Shy away from older, used outboards?

I did this last year and again, this year. I swap out my 37 gtr to a 90 yamaha with a big tiller. It's not near as easy on gas as my gtr but it pushes my 1854 Gatortail pretty good. A bit of a pain to switch but it's been worth it so far. I will be investing in a center console in the future so I can be a bit more comfortable. So nice not to have ringing ears but I do worry about hitting things a lot more after I almost tore my lower unit off last year.

i think older motors are just fine, so long as you are careful and thorough. i have a late 80s yamaha 3 cyl 50 that I'm fixing to sell that is as clean and mint as you probably ever see. I've bought motors like this for years and have never had a problem. saltwater motors can certainly sometimes be a problem.

if the owner is OCD and everything he has is well cared for then its worth the risk

beyond that its like going to a used car lot, 40% of what you look at will break down on you soon after purchase needing repairs

biggest issue is never knowing if the guy flushed the motor regularly or not. the only way to know this is drop the lower unit and see what the water jackets look like inside and most people arent letting you do that before you buy it

My buddy has a 40hp 4 stroke Yamaha w/tiller on a pro drive boat that is a beast. It’s probably an 00’-02’ and other than changing out the lines etc the only issue has been the carb in the past 10 yrs. It stays at the camp for the most part uncovered in the Delacroix/Reggio area.