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I'm doing a bunch of homework on boats for when I purchase one. What kind of life expectancy does the V8 I/O have? What is better Mercruiser or Volvo? What kind of warranties are offered on I/O motors? I'm planning on buying one boat to last a long time so I just want to make sure I make the right choices, sorry for all the questions!

My guess is you will get as many ideas on this as there are people that will reply - and all different.
My take is this -- Having owned a Mercruiser V8 for twenty plus years -- and a Volvo V8 for three years.
Engines and drives are too similar to expect major differences -- Volvo's are supposed to be more relaible but I question that. Parts are slightly more expensive for Volvo, and I think that is primarily a numbers game -- there are more Mercruisers.

A lot of people say local parts and service availablility are more important than the brand.

I think an even more important thing is to stay away from the WEAKER units of both brands -- There are some known weaker units (in my opinion) -- I personnaly would classify a few of them as --- Mercruiser earlier B3 drives, Volvo Composite OS outdrives. I know of no problem V8 engines of either brand

Others may add a few to the list.

just my thoughts

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DaleG -- West Palm Beach FL
2003 240Horizon -- 5.7Gi -Duoprop

Yes, find out which one is easier to get serviced in your area. In some areas they're the same, in others, it can be hard to find a shop that works on Volvo (or at least is recognized by Volvo as a certified shop for warranty purposes).

They're both very good drives and the engines are the same with different colored paint.

The standard Volvo warranty is 2 years. They have an extended warranty for an additional 4 years which dealers will try to sell you on a new boat, for anywhere from $1K-$2,500. Know that the warranty costs the dealer virtually nothing. Agree on the price of the boat first, then tell them they need to throw in the extended warranty if they want the sale. I think I paid $100 extra for the extended.

It's unlikely that you'll ever use the extended warranty, but it's some extra peace of mind if you don't pay much for it.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
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