Buying a new Mercruiser Alpha I, Gen 2 outdrive can be an expensive venture. Many boaters find themselves frustrated with the high cost of Mercruiser’s OEM units. At a price point over $3800 for the entire drive, it’s no wonder that many are looking to alternative aftermarket solutions. But buyer beware – the aftermarket sterndrive will be problematic, as they are inferior in quality and reliability. Those who choose to purchase the aftermarket outdrive made overseas usually regret the decision and after frustrating months stuck on the sidelines, they end up with the OEM unit anyway.
But there is the good news:
Mercury's Quicksilver brand makes an Alpha 1, Gen 2 Sterndrive to compete with the aftermarket SEI gen 2 drive.
At a price point of a little over $2000, you save lots of money and get OEM Quicksilver quality. Better yet, these drives come with a 3 year warranty and are in stock ready to ship today.
If you are not familiar with Mercury Quicksilver, Quicksilver is the original-equipment manufacturer for Mercury Marine. Quicksilver has been the premier supplier of Mercury Marine original-equipment parts and accessories since 1950.
Are you ready to get back on the water? Place your order for our Quicksilver gen 2 drive now. These are in stock and ready to ship today. Most boat shops do not stock OEM Sterndrive units due to the cost and size of the item, so waiting for your product to ship from the manufacturer to the boat dealer can take longer than expected. Avoid missing fun days on the lake, get your OEM Mercruiser Alpha 1, Gen 2 Drive from USBoatworks today.
Another benefit of purchasing from USBoatworks is our core rebate program. When you buy your drive, you are eligible to send us your old unit for a rebate of up to $400. You simply send your unit back in the manner in which we sent it to you along with our rebate form & we will evaluate your core and credit your card. More info on our rebate program can be found at:
https://staging.boatengine.com/lower-units/oem-lower-units-gearcases/core-rebate-policy/
Reasons to Avoid the SEI Drive
I go into more detail regarding aftermarket products when you click this link however, the issue can be summed up in one quick sentence. “You Get What You Pay For”. So let’s take a quick look at what you pay for with an aftermarket unit. Aftermarket units are made overseas with 100% aftermarket parts and while you may be able to go the cheap route on some minor parts for your boat motor, inferior quality on parts that need to withstand pressure, heat and friction is clearly not a good idea. If one part of your drive goes bad, you could be left stranded out on the water. Also, after you get towed back to shore and have ruined your boating trip, now you have to wait to get it in for service with your local boat shop. Additionally if you are able to diagnose and replace the bad part, you have to wonder what will fail next?
The benefit of the aftermarket unit is that they do offer a nice warranty on the product but have you considered the cost and inconvenience of having to use the warranty? You have to contact the manufacturer to file a claim, have your mechanic diagnose and remove the unit, ship your product back to the manufacturer, wait for an answer as to if they will replace your unit then, if you do get a new unit, you have to wait for it to ship back to you and then pay a mechanic to put it back on your motor. So in the end, any savings over an OEM unit are quickly evaporating.
While the lower cost of an aftermarket drive may be appealing, the potential risks associated with inferior quality parts is not worth the savings. That is why this Mercruiser Alpha 1, Gen 2 outdrive from Quicksilver is the perfect answer. You save approx $1800 over the Mercruiser 5121200TP and 5121600TP drives PLUSthe OEM quality quicksilver drive is only about $200 more than an SEI complete outdrive.
If you have additional questions about the products or topics above, please feel free to reach out to us.
