[Fr. Frank]

E-Tecs around here are getting mixed reviews, as well. But even those who have had problems are very happy with the warranty service they have received. Fast, without nickle-and-diming the customer. BRP has a good handle on that. But E-Tecs DO fail. I have a grand total of 5 friends who own E-Tec motors. 2 of the 5 have experienced catastrophic engine failure.

A friend with a 175 E-Tec on a 20' Pro-Line has had his powerhead blow twice: replaced powerhead once, then got a whole new engine the second time it blew. Less than 50 hours before each failure.

My neighbor down the street bought a new pontoon boat with an E-Tec 75, and the powerhead seized the very first time he used the boat, same day as delivery. The local dealer replaced the entire boat, motor, and trailer the next day. Just swapped the whole thing out.

I have an '06 Merc Opti 90hp that now has 78 hours on it without a hiccup. My '91/'02 Xr4 150 carb model had 1100 hours before being remanufactured for low compression in 2 cylinders (but still running), and has had about 230 hours since.
Call me biased in favor of Mercs.