[mnerren]

I am new to the PWC arena. I have had a boat and currently have a motorcycle, I kindof consider this a cross between the two. I am looking on Craigs List and have a couple that I am looking at. I have also found a mechanic that is willing to go along with me to check them out for a small fee. The first one I am looking at is an 01 Seadoo GTX DI with the 951 cc motor, there are 2 available, one has 49 hours and one has 100 hours, but the mechanic tells me to never believe the hour meters. I can get one for $3600 with a single trailer or the other is $3900 with a single trailer. Does this sound resonable? Are these good PWCs? Thanks for all of your advice and opinions.

 

[JayDawg]

Stay away from Sea Doo! I actually call them Sea Don'ts because they have the worse reliability. Ipersonally will only every buy a Yamaha or Kawasaki. They have been around the longest, have the best technology and the best reliability.

 

[Fick]

I was looking to get a Yamaha, but i'm not clear on which model to get. At first I was looking at the FZS, but it's too expensive even getting it $200 above dealer cost. I was wondering how much of a loss would I have by downgrading to the FX-HO?

Jumping waves, quick short bursts, recreational use is what i'm looking for. Do you think the FX-HO will suffice for what I want?

 

[JayDawg]

My guess is that it will. Heck, I come from a time when a 650 was a big thing and then when the 750's came out you were in amazement. In all honesty, I have not ridden a 4 stroke so I do not know how they are on torque compared to my 2 jet ski's that I have but I do know that the model that you are considering would probably at least be good at wave jumping and recreational use as most jet ski's are.

 

[mnerren]

Okay, I hear you on the SeaDoo, but honestly, I think this ski is a good deal. The first owner got the ski as a wedding present, kind of a pretty boy and let it sit in the garage covered up from 01 to 08, last year a guy bought the ski with 0 hours, took the gas tank and drained it, put a new fuel pump on it and cleaned the fuel injectors, started it up and rode it all last summer, putting 49 hours on the motor. He know wants to get the big Yammi SHO and wants to sell it for $3500, it looks and runs brand new and comes with a trailer. How can I go wrong? Even if I do have to put some money in it, I still am doing better than spending $12,000+ on a new one. Am I missing something here?

 

[Fick]

Okay, I hear you on the SeaDoo, but honestly, I think this ski is a good deal. The first owner got the ski as a wedding present, kind of a pretty boy and let it sit in the garage covered up from 01 to 08, last year a guy bought the ski with 0 hours, took the gas tank and drained it, put a new fuel pump on it and cleaned the fuel injectors, started it up and rode it all last summer, putting 49 hours on the motor. He know wants to get the big Yammi SHO and wants to sell it for $3500, it looks and runs brand new and comes with a trailer. How can I go wrong? Even if I do have to put some money in it, I still am doing better than spending $12,000+ on a new one. Am I missing something here?

He's just saying that SeaDoo's are unreliable and parts are outrageous in price compared to Yam/Kawi. If you think it's a once in a lifetime deal, then by all means grab it. And you're right, if you can't afford a 12k ski, you have to work with what you got.

 

[mnerren]

I didn't say I can't afford it, for once in my life I was trying to get something without throwing a bunch of money down the drain.

 

[mnerren]

Kawi Ultra 250x

The local dealer has an '08 Ultra 250X, he said it has 250 hp, it is in red. He said since it is last years model, he will take $9500 for it and I can get 6 months no money down no interest and just pay it off in six payments. I talked him into throwing in a new trailer too. I put $100 down on it and went back to work to think about it. Sounds like a good deal to me, what do ya think?

 

[JayDawg]

You will love the Ultra 250X! That is a good deal! I bought both of my Jet ski's new but they were a year old at the dealership and got smoking deals on them.

With the Sea Doo, even if it was a good deal at $3,500.00. You can still buy Kawasaki or Yamaha's that are just as fast but better ski's for the same deal and that was what I was trying to warn you about. I have a good friend back home that is a PWC mechanic and the ones he sees the most in his shop and through no fault of the owners is Sea Doo, Tigershark and Polaris. The 2 that he sees the least is Kawasaki and then Yamaha. Also speaking from personal experience with Kawasaki and their extended warranty, it is awesome! Back in 98' or 99' I was at the river on my stand up and water somehow got into the engine compartment and the ski sunk as we were floating down river. We believe it was a bad hood scoop seal but are not for sure on that? Anyway, It was about 15 to 20 feet of water where the ski sunk but a guy on a jet boat driving by stopped and helped me re float my ski. We tied a rope to the nose and he pulled it out of the water. I had to sit on the very back of the stand up to keep the nose up and 2 hours later we found a sand bar to dump all of the water out. He then towed me back to shore and we called it a weekend. I took the ski to my friend who works at the dealership that I bought my jet ski from. I had also bought the extended warranty and Kawasaki covered everything with no questions asked. The final bill was over $4,000.00 for parts and labor but Kawasaki stood behind everything. I still have that stand up and it has well over 100 hours on it and it still runs like a champ and starts right up whenever I take it out. Other than that one bad hood scoop seal causing the ski to sink, I have never had a single issue with that ski or my Ultra 150. My stand up has been mostly in the ocean wave jumping including being in the ocean with 20+ foot waves during El Nino back in 97' the year that I purchased it. It now is ridden only in fresh water because we have moved from California but both of my ski's have been great and very reliable.

 

[mnerren]

Well, I decided to go ahead with the Kawi, they want $1000 for the extended warranty, sounds a little high to me, what do you guys think? Can you get the extended warranty from somewhere else or at a later date? I will ask when I go to pick it up too, but thought you guys may know.

 

[JayDawg]

The extended warranties are always negotiable on price. I believe both of mine were around $500.00 for the longest warranty they had offered though Kawasaki. I am almost willing to bet if you offered anywhere from $500.00 to $700.00 for the extended warranty, they would take it. If they say "No." then ask to see their cost on paper of what they pay for the warranty. Once they have showed you, then negotiate from there and if you still don't like the deal, remind them that a little profit on it is better than no profit and the more they sell to customers especially in this time of financial hardship for most people with the economy being bad right now only helps them with their relationship with the manufacturer. If they still don't bite, then walk away from it and maybe try and bluff and see that you will then hold off on the jet ski too (after all paper work has been typed up but not signed) and see what another dealership will do for you. Chances are, you do that, and they will work with you.