rodfather Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 A Friend of mine has just purchased my old boat minus the motor he has found a 2004 secondhand Honda 4 stroke for $5000 with a three month guarantee from a reputable dealer or for another $1000 can buy a 2008 50hp Mariner with a 3 year guarantee. His question is will the Mariner be as quiet and fuel efficient as the Honda and which is the best buy and if he buys the Honda what should he look for that could potentially go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatty hunter626 Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 other people might hav different views on this but i have seen nothing but bad news with hondas....lots of corrosion issues and that....the mariner probably wont be as quiet or fuel efficent but thats what i would be sticking with after having an older model on my boat and working with them at work.......only my opinion will be intresting to see other peoples experiances.... cheers flatty hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelican Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Full service historys condition and hours on each motor? What boat is it going on as others here may actually know of a suitable motor? What are you going t use the boat for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodfather Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 The boat is an old fiberglass seeker runabout 4.8m long The Boat will be used for inshore work mainly rivers and sheltered estuarys to catch Herring squid etc. The motor that was on the boat was a 50 Honda which I transferred to my current Boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelican Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) Hi I'm a little shy on 2nd hand 4 strokes unless you can find out the complete history. Oil changes , cam belts and adjustments are critical and the life of the engine is severely affected if they are not done in a timely manner and by a factory mechanic. Sure there will be plenty of good ones out there but should you end up with the dog with a bad head or corrosion the repair won't be worth it. It is hard to tell good from a problem motor. 3 months isn't very long warranty and you won't get a lot of use in the 3 months to prove the motor is a good one but I understand why the dealers do it- perhaps this is a negtiation point? . Sort of paying a premium dealer price but not really getting a guarantee and sort of hard to get a indepentent inspection done. There must be some old stock ( last year dated) new motors or demos around with full warranty at not a lot more $ especially with the financial troubles on the horizon. To own a trouble free motor from new for the extra bucks and then do what you have done and move it to a new boat is a good option if it can be done on the budget. Sorry I don't know specifics good or bad on either motor. Edited October 2, 2008 by pelican Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Hi, if these were my choices I would go new every time. Yes the Mariner would use more fuel and be noiser, but not by that much. The 50HP Honda or any 4-Stroke for that matter on a 16 foot fibreglass will be working quiet hard to push it thru the water-it would need to cruise at around 5000RPM and at that RPM it would be making noise and drinking fuel so at the end of a days boating the fuel usage between the two will not be alot. As the guys have said, buying second hand really is a bit hit and miss and you never realy know how an engine has been maintained. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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