Howdy,
Quote:
One of the great myths that I was led to believe when I was shopping was that Volvo parts are hard to come by. I was surprised by the number of people who said, "oh, you're thinking of getting Volvo engines? Tough to get parts."
Well, I don't really think it's a FORD/Chevy comparison really and the
"Myth" is
not really a myth.
If you're going to buy new manufacture, OEM parts, you're right... there's really no difference if you have a VP dealer/parts source nearby. It won't make any difference getting even NON-stock parts since there's always FEDEX/UPS overnight etc available. You'll get your part.....same availability.
If you're a "do-it-yourselfer" and you want parts, new or used and you like to get them on ebay, craigslist or other classified (NON-dealer) source, then it's a "whole nuther story"
Take EBAY for example. do a search in the EBAY Motors "Boat parts" section for "Mercruiser" and do a similar search for "Volvo"....
On any given day you'll find about 3 times as many MORE Mercruiser "parts" than you will for Volvo. Just now it was 2498:786 (for you math wizards that's slightly greater than 3:1)
Now lets say you're looking for a new drive because you whacked a log or a rock with yours.... (dealer of course wants a small fortune for a new drive)
I did my search and sorted highest price at the top. 200 items per page.
But if you just count the number of brand new drives for sale,
I found about 25 new Mercruiser drives. on the first page!
I didn't count the used ones for sale.
I found No new VP drives on the first page of 200 items (highest price first)....... and 7 used drives.
There's NOTHING WRONG WITH VP drives and NO, you didn't make a bad choice.........
Besides, the first Volvo drive was designed by Mercury!
http://www.rbbi.com/folders/pat/isd.htmCheers,
Rick