Outboard motors NZ: prices, sizes and what to buy

A new 4-stroke outboard in NZ costs about $1,100 to $3,000 for a dinghy (2.5 to 6 hp), $4,200 to $6,500 for a tinny (9.9 to 20 hp), and $8,500 to $31,000 for a trailer boat (40 to 150 hp). Size it to the maximum on your boat's builder's plate, pick a brand with a servicing dealer near you, and run it on 91 octane.

A four-stroke outboard motor tilted up on the transom of a small boat — Image: Wikisympathisant, Wikimedia Commons, cropped · CC BY-SA 4.0

How we put this together

We read prices on the live pages of NZ outboard dealers and retailers on 24 October 2026, the warranty and service terms on each maker’s NZ site, and Maritime NZ’s rules. We also read buying-advice threads from NZ boaties on fishing.net.nz. We don’t sell outboards and none of the links earns us money (how fishspecies.nz is funded). Prices change often and dealers run promotions, so check before you buy.

What a new outboard costs in NZ

Prices for new 4-strokes from the main brands (Yamaha, Suzuki, Mercury and Honda) on 24 October 2026:

Boat	Horsepower	Price range	Example
Dinghy or inflatable	2.5 to 6 hp	$1,100 to $3,000	Suzuki DF2.5 $1,099 on promotion; Yamaha F6 $2,870
Tinny	9.9 hp	$4,200 to $5,000	Mercury 9.9 $4,245; Yamaha F9.9 $4,970
Tinny	20 hp	$6,000 to $6,500	Honda BF20 from $5,995; Yamaha F20 $6,400
Small trailer boat	40 hp	$8,500 to $12,000	Yamaha F40 $8,500 engine only; Suzuki $11,999 fitted
Trailer boat	60 hp	$12,800 to $14,300	Mercury 60 $12,796; Suzuki DF60A $14,249 fitted
Trailer boat	115 hp	$20,000 to $23,000	Mercury 115 $20,185; Honda from $21,495
Bigger trailer boat	140 to 150 hp	$25,000 to $31,000	Honda BF150 from $24,945; Yamaha F150 $27,390

Parsun, a Chinese brand sold through Smart Marine and its own dealers, is usually $1,000 to $2,000 cheaper: the F9.8 was $3,199 and the F20 $3,999 to $4,999.

Check what the price includes. Small outboards are sold in the box, ready to clamp on. From about 30 hp, dealers quote three ways: engine only, with a rigging kit, or fully fitted with controls, gauge and installation. The same engine can look $2,000 to $3,000 cheaper on an engine-only price. Ask for a fitted price when you compare.

4-stroke, 2-stroke or electric?

4-strokes are what most people buy new. They’re quieter, use less fuel and don’t need oil mixed into the fuel. They’re heavier, which matters on a small tinny or when you carry the motor to the water.

2-strokes are still sold new in NZ: Yamaha small 2-strokes up to 30 hp, a Suzuki 15 hp and Parsun up to 90 hp. NZ’s only emissions rule for recreational boats covers engines over 130 kW (about 174 hp) fed from a built-in tank, so it doesn’t touch them. People buy them for weight: Yamaha’s 15 hp 2-stroke weighs about 36 kg against about 51 kg for the 4-stroke, and the 30 hp 53 kg against about 98 kg. Maritime NZ encourages moving to cleaner engines.

Electric outboards suit tenders, lakes and short, quiet trips. Compare them on battery size (watt-hours), not “horsepower equivalent”:

Electric	Price	Battery
ePropulsion eLite	$2,490	378 Wh built in
Haswing Ultima 3.0	$2,999	30 Ah lithium
Parsun Joy 1.2	$3,495	1,440 Wh
ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Evo	$4,990	1,276 Wh; maker claims 35.5 km at economy speed on a 12 ft alloy boat
Mercury Avator 7.5e	about $6,500	1 kWh swappable

Bow-mount electric motors for fishing (Minn Kota and others) hold you on a spot with GPS anchoring. They cost about $4,200 to $14,000 plus batteries, and run alongside your main outboard.

Sizing an outboard to your boat

Never go over the builder’s plate. Boats built to the NZ Marine and Coastguard boat-building standard carry a plate with the recommended maximum horsepower and number of people. Imported boats usually have a US Coast Guard or CE plate. NZ law doesn’t set a maximum, but the plate is there for stability and safety, and your insurer may ask about it.
Weight matters as much as power on a small boat. A heavy 4-stroke on a light tinny can sit it down at the stern.
Match the shaft to the transom. Short shaft (about 15 inches) suits dinghies and most inflatables, long shaft (about 20 inches) most trailer boats, and extra long (about 25 inches) bigger boats. Measure from the top of the transom to the bottom of the hull at the centre. The outboard’s anti-ventilation plate should sit roughly level with the bottom of the hull.

Rules in NZ

Kill cord: not legally required, but wear it. Maritime NZ’s review of recreational boating deaths from 2015 to 2020 found one that would likely have been prevented by a kill cord.
Registration: no registration for recreational boats or outboards used in NZ. Jet skis are the exception: most regional councils require them to be registered.
Trailer: your boat trailer needs registration and a warrant of fitness. NZTA is changing its inspection system from 1 November 2026, so check the current rules.
Speed and age: you must be 15 or older to drive a boat that can go faster than 10 knots unless an adult supervises, and the 5 knot rules apply near the shore, swimmers and other boats.
Lifejackets: everyone on a boat 6 m or shorter must wear one while it’s underway. See our life jackets guide.

Fuel

Most outboards are made for 91 octane unleaded. Suzuki and Mercury allow up to 10% ethanol (E10), and Suzuki says damage from E15 isn’t covered by its warranty. A few high-output engines need 94 octane or more, so check your manual. Ethanol blends go stale faster, so don’t leave them in the tank over winter.

Servicing and warranty

Outboards usually need a service once a year or every 100 hours, whichever comes first. Suzuki NZ also asks for a first check at 3 months or 20 hours. Keep the service book: extended warranties depend on it.

Typical Auckland prices for a 4-stroke service (oil and filter, water pump impeller, gearbox oil and an inspection), from Auckland Outboard Works:

Engine	4-stroke service	2-stroke service
15 hp and under	from $500 + GST	from $400 + GST
18 to 35 hp	from $600 + GST	from $500 + GST
40 to 135 hp	from $800 + GST	from $650 + GST
140 to 195 hp	from $1,000 + GST	from $750 + GST

Recreational warranties in NZ:

Brand	Warranty
Honda	7 years
Suzuki	3 years plus 4 more on 4-strokes bought from 1 October 2025, if serviced by an approved dealer
Mercury	3 years plus a 3 year bonus, with dealer servicing conditions
Yamaha	4 years on 4-strokes and 3 on 2-strokes (from dealer listings)
Parsun	3 years

Buying a second-hand outboard

A used outboard can save thousands, but get it checked. From Coastguard NZ’s checklist and NZ boaties’ advice:

Get a compression test. The cylinders should read close to each other, within about 10%.
Check the gearbox oil. Crack the lower drain screw. Milky oil means water has got past a seal; no oil means a leak.
Check the engine oil on a 4-stroke. Milky or frothy oil means water is getting in.
Run it on flushing muffs or in a test tank. It should start easily, idle smoothly, shift cleanly and pump a strong stream from the telltale.
Look for corrosion on the bracket, the lower unit paint and the electrical terminals, and check the anodes.
Check the propeller and shaft for damage, and for fishing line wrapped behind the prop, which wrecks seals.
Ask for the history: the service book, when the impeller was last changed, and the engine hours. A dealer can read the hours on most fuel-injected engines.
Check the warranty. Suzuki’s extended warranty can transfer to a new owner. Mercury’s excludes engines more than 6 years old.

A pre-purchase inspection costs about $180 to $450 in Auckland, which is cheap insurance on a $10,000 engine.

From the boat ramp

We gathered outboard advice from Kiwi boaties on the forums.

Ask who’ll service it before you pick a brand. Boaties put the local dealer ahead of the badge. Some dealers have closed, and others now service more than one brand.
No brand wins on reliability. Mercury and Yamaha come up most, and owners of each say theirs has never let them down. A well-serviced engine of any major brand is the safe bet.
A new engine rarely pays for itself in fuel. One owner worked out that a more economical motor would need about 2,000 hours of running to cover the cost of the swap.
Watch the hours on big used 4-strokes. Plenty on the second-hand market have come off commercial boats with 2,000 to 4,000 hours on them.
Stay under the plate, and weigh it up. Owners stick to the maker’s maximum horsepower even when a bigger motor is tempting, partly because the bigger motor can be much heavier. An overpowered small boat ends up needing repairs.
Get the propeller right. Pick a prop that lets the engine reach the middle of the maker’s full-throttle rpm range with a normal load on board. The wrong pitch costs speed, fuel and engine life.

Don’t overpower the boat. Stay inside the builder’s plate, put the savings into servicing, and wear the kill cord every time.

Sean Lewis, fishspecies.nz

Brands and dealers

Yamaha, Suzuki, Mercury and Honda have NZ distributors and dealers in most regions. Suzuki and Honda tie their longer warranties to servicing by an approved dealer.

Tohatsu changed NZ distributor on 1 July 2026, to Power Equipment. We couldn’t find current NZ prices.

Parsun has an NZ site and dealer list, but a smaller network than the Japanese brands.

Outside the main centres, who can service your outboard within an hour’s drive matters more than the badge on the cowling.

Paying for a boat and motor over time? Our boat loan calculator shows what it costs a week, including running costs. And see our boat insurance guide before you take a new motor out.

Questions

How much does a new outboard motor cost in NZ?

On 24 October 2026, new 4-strokes from the main brands cost about $1,100 to $3,000 for 2.5 to 6 hp, about $4,200 to $5,000 for 9.9 hp, $6,000 to $6,500 for 20 hp, $8,500 to $12,000 for 40 hp, $20,000 to $23,000 for 115 hp and $25,000 to $31,000 for 150 hp. Controls, gauges and fitting add to the bigger engines. Parsun is usually $1,000 to $2,000 cheaper.

Can you still buy a new 2-stroke outboard in NZ?

Yes. Yamaha, Suzuki and Parsun 2-strokes are still sold new in NZ. The only NZ emissions rule for recreational boats covers engines over 130 kW (about 174 hp) fed from a built-in tank. Many people buy small 2-strokes because they're much lighter: a Yamaha 15 hp 2-stroke weighs about 36 kg against about 51 kg for the 4-stroke.

Is a kill cord required by law in NZ?

No. The national navigation safety rules don't require an engine cut-off switch, and we found no regional bylaw that does. Maritime NZ's review of recreational boating deaths from 2015 to 2020 found one death that would likely have been prevented by using a kill cord, so wear it.

Do I need to register my boat or outboard in NZ?

No. Recreational boats and outboards don't need registering in NZ, except jet skis, which most regional councils require to be registered. Your boat trailer needs registration (rego) and a warrant of fitness.

What fuel does an outboard use?

91 octane unleaded for most outboards. Suzuki and Mercury allow up to 10% ethanol (E10). Some high-output engines need 94 octane or more, so check your manual.

How often should an outboard be serviced?

Usually once a year or every 100 hours, whichever comes first. Suzuki NZ also asks for a first check at 3 months or 20 hours. In Auckland, a 4-stroke service costs from about $500 plus GST for 15 hp and under to $1,200 plus GST for 200 hp and over.

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