www.iFourWinns.com

Volvo all the way. MY OPINION. We have both in the boat club. The black ones get fixed much more than the silver ones. Both are built on the same GM blocks. Outdrives are a different story. Ask a mechanic ( and I did several when I was deciding) who knows both which one he would choose for his own boat. 9 out of 10 will say Volvo. Now racing drives, Merc is the only real choice, but that is another discussion.

As to customer service, I have experienced Volvos service first hand and it was far above what others in the club had experienced from Merc. I lost a high pressure hose on the port engine at 13 hrs. Real mess when all the oil comes out. The engine system did what it was designed to do, shut down before any damage. Volvo promptly fixed it no questions asked, as I'm sure Merc would have. 20 hrs later, the same hose same engine. It happened on a Saturday. Sunday I fired an email to the the fellow from Volvo who had called and sent an email after the first repair to make sure the problem was fixed to my satisfaction and to apologize for the few days we lost use of the boat. Monday morning 9:30 AM I get a call from the fellow from Volvo...

He first asked if everyone was okay and safe. He profusely apologized again and told me that he has already contacted the dealer on my behalf, had them clear their repair schedule for my boat and made an appointment for me. That Wednesday my boat will have all their attention. Here is the kicker. He said he didn't care if the motor was good or bad, a new crated motor was on the way from Kentucky being overnighted to the dealer. No long block replacement, a whole new engine. I had the boat back within two weeks (missed one weekend of boating). After it was replaced, several Volvo shirts showed up in the mail and notification that both engines (new one and existing) now have a 4 yr warranty.

Volvo issued a service bulletin based on my experience. The had a vendor selling them high pressure hoses for the remote oil filter kit which was manufactured with no barbs on the nipples. The recalled the hoses and changed them over to the manufacturer that was making the hosed for their diesel engines.

The other telling sign that helped me make my choice was Brunswick (who owns Merc) themselves. If heir product is so damned better than Volvo why couldn't I have a choice when I was looking at buying a Maxum, Bayliner, Sea Ray.... Certainly the small advantage profit-wise they gain in selling only Merc, because they manufacture them, could have easily been hidden in the price of the new boat if I wanted a Volvo and I would most likely never been able to tell. What is wrong with Hey, we manufacture Merc and believe it much better but it you want a Volvo, have at it. Customer choice. It raised a red flag to me. Why be afraid to go head to head with the other guy, or even Crusader, if you believe your product superior?

Sometimes what isn't said speaks volumes!

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Agreed, I Second That!

_________________
'04 FW 268Vista "Andiamo"

Is it my imagination but it seems more Volvo than Merc on FourWinns especially larger than 22 footer?...

_________________

08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

I had the option to go either way when I purchased my 268Vista in 2004. I wound up choosing the Volvo, based on a Marine Mechanic and the Dealer that I bought the boat from, both of whom I hold in high regard. I have not been sorry with my choice! The only other decision I had to make was whether the standard 5.7L that was offered was sufficient, or to upgrade to the 8.1! I wound up upgrading to the 8.1 based on a test ride with the 5.7. After 4 years now and 300 hours, I must say that I am very happy with my decision to go for the 8.1 Volvo DP!

_________________
'04 FW 268Vista "Andiamo"

Volvo is the way to go if you can get proper service.

I had the same oil hose experience that JVALICH had on my 05 Sundowner. I bought mine at the September boat show and had a very early production slot. They mistakenly used the same non-barbed hose on my engine. Volvo did replace the engine, although not as easily as mentioned earlier. They offered a new engine but no labor. I eventually called the Coast Guard Boating safety people and Four Winns. Enough pressure from them and they relented and put a new engine in. I missed 1 weekend of boating.

I put Volvos in my new boat and they are great. The only issue I have is service. I am in a full service marina with a SeaRay dealership 50ft away. I am one of the few out of 800 slips that has a Volvo. They have to special order everything including Volvo oil. It takes only a day or 2 to get anything. The marina is Volvo certified, but they just don't have alot of experience with them. ( I had to remind them of the zincs behind the duoprop)

_________________
07 Tiara Sovran 4300
07 338 Vista - SOLD

As stated earlier, I'm a Merc man!

I'd have to drive past about a 1/2 dozen Merc dealers to find 1 volvo part. That doesn't include the 3 bait shops that also sell assorted Merc parts.

I have never had any boat I own in for service; it's been DIY all the way. That includes pulling an outdrive for re-paiting, bi-annual impeller replacement, spark plugs, fuel system upgrade to the spin-on type, and even a set of exhaust headers. I can't imagine how many weekends or hundreds of $$ I've saved.

_________________
Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

I must admit, I looked very closely at Volvo vs. Merc when I bought my Horizon 190. Was a tough call... the big plus for the Volvo was the SX leg seemed to shift a hell of a lot smoother than the Merc leg - much less clunk as you went into gear. Something to do with Volvo using cone clutches versus Merc still using dog clutches apparently. Clincher was the local Four Winns dealer only sold Volvo - if I wanted Merc I would have to buy from interstate.

I have been happy with Volvo so far. In fact just got a recall notice re the Holley Carb and corrosion problems - take my boat to the dealer and they will replace the whole carby at no cost.

Only disadvantage is getting hold of Volvo spares - I killed a prop 2 weeks ago out in a country town, and could not get one locally. It took 4 days to get one shipped to me from interstate, and I could not get the correct 3 blade (out of stock due to high demand - is summer here...), so had to settle for a less than optimal 4 blade. Will order 2 of the correct props this week from the Propshop (1 spare)..! The alternative was to get a Volvo hub for the Merc props and maybe saved a couple of days, but again I would have not had the perfect solution either....

I think the key is to get the Volvo parts and spares you want in advance so you are not caught out.

The Chev Vortec 4.3 litre engine is the same for both Merc and Volvo - only differences are the external accessories and the Volvo is painted red versus black for the Merc. The Merc has some advantages, the Volvo some advantages. IMHO Volvo are far more innovative than Merc. Merc seem to be "followers" rather than leaders.

_________________


Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

alec:

I put this on my Freedom 170 http://www.turningpointpropellers.com/hustler_aluminum_propellers.php

Very pleased with the performance and the replacement props are inexpensive.

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Having owned both a Mercruiser and a Volvo -- I second the opinion of service/parts/warranty first --particularily if you are the type that needs that support.

However I definitely like the engineering of the Volvo better. Case in point. I just replaced the shift cable on my 2003 Four Winns 240H used in salt water. The shift handle end is similar but the drive end is very different. On the Volvo it is just slip it down the tube and through the transom to the sterndrive and connect it. On a Mercruiser you would be pulling the stern drive and dealing with bellows and trim cyliners and other things. Quite a lot of work. It is much easier on the Volvo -- The impeller change is also easier as mentioned before. I personally think there are less repairs, but the parts are generally more expensive. (The OEM volvo shift cable however was $41 including tax -- and was in stock at the local Volvo dealer parts department -- that was certainly not much higher) You also cannot just go to a typical boat store and buy a "Sierra clone" equivalent for many Mercruiser parts, they have few for a Volvo.

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

jvalich:

I have also used the Turning Point props before on my old boat with a 115hp Merc on it and found them to be really good as well. I like the idea of not having to replace the hub each time - especially as I switched periodically between a ski prop and a speed prop. However, I still want to keep my H190 all original for now (probably change that after the warranty runs out..!! ) so thought I'd stick with Volvo props just to be safe.

On an interesting note, the OEM Volvo props are made in Taiwan - I suspect they may actually be made by Solas..!!

_________________


Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

In the Seattle area, it seems that the Volvo drives are considered a premium over mercs.

The local FW dealer only orders the Volvo drives... most Cobalts have the Volvo driives around here. It seems like it's the Sea Rays and Bayliners that get hit with the Merc drives (for obvious reasons).

Chaparral, Regal, and several other local dealers also tend to lean towards the Volvo setup. I've always heard the "it's way smoother than a merc" justification. But with the new Merc DTS package -- that argument is negated.

_________________

2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA