Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

I found a couple of Merc 2 strokes for an aluminum 18 foot fishing boat.

One is a 30 year old (late 1970s) 50 hp, 4 cylinder, with controls. It runs well, has good compression (125 or a little more on all 4 cylinders), and looks very clean, original, and not abused. It hasn't seen a lot of use for many years, so may be a low hours unit. Price - $1200 although I might be able to buy it for $1000.

The other one is a 1998 Merc 40 hp, also with controls. It runs well and dynos right on 40 hp. Price is $2200, not negotiable.

It seems likely that the older 50 (flywheel hp) and the newer 40 (prop hp) would be similar in power. Does that sound correct? Also, is one of these motors a better design than the other and less likely to give trouble? Do these prices sound about right for good running motors? Is the newer motor worth an extra $1000 or $1200? Which one would you buy? All opinions appreciated!

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

Correction - the motor will go on is a 16 foot Lund aluminum, S-16, side console model.

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

as long as the older one was lightly used and well taken care of its a deal. Why spend more than you have to for a good running motor?

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

I would lean toward the newer motor- but that's my 2c and opinion. I like HP quite a bit and love older motors but at this point in life I am sick of tinker toys...Just turn the key and go, man

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

I would go with the newer motor too. Simply because good older parts are getting harder and harder to find each day. But not impossible.

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

I vote for the newer motor too. Although, I have a 1985 25hp Merc on the back end of my 14' Lund. It's a great fishing rig. Last year, when I bought my 25 Merc, I bought it from an older gentleman that rarely used it in the last 10 years. I paid $250 !! It runs just like new. I love it.

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

while i usually agree newer is better, look how many posts there are on here about newer motors.

they seem to have just as many problems.

your call.

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

Merc25XD said:

.......I have a 1985 25hp Merc on the back end of my 14' Lund......

Click to expand...

I have a '85 boat motor too. At this point I guess I don't think of that as "old" although I guess also that I wouldn't want anything older

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

Thanks for your feedback. How about the pros and cons of the late '70s 50 hp model and the late '90s 40 hp model? Was either of these a particularly good or bad motor?

I know that Merc, like most manufacturers, has made great models and some rather bad ones. I bought a new 60 hp in 1986, for example, that Merc rebuilt after about ten hours. In my case, it still ran when they recalled it.

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

For me, no matter what the brand, it comes down to how often you want to work on the motor. I prefer Johnson/Evinrude, but there is nothing wrong with the Mercury you mention other than it's maybe a little more money than I would want to spend, but I am of Dutch lineage and cheap

It is going to be a long time before that 40 becomes a tinker toy. At this point the 70s motors are dated- they were great at the time, still good now, but I have never seen a 70's motor lately be as hands-off as the newer stuff. I am not old, but maybe to some extent my age is showing: I don't want to fool around with a tinker toy; I just want to turn the key and go!

The other thing is even though that old motor might be in good shape, what if someone like me had it? Maintained it really well but ran it hard and often and continuously? It could be just plain worn out and close to its demise.

I guess what it comes down to is what you personally can tolerate. I love old stuff, but parts availability and wrenching frequency on my primary boat and car are no longer tolerable. In my twenties and even into my thirties I was the patron saint of lost causes and resurrected a lot of stuff: back-door deals at car dealers, motorcycles that hadn't run in 15 years, VW Beetles, my 1964 Johnson 40. I never failed but my time is too precious today.

That is where I am coming from. No matter what you choose I hope you enjoy it to the max. Good luck!

Re: Which Merc would you buy? older 50 or newer 40?

I agree. While fixing things can be satisfying and fun when one has nothing better to do, working on an outboard is not something one wants to do when the boat won't start at the boat launch or out on the lake.

Either way, whether the motor is ten or thirty years old, it's not new. But I suppose the chances of not having trouble improve with the newer model.

I've had good luck with Mercury products, except for that 60 that Merc recalled after about 10 hours. We have a 4.3 litre Mercruiser on a Sea Ray. It's been flawless. And a little Merc 2.5 that we bought (made in Japan) a few years ago also works well. It leaked gas and gear oil for the first few months, and the dealer wasn't much help. But since we got that sorted out, it's been good.

The Lund is for those northern lakes that we don't want to take the Sea Ray into. It's the perfect boat to pull over rough gravel roads and into remote lakes to go after those hungry lake trout, pickerel, and northern pike.