posted 06-16-2003 12:29 PM ET (US)            

Apparently there was overly aggressive cost cutting when it was the old OMC as they had cash flow problems prior to bankruptcy. This led to higher than expected warranty claims which made the whole problem worse.

When Bombardier took over they instituted stringent quality measures - justifying every part again against its reliability.

This spring to stimulate sales, Bombardier was offering a 7 year cowling to prop nut warranty. They hold the original 3 yr warranty and then it reverts to a third party insurance company. Basically, there is no way that a third party would accept that sort of a deal if they didnt' think they could make money on it - which they couldn't if the reliability was still poor. At any rate, that is the prime reason that I chose the FICHT - the 7 year warranty. that is a pretty hard deal to beat.

I had a friend that had a problem with his 1999 FICHT and got caught in the OMC sale. His powerhead blew due to a problem and he had to get a new one. Bombardier worked with him on it even though it was not their issue - they bought the technology, the brand and the rights. They didn't really buy the company. He has 2 years on his new powerhead and its fine.

So, I would buy a motor used that was built under Bombardier's watch but after making sure it was 6 months to, preferably, a year after they owned it. I would have no problem buying a new FICHT today. I really like mine - great torque, hole shot, very quiet and much cheaper on gas and oil than my old 2 stroke.

As an interesting aside, I heard somewhere that the president of OMC that took them into bankruptcy is now sr management at merc. Anyone know anything about that? I was in the market for a small kicker and was looking around at companies again. (don't want to start another merc vs <you fav here> jihad, just curious.)