Bravo I/O vs Volvo Penta

I'm new to I/O's.I've been around Outboards & jets all my life. What's the big difference? Ease of maintenance vs. repairs costs? For a stock 454 what would you recommend? Overall strengths... Bravo vs. Volvo Penta

being new to boats!!! I did alot of checking around and herd volvo's are very costly to fix!!! Im not a pro but just what I heard

Here's my take:
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">There are very few performance parts available for Volvos. If you wanna go fast, Merc gets the nod on performance. <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Volvos are made for severe-duty (very hard to break). Even the Bravo copied a Volvo design (the Swedes invented the outdrive). Apples to apples, Volvo gets the nod for longevity. <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The are fewer Volvo shops that know their stuff, and parts from Sweden can be expensive. Basically, since Volvos seem to break less and shop hour rates are about the same, it evens out. However, since there are more Merc dealers, Merc gets the nod when it comes time for service (for convenience).<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">My old Volvo 280 has 20+ years of abuse (believe me, abuse)...and has only been serviced three times. It's still kickin' (behind over 450HP) with all the original components (besides bushings and seals), and the gears still look new.
So IMHO, I guess it would depend on what you are going to use it for. A Volvo on a family boat, or a Merc on a performance boat?
[ August 08, 2003, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Havasu Hangin' ]

mercruiser all the way... dont go volvo,, parts are very expensive, thats why they give a better warranty, they can't keep up with mercruiser sales

Thanks for the info. I had heard that Volvo had invented the "Outdrive", and that most of the "Guts" of the Bravo 1 were Volvo. There definately seems to be more authorized Merc Service dealers though...