I’m not a big extended warranty guy, but never owned a new motor before so I don’t know how long these motors last. I don’t put a lot of hours on the 115 4 stoke when we are cuzin in the pontoon, and don’t pull any skiers/tubers either.
Any thoughts?
Merc-warranty-2.pdf
Merc-Warranty.pdf
They would not offer it if they were not making money off of it…
I have run Mercs since 1974. Mid sized at 85hp (2 stroke), 75hp (2 stroke) and 60hp (4 stroke). Only had two failures; the 85hp had the power pack fail after 20 years and the 60hp had a coil fail after 5 years. Everything else has been normal wear.
YMMV but I agree, the law of averages favors the guy selling the extended warranty.
I bought my a Sylvan Pro Select w 60 hp evinrude in 1996. I have never had a problem with the motor. I maintain it and keep both in my garage.
take the money you would pay for the extended warranty and put it in the bank.
you are most likely going to wear that motor out by NOT using it anymore than you do.
if and when something were to go wrong take the money you saved and pay for the repairs.
I went the route Iowa boy is recommending. Figured by the time something breaks would just pay out of pocket, and with my luck either nothing would break until after the warranty period, or it wouldn’t be covered by the warranty somehow.
a few thoughts:
– since you’re paying extra out of pocket for it, this is really more a kind of insurance than it is a true “warranty.”
– the Gold plan only exists as a comparison point for marketing the advantages of the Platinum plan, since the electrical components are so critical in these motors anymore. imho, it’s Platinum or nothing.
– Mercury knows their failure rates at every year of use and prices these plans to cover those costs and still be profitable, that’s as it should be. and yes, the likelihood of a major failure is low…but…if it happens to you, the cost could be quite high.
– it’s a calculated risk based on your ability to tolerate the financial impacts now (100% chance to occur, lower amount) or in the future (may or may not occur, may or may not be a higher amount). so, would you rather pay this insurance cost up front for the surety, or bet that nothing happens and pay more out of pocket down the line if it does? how long do you plan to own the motor?
i’m risk averse, so i recently chose to add the Platinum on mine. i know that most likely this will result in me giving money to Mercury unnecessarily, and i’m okay with that in exchange for the surety.
I was an early adapter of the newer style Merc 4S in 2014, 150HP. That was the only reason I ended up with an extended warranty. Even then, we agreed on a price, with my agreement was a request that the price include an extended warranty. They accepted.
After four seasons the only thing to go wrong was the diodes fried in the alternator last summer.
Had the alternator repaired by a local shop that only does starter and alternator rebuilds, with better diodes (higher wattage rating) where possible, removed and reinstalled myself. Total repair was $100 and two weekends off the water, including the Saturday that is fried.
This far into the design I’d be inclined to accept the factory warranty, or see if you can get the an extended warranty thrown into the purchase price. I wouldn’t add on after the fact.
I’d pass on the extension. Especially with how you use the motor.
I always look at the cost of the extended warranty vs the chances of having a repair that would more than cover that cost during the coverage period.
Coils, stators, seals, etc are common issues with even newer outboards, but they don’t cost $1500 to do.
Is the standard warranty for 3 years? My thinking would be that if a major issue hasn’t happened in 3 years, it’s not likely to happen in year 4. As others have said, it’s a calculated risk, but if the odds were way in the customer’s favor, they wouldn’t be offering the extended warranty at all.
You only need to look at how HARD they market these warranties from every possible angle to see that the profit margin in them is wildly high.
Grouse
You will be fine without the extended warranty. Save your money for bait and Coronas
As far as the profit margin, I can’t comment on motors or cars, however I had some experience a decade back while working for a company purchased by a locally headquartered national electronics retailer.
Since I was in pricing I could see the margins on their electronics warranties. They were in the 80% range, meaning for every dollar they took in, only 20 cents went to covering repairs. The rest was profit margin.
Take it with a grain of salt because I’ve been out of that industry for over a decade, and it is a completely different industry than we are talking here, but I personally think there is a high probability that the margins are similar across different industries and that they probably haven’t changed over time.
For a 115 hp I personally would not bother with extended warranty. On the other hand 250-350hp I have purchased extended protection , the big difference is repair cost.
the profit margin by Mercury is not a relevant consideration, whether it’s 1% or 80% doesn’t impact the decision to purchase, imho.
what actually matters is the cost of the insurance plan, the likelihood of needed repairs, and the anticipated cost of those repairs. which cost do you want to pay, or how much risk do you want to tolerate?
the profit margin by Mercury is not a relevant consideration, whether it’s 1% or 80% doesn’t impact the decision to purchase, imho.
It absolutely has everything to do with it. If Mercury was building crap quality motors there would be no margin on them selling extended warranty. If they build decent quality motors they make big money on the extended warranty. They are not going to sell something they don’t make a profit on.
I’m not a big extended warranty guy, but never owned a new motor before so I don’t know how long these motors last. I don’t put a lot of hours on the 115 4 stoke when we are cuzin in the pontoon, and don’t pull any skiers/tubers either.
Any thoughts?
I bent over and took one deep from Merc In regards to their product and subsequent warranty. They sucked on that experience. Me personally, I wouldn’t buy it. Then again I never ever buy the extra warranty or insurance on anything.
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