225 Optimax opinions

[RidgeRunner]

Any Merc dealer can plug the serial number into the Mercury database and pull up the warranty history. The ECM holds the hours of operation that can only be accessed with a technicians diagnostic computer. Some scanners have printing capability and you can get a printout. Ask the dealer if you can talk to the previous owner. That can be a dealbreaker in itself, some dealers will cooperate, some will not..same rings true with previous owners..

Early on I heard the terms "Optipop","POPTIMAX", and worse.
Reelapeelin had a friend with a pair of early Optimax motors that had a ton of hours without problems. Opinions vary, but I have not heard of any reoccurring lean run conditions. Bad fuel? Definitely!
There is a lot of electronics in the modern day outboard as Spare pointed out. Opti's have a lot more going on under the lid than an OX66 Yamaha. One of the most durable motors Yamaha made, but like the EFI Mercs in that they love fuel.. Direct injection is more complex than carbs and crude EFI's but they get double the mileage. In head to head testing the Opti seems to beat out the 4-strokes on performance and mileage then gets slammed for noise and lack of perceived refinement. In the DI class the new Etec's are quiet compared to the Optimax. Finding a 10yr old Etec is gonna be impossible, but OMC did make the Ficht. I know nothing about the Ficht.
Ferm is right on the money about the harness and controls. I have had a 200 carbed, a 250 EFI and now have the 250 Opti on the back of the V-20 and it was always plug and play. The late model Opti's have a different looking harness but from the late 80's up to 03 the harness is the same on the Mercs.
Without Smartcraft the warning buzzer lets you know when something is out of whack with the Opti. With Smartcraft gauges you see what is wrong on a LCD display along with a ton of other info, but not 100% necessary. Analog gauges work just fine for tach/water pressure/temp/volts etc.