Used Mariner 40 hp

New to the forum and need a little advice, if at all possible with the little I know about the motor so far.
Looking at a package deal(boat motor trailer) and it the year is unknown to the current owner which send up yellow flags, but willing to take a look at it anyway.
Besides looking up the serial number once I find it, is there anything at first glance and with a test ride I should be looking for? The ad says electric start with power trim/tilt- 2 stroke. Would this at least tell me a possible range of years.
Are there any problems getting service or parts for the Mariner in Ontario Canada?
I owned a 89 6.5 evinrude previously and had no problems or issues, but relatively ignorant of larger outboard issues.
Thanks,

There are two very different Mariners out there.

Yamaha built a whole line of Mariners which were just repainted Yamaha models, some of which had been discontinued for a number of years before they were sold as Mariners.

In that line there was no motor larger than 60 horse ever produced and all single or twin cylinders.

They came in two basic model runs - the A models and C models. It's almost impossible now to get parts anywhere for an A model. The popular C's, particularly the 40's still have pretty good parts support through Merc.

Given the ad you are looking at says it has power trim/tilt I would suspect that you will be looking at a Mercury/Mariner model.

If that's the case it will simply be a Mercury model painted up as a Mariner and depending on it's age parts support could be excellent (most post 1985 models).

I had a 1959 Gale that was electric start, so the features you list don't give any clue to the age.

If you would like an opinion as to the value of the package, the age of the motor and any chronic problems that may make it a "model to avoid", get the serial for the motor/horsepower and the model of the boat (ie. 205 Searay) and post them up here.

Since the owner doesn't know the year etc that is a pretty good indication that you could be looking at something that has been neglected - it's difficult to service something if you know nothing about it. That doesn't necessarily mean it's junk, but does mean that you have to factor in the cost of possibly having to restore/refurbish a number of components to make things operational.

So get some more info and post up the asking price. I'm pretty familiar with "the going rate" in Ontario for used boats/motors and can give you an indication of whether it might be a deal or someone who is greedy and just trying to squeeze top dollar for junk...

Sorry, got lost in my rambling and just realized you titled it as a 40 horse.

The Yami/Mariners were never factory fitted with power trim.

In the Merc/Mariner line there was 2, 3, and 4 cylinder versions of the 40 including a line called the Magnum.

The 4 cylinder 40 was definately the best of the bunch - not that the others were garbage by any means, just the inline 4 is the more desireable motor.

Thanks galamb!
I really appreciate the information! Will be back once I get more details!