How many hours can I expect from a Jet Ski?

I need help before buying a jet ski!?

• I've never boughten a boat or jet ski before & i'm not sure what to look for if its a good deal or not. For instance, there is one thats $2k, its a 97' Sea Doo Bombardier SP jet ski (what does that mean), appearantly it doesn't have an hour gage so he doesn't know how many hours are on it, I asked to have a mechanic look at it and he said he didn't have the time to do that because he needs to sell it fast & has lots of offers on it (well I ain't dumb with the whole "lots" of people interested, i've pulled that one before). I guess I just need to know what to expect, is this a good deal (also comes with a trailer), anything wrong with this model? Is 10 years too old? and do the single ski trailers have a 4 way flat that work with a 2 inch ball (thats what my truck has. Here is the site: http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/335521562.html thanks!

• Answer:

  With the information you provided, I'd hesitate to buy this SP. Not because it's 10 years old as much as I don't think it's a good ski for a novice rider. The Sea Doo SP was an entry level ski, and has a detuned 718 Rotax engine that is rated at 60 horsepower, which is fairly underpowered. You can expect a top speed of about 40 mph at best with it, which will get pretty boring after you've taken it out a few times. It's a two seater that weighs about 390 pounds unloaded, and has a smallish 9 gallon gas tank. While it's fairly agile in turns, it's hull design provides a wet ride in choppy water and for a novice rider, it can be somewhat unstable, ( prone to rolling over ) especially if 2 people ride it at the same time. I'm not a fan of Sea Doos in general, and admit I'm biased against them, but I think you can do better. For your 1rst ski, I'd think you'd be better off with a 3-seater with a minimum of 80 horsepower, but the more horsepower you can afford, the happier you'll be in the long run. The trailer that comes with the SP is nice, galvanized trailers are a whole lot better than painted ones, and if you plan on taking it in salt water, almost is a necessity. However, one like that one (http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/boa/33...) would fetch about $1600 - $1800 where I live, and the seller's reluctance to let you have a mechanic check it out would really raise a red flag with me. My estimate is if he rode it during the summer up in Seattle, he could have put on about 15 - 20 hours a year, putting it close to 200 hours on the engine. The benchmark of what's considered an average maintained two-stroke engine life is about 300 hours. If you really want to pursue buying it, if I were you I'd offer to pay for gas if he'd take you out and let you test ride it, that would give you an idea on how it handles and performs, and might show if he's hiding problems. Explain to him it's your first time with skis and you'd like him to familiarize you with the SP's operation, you want to learn how to launch and recover a ski from the trailer, learn how to properly attach the trailer to your truck for safe towing, etc. It's considered good ettiquette for him to comply with a request like that, if he refuses, then once again that would raise a warning signal and cause me to walk away from the deal. All jet ski trailers come with the flat 4-pole connector and 2" ball hitch as standard, so you shouldn't have any trouble hooking it to your truck.