# Anyone buy from smalloutboards.com?



## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

Looking for a 15-20 Mercury and came across them. They have "fish camp" Mercury motors on their site, apparently from a Canadian fish camp they use for a year before re-powering. They seem to have very competitive prices, has anyone bought a motor from them have any experience with them?


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Yes, good experience but I bought a new motor from him, it was shipped in from Canada. Albert was great to work with.


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## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

el9surf said:


> Yes, good experience but I bought a new motor from him, it was shipped in from Canada. Albert was great to work with.


Good to know. Can't beat the price, and the few people I've asked all had good things to say. Think I'll make the drive over there and pick one up.


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## zlenart (Jan 30, 2016)

Yeah I have one too. It's been flawless, price was great, and it got to me faster that what he quoted for shipping.


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## bjtripp83 (Aug 10, 2015)

i got good reviews around here and ordered a 4.5 hp shipped to SC. paid a premium level price in addition to the expense of shipping so i expected it to be plug and play. when i received it the tiller kill switch was broken off, and the associated wire was cut as a work around. after one trip out the tiller throttle stopped turning. Took it off and the cables and fittings were worn beyond repair. had to order a throttle cable assembly off ebay, cost me an extra 120 or so. some things that should have been either disclosed or fixed prior to sale by an outboard-repair-and-sale business if you ask me. Recently have had issues with starting, even after cleaning the carb and replacing the needle and seat. hoping adding some seafoam from now on will help, not sure what else i can do.


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## zlenart (Jan 30, 2016)

bjtripp83 said:


> i got good reviews around here and ordered a 4.5 hp shipped to SC. paid a premium level price in addition to the expense of shipping so i expected it to be plug and play. when i received it the tiller kill switch was broken off, and the associated wire was cut as a work around. after one trip out the tiller throttle stopped turning. Took it off and the cables and fittings were worn beyond repair. had to order a throttle cable assembly off ebay, cost me an extra 120 or so. some things that should have been either disclosed or fixed prior to sale by an outboard-repair-and-sale business if you ask me. Recently have had issues with starting, even after cleaning the carb and replacing the needle and seat. hoping adding some seafoam from now on will help, not sure what else i can do.


have you contacted him? I haven't had any problems with mine, so I can't comment on his customer service from that end. He was great to work with during the purchase process though.


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## bjtripp83 (Aug 10, 2015)

No they were such obvious issues that i could not understand how he wouldnt be aware. chose to focus on fixing the thing so i could go fish over the stress/anxiety of going back through somebody like that to maybe get a fix at some point in time. chalked it up to the perils of dealing w/ people on the internet. i dont know exactly what happened and maybe there's an unforeseeable but sufficient explanation. just stating what happened.



zlenart said:


> have you contacted him? I haven't had any problems with mine, so I can't comment on his customer service from that end. He was great to work with during the purchase process though.


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## zlenart (Jan 30, 2016)

bjtripp83 said:


> No they were such obvious issues that i could not understand how he wouldnt be aware. chose to focus on fixing the thing so i could go fish over the stress/anxiety of going back through somebody like that to maybe get a fix at some point in time. chalked it up to the perils of dealing w/ people on the internet. i dont know exactly what happened and maybe there's an unforeseeable but sufficient explanation. just stating what happened.


yeah I was just curious. My experience wasn't exactly extensive, I bought it, it worked, and that's about it.


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## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

He told me today that all his motors have a 60 day warranty (from him) for anything at all. Curious as to why you wouldn't address this with him..


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## bjtripp83 (Aug 10, 2015)

from the website:

Warranties:

AFA Marine, INC. does not provide any warranties on any used motor unless stated in the description. When purchasing a used outboard motor through AFA Marine, INC or any other vendor there is an inherent risk that the motor may have a mechanical issue at any given time. We do our best to check out each engine but we are at the mercy of the used product that is being sold. If warranties are a major consideration for you when purchasing an outboard, we suggest going new rather than used. If AFA Marine, INC. accepts a return we will refund the amount agreed not the shipping charges. *Shipping charges are non-refundable.* Warranties from the Mercury Fish Camp engines are provided by Mercury Marine directly. Warranties from Briggs and Stratton are provided by the Manufacturer directly. Warranties do not include coverage for operator error, negligence, or accidental damage. All warranty motors are assumed to have no lower unit oil or engine oil ( 4 Stroke) upon arrival. It is the customers responsibility to check and service these fluids prior to use.

so he's talking out of different sides of his mouth now or am i missing something? not one to ever jump to condemn somebody but facts are facts


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## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

I'm not sure I understand your confusion, that statement is pretty clear to me.


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## bjtripp83 (Aug 10, 2015)

uhh im not sure what else to say to you


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Just curious who gives warranties on used motors no one I know of. If warranty is what your after spend the extra money and buy new.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

His online disclaimer seems to be written as CYA since any motor can break down after purchase and he does not want the buyer coming after him six months down the road looking for warranty work, but it sounds like he might have a window to address issues immediately after purchase, probably to avoid bad press like this. I'd do the same thing in his shoes.

How long ago did you buy that 4.5? Was it a fish camp motor? It sounds like those still have a factory warranty, although a factory warranty will not fix blatant damage by the user.

If you are within that 60 days, call him. If you are outside that 60 days, I'd call him anyway. Give him a chance to make it right. The worst he can say is no. It does seem like those are big issues he should have identified in the original product description if he wasn't going to fix them. I hope you get it running right soon.

Nate


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## bjtripp83 (Aug 10, 2015)

yea in all fairness any fuel issues im not criticizing on, nature of purchasing an old motor. I just wanted to get it on the water, easiest thing to do was replace the handle myself. he has the disclaimer on the site. in general looks like he has good motors and a responsive site/business. i was just telling OP description of my experience, take it fwiw. if youre expecting something turnkey thru the mail, you might not get that. mine had a badly frayed throttle cable.


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## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

I wanted to update this for posterity. I just got my 20hp merc 4stroke from them about a week ago. Came packaged in factory box with brand new tank and lines, and a quart of oil. The motor looks brand new. Put it on the stand and started first pull. Great customer service from them as well.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

mosquitolaGOON said:


> I wanted to update this for posterity. I just got my 20hp merc 4stroke from them about a week ago. Came packaged in factory box with brand new tank and lines, and a quart of oil. The motor looks brand new. Put it on the stand and started first pull. Great customer service from them as well.


Nice what are you putting it on


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