Mercruiser VS Volvo

[vigil2448]

So i'm looking at some boats and curious to see what others view on the subject. I'm a little bit familiar with Mercruisers, but I know Volvo's seems to be a great brand. Talked to a boat dealer and he stated he would go with a volvo, he stated they seem to be more reliable.

I'm trying to weight that factors fars as cost of repairs, and difficulty of repairs. Not looking for anything super powerful. I'm looking towards a 4.3L-5.7L

Any input??

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Mercruiser VS Volvo

So i'm looking at some boats and curious to see what others view on the subject. I'm a little bit familiar with Mercruisers, but I know Volvo's seems to be a great brand. Talked to a boat dealer and he stated he would go with a volvo, he stated they seem to be more reliable.

I'm trying to weight that factors fars as cost of repairs, and difficulty of repairs. Not looking for anything super powerful. I'm looking towards a 4.3L-5.7L

Any input??

Howdy,


Volvo builds EXCELLENT "stuff".

Mercruiser does too.


If you want to be able to do all your own work, you should consider (new & used) parts availability.

If you want to scrounge parts, you might find used Mercruiser parts easier to obtain (go do a search on ebay....on any given day, you'll find around 2-3 times more Mercruiser parts than for Volvo (today it's 9600:5800 though ). .....

The engines are the same.

I am not going to get into chicken/egg scenarios, but just about ALL stern drives were designed by Mercury "Engineers" at one time or other, which probably means nothing now........... http://www.rbbi.com/folders/pat/isd.htm

Regardless, if you get a nice boat with a either Volvo or Merc, late 90's or newer, you'll probably be happy with either one.

If you don't know how to or what to check, pay a little money to a shop that you can trust to check it out for you.

The check checkout should include an on-lake test to ensure that the engine makes rated RPM with the boat typically loaded.


Cheers,


Rick

 

[Bondo]

Re: Mercruiser VS Volvo

I'm trying to weight that factors fars as cost of repairs, and difficulty of repairs. Not looking for anything super powerful. I'm looking towards a 4.3L-5.7L

Ayuh,... New boat, or used,..??

Are you turnin' the wrenches, 'n maintainin' it, or payin' labor,..??

 

[superbenk]

Re: Mercruiser VS Volvo

From everything I've read, Volvo seems a bit higher end but more expensive (both parts & labor if you're hiring someone). Seems kind of like the difference between a Chevy and a BMW (maybe that's to big of a contrast). I don't know, though, I have an old OMC

 

[vigil2448]

Re: Mercruiser VS Volvo

Ayuh,... New boat, or used,..??

Are you turnin' the wrenches, 'n maintainin' it, or payin' labor,..??

Looking to get used, and I would like to do the work myself to save money. Also I like the idea of working on my own stuff, just makes you appreciate it more!!

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Mercruiser VS Volvo

Looking to get used, and I would like to do the work myself to save money. Also I like the idea of working on my own stuff, just makes you appreciate it more!!

You might be happier with a Merc then.....