Good Deal?

[alexmcduffie]

2001 SeaDoo Challenger Bombardier 15'. asking $4800 . Comes with trailer and tags are good until 2012. twin 85 hp rotax engines.
Great condition. Engine has about 125 operated hours.

The boat looks in great condition. Price good? What should I look for? engine reliable model?

This is my first boat but I have always had land toys such as bikes and sport cars.

 

[alexmcduffie]

anyone can help that be great?

 

[RFoster130]

Im not an expert, but I dont think that is a real boat. I think the 01 should have the mercury drive not the twin rotax. Also, I think the challenger was 18 ft not 15ft. Might wanna double check on it.

 

[timhood]

Scams abound

I can't tell you how many times I ran into scammers whenever I found what I thought was a good deal in an internet ad. If you contact them, you inevitably get a story about how the boat isn't local, but they'll ship it to you using eBay escrow (which doesn't exist). You can a fake invoice from eBay with instructions to Western Union or MoneyGram money to the "escrow manager" who is the scammer waiting to happily take your money which will never be refunded.

Bottom line: if a boat is a lot cheaper than it should be, it's either an "eBay escrow" scam (or similar) or the boat is in a lot worse condition than you'd probably want it to be.

An easy way to tell is to run a NADA guide on the boat. Most owners will be asking for average retail or above. A boat will need repairs to be priced lower than average and it would probably need serious work to be priced below low book.

 

[timhood]

2001 SeaDoo Challenger Bombardier 15'. asking $4800 . Comes with trailer and tags are good until 2012. twin 85 hp rotax engines.
Great condition. Engine has about 125 operated hours.

The boat looks in great condition. Price good? What should I look for? engine reliable model?

This is my first boat but I have always had land toys such as bikes and sport cars.

By the way, there is a 15' Challenger with 2x85 engines, so the ad is correct in the specs. Low NADA is $4190, average NADA is $4720. If the boat is cosmetically good for its age and running well, that's a decent price. You might be able to talk the owner down some if they don't understand NADA pricing. Average retail is not "high book", but if you approach the owner that way, you could probably get him to split the difference between low and average, or about $4500. You might even start at low book and see if you get a bite. If the owner really wants to sell and isn't getting a lot of interest, the $600 may be worth the quick sale.

 

[Dr Honda]

Yup... 2001 had a twin Challenger 14.5'

If it's not a scam, and it's in good shape, then yes... that is a very good price. I would expect that boat to have an asking price of $5500 to $6000. SeaDoo boats always go for more than book.