Extended Warranty for 2021 60HP Merc???????

I bought a Alumacraft with a Mercury 60HP FourStroke last July. I received a letter from Mercury and a phone call from the dealer about an extended warranty. It came with a 3 year warranty.

It has 2 options: Gold – “Most Mechanical”. Platinum – “Most Mechanical and Electrical.”

Gold: $255 – 1 year to $900 – 5 years.
Platinum: $320 – 1 year to $1125 – 5 years.

I take good care of my stuff. I will do scheduled/regular maintenance with Mercury products. No ethanol gas ever.

Is it worth it? Do I want it?

I received the same information when I bought my boat that had a 75 merc 4-stroke on it in 2015. I decided not to extend it beyond the standard warranty it had. I have not had any issue with my outboard. I do the same you do every year, annual maintenance/winterization and ethanol-free premium gasoline only.

Extended warranty’s make the company 95% profit margins. When I bought my New Lund from Rapid they gave me the 5 year extended warranty.

My Brother had a key to Sears store. He said extended warranties were most profit for them.

Its a gamble. The odds are in the houses favor. But if……..

I have 2005 or 6 Merc 40 (bigfoot) on my pontoon that has seen a LOT of mileage every year since then and going strong like new right now. An extended warranty would have been wasted money in my case.
I run it hard, often and use good gas. I change the oil and lower unit once a year. I have always used Mobil 1 in the engine and whatever for the lower unit.

Before I bought my new boat I had the option of rebate or extended warranty of 5yrs total for the motor (Yamaha). I called a local dealer who deals with tons of Yamahas and also asked my salesman from the dealer I was buying from and both said take the rebate. They said if I was going to have major issues it would be in the first couple years and they rarely see issues at the 4-5 yr mark where the warranty would be beneficial. I know it’s not a mercury like you are asking about but I think all major outboards are pretty reliable now days.

I’d pass on the ext warranty for that motor.

-J.

Extended warranty has paid off big time for me , not on outboards but other electronics.

They are not selling it to you to “lose” money, that’s for sure.

They clearly have documented data that shows at that price point, they are making substantially more money than they are losing on warranty claims over time.

I’d stick to the factory warranty and not waste my money extending it. Outboards in MN see substantially less usage than many southern areas. Think about how many outboards from the 80s and early 90s that you see hanging off boats still 30 years later that likely have run their entire life with basic maintenance and predictable fixes.

IDK, at $1125 for 5 years I’d go for it personally. My 115 Pro XS had a faulty base gasket and oil pan gasket 1 month before my factory warranty expired. Too close for comfort IMO. But the extended 5 year on mine was like $3500 so for me that wasn’t worth it. at 1125/ 5 years I’d have jumped on that all day for platinum.

I had 5 year warranty with my 2015 60hp merc. After alot of hard hrs it still has not had a issue with normal maintenance. I would definitely pass if it was me.

I bought a starter from 10,000 auto parts back in the day. I paid 10 bucks for a lifetime warranty and I change that starter out probably two times a year for five years.

Other than that, I would never buy an extended warranty.