Want to purchase an older Jet Ski. Super NOOB. Please help.

[ShawnDon24]

All,

I'd like to purchase an older, used Jet Ski. Reason being -- I maybe visit the lake once or twice a year and cannot justifying spending the money for a brand new one that will sit in my garage for 350 days of the year. Also, my cousin has a Yamaha something something they purchased in 1999 that still runs very well. Hits like 55MPH on the ski speedometer (not sure what the accuracy is there) and is always a blast. Not sure why I'd want anything faster than that.

Anyway, I don't want to spend more than $2000 dollars on the thing -- and perhaps some of you are going to comment and say that my problem starts there. Who knows. But I have some very basic questions.

1.) What models have proven to hold their quality over time? What is the honda civic of the Jet Ski world?

2.) How much money should I expect to put down for one of these?

3.) What sort of tests/questions should I ask when actually buying the Jet Ski? (I'm not mechanically inclined, BTW).

Thanks in advance for your answers! All the best,

Shawn

 

[SeaDooSam]

All of my Jet skis (Seadoo's) are USED. There is nothing wrong with buying used, you just need to be smart about it. My best advice is to get a nice looking ski that has a bad motor but good computer and everything else (not sunk or anything) for around $1000. Then, put a motor in it. This way you KNOW it has a good motor. I bought a boat with a "New" motor and it blew a month later (SBT piece of crap). It was under warranty, but still had to pay a lot for labor.

Once again, there is nothing wrong with used just be CAREFUL and SMART about what you are doing.

As far as models go, my 2000ish Seadoo GTX's are probably the best ones I have. The "higher end when new" models, I would assume are the best quality. I l have heard that Yamaha's are much better than Seadoos as far as the motors go. Also, do not rush a purchase.That is when mistakes are made. Keep in mind with seadoos, the engines only last 200-300 hours MAX. So, a ski with 200 hours will be cheap and that is the reason.

Questions to ask: Has it been used in salt water?
Does the owner go wide open throttle (WOT) all the time or just cruise around? (WOT continuously for hours is what kills these things. Do not go WOT all day long.)
Is the operator/owner a responsible adult or wild teenager?
Has it been properly winterized and serviced?
Has it sat for a long time ?(Low hours and really old is not always good. it means it has sat unused -seals go bad, bad oil and gas, etc.)


For one ski I would expect to pay $2000-$3000 depending on age, condition, hours, etc. That price should include a trailer.

Jet skis are awesome. No need to go past 55mph either, you are right.
Happy Buying!

 

[SeaDooSam]

Additional note, you may want to just consider renting if you truly only want it for a few days.

 

[slag]

All of my Jet skis (Seadoo's) are USED. There is nothing wrong with buying used, you just need to be smart about it. My best advice is to get a nice looking ski that has a bad motor but good computer and everything else (not sunk or anything) for around $1000. Then, put a motor in it. This way you KNOW it has a good motor. I bought a boat with a "New" motor and it blew a month later (SBT piece of crap). It was under warranty, but still had to pay a lot for labor.

Once again, there is nothing wrong with used just be CAREFUL and SMART about what you are doing.

As far as models go, my 2000ish Seadoo GTX's are probably the best ones I have. The "higher end when new" models, I would assume are the best quality. I l have heard that Yamaha's are much better than Seadoos as far as the motors go. Also, do not rush a purchase.That is when mistakes are made. Keep in mind with seadoos, the engines only last 200-300 hours MAX. So, a ski with 200 hours will be cheap and that is the reason.

Questions to ask: Has it been used in salt water?
Does the owner go wide open throttle (WOT) all the time or just cruise around? (WOT continuously for hours is what kills these things. Do not go WOT all day long.)
Is the operator/owner a responsible adult or wild teenager?
Has it been properly winterized and serviced?
Has it sat for a long time ?(Low hours and really old is not always good. it means it has sat unused -seals go bad, bad oil and gas, etc.)


For one ski I would expect to pay $2000-$3000 depending on age, condition, hours, etc. That price should include a trailer.

Jet skis are awesome. No need to go past 55mph either, you are right.
Happy Buying!

I've used SBT engines in 3 different jetskis and have never had issues with any of them. They rebuild quality engines and stand behind them with a very generous warranty.

 

[jkust]

2 grand around my neck of the woods in MN is going to be a junker that will frustrate you with old technology and repairs when you want to be on it those few precious days. I'm on the complete opposite end of the spectrum...55mph will take about ten minutes to quickly outgrow and want more speed and I'm past my speed demon years. My nearly new supercharged Yamaha waverunner runs a speedo 70 which is the Coast Guard limited speed for a production pwc but is actually only 66 gps and seems pedestrian after a week. My take is $4,500 ish will get something early 4 stroke years with a trailer that is relatively decent. Of course prices vary dramatically by region.

 

[JimS123]

Jetskis are often bought by people who don't have a clue about maintenance. Ever hear the phrase "rode hard and put away wet". Used skis are a crap shoot, especially the older ones. Most require constant tinkering to get them to run right. Can you spell $$$.

What you are asking for is unreasonable. The few times you would use one in your price range you would be spending all your time to get it to run, not using it.

If you had your car in the garage and only drove it 4 times a year, how do you think that would turn out.....LOL.

Rent one for $60 an hour. It will be cheaper in the long run and you will get to use it.

 

[SeaDooSam]

Jetskis are often bought by people who don't have a clue about maintenance. Ever hear the phrase "rode hard and put away wet". Used skis are a crap shoot, especially the older ones. Most require constant tinkering to get them to run right. Can you spell $$$.

What you are asking for is unreasonable. The few times you would use one in your price range you would be spending all your time to get it to run, not using it.

Rent one for $60 an hour. It will be cheaper in the long run and you will get to use it.

+10000000 For what you want, it will be big headache.

 

[jkust]

Jetskis are often bought by people who don't have a clue about maintenance. Ever hear the phrase "rode hard and put away wet". Used skis are a crap shoot, especially the older ones. Most require constant tinkering to get them to run right. Can you spell $$$.

What you are asking for is unreasonable. The few times you would use one in your price range you would be spending all your time to get it to run, not using it.

If you had your car in the garage and only drove it 4 times a year, how do you think that would turn out.....LOL.

Rent one for $60 an hour. It will be cheaper in the long run and you will get to use it.

To take it further, many marinas and shops won't touch them. The only marina near my lake house simply refuses to service them though they are all over the place. You know that many of the owners that would never defer maintenance on their primary boat are doing so on their PWC.

 

[Leardriver]

Those Yamahas from 1998 on are XLT 1200's, Motors seem to run forever.

As far as maintenance, there are very few moving parts with a two stroke. You mix oil with the gas. As long as it runs good when you look at it, and has good compression, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one.

 

[WaterDR]

2k will get you junk. If it runs and does not frustrate you, then you got lucky.

BUT, if there are two things you need to check...do this....check compression and prop clearance. If both are good, you will eliminate most of the expensive problems.