You are asking for an opinion as to how their durability will be long term. Of course, those of us who own them and plan on keeping them are hoping they will last. But nobody can predict. If you are looking for a track record of long term reliability, the Suzuki that you mentioned is a very good bet. At only 25-30 hours a year like you do, I would be willing to take a chance on the Mercury. If you buy it during spring promo, you can get 5 years of warranty, and, you can negotiate to upgrade to Platinum and extend it out another 3 years so a total of 8 years of warranty. Mine has been perfect for two seasons.