Tiller shiftthrottle 1998 25 hp

"I'm looking at a 1998 25hp Mariner, serial #OG640194. I am not at all familiar with this set up. How do you increase RPM for start/warm up without putting it in gear? The owner tells me that he works at the Mercury plant here in Wisconsin and that "the guys at work went through the motor and all is well". Does this sound plauseable and if so, what would this motor be worth (ball park)? Thanks for the help."

"I don't know how much the

"I don't know how much the motor is worth, but to increase the idle you should be able to turn the choke/prime button clockwise to increase idle and counter clockwise to decrease. Check the lower unit oil, and make sure it's pumping water and it's good to go. These are very durable engines."

"Running well and in decent co

"Running well and in decent cosmetic shape it would normally sell for about 1000 bucks in the private/used market.

If sold at a boat dealer they would probably be looking for about $1500 or more (too much).

I totally agree with Jeremy and his "very durable engine" comment. I would even take that further and rate it as the best 25 horse 2 stroke ever built by any mfg.

Although a different model now (the model you are looking at was built by Merc using a mix of Merc and Yamaha (produced for Merc) parts - the new models are built by Tohatsu for Merc), the 2 stroke 25 Merc is still in production and sold outside the US as the "saltwater" version.

It retails new for the equivalent of about 3K US which is why I peg the value of a 12 year old model at a little less than half of a brand new replacement."

"Thank you guys for the info.

"Thank you guys for the info. I picked up the motor attached to a 1997 Smoker Craft 1440 pro mag on a shorelander all roller trailor for $2500. I checked out the boat and the floor is solid and so is the transom. Everything is in excelent condition. It has a Motor Guide Auto Pilot bow mount and a Motor Guide transom mount. It also has a Lowrance bow mount locator (transducer on the power head, not very expensive) and a Lowrance HDS5 locator/GPS included in the package. I did not think I could pass it up, so I bought it for $2500. I REALLY hope I didn't make a mistake. I feel as though I got a good deal. Any thoughts would be appreciated."

The boat and trailer with the

The boat and trailer with the "toys" are easily worth the 2500 even without the motor.

I couldn't have let that deal go by either...

"Thanks Graham, you just eased

"Thanks Graham, you just eased my mind about the purchase. Now I feel as though I made a good purchase. Thank you for the vote of confidence. I hope to enjoy this package for the rest of my life. (I'm 58)"