Considering a 1996 Seadoo Speedster 400

[BobFromTwinsburg]

But the current owner just bought it a week ago and had an issue where "We cannot get one motor to turn over and we did not look any further into the issue since we planned to upgrade after this season anyway."

It comes with a trailer, and looks good in the pictures. However, I have to assume the worst. What is a fair price for this? He dropped to $2300, and I'm thinking of offering between 1500 - 1800. Its also 200 miles from me.

I've done a lot of work on car engines over the years, are the engines in this one similar?

Would we be able to fit a family of 4 with 2 dogs in this 14 footer and tube?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bdk1282s]

$1000-1500 would be good as long as interior is good (like new or recently replaced) , hull is solid , trailer solid , titles of your state requires them. Probably $500-1500 to rebuild or replace motor, find out how motor blew and fix that, probably rebuild carbs, mpem could be bad if they tried jump starting (another $500-1000), among many other minor issues if boat sat for a long time or neglected. Or you could luck out and it's just a starter, starter solenoid, bad wire , dess post , or neutral safety switch. I'd at least inspect head, attempt to turn over and make sure motor is not junk before making offer. I paid $2400 for a 1995 speedster with a bad safety switch and had to run a neutral safety switch bypass , the only reason I paid that much was because boat was very clean , new interior , and sell was very knowledgeable of boat and had replaced mpem , rebuilt carbs, brand new interior , premix conversion , single battery setup, radio added and clear titles.

 

[Bdk1282s]

Also it'd be a bit tight for a family of 4 unless your kids are small, there's not alot of room with 3 adults. These model speedsters are more like big jet skis , they're very fast , but can beat you up on rough water, the front seat is not the place to be when moving fast. Maintenance is a huge part on these boats , and do as much research as you can if you purchase one. I know the weight limit on my 95 is 600lbs and 4 people , I think itd be cramped with 4 people and 2 dogs. The newer Sea Doo boats were 20' but more $ , but I'd personally look into one of them

 

[BobFromTwinsburg]

$1000-1500 would be good as long as interior is good (like new or recently replaced) , hull is solid , trailer solid , titles of your state requires them. Probably $500-1500 to rebuild or replace motor, find out how motor blew and fix that, probably rebuild carbs, mpem could be bad if they tried jump starting (another $500-1000), among many other minor issues if boat sat for a long time or neglected. Or you could luck out and it's just a starter, starter solenoid, bad wire , dess post , or neutral safety switch. I'd at least inspect head, attempt to turn over and make sure motor is not junk before making offer. I paid $2400 for a 1995 speedster with a bad safety switch and had to run a neutral safety switch bypass , the only reason I paid that much was because boat was very clean , new interior , and sell was very knowledgeable of boat and had replaced mpem , rebuilt carbs, brand new interior , premix conversion , single battery setup, radio added and clear titles.

Thank you for your detailed reply. I understand it all except for mpem. What exactly is that?

 

[BobFromTwinsburg]

Also it'd be a bit tight for a family of 4 unless your kids are small, there's not alot of room with 3 adults. These model speedsters are more like big jet skis , they're very fast , but can beat you up on rough water, the front seat is not the place to be when moving fast. Maintenance is a huge part on these boats , and do as much research as you can if you purchase one. I know the weight limit on my 95 is 600lbs and 4 people , I think itd be cramped with 4 people and 2 dogs. The newer Sea Doo boats were 20' but more $ , but I'd personally look into one of them

Yikes, I knew it wasn't a big boat, but a 600 pound limit would be a deal breaker, since my kids are both teenagers. Thank you very much for you insights.

 

[Bdk1282s]

The mpem is basically the brain of the boat , similar to a ecm. I know Sea-Doo no longer makes them for my 95, and very expensive and hard to find. They fry when jump started , battery hooked up backwards.