2 stroke e-tec or optimax

I want to buy a new 2 stroke in the 150hp range. Nearest dealer is Mercury in fact the 4 nearest are Mercury, any where from 10 to 125 miles away. The nearest E-Tec dealer is 275 miles away. Any opinions?

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

Even though I think Etecs are a great outboard they need a qualified tech if something goes wrong.

I've never owned an Opti but the next boat model I have my eye on used many were sold with the 150 Opti.

First thing I want to do is sell the Opti for a new 200 Verado (the boats max).

But for your situation, I would not drive 550 miles to get an outboard serviced (back and forth) and what if you find they did not solve your problem after you brought it home again

There will be posters that may chime in and say their Etec has never given them a problem, but if you surf other sites or search Google for Etech reviews they can have issue just like any other outboards.

When I bought my rig in 2007 I actually wanted a Yamaha, but since there were not as many Yamaha repair shops as there are Merc's . . . . I went with Merc!

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

Just used the "Find a Dealer" feature for the three biggest cities in my area. For a 25 mile radius the ratio in Oklahoma City is 10/1, Tulsa is 12/1, and Dallas is 24/0. E-TEC must be losing dealers.

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

This isn't too hard to figure out. Go to the Brunswick web site to see the boat brands that fall under the Brunswick Marine umbrella. Then since Brunswick also has Mercury Marine products, whose engines do you think are going onto all those boats as "packages". Certainly not E-tec. Next, except for Alumacraft and a few others, try to buy one of those boats with an E-tec motor. The dealer will probably laugh at you. Just in case you didn't count them, there are 37 brands under the Brunswick umbrella. Most people feel that whatever boat they buy they MUST take the motor that comes with it. It is your money, you don't have to put up with that. If the dealer will not sell you a boat with the engine you want -- walk away. There are brands that can be ordered with "No Pre-rigging" meaning that you get the boat with everything you would normally get if it had an engine, minus any "engine-specific" things like the control box, cables, engine and any engine-specific gauges (such as Mercury Smart-Craft or equivalent). You then buy the engine wherever you want. A few years back I wanted to repower a relatively new boat I owned. I went to three relatively large dealers in my area and none of them would sell me what they called a "loose engine" which is another term for "we don't stock engines". The reason is they don't want to get stuck with them from year to year. Which is also why some manufacturers are hiding the model year from you.

http://www.brunswick.com/brands/marine-boats/index.php

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

Silvertip said:

This isn't too hard to figure out. Go to the Brunswick web site to see the boat brands that fall under the Brunswick Marine umbrella. Then since Brunswick also has Mercury Marine products, whose engines do you think are going onto all those boats as "packages". Certainly not E-tec. Next, except for Alumacraft and a few others, try to buy one of those boats with an E-tec motor. The dealer will probably laugh at you. Just in case you didn't count them, there are 37 brands under the Brunswick umbrella. Most people feel that whatever boat they buy they MUST take the motor that comes with it. It is your money, you don't have to put up with that. If the dealer will not sell you a boat with the engine you want -- walk away. There are brands that can be ordered with "No Pre-rigging" meaning that you get the boat with everything you would normally get if it had an engine, minus any "engine-specific" things like the control box, cables, engine and any engine-specific gauges (such as Mercury Smart-Craft or equivalent). You then buy the engine wherever you want. A few years back I wanted to repower a relatively new boat I owned. I went to three relatively large dealers in my area and none of them would sell me what they called a "loose engine" which is another term for "we don't stock engines". The reason is they don't want to get stuck with them from year to year. Which is also why some manufacturers are hiding the model year from you.

http://www.brunswick.com/brands/marine-boats/index.php

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Would you buy an Etec if you had to drive 550 miles round trip to get it serviced if it had an issue?

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

If the price was right - you betcha. But then that's me! Look at it this way, would you buy something local that you really didn't want? The stuff we are really looking and want is not always two minutes from our front door. I once made a 550 mile trip to buy a motor I had not seen or hear run. Obviously did both at the sellers site and got prime merchandise. Tough to deal long distance but it can be done with patience and research. My pontoon was purchased locally but I did have deals going separately on boat only, motor only and trailer only and all combinations thereof. In that case the distances and difference in price on the complete rig did not justify the travel. But if one was looking for a trailer for example, I could have had one custom built to my specs for mucbh less than the factory Shorelander that sits under my toon. It's all about needs, wants, priorities, and ability to spend the time researching and dealing via phone, internet, mail, etc.

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

Silvertip said:

If the price was right - you betcha. But then that's me! Look at it this way, would you buy something local that you really didn't want? The stuff we are really looking and want is not always two minutes from our front door. I once made a 550 mile trip to buy a motor I had not seen or hear run. Obviously did both at the sellers site and got prime merchandise. Tough to deal long distance but it can be done with patience and research. My pontoon was purchased locally but I did have deals going separately on boat only, motor only and trailer only and all combinations thereof. In that case the distances and difference in price on the complete rig did not justify the travel. But if one was looking for a trailer for example, I could have had one custom built to my specs for mucbh less than the factory Shorelander that sits under my toon. It's all about needs, wants, priorities, and ability to spend the time researching and dealing via phone, internet, mail, etc.

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Ya, I feel ya. personally, I would travel across country to get my next boat as a great deal. But if I had no Etec dealers (but I do) in my area I would look for another deal.


The O/B is more important than the boat is in my opinion.

This poster is looking to buy "new". I can change my lower unit oil, plugs filters etc on my outboards, but if something goes wrong with an Etec I couldn't recommend owning one that far away from the service shop.

With the big bucks he's going to spend on a 150chp new, I'd opt for the opti now and then if an Etec dealer opens near him in the future he can trade up! Gives him something to look forward too!

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

a local mechanic at a dealer here (in business 20+years) told me the "smaller etecs were great but they had had some tough to solve problems with the "bigger ones"
they sell Yamaha and etec too

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

I thank you all for your comments. Optimax it will be. Thanks again.

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

I take it you based that decision on what amounts to a third party comment about E-tec problems? If so, I suggest you do a goodle/yahoo search on Optimax problems.

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

New ETECs require no scheduled dealer servicing for the first 3 years.

That means you only need to make that trip once to buy it and once again in 3 years. (unless of course a closer dealership opens in the meantime).

The optimax dealer may be closer and I guess that helps if you plan on having it serviced annually.

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

trendsetter240 said:

New ETECs require no scheduled dealer servicing for the first 3 years.

That means you only need to make that trip once to buy it and once again in 3 years. (unless of course a closer dealership opens in the meantime).

The optimax dealer may be closer and I guess that helps if you plan on having it serviced annually.

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It's not the maintenance that would be an issue being located so far away from the Etec dealer. It's the driving and down time if it needs repair service. Like any any piece of mechanical equipment, anything can breakdown!

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

how do the etecs avoid the recommended for years "annual water pump replacement"????

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

edwardh1 said:

how do the etecs avoid the recommended for years "annual water pump replacement"????

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Many companies recommend an annual water pump INSPECTION, not replacement.

Evinrude E-TEC pump is fine for 3 years or 300 hours, whichever comes first. If you run in shallow water and pickup sand, mud, shell, etc. then it should be changed more often. On high usage engines that may see 300 or more hours per month, they can go 600 hours on the impellers as long as they are not picking up sand and debris.

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

are the etec pumps like many other pumps in that the labor to "inspect" the pump is just about the same as the labor to replace the pump? I have never heard of inspection of a pump only, seems most places just replace them.

Again, whats different about the etec pump that allows this extra life? The marketing department's decision to change the maintenance schedule ???

Re: 2 stroke e-tec or optimax

No one pulls a pump, does an inspection and then puts the old one back in...Unless they have zero hours on it. Pump parts are relatively cheap and should be replaced at least every two years to avoid rot or X hours of operation.

X = 100-500 hours depending on type of use and/or your own individual OCD level.