MERCURY has come around big time!  I have 3 MERCURY engines (2-225hp EFI  (800 hours) and 1-200hp Optimax (740 hours), I acquired all of these engines second hand and after putting a few hundred hours I started having a lot of problems and the shop costs plus missed trips were mounting beyond control!  Last year I had numerous lower unit problems and a top level Customer Service person,  while expressing his condolences, said they wouldn't help in anyway even though I believed to have a  valid defect issue.  I started my Products page based on the bad experiences that I had with Mercury last year, I really lost faith in MERCURY!  In August of this year (2005) my 225hp had corrosion problems which since the engine was 4 years out of warranty, they declined to assist; then came the piston problem.  Now here is where customer service really turned around, I sent pictures of my problem to MERCURY and after visiting with several people I found someone who really wanted to make a customers happy.  I was asked what I wanted, I was surprised because I really didn't want anything, my only initiative was to be an advocate for customers and the support of engines that have expired their warranties, in other words to show MERCURY there was a need to help people in the fishing industry keep their products running beyond warranty.  Well MERCURY stepped up to the plate and put me back in business with a new powerhead for the Bay boat and they will discuss the powerhead problem on my Offshore boat as well!  These engines are 4 years out of warranty, yet they are still assisting me, that is customer service!  I do own three engines and have a lot of public exposure, however if they are half as good with the recreational customer the earn they #1 On The Water label!

Sincerely,

Capt. Scott McCune