How Much Does A New Outboard Engine Cost?

While outboards are easy to service, readily available and popular on many sub-50’ vessels, they unfortunately have a lifespan that is about 10% of inboard engines. As you approach 1,000 hours, it’s a forgone conclusion that a buyer will have to replace it.

While labor costs vary by region, dealer, time to receive the engines and the likes, we put together a simple table so you can have a rough idea for what the engines will cost, comparing Mercury versus Yamaha.

While I personally am a much bigger fan of Yamaha, Mercury truly dominates the market. It is undeniable that they dominate the newer higher performance engines since Yamaha doesn’t produce anything north of 450 HP.

If you ask me what engines I hate the most, I’m telling you unequivecally it’s Mercury 450 Racing engines - they’ve been a nightmare for every client that has ever had them.

If you’re asking me how much hp does your dinghy need for your larger yacht, that’s a loaded question but 40 is the minimum.

Whatever you’re buying and for whatever reason you’re buying, I highly advise you find out what the good mechanics that support the area you’ll be doing your primary cruising and find out which engines they hate and why. Builders don’t always get the details right with their boats, but mechanics tend to shoot you straight, even though they’ll be the ones profiting off of your bad decion.