That's probably the biggest factor. I've seen enough guys doing the 1,2,3...101,102 pulls or running the starter til the batteries dead with black anchors. Obviously some is due to no/lack of maintenance. My Honda ran without a hiccup for 16 years and then needed some gasket work and a thermostat. The mechanic that did it was amazed at the inner workings, still like new, almost no wear. That motor is in the garage and waiting for one of the boys to get a boat. I wanted to get another larger Honda(40) but the dealer I used before seemed to be having more interest in goofing around with his buddies in the shop. I went to the local Yamaha dealer, appropriately welcomed, clued into the brand differences and bought the same size 40HP for about $1000 less than Honda with better features. The electronic idle/troll control was one of the features Honda didn't have nor did the Honda 40 come in a tiller model, it's an accessory. Reliability was excellent with the Honda, unfortunately they are falling behind with the upgrades. Hopefully this Yamaha will keep me happy as long as the Honda did.