In 2005 I bought my first boat with a Yamaha motor. It’s a fully renovated 17-foot Aquasport I picked up from an old friend. This boat looks and runs great, and it’s the perfect boat for my family. We spend most of our weekend days cruising the bay, restaurant hopping, and relaxing at a nearby sandbar.
Within the first 6 or 7 years of owning this boat, I had to replace the lower unit twice. I don’t know what went wrong with the first one, which was an original replacement. The second time I had to change it, I opted for a rebuilt original. That one only lasted about two years. When it came time to purchase my third lower unit, I had decided, I didn’t want a rebuilt unit. The original was quite pricey, so I didn’t run to replace it quickly. While I was mustering up the courage to blow a couple of grand on my weekend toy, a friend told me about a new aftermarket product that he felt performed the same as an original. I didn’t think twice about it.
The SEI unit has been on my boat for over 2 years and, as far as I can tell, it performs exactly like my other originals. There are a couple of differences that are obvious: The first being that it’s still under warranty after two years. An original doesn’t come close in that respect. The other big difference was the price. It cost me about half because my unit is only 130 HP. There are much bigger savings on the higher horsepowers. The way these units perform makes me proud of my decision to open Mariners Warehouse to introduce this product to more boaters. The truth is that there is no evidence, at least not in my case, that there is any difference in performance. What we DO know is that they have a much better warranty, they are new and not rebuilt, and they cost less. Even if money were no object, it would seem foolish to me that anyone would not choose an SEI aftermarket lower unit over an original Yamaha or Mercury.
The no-brainer here is the warranty. Even though I seem to go through a lower unit every 3 years, it’s nice to know that my unit will be replaced if just about anything goes wrong within those first 36 months. So when you ask me if they are as good as the original, I must say, they are better
