How many outboard hours are too many? Are you looking at buying a 2nd hand outboard and it has high hours, how many engine hours are too many? This is a very hard question to answer as there are a lot of factors to consider when buying a 2nd hand outboard. Sometimes having a lot of hours is not necessarily a bad thing. If an outboard engine is only used once in a blue moon for short periods, it means it spends time sitting around. Source: https://www.outboardclinic.com/outboard-machine-shop/