Need Opinion on 04 waverunner xl
I'm thinking about getting a waverunner.
What do you think of a
2004 waverunner xl with galvanized trailer for $2500.
runs ok, new seat. run in saltwater..
what should I look for? is this worth buying, if it needs a rebuild or pump down the road?
or am I better off spending around $5k-6k for a ski and trailer with around 100 hours that is around 8 years old.
Posted Jul 18, 2018, 2:14 PM UTC
38
It's 2018 don't buy a crusty old 2-stroke without reverse you're just setting yourself up for a summer of frustration. They all need rebuilds that's the nature of owning a 2-stroke. A rebuild will cost you more than what you paid. That $2500 POS ski will end up costing you 6k+
You can buy 2016 Yamaha V1 (2016 got a upgraded engine) for 5-6k that's still probably under warranty. It will last 2000+ hours if not longer between rebuilds. They are the staple of rental fleets.
I live in Florida, we on average do 50 hrs a year. 100hrs is nothing that's not even broken in yet. My 2015 I bought new off the showroom has 185hrs.
Thanks for the advice, I'll look for a 4 stroke.
I'm in So Fla..
How big a deal is the closed cooling system on SeeDoo vs Yamaha? from what I read Yamaha is more reliable. but is that still true for saltwater run waverunners?
I've owned boats most of my life, but this would be my 1st waverunner.
The #1 most popular rental ski in the world in salt water locations is Yamaha. If running jet skis 8hrs a day 365 days a year is your business you would want to own the most reliable and cheapest to maintain and you'll never see a rental fleet using Seadoo.
Seadoo's closed loop cooling isn't perfect nor is it the answer. The ski still needs to be flushed as it still uses raw water for cooling other systems such as exhaust. It also adds complication and is prone to failures. Seadoo is owned by BRP which loves engineering planned obsolescence into their products. Seadoo has a flawed design with their sealing of the driveshaft going into the hull, you would think that would be an easy thing to design as driveshafts have been going through hulls for 100+ years, but the seals are prone to sudden failure and the ski will sink. Seadoo refuses to acknowledge the issue or fix it. Just google it
Flush with Salt-Away and maintain per the owner's manual and you'll be good to go for the life of the ski.
A lot of rental fleets in NZ use Seadoo, although I'd agree they aren't as reliable, that doesn't mean they are unreliable
Not sure what you're talking about with planned obsolescence, Seadoo is constantly evolving, and much quicker compared to other brands, this does mean skis get outdated, but not obsolete.
I wonder what the rate of CLCS failures are compared to Yamaha salt build up/corrosion failures. I don't know the stats but is reckon it's similar.
As for the drive shaft seals- they rarely fail suddenly, they are a wear item. Sudden failure would usually be caused by running the skis out the water too long. The GTI90 and Sparks use a different seal system, but that's not 100% problem free either.
They are not a wear item with Yamaha jet skis. They last the lifetime of the watercraft.
I'll have to disagree:
https://cdn.nautal.com/media/boats/88/x/88190.jpg
http://ocmdboats.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/100_0802.jpg
But yes, Yamaha is by far the preferred rental PWC.