Mercruiser vs Volvo Penta: Which One Has the WORST Sterndrive System?

MerCruiser or Volvo Penta — which sterndrive is the one that ends your weekend and drains your wallet? A retired marine surveyor scores both drives the way he would on survey day: why the MerCruiser Alpha One is cheap to fix but the most fragile leg in the water, why Volvo's tougher old S X and Duoprop legs cost thirty to fifty percent more to feed, and the bellows-and-gimbal failure hidden behind the transom that turns a fifty-dollar part into a seventeen-hundred-dollar bill. Real repair receipts, a straight verdict on which system is worse to inherit, and who should still buy each one — before you put your name on anything.