Help a noob out: '03 gtx vs '05 rxt

[Emerica]

I've got buddies who recently bought Kawasaki jetskis and I want to get myself a seadoo now. I

I've been searching for a little bit now and I found two seadoos that really interest me but I've got no idea which one I should go forward with.

The first one is a 2003 gtx 185hp. Asking for $5000CAD.
The second one is a 2005 rtx 215hp. Apparently has 190hrs. Asking for $6000CAD.

Both come with a trailer.

I'd like to know which one is the more reliable and basically which one would you guys choose personally?

Thanks guys and girls!

 

[ski-d00]

The 03 have bad pumps and the 215 is far superior to the 185. Easy choice even at the price increase.

 

[door54]

I agree...The 215 hands down.

However, 190 hrs is getting up there for 6k IMO.
There's a thread that was posted earlier today where a buyer found a '05 RXP for 6500 with 20 hrs on it... "is this a good deal" OP: The GunMan (pics included) ...
I suggest looking at everything you can go see...but it's late in the season, and soon it will be a buyers market.

How long before it grows cold where you are?

 

[Emerica]

I agree...The 215 hands down.

However, 190 hrs is getting up there for 6k IMO.
There's a thread that was posted earlier today where a buyer found a '05 RXP for 6500 with 20 hrs on it... "is this a good deal" OP: The GunMan (pics included) ...
I suggest looking at everything you can go see...but it's late in the season, and soon it will be a buyers market.

How long before it grows cold where you are?

It starts to get cold towards the end of September - early October. Not much time left to ride on the water.

 

[Michael211_2000]

The 215 hp RXT is ALOT more machine for the money, but that one has far too many hours on it for that asking price.. for ~$6K it'd need to have less than half that number of hours. The 215 hp supercharged models like that RXT require 100 hr rebuilding of the supercharger (~$650-$850 or more a pop, depending on who rebuilds it), so that one should be almost ready for the 2nd supercharger rebuild... and what's the condition of the machine overall is it extremely "clean"? You can always make an offer on the RXT if you like it and the maintenance has been done on it properly (ie. supercharger rebuilds every 100 hrs most important!). But with that many hours I wouldn't offer the seller anywhere near $6K I'd find one with less than 100 hrs on it for that much showroom "clean" and lake-ready!

Also do NOT make an offer on any machine unless you can take it for a test drive!!! IF you can't test drive it, then presume it has a problem and adjust your offer wayyyyy down! Even if the seller shows you it starts and idles ok on the trailer that's NOT the same as how it may run under a load on the water you need to be able to drive it for 10 minutes or so on the water to make sure it's really running right! You wouldn't pay good money for a car or truck you couldn't test-drive 1st, why would you pay thousands for a PWC that the seller doesn't want you to test drive???

- Michael

 

[Michael211_2000]

Hey go on Ebay and search on SeaDoo RXT (and SeaDoo GTX if you like) and look at what's available and Watch some of them to see what they end up going for, for a few weeks at least... even ones not in your local area. It'll give you a better idea what's out there and what condition they're being offered in and how much these machines sell for online... many seller's will even allow potential bidders/buyers to test drive the watercraft, and if a seller on Ebay misrepresents the item you bought/won you can dispute the transaction and get your money back at the least! I still highly recommend seeing the watercraft in person and test driving before making an offer/buying or bidding on though....

Also check your local CraigsList for watercraft for sale under the Boats category. You can also check with local marina's, but expect to pay a premium price there.

Good luck! Fall time is buyer's market as many people will want to sell their watercraft rather than storing them over the wintertime (either getting out of boating altogether, or planning to purchase a new model watercraft next spring).

- Michael