60hp are nothing more than a tohatsu with mercury stickers….after that…there other 4strokes are cross engineered by tohatsu and mercury up to 115…but that is mainly just parts that go on the powerhead..its mostly mercury but tohhelped engineer them because they are both under the brunswick corps umbrella corp(no resident evil jokes please) sooo…yeh…everything above 150hp should be pure mercury now and has been for at least 15 years…lower than that…its a managery of engineering. Idk…but ive always heard good things about there little motors…and thats why…cause tohatsu builds a dang bomb proof little motor. I did not know this…but tohatsu is not allowed to engineer and sell engines in the US over 60hp and that is why anything sold here above that hp range is a re badged honda…so…anything tohatsu above 60hp is honda🤷🏻🇺🇸

A long as they're serviced regular, they are great motors. Some of the older ones are showing some problems due to lack of maintenance. Not changing the oil is causing bearings to go out. Carbon Climber is semi right. The first run of smaller ones were built by Yamaha. The 4 stroke Evinrudes were built by Suzuki. You really can't go wrong with any of the 4 strokes, except yamaha had some odd sizes. Like an 80 and a 100. Don't get those.

Funny enough…i never knew but bombardier got tohatsu to make little baby two stroke evinrudes. Them 4 stroke evinrudes and Johnsons are rare..or are to me…i seen one on the back of a carolina skiff in texas an before that..i never even knew they existed. I had know idea they was suzukis.

Running a 2021 150 xs. Never had a problem.

Had a 2006 115hp that I put who knows how many hours on. Had a weird fuel system with multiple fuel pump that was hard to diagnose even for the mechanic. Finally got it straightened out though, but by then I had bought another boat and sold that one. I imagine it’s still catching fish.

I went a diff route altogether.

Saw a 22 4 stroke 150’for sale yesterday for 12,500. Figures after I paid to have my 2 stroke repowered