I used to have 1997 Mercs - twin 200HP EFI.
When it came time to repower in 2005 - I shopped all the brands but figured to go back with Mercs.
Yamaha offered a full 5 year warranty while best Mercury would do was 2 years.
They did offer three more years but it was around $2,000.00 per engine.
Now most offer 5-6 year warranty.
The twin Yamahas were also about $3,500.00 lower when all was figured in.
I even showed the Merc dealer the paperwork - giving them a last look to match price / warranty but no dice.
Yamaha also worked hard with some major boat builders - putting up ad money for national magazines and cut some sweet deals. More boats sold - more Yamaha motors were sold as part of the package deal. Mercury still has a good following on freshwater scene but lost the salt water following they long held.
I remember some of the early Verados had gremlins - word leaks out and folks get gun shy when dropping over $10,000.00 on a new engine.
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