I liked Pontiacs as well and where are they now?
When we decided to refresh our OMC, we never considered selling and finding a Merc. I've done my own tune-ups since day one. Other than ball gears, impeller pump and a new transom boot, everything worked fine for all these years. Our refresh as costly as it, is still cheaper than getting a new boat and I love the 3.8. It's been totally reliable. Had it not been for a marina screwing up before winter, we would have just rebuilt that one but we found a younger 3.8 with low hours so we're going with that one. Also rebuilt the trim cylinders. Even had new rubber grommets made. Total bill, about $6,000. As I said cheaper than a new boat and this should do us for another 10-15 years. I would have been happy with a Merc if the boat came with one but it was an OMC and it's been awesome. Our replacement has about 600 hours on it. Rebuilt the carb, distributor, replaced the water and fuel pump, replaced the valve seals, welded a crack in one of the manifolds, new gaskets, paint. Will be awesome.