Pulling the trigger on a Re-power

[HawgStalker]

So, after my last post about my opti I am taking the advice and moving on to a newer motor. Looking at one right now and curious what exactly I should be concerned about. Here is what I was told. 2016 Mercury Pro XS 225 with Torquemaster lower unit. 270 total hours on motor and still under factory warranty. What kind of questions should I be asking, what should I look for, and the big one what should it cost? Also, any of you have this model? Thoughts, concerns, good feedback, etc. Anything is helpful. Never bought just a motor before and never owned one this new. Got screwed on my last deal and want to avoid that again if I can. Thanks brothers.

[Savage]

Read the sticky on buying a used motor....it will answer all your questions.

[Trout]

Personally I wouldn't buy a used motor unless it was just too good of a deal to pass up or it had several years of warranty left. I know some motors run hundreds of hours with no issues but from my experience when you get to that 400 hour range it's just a matter of time before you burn a piston, had a 2010 burn at 420 hours and I re-powered to a new one and it burnt a piston at 248 hours and mercury replaced the power head (last year), friend burnt one at 400 hours on a motor just over 3 years old last year too.

I'm assuming this motor you're getting only has about a year of warranty left on it, so just make sure to weigh your options and think about what you're gonna do if it burns a piston after the warranty goes out because that'll likely cost several thousand dollars. That being said if I wasn't very far off from the price of a brand new one I would go that route to have the peace of mind with atleast 5 years warranty.

I like having the peace of mind of a warranty and if you buy one that's less than 3 years old you can add 3 more years of warranty to it for a total of 8 years. To me it just depends on what kind of deal you're getting on the used motor.

[EuropeanAM]

I've seen engines with less than 10 hours on them that I (personally) wouldn't give $10 for.

I've also seen engines well into the thousands of hours that would run perfectly- every day of the week (which I'd gladly pay a good price for).

As with anything used, I'd recommend:

-Obtain (and provide) Serial Number
-Compression Test (Better yet- a Leakdown Test)
-Computer Diagnostic Printouts (Run History & Freeze Frame "Fault" History)
-Gearcase Check (Fluid and Shift Quality, Propshaft Runout)
-Maintenance History (and current NEEDS) Review
-Of course- a Test run on the water to confirm proper operation.