I was told the motor would cost $3100 to repair. While talking to a local businessman he showed me a written sales contract where the Sports Center had offered to sell him 2 new saltwater 2001 Johnson 225 motors they had in stock for $6495 each. I called and asked about it and was told it would not fit my boat since the 19 inch shaft was too short, but they had a freshwater version I could have for $6995.

These motors were bought new by the Sports Center when OMC went bankrupt over a year ago. They were brand new and came with a one year warranty. It made no sense to me to pay almost half as much to repair a motor as a new one would cost, so I told them to put it on my boat.

When I picked it up I was surprised to see what I thought was a saltwater motor on it. I was also a little surprised to be charged $200 for mounting it on my boat - I thought that was part of the sales price. They assured me it was a freshwater motor but several people who have seen it say it is a saltwater motor. I am not sure how to tell them apart.

Anyway - I got the motor and used it four times. The fourth time I used it at Oconee it made a funny rattle and died. When I took the cover off there was a hole in the block and bearings and metal filings were in the housing. The new motor, just one week old with only three hours on it, had come apart.

When I took the motor back to Perry they looked at it and said somebody at the factory did not tighten up something. They were very nice and ordered a new power head. I picked it up a week later and have used it twice. So far it is still running.

So, I got a new motor repaired at no cost to me. All it cost was $500 more than a similar motor offered to someone else, a ruined trip to Oconee, a long troll and tow back to the ramp, unloading everything out of my boat another time and two trips to Perry, one to take it and one to get it. And each round trip is 3 hours of my time, not to mention the cost of gas.

This is the ugly. I am not real happy with OMC right now. I guess time will tell how many more problems I have with this motor that seems to be a different kind of motor and a different price to and for different people. Anybody know how I can find out for sure if it is a saltwater motor or a freshwater motor?

Part 2 - The Bad, Then Good - Part 1, 2