Used suzuki DF 175 - to buy or not to buy?

[mrr]

I have seen a suzuki DF 175 from 2011. In 5 years time it has been used 12-13 hours every year and did not see any usage for the last 12 months. It has run 52 hours which is nothing for such an outboard.

A marine shop is offering this outboard for 50 % of the new sale price.

Could there be any reason why not to buy this outboard?
What to look for when buying a used suzuki DF 175?

Thanks for your feedback

[Pikey Dave]

Of the (admittedly few) Suzukis I've looked at since owning one, they seem to be susceptible to corrosion on the bottom of the block where the shift rod exits the power head. If you fully tilt the engine & look up the leg to the underside of the block, you'll see the casting on the bottom of the block. It has ribs cast in it forming small 30mm ish squares. Check around this area. I'm paranoid about washing this area off after each time out, I also give it a good spray over with a wax protectant. There was also an issue with a blanking plug in the exhaust corroding & eating through the block, I don't know which engines & of what vintage were affected, worth some research on that one.

[Xk59D]

The blanking plug is the df140. Never seen another model have the issue but the 175 is a different block I gather, worth checking though.

The drive shaft can stick in the power head due to corroding, not sure how common it is but I have read about it. ask the shop to remove the gearbox, put some grease on the splines and get some pictures up inside or you go look whilst it is off. Do this every season to be safe.

The major thing that would concern me at this age/hours is making oil. That would apply to any engine though with these hours and no warranty left. The unfortunate thing is you can't really do much to check for it until you start using it in anger. I would check oil for strong petrol smell before and after trial or seeing engine run for a decent length, all you can do really. If you get a warranty with the engine I would hammer it for a bit then check for it, you will know quickly if there is a problem as oil level will go up. Fortunately it is rare but it is dependant on how it was ran in largely.

Look at all the anodes in the block if been stored in or near salt all its life.

Other than that it is normal buying checks really for me.

[mrr]

Thanks for the feedback