Yamaha F25 vs Mercury 25

[zachb34]

I'm looking to repower my new to me Carolina Skiff J14. Im not looking to start a brand war at all, but my main topic for debate here is the Yamaha is carbureted while the Mercury has EFI. Is the EFI a noticeable selling point really? For what it's worth, the last Mercury service center I dealt with warranty wise was great, despite their crappy online reviews. I may be able to get more factory warranty on the Mercury through a specific dealer but I'm not sure yet. Either way I'm purchasing a brand new motor although I haven't totally ruled out the new evinrude yet. 

[Further North]

It'll be interesting to see what others say...but I'll never own another carbureted outboard unless something really bad happens and it's all I can afford.

[fishnkamp]

For me I would rather have the Yamaha.  Their small engines run nice. I used to fish a lake that had a 20 hp max restriction. The most favored engines on the lake were Honda and Yamaha. 

[Junk Fisherman]

The Yamaha F series has a great track record for reliability.  I bet the Merc would be a fine motor but if I had to take my chances, I'd go with the Yamaha.  

[Catt]

The best 25 HP on the market right now is Honda

[zachb34]

29 minutes ago, Catt said:

The best 25 HP on the market right now is Honda

Any reason why? They don't seem too popular around here. Suzuki outsells them along with most of the major brands. I found a 2013 with all the gauges and controls for $2500 but no warranty on it. 

[Catt]

Suez uke, Tohatsu, & Mercury are made by Honda

I did all the research when I was looking for a 40 HP, I went with Tohatsu because we have no Honda dealership here.

Honda 25 has the largest displacement at 552 cc 33.7 cut. in.

3 cylinder 3 carburetors

3 water inlets

[00 mod]

I have the Merc 25 EFI on my boat.  Love it!  Have had zero problems out of it for 6 years now.  I would never go back to carb or non electric start!  EVER!

Jeff

[zachb34]

2 hours ago, 00 mod said:

I have the Merc 25 EFI on my boat.  Love it!  Have had zero problems out of it for 6 years now.  I would never go back to carb or non electric start!  EVER!

Jeff

Does the EFI start any easier? My carbureted 15 always had hard cold starts I'm supposed I even sold it when it took a good 7 pulls to cold start yesterday. What other advantages are there with EFI? 

[WIGuide]

EFI will be the easiest starting by far. Think of it this way....does your car ever not start on the first crank? The newer carbureted 4 strokes aren't bad starting either but the efi's pop off the easiest. Being that these engines are all going to be new, I don't think you can buy a bad one. 

[Catt]

8 minutes ago, WIGuide said:

EFI will be the easiest starting by far. Think of it this way....does your car ever not start on the first crank? The newer carbureted 4 strokes aren't bad starting either but the efi's pop off the easiest. Being that these engines are all going to be new, I don't think you can buy a bad one. 

Who offers the best service would be my pick!

[00 mod]

39 minutes ago, zachb34 said:

Does the EFI start any easier? My carbureted 15 always had hard cold starts I'm supposed I even sold it when it took a good 7 pulls to cold start yesterday. What other advantages are there with EFI? 

Never have a problem even fishing the river in the dead of winter. That is its biggest advantage. Also had a backup pull start(some don't so check around) in case you battery dies but I have never had to use it. Just push the button and go!!!

Jeff

[zachb34]

Well, I've talked to 4 dealers today 2 Yamaha and 2 Mercury and there doesn't seem to be much of a clear choice. Basically manual start on a Mercury with 5 years of warranty, out the door is right around $3,600 at the dealer I've been to before. $4,020 plus a battery gets me electric start with the 5 year warranty. Another dealer wants $3,825 plus tax and a battery for the same electric start motor without a prop. The only Yamaha dealer I felt comfortable with had a manual start with nitro assist tilt for $3,035, electric start for $3,400, and electric start and power tilt and trim for $4,104 but Yamaha is a standard 3 year warranty, not sure if I can add more or not. None of my choices seem strikingly obvious. Looks like it may just come down to EFI vs. carbureted, and I think the Yamahas look a little better lol. I don't know how much my boat would like the additional battery weight on the rear either. The motors both weigh in at about 176 pounds dry as it is. 

[00 mod]

Manufacturer aside, you will be most happy with efi and electric start!

Jeff

[DrMarlboro92]

Coming from my days as a technician, yamaha makes a good product. There's no way around that. Mercury makes a pretty good product aswell, even if I've had a few fail before it was really their time. The EFI is going to be the way to go both in efficiency, and ease of use, making mercury better. however if you want to know your motor will start tomorrow 10 years from now even if it takes a few pulls, the yamaha is the way to go. I'd say for me it's a 50/50 with a grain of rice slowly rolling across the scale to the mercury side. 

This is assuming a manual start yamaha and an electric start mercury. In this instance I would go mercury. But if Noth are electric the only thing you have going is EFI efficiency vs yamaha overall quality. That's a bit harder..

[zachb34]

Well, I made my decision and ordered the 25 Mercury with electric start. I thought I'd update this post for the strange chance that someone else in the future wants to compare these two motors. My main factors were, Mercury's 5 year extended warranty was only an extra $60 (no brainer), Mercury has a non declining warranty where Yamaha's seemed a little limited, Mercury offers EFI where Yamaha is only carbureted in this size. The gear ratios between the two motors differ, and from reviews and talking to F25 owners, the Yamaha tends to feel sluggish. Another thing I thought was important since I was looking for a tiller motor, and may use an extension in the future, is the Mercury can go from forward to neutral and reverse all by rotating the handle where Yamaha has a lever mounted at the base of the tiller handle. For what is worth, the general word is the Yamaha will out last the Mercury in the long run, but I'll probably upgrade to a new boat before my warranty is up anyway. Thanks for all the help you guys have given me and hopefully this helps someone else in the future.