Gonna buy a 00' Challenger...What to look for?

[Hemibuck]

Hey everybody,

I'm very new to the world of Sea Doo's but have been very interested for the past few years. I have found a 00' 2000 Challenger with the 200hp Merc Optimax Jet. It's in really nice shape for 10+years old. We took it out for a drive and it was interesting in how it steers, seemed to pull to the left but it sounds like that's normal. Other than that it was fast but after we ran it and stopped to talk the motor had a tough time starting up and wouldn't idle. The dealer said he would have them look at that but that he didn't know if they could adjust anything.

So what I'm asking help for is before I make and offer on the boat what should I have the dealer replace? They said they went through it and the compression was strong across all 6 cylinders. Other than that I don't know what they did or replaced. It sounds like the fuel filters are known to go out, should I have them replaced and what other things should I have done. Thanks for the help!

 

[LouDoo]

I'm not telling you not to buy it. But the Merc. power was not one of BRP's best decisions. Check out the Mercury powered thread on this forum.

If it were me I would look for another boat.

Lou

 

[seadoosnipe]

If SeaDooLou won't tell you, then let me do it for him. Turn away from this boat and look for another one.

The relationship with BRP and Mercury was a short lived one. They equipped the boats with the 200,210,240 and the last 250 DI Optimax. The only real problem is finding a shop to work on it. I've heard some say that when they went to Seadoo, they were told they did not work on Mercury's. Then when going to a Mercury shop, they did not work on motors with Jet units.

In our world, it's considered a hybrid. It's made from two different companies. The Merc motors served their purpose at that time, since the most horsepower Rotax turned out was the 130 hp 951 2 strokes. But, in the year that followed, they came out with their first 4 stroke, the 155 hp, naturally aspirated 3 cylinder. It wasn't long after, the 4-TEC was pushing 210 - 255 horsepower, which by comparison to the weight ratio of the Merc motors to the Rotax, was a no brainer.

The problem with your not being able to start back up, is a common problem with the Merc's fuel system. It has a system on it that automatically enrichens the fuel/air mix for hot and cold starts. For you to have a hard time to start, I'd say the systems availability of setting the mixture back to a rich setting was hampered. Could be a vapor seperator problem, could be an electrical issue with the "turn key enrichment" system....

I have the 1997 Challenger and like you, fell in love with the way the thing steered, pulled tubes and just flat out ran like a banshee... But, I'd never bought one with the Merc motor.

I know, before all you guys with the Merc powered boats jump on me, I'd also have to say, those who own them, and have had them for a long time, have gone through all the trials and tribulations with them. They know their motor and how it's going to perform. The Merc motor isn't a bad choice for boaters, just a bad choice for someone who hasn't had the experience with it, to buy one over 10 years old; especially when the dealer is the one trying to make an excuse for it not starting back up......"I'll have the guys look it over, but can't say they'll find anything",..... translates to, putting it out back, telling you they are still working on it, then calling you (who is so excited to get it) and telling you it's ready. And to think your going to get them to replace something, unless you can visually see it, from a clean package, it's not been replaced....... I don't do to good in trusting a dealer. I might be a bit more easy on this sale, if it were from a one owner....but not a stealership.....:leaving:

There are some nice Seadoo boats to be found, don't just settle.

 

[LouDoo]

Seadoosnipe is correct, I was just being a little more diplomatic. I guess snipe is never going into politics.

Mercury marine is not a bad company, in fact its a good compay, I've have several boats over the years with Mercruiser power. I think the problem is when Mercury went from a traditional propeller to a jet drive. Basically what they did was marry a traditional outboard powerhead to a jet pump drive. It turned out less than successful.

Like snipe said its tough to get parts and service on these boats.

Lou

 

[Hemibuck]

No I appreciate the honesty, it's what I was looking for. I want my first boat to be something I'm not going to have to worry about breaking down all the time. I called the local See Doo dealer who is only 5 minutes from my house and he said he can't work on them. That was another red flag for me along with the dealer beating around the bush and not being up front about what was done to the boat and how long until it was fixed. So I will walk away from this one. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Thumper]

No I appreciate the honesty, it's what I was looking for. I want my first boat to be something I'm not going to have to worry about breaking down all the time. I called the local See Doo dealer who is only 5 minutes from my house and he said he can't work on them. That was another red flag for me along with the dealer beating around the bush and not being up front about what was done to the boat and how long until it was fixed. So I will walk away from this one. Thanks again for the advice.

I'd suggest you look at the Yamaha Jet boats. Don't have one but my experience Yamaha Marine motors, Quads and Cycles on the product engineering and flat-standing behind their products front has been impressive. Specifically, i had a tech call them about something that was "jacked-up" on the design/manufacturing side and they said, no problem-we'll cover it. Done. This product was three years out of warranty. I'll admit, although I work for a Candian based company I'm a little frazzled right now with Bombardier product engineering in general but it is-what-it-is.