Yamaha 255XD vs Scarab 255ID

[algard]

Hi all,

New here and my wife and I are looking to purchase our first boat together. We both grew up on the water and been around boats all our lives, but this will be the first of our own.

Been looking at the Yamaha 255XD and Scarab 255ID. From everything I've read the Yamaha with 500HP is similar performance to the Scarab with 600HP and the Yamaha seems to be significantly cheaper when optioned accordingly. Personally I like the looks of the Yamaha better too, but the one main advantage to the Scarab is it is available at our local dealer where we've been doing business for years. Just wanted to see if there were any thoughts or opinions on either set-up and how people liked them comparatively. Primary use will be on Higgins Lake in Michigan, but will certainly travel around both the state and further South to get use out of it in the winter months.

This will also be our first jet-boat, so any other major pros/cons would be appreciated as well!

 

[TimW451]

I know nothing about Scarabs to compare the two, but I think this statement carries a lot of weight: “one main advantage to the Scarab is it is available at our local dealer where we've been doing business for years.”.

 

[tdonoughue]

Might want to ask as well in our Scarab forum or tag @Luc Lafreniere , who heads up that group. Very likely many of them know about Yamaha's and far fewer Yamaha owners know about Scarabs (including me). A few factors I can offer:
- Agree with @TimW451 's comment above (us tim's have to stick together); a good dealer can go to bat with you in a warranty situation (or not if a bad one).
- The Yamaha 255 line is relatively new. Not completely new, but doesn't have the track record that the 240 or 210 lines do. Yet. A search here of that model will probably get you a reasonable number of posts to look through as to issues people have had with them, etc.
- Jet boats rock. Nuff said.
- Most Yamaha's are sold at (or very near) MSRP (or above if there is a shortage as now) and very little dealing on them. Scarabs are priced more like cars, where during normal times you can expect a bit off of MSRP and more dealing (I'm told). Bottom line is get a quote from the respective dealers when comparing prices, rather than comparing MSRP's.

Hope that helps and good luck with the hunt.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Yeah, I saw this and didn't comment. lol I hate being a "brand person". I like to be agnostic. They both have their pros/cons. Pick yours.

What I am comfortable saying:

- Dealer support is very important, especially if you aren't mechanically inclined or not willing to do the work yourself. So this is an important factor for many.
- ALL brands have lemons. Doesn't matter. There's always someone encountering big issues on both brands. Keep in mind they are usually a vocal minority. Many happy owners that remain quiet. A lot of times (NOT always), it's due to a lack of reading the manuals, comprehension, maintenance. I don't comment much on those since it's caused by their own mistakes. Boats require significant maintenance. Don't skimp.
- Scarab's steering surpasses Yamaha. No matter what many Yamaha owners say... it's one of the biggest selling features IMO. Yamaha has done work to significantly improve that though, but it's still not on par.
- If you live in an area prone to weeds/debris, then Yamaha has the benefit of the clean out ports. Scarabs don't. In my situation, clean out ports are useless after 240+ hours of boating. But I've seen many that live on rivers full of wood... then clean out ports make a lot more sense. Weeds generally get torn to pieces on Scarabs due to their design.
- Scarabs are more expensive. Generally flashier. Some care, some don't.
- Both motors are easy to maintain yourself. Repairs depend on what's going on. But maintenance is easy.
- Scarabs have a little more HP available if you care.
- Usually there are more Yamaha dealers by a wide margin. But apparently not in your case.

Quality on boats is pretty subjective from what I've seen. Also dependent on good/bad luck.

If you prefer Yamaha, you aren't making a mistake. If you prefer Scarab, you aren't making a mistake. Or you are in either case if you're unlucky or require dealer support that you don't have.