Mercury Outboard Serial # Decal - Void?

[Oblio]

I'm considering the purchase of a boat with a 2002 Merc. 115 2-stroke. I was checking out the manufacturer's decal placed on the mounting bracket which contains the year, serial number, model etc. when I noticed small "void" wording at various places across the decal.

I asked the seller who said he had no idea. He further stated that he's the original owner (I've verified) and he's never had any work done on the engine beyond a tune-up.

I currently own the identical engine (2004) and checked for similar wording on that sticker-nothing.

Anyone have any ideas why "void" may be printed on the decal?

[Fl_Richard]

It's not "printed" on the label. It's a tamper identifer. If the Model number/SN plate is scraped off it will read void.

Unfortunately mother nature can also make this label read void even if it's never been tampered with. If the paper trail is OK dont worry about it,

[Oblio]

Thanks for the advice. I called Mercury Marine this morning and they were perplexed by the condition. They did offer to run an engine warranty history for me based upon the S/N.

Thanks again.