Why are used 40-50 hp 4-stroke motors so hard to find, and so expensive?

I am always on the lookout for a good deal on a used 40hp 4-stroke to replace my old Mariner 2-stroke. Why are these motors so uncommon on the used market?

I’ve wondered the same thing. My boat came with a 40 Merc 4-stroke. The seller told me it had around 60 hrs on it. He wanted $12k for the boat, ran good, I offered $9K. A month later he called me back, said he would take the $9K. I gave him cash and a check, ordered the cable from Amazon to pull engine info. Came the next day and found the motor had 750 hrs. Told him I was bringing it back to him, long story short he sold it to me for $3K. I took it to a motor shop and they said low compression in one cylinder from water in fuel and recommended a $3k valve job, new impeller, oil change. I asked how much a new motor was and I think he threw out $8K or something. Said I didn't need it, motor should last a long time as long as I took care of it. I looked for used 40-50hp motors for a couple days, couldn't find anything. So I'm all in this boat for $6K with a fresh valve job. Hoping they did a good job, they had good reviews on google. So far 5 trips to small local lakes no problems, runs great. I'm going to take it to the San Diego bay and put some miles on it tomorrow.

Lots more moving parts in a four stroke, more expensive labor to handle the extra parts. They are more expensive to begin with, so their resale value will be higher. With high labor costs, I choose to keep my old two stroke which needs nothing, and when it does, I can do most of the work myself.

The fact that almost everything has nearly doubled in price within the last four years has something to do with it.

I also think motors that size make up a pretty small piece of the outboard demographic. I see a lot of 9.9-25hp and 75hp+ motors for sale around here. 35-60hp seems to be the range that is pretty scarce, I had to look for a while to find every one that I've purchased, and every one I've sold has went pretty quickly.

Many four strokes also have plated cylinders or cast in liners, they cannot be bored or have new liners installed like most two strokes. If the powerhead fails, you bolt a new one on and go. Usually that's cost prohibitive (those reman powerheads are typically 3-15k), so they strip off the lower unit, chuck the rest into the smelter, and buy a new one. That reduces the pool of used motors even further.

In short, everyone wants them, and there's not very many to go around.

Most of the 30hp to 60hp motors I see here are short shaft rope start models used on duck boats.
There really aren't many boats that run motors in those sizes these days. That HP range used to be common on larger aluminum boats and small runabouts, both which seem to be rare these days.
My 1978 Mirrocraft can take a 55hp motor according to the data plate, but I run an 80's 35hp because the 35hp does better due to its lighter weight than running the much heavier 50hp on it. Most newer 16ft boats I see here are running 75hp or larger motors now.

The few used mid size motors I've found for sale have been pretty rough or hurt in some way or another.
I also think that the average guy who owns a boat that can run that size motor generally is on a budget and tends to run an old 2 stroke because that's what they can afford or because they are more comfortable working on the older two stroke motors.

That is a very fuel-sipping engine size, and people aren't selling many of those in this current economy. Plus, to upgrade would be $$$, so people are holding on to them.

Lately it seems people are selling anything they can turn into cash these days because of the cost of food and gas now. The toys are going but there's no takers.
CL is loaded with boats and motors for sale, some crazy deals if your willing to revive a motor that's not been wet since before the pandemic. Most gave up around that point after the DMV here shut down and now won't renew your boat if it 'missed' a year without a trip to the state capitol and the central DMV office by appointment, and they want you to pay the back registration fees for the years it wasn't registered and not used. They do the same thing if you turn in your tags and park it in the garage, regardless of where or how it sat they want that back money to put it back on the water. What its done is put a load of those boats and trailers on CL and FB with no paperwork now. Many just run without renewing them now, most of the boats I see on the water now are years out of registration because they refuse to take a day off work during the week to renew it or pay for the years they didn't use it.
The state's thinking is that you had it, so you used it and now we want our money, the owners, many of whom didn't use their boats for years, refuse to pay for something they didn't use.

Wow...what state are you in ? In Ohio there is no charge for stored years, thank goodness ! In our area there are very few small out boards for sale and those are old ones. Quite a few bigger boats for sale in that 22-28' range but again older, needing work. The very few nice boats that come along have a fat price tag on them, but not sure if they are selling for that if even selling at all. Boat ramps have been scarce, but at the July 4th fireworks shows, the river was full of boats!!

I think the lack of that particular size motor is that there's a lack of boats that run that HP these days. Most 12-16ft boats are 25hp max or so, and larger boats tend to be glass and require much more power. Then there's the many 9.9 hp restricted lakes too.

There were more mid size outboards years ago when boats like the Starcraft Mariner or SS were more common, or even small runabouts and such. Now its jetskis, small aluminum boats or small older runabouts rated for 85 hp or so.

NJ charges back registration, but what's worse is that once you renew on line, you have to renew online, and if you don't have last years renewal, you no longer have a valid pin number to be able to renew online thus requiring you to go to a regional office in person, often far away to renew your registration. They they charge you for the past years or refuse renewal.
Its likely why there are so many boats running old registration decals or none at all. For the most part they don't bother small boats, its the boats they can physically board and search that get the most attention. All boats over 12ft or any boat with a motor needs to be registered. After 2020 they started to specialize the functions of some DMV offices making some basically useless for most things. The one that's a mile from me only does new licenses and 'foreign' licenses by appointment. Before 2020 it was all fine, but they screwed it all up after they shut everything down for that year or more.
I came here from PA and PA was getting better, with boats being simply an issue of registering them with Fish and Game, no title required. Trailers though are tougher in PA.

mirrocraft16 said:

Lately it seems people are selling anything they can turn into cash these days because of the cost of food and gas now. The toys are going but there's no takers.
CL is loaded with boats and motors for sale, some crazy deals if your willing to revive a motor that's not been wet since before the pandemic. Most gave up around that point after the DMV here shut down and now won't renew your boat if it 'missed' a year without a trip to the state capitol and the central DMV office by appointment, and they want you to pay the back registration fees for the years it wasn't registered and not used. They do the same thing if you turn in your tags and park it in the garage, regardless of where or how it sat they want that back money to put it back on the water.w What its done is put a load of those boats and trailers on CL and FB with no paperwork now. Many just run without renewing them now, most of the boats I see on the water now are years out of registration because they refuse to take a day off work during the week to renew it or pay for the years they didn't use it.
The state's thinking is that you had it, so you used it and now we want our money, the owners, many of whom didn't use their boats for years, refuse to pay for something they didn't use.

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Mirrocraft 16 What state if you don't mind my asking?

westr212 said:

Mirrocraft 16 What state if you don't mind my asking?

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Profile says "NJ".....New Jersey

In my area it's bargain basement time. People are suddenly giving away not only motors in every size, but really decent boats can be had for less than a grand. My feeling is the market last year dropped 50% and this year's market is about half of last years as well.

As for the sizes you mentioned, yes they tend to be scarcer than others, but if not picky about make, they can be had for lunch money. $50-100. Of course, mostly in non-running condition. They ran great last time they ran great though......LOL

I don't consider any motor that's off the boat 'running'. Even a brand new motor that's not been used in a year or two will likely need to be fully serviced. I rarely get more than two years out of an impeller and simply won't chance getting stuck out on the water over a $30 part.
Any motor I buy gets a carb overhaul, new impeller or complete water pump, and if needed a new thermostat. I used to arbitrarily just change the t stat but after getting a few bad new one's I'll take working over 'maybe this one is better' any day. I also change the lower unit oil and engine oil on the four strokes. Its not worth turning what may be a decent deal into scrap over a few hours of work.
None of which really changes the value of the motor though, anyone who takes ownership of a motor they didn't buy new on the spot should at the very minimum start with a fresh impeller and fresh oil. With today's fuel issues, I go through my carbs every spring before the boat hits the water. Nearly every year, regardless of how well it was put away, I find ethanol 'gel' in the carb bowl. I've even had to open carbs up mid season to clean out that crap Seafoam, or any other additive has done little to prevent it.

The local CL has had boats and motors all year for cheap, most are people who gave up on boating either due to the cost or the bs trying to renew their boat after the 2020 shutdown.
I still haven't made the drive to renew mine, and I probably won't this year. Its hot and fishing is mediocre at best and I'm not up for the long drive to find a regional DMV or the hassle of making a special appointment there. The last time I missed a year they made me pay for three back years. As far as I'm concerned they can keep waiting this time. I had a marine police guy stop and bs for a bit last week, he never said a word about the 6 year old stickers on the boat. Most of the other boats I saw were out of date too. They told us during the pandemic that they won't be ticketing those with out of date registrations, then closed the DMV for 8 months or more so you couldn't renew it anyway. They since made it mandatory to renew online now, and if you didn't renew last year, you don't have the required key or pin to sign in to renew the next year. If you mail it in they return it with the check voided out and a note stating that boats must be renewed online or in person if you no longer have a valid PIN. You cannot renew online after missing a year. If you try and renew using the last pin they sent you it doesn't show as a valid registration and locks you out.
Its typical NJ BS. We pay the highest taxes and registration fees and get nothing for it.
The same thing goes for cars, trailers, motorcycles, etc. Yet you can renew a driver's license year after year using the same photo with no issues. My DL photo is 20 years old or more. Unless they send you a mandatory in office renewal, you don't get a new pic on your license unless you pay extra for the new REAL ID you have to renew online.

I used to ras my one buddy who never bothered to register his boat here, he had moved here from Michigan and bought a used boat for cheap. They registered it the first year and never bothered again. That was in the 80's, he ran that boat for 22 years on the original registration and never got hassled. After he passed away and I ended up with the boat I realized that he didn't have a driver's license either. He had gotten a ticket some 60 years ago and refused to pay it and never bothered with renewing anything after that. The boat was in another buddies name, who had also passed away quite some time ago. I ran that boat here as I got it for two seasons before pulling the great running motor off and junking the hull due to rot. Its still sitting on a stand in my garage in case I find another hull that needs a great running 1996 115hp Merc.

SAABologist said:

I am always on the lookout for a good deal on a used 40hp 4-stroke to replace my old Mariner 2-stroke. Why are these motors so uncommon on the used market?

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In all honesty, I do not know where you are from, but something that helped me tremendously is to wait, wait, wait, wait and wait again.
I have been on the lookout for a "decent" 4 stroke for 5 years now (something in the 40-80hp range). Couldn't find ANY that was under 5000$ CAD (3600$USD). Then, I started seeing some; needed lower units, low compression, most of the aesthetic pieces damaged, bent drive shafts, etc... for somewhere around 3000$CAD to 4000$CAD... (2200$USD to 3000$USD). Was about to pull the trigger on a 60hp 4 stroke Mercury that had slightly low compression on one of the cylinders...... waited, waited, waited... a week ago, I found a 2002 Evinrude 4 stroke, 70hp for 2200CAD (1600$USD); sold INSTANTLY, couldn't even ask for a video of it running or his address to come and check it out myself (took less than 7 minutes for the ad to be removed).... YESTERDAY, found a 2000 Evinrude 4 stroke, 70hp for 1000$CAD (730$USD) because the guy hit a rocky bottom, bent the skeg, chipped a piece of the anti-cavitation plate and broke the propeller; the shaft still spins straight though, luckily!. Bought it instantly. Being in Canada, you don't ever see deals like that; a 1996 9.9hp 4 stroke from various companies sells for over 1000$USD around here, so you can imagine the price of a 70hp! (well over the 4000$USD price point). Where I got it? From a Marina; the Marina replaced the guy's outboard with a bigger one; 2024 115hp 4 stroke Mercury, they gave him 1000$CAD and only wanted the 1000$CAD back, thus why they sold it at that pricepoint, otherwise it was going straight for the metal scrapyards. The seller was very honest with me, as he was the owner of the Marina. He even showed me the pontoon, pictures of the outboard on it, the rocky bottom that the guy hit, etc. He even gave me the controls and cables. He couldn't "legally" offer me a guarantee that it will work properly and everything due to the age of the outboard, but he said; if it behaves poorly or you don't like it once it is installed on your boat, come back with it, we'll remove it for free and give you back your money or a BIGGER discount on a newer one. (said the discount would be about 2500$CAD instead of the 1000$CAD I paid)

TLDR; Ask your Marinas if they have used outboards that they recently replaced for newer ones! They aren't all scammy people!

The marinas around here rarely will sell anything used these days, most will sell them off to second hand parts places as fast at they can. Years ago a few places had rows of used outboards for parts or resale but the EPA came in an made them remove all of the aluminum and iron that was stored on the property citing runoff pollution. They said that old out boards leach aluminum oxide when they corrode, and the iron oxide from rusty parts laying about the property was what was raising the iron content of the water in the area. Of course they did nothing about the 20 or so rusting old barges and ships that have been grounded and rusting away in various parts of the river for the last 60 years or more.
They forced some places to move their trailer and boat inventory and storage off site away from the water. Once all this took effect, we lost a source for used motors and parts. Most dealers started just busting up old motors or selling them wholesale out of the area.
On occasion I find a dealer that still has a back room full of used parts but its rare.

Dealers also prefer to sell new motors, which aren't selling very well now so they most certainly are not going to sell anything used with the thought that it may cut into their 'new' motor sales.
I feel that thinking is badly flawed because there are some of use who will never buy a new motor, especially at what they want these days for one.

The number one motor size in demand here is 9.9hp, after that I'd say 70 or 115hp. Anything larger and your getting out of the typical fisherman's boat price range when it comes to how much fuel it'll burn. Most guys would rather go slow and run cheap than have speed and spend $100 every time they take their boat out. Years ago I ran a straight inboard 31ft Sportfisher with twin V8 gas motors, it cost me about $200 a day to run out a few miles to fish.

When gas prices started to get over a buck a gallon I sold that and downsized to a 23ft boat with a single engine. That would got out for about $80 a day when gas was in the $2 or so range. I dumped that boat for an aluminum boat with a 70hp outboard and that cut down on fuel costs for a while until the prices got crazy back around 2008 or so. I sold that boat and now only run my 35hp motors and one 10hp on a 14ft boat but even that's gotten pricey now with the cost of oil and gas. Its getting harder and harder to simply be able to afford to keep a boat on Soc. Sec. what was supposed to be a retirement pastime will likely soon become a luxury most can't afford here.

A buddy who thought things would get better so he kept his 34ft Sportfisher which is currently dry docked in his yard is regretting it because there's zero market now for a twin gas powered boat that burns a few grand in fuel a day now. I can't imagine having to fill the four 200 gallon fuel tanks on that boat these days. Not to mention the upkeep of those inboards that ran pure seawater through iron motors for cooling.

He'll be lucky if the motors are still good in that thing after its sat for about 18 years or so now. He can't even give it away now and has begun to cut it up in small pieces and haul it to the dump concealed with his regular trash because its so hard to dispose of old fiberglass.

Myself, and most of those I know fish and hunt for cheap food. Its been that way for decades.
Now it costs more to catch fish and hunt than you can buy food for in the store. Even driving to a place where you can find fish takes a tank of fuel now.

The last time I filled my truck it cost me $110. If I were running the boat that day, I'd have to add in the cost of about 15 gallons of gas and $25 or so worth of two stroke oil, ramp fees, and parking 'permits' as well because most ramps now require you buy an annual sticker for $90 to $120 to let you park your rig while out on the water. The non-resident fees are pretty high meaning if you don't live in the town where the ramp is your a non-resident. Several want $400/yr to use the ramp or $10 to $20 per day to launch.

With all this going on its no wonder you can't sell a boat or motor these days, anyone who knows the deal wants no part of it anymore. I've driven past a boat and motor for sale out o the main highway for several months now, its a mid 70's Starcraft Super Sport with a newer 50hp Mercury four stroke on it. The boat started out with a $2500 sign on it, then it slowly dropped down and now he's got $400 OBO on it and its been like that for a month. The boat is fairly clean, and the motor runs, a buddy stopped to look at it but the guy wouldn't come down any lower. I ran into the guy in the store the other day and he said he's only had three people stop to look but no takers. I joked and said "I'd give you $50" and he looked at me and says it may just come to that if it don't sell soon.

I would think that even if you didn't want the boat the 2012 or so Merc 50 has to be worth what he's asking but I really think its a matter of no one having $400 to spend, (Or $100 for that matter lately).

The whole theory about waiting works both ways, I think a lot of guys are just putting their boats and motors away in hopes things get better rather than dumping them at a huge loss. Many guys would rather have a bunch of stuff they paid good money for than a total loss. Others seem happy to take a loss and put $50 in their pockets. The problem with that thinking is sooner or later you run out of things to sell cheap enough to put that cash in your hand or others in the same position have already run out of cash.

Must depend on where you live, around my area, if it is in decent runners by condituon, it sells fast and at higher prices. Don't get me wrong, 30 plus foot boats do not move well, but 16' up to 22-24' boats move well if they are in decent shape ! Old glasses are a dime a dozen, but good aluminum boats sell fast. By the looks of many of the boats on the big lake chasing those walleyes, folks appear to have more invested in high end tackle than they invest in there boats ! When perch season gets into high gear and your fishing is closer to shore, most anything that floats is on the lake looking for perch. I fish mostly to put food on the table and I enjoy it. After 60 plus years of boat ownership, I have settled into a very nice 16' side console and a 40 hp two stroke....can do 4 trips on my 18 gallon tank with a quarter tank in reserve even though I fill back up before, but it doesn't use much gas is the point. About 5 bucks for bait for the day and a few gallons of gas in my tow vehicle. At around 20 bucks a lb for walleye and perch fillets....I can have convinced myself, I can profit from going fishing ! In reality, fishing is a cheap hobby for a retired guy on social sec......

The perch here, have been sick lately, the last one's I caught all smelled funny, sort of a chemical smell when I cleaned them.
(White perch), but the water's where they're plentiful are suspect now I suppose. They move into a small lake here with the high tide and get flushed back out with the low tide. When the tide is running out they're easy to catch but after the last few, it turned me off of them. In freshwater I tend stick to chasing catfish most of the time, they're more fun and great to eat. I particularly like the one's we catch in nearest to the saltwater marker.

I've got five boats now, three Mirrocrafts and one Starcraft 14sf with a 9.9 4stroke, and one with a 35hp Johnson recoil start tiller motor , two of the MCs are 16ft, one side console and 35hp Johnson, one tiller model with a 15hp, the other a 17 ft version with a side console and a 40hp. The tiller Mirrocraft is a recent acquisition but it belonged to a friend who passed away and I've not decided whether its staying or not, but its not likely going anywhere at the prices they're bringing these days.

Around here lately, if I bought every $100 -$200 14-16ft aluminum boat I saw I have to start stacking them.
The same with motors.
There are no 'running' motors for sale, every thing that's for sale has sat at least since last season or longer because of the registration issues here now. People without internet are really screwed and if you didn't renew for 2020, your looking at a trip to the regional office hours away to get a renewal where they will charge you for all the missed years even though the boat sat.
For me, you know what will freeze over before I'll pay them for something they I didn't use just because they closed everything down for a year. Now they just closed down all the game preserves and lakes due to 'high crime issues' again. The prime fishing spots and ramps are closed till Sept. 25 or until no one wants to go there due to the weather changing.

I don't consider any motor that's sat for a year a running motor, nor would I want the seller to try and run it to show me it runs because half of them will run them out of the water, or hit the thing with starter fluid to get it going, neither of which is good for a two stroke.

I bought a 1997 Mariner 4 stroke 9.9hp this morning that the owner said 'sunk'. He told me its stuck and that its sat for four years untouched in the shed after it sunk while on his jon boat in saltwater one night.

I pulled both plugs, took a look inside and its not rusty. I pulled the rope and it won't budge, but with the recoil off, I can turn it over by hand just fine. The recoil is locked up on the center shaft.
The crankcase oil is clean, as is the lower unit oil. The prop won't come off though but I sprayed it down with some kroil.

I bought it for parts because I have another that needs a better hood and this one is pretty clean. I dropped the lower unit and the thing is clean inside the mid, the water pump is barely worn but has cracks.
Using a rope on the flywheel I did a crude compression test and got 137/127 top/bottom.
The carb is stuck closed, so that too is soaking. I drained the oil and its clean but pretty dirty. The power head appears to be the same as an early 80's Yamaha but the lower and mid are made in USA.
I gave $20 for it.

I have little doubt it'll run if I bother to deal with the few things it needs.
carb cleaning or replacement, water pump impeller, free up prop on shaft, plugs, fuel filter, oil change, and any electronics that may or may not be bad. I didn't notice it having any spark but I also noticed the lanyard clip missing off the button on the panel and I suspect if it did go swimming the tiller handle will need to come apart as well. But I have my doubts as to whether it really went fully under water or not or for how long. I really think if it got sunk the engine oil and and/or cylinders would have signs of water in them. All i see is a bit of rust staining around the plugs, but neither is rusty.
It was listed in CL and about to expire when I saw it, meaning its been there at least a month and a half and it was listed at $50 obo.
It makes me think that there's either no one out there with any cash or no one out there with any ability to tinker with a motor and get it going or brake it up for parts anymore.

I'm betting that it won't take more than a few hundred dollars to make this run again.

The rust dust blows away with an air hose, its not 'stained'. And its all over the from the top down but I don't see any signs of anything giving off rust and there was no rust inside.

I realize this isn't a 40-50hp or what this was originally about but there are tons of deals out there right now but most need a bit of work, but I think that's been the case in my price range all along, there's just more and better items in my price range now.

A buddy who stopped by this afternoon may be a good example of what's wrong, he took one look at it and said its junk, there's rust bleeding out the cylinder and its stuck. Why bother with it? he said. That coming from a guy who spent half a day with a giant size JB weld kit patching corrosion holes in his Black Max 150 Merc and has 6 1,500 gph bilge pumps and two extra batteries in his boat because he's too cheap to buy a bag of rivets or some Gluvit for his boat.

I learned years ago to never go on face value. With a used motor, half the time the seller doesn't have a clue. "Sunk' to them may mean the thing got rained on it got dropped in the shallow for a second or two.
You won't know till you try to fire it up. The fact that its not seized tells me it likely didn't ingest water, and if it did, it blew it back out and didn't stick the rings. If you had a ring issue it wouldn't have 120 psi of compression. If there was anything in that motor bleeding rust like that you'd have more than just rust traces on the outside.
Oil is often clean after getting dunked, they're pretty well sealed up and unless its left in the water and the water seeps in the crank vent system its very possible water didn't get inside. It also don't look like a salt dunked motor. The rust up on the cover there tells me it was more likely something that got dripped onto it rather than from inside it.
Maybe the seller just assumed the worst and dumped it not knowing any better?

I bought a 115hp V4 once that the guy told me had severe corrosion issues. Turns out he was seeing water come out the exhaust and not knowing a thing about outboards figured it had a crack or hole somewhere in the motor. The thing was spotless inside. I pulled the lower, changed the thermostat and w/p and the cooling passages were mint. I ran it for 12 years only doing a few impellers on it until I sold that boat. I put very little weight on what most sellers say. I even bought a lower unit from a local dealer, I needed a housing with a good skeg and plate. They sold me one they said was 'junk' inside for $40 out of their scrap pile. It turned out to be absolutely perfect inside. The gears looked new and the oil was old but clean. It even held pressure as it sat.
If they didn't tell me it was junk, I'd have just tested it and installed it. (they wanted $450 for a 'good' used one).