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I am in the market for a new 40hp outboard. I was hoping to pool all the intelligence on dealers most likely to have deals. If you are familiar with dealers who tend to be competitive because they ave high volumes or inventory from prior years I would be grateful. My inclination is to look for a Yamaha....but I am open to other brands. For now my quest is to identify motivated dealers.

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I think the Mercury 40 4-stroke is the best engine you will find in it's category. And here is the best pricing you will find on ANY 40. They ship for about $100, with NO sales tax.

http://jacosmarine.com/

I recently saw one of these 40's being installed on a 13, and it looked great.

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If your just looking for the cheapest price, then shop some of the online stores. I assume then that you will install and service the outboard yourself although many required you take it to a factory certified mechanic for it's first start up to sign the warranty card and set any engine parameters.

You can also call every local dealer in 100 miles and ask them what they have in stock and what they can make you a deal on. Really the best time to repower is in the winter/early spring. Most manufactures have sales or offer a longer warranty to get you in the door.

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If you are looking for a "deal", forget the Evinrude E-TEC. They are so popular and so much in demand that no dealers are dealing on them at all; this motor is very expensive because of the demand for them.

All the other manufactures make great four stroke 40 HP outboards. All of them are about 220 pounds; the Suzuki being maybe 20 pounds more.

I'd consider what dealer I wanted to work with first and foremost and what brand they carry.

If you are already rigged for a Yamaha, then the Yamaha F40 is the obvious first choice as it will have the lowest installed cost.

Have you studied the engine choices in this class?

http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=78