I had a merc 150 for 10 years. And I've had a Johnson 175 for 6. I'm very lucky as I never ever service them, take any precautions, and basically just fish out of em. Not saying I shouldn't, but I don't. My dad never did/does and the habit wore off I guess. He never winterizes his boat and I've seen his cables in solid frozen ice many times. His boat always starts right up. In conclusion, I think if u got a good motor, u got a good motor regardless how much upkeep u do and if u got a crappy one, u just got a crappy one.