Looking Too Buy My First Sea Doo Boat

[Bwilson]

Hi guys im new to this and was hoping you guys could help me out. Ive never driven one and im really intrested in a speedster. What should i look for buying used, ive been looking at the 2003 model and i think they look amazing. Just looking for some heads up before purchasing. Thanks a lot for your time guys

 

[cheappc]

Something about be careful buying Mercury engines compared to Rotax engines, I just rebuilt my entire engine compartment for like $1800 dollars.

I read on here that the Mercury engines can cost up to $5,000 to rebuilt? can someone please verify what I said?

Thanks..

 

[WAJetboating]

Here we go!

As far as older Seadoos, there's a huge ongoing argument about Rotax vs. Mercury engines. I'll save you the trouble and give you the summary:

* Rotax engines are less reliable and less expensive to repair.

* Mercury engines are more reliable and more expensive to repair.

Everything else will be some variation on this theme. I own, use, and maintain both engine types and both are just fine.

Have fun!

 

[canadianwhiskey]

Something else that is piece of mind is that nearly 100% of Marinas are merc dealers. So if you ever broke down, you wouldn't need to specifically look for a Sea Doo dealer for engine repair.

 

[BMANN06]

As far as older Seadoos, there's a huge ongoing argument about Rotax vs. Mercury engines. I'll save you the trouble and give you the summary:

* Rotax engines are less reliable and less expensive to repair.

* Mercury engines are more reliable and more expensive to repair.

Everything else will be some variation on this theme. I own, use, and maintain both engine types and both are just fine.

Have fun!

Well said!

 

[cheappc]

I appreciate your argument... but wait a second..

So if I would have bought a Mercury Powered Sea Doo that is more reliable, but unexpectedly my engine died, I would have to shell out like almost $5,000 dollars??????

And I dont have to worry about that.... I couldnt even almost pay $1,800 dollars for the one I got! geeez, $5000 would have made it impossible for me....

Please keep in mind, we are buying these boats from $3,500 to $8,500 in the older used end.... so $5,000 is steep for me...

 

[WAJetboating]

So if I would have bought a Mercury Powered Sea Doo that is more reliable, but unexpectedly my engine died, I would have to shell out like almost $5,000 dollars??????

It's not an automatic $5K. That's the number people bandy about for catastrophic damage like needing a new engine block, etc.

Everything is a tradeoff. I'd say Mercury engines are built tougher than Rotax, and they are designed to run more conservatively than Rotax. This means Rotax engines tend to fail more often. I spend way more time maintaining and servicing my Rotax engines (I have one with a high RPM problem right now, AGAIN, in fact). It's always a few hours here, a hundred bucks there, that sort of thing. Tweak, tune, fiddle, lather rinse repeat. But when they're running, they're great.

The Mercury engines just work. I never give a thought to the possibility that my Mercury SportJet might not start, or might run funny, or might have problems. That could happen, sure (to ANY engine), but because they are built tougher and aren't pushed to the limits like the Rotaxes they just keeping humming along.

When I approach one of my Rotax powered craft, there's always that worry in the back of my head that it might not work quite right today. When I approach my Mercury powered craft, it never even crosses my mind.

Anything can break. The risk is (Probability of failure x Cost to repair). If the probability goes low enough, the cost becomes less important. I have both engine types. I'm very happy to have Rotax in my jetskis, and I'm very happy to have Mercury in my boat. I wouldn't trade places.

 

[Bwilson]

Wow! This great guys keep em comming this is really helping me out, much appreciated!...

 

[cheappc]

Great! Thanks for making it more understandable to me.

You are right about my insecurity, that before and even now with my new engine I dont have that ease and comfort still in the back of my mind that my rotax is gonna work flawlessy.

So answer this gentlemans question in honesty, if this gentleman went ahead and bought a 2003 sea doo with a merc engine... his probability of engine failure is very low?

When I bought my boat I didnt even know about mercury or rotax, i just saw sea doo and I bought it. Its bitter sweet to me than that its a rotax, less reliable, but cheaper to repair.... If I blew a piston in a mercury engine I couldnt have afford a fix quite right away.... but if I fixed it, it would have lasted me longer?

So I guess its up to the buyer.... Rotax engine cheaper to fix, but less reliable, mercury more reliable more expensive to repair..

Pros and Cons.. what should I do?

 

[WAJetboating]

You are right about my insecurity, that before and even now with my new engine I dont have that ease and comfort still in the back of my mind that my rotax is gonna work flawlessy.

It will be fine as long as you maintain it properly. Use the best lubricants, follow the service manual's instructions for regular maintenance, etc. True for any engine.

So answer this gentlemans question in honesty, if this gentleman went ahead and bought a 2003 sea doo with a merc engine... his probability of engine failure is very low?

Presuming the engine has been well cared for (again, true for any engine), yes - very low. And remember, most problems with most engines aren't catastrophic and don't require whole engine blocks, etc. Need a voltage regulator? It's ~$80 for Rotax, ~$125 for Mercury. But guess what... I've replaced my Rotax regulators three times (twice on one, once on the other) due to failure. The only reason I replaced the perfectly good ones on my Mercury engine was because Mercury sent me two new ones for free as part of a recall!

If one were lying awake at night worried about a Mercury engine failing, the single best thing you could do is what the engine modifier guys do: Bypass the oil injection system and use premix (free) or an electrical oil pump (couple hundred bucks). The main weak spot in these engines is their plastic oil drive gear, a dumb decision on Mercury's part. They don't fail often but if they do, things can get expensive. So the high performance guys just cap off the on-engine pump and run premix. Presto - absolutely no possibility of oil starvation. Do that and they are essentially bulletproof. That's almost the only major thing that goes wrong with these engines.

By the way, lots of Rotax guys cap off the Rotax oil injection system and run premix too. Rotax oil injection failures don't get the publicity that Mercury oil injection failures do, but they do happen.

For what it's worth, I have not done that. I still run oil injection. And I sleep well at night {grin}.

 

[canadianwhiskey]

Basically take care of your stuff and you will be fine. Abuse it and you will pay.

 

[cheappc]

ok well then...

So the shop that fixed my engine right now put in a new oil pump? is that the same thing?

The mechanic at the shop also stated he premixed the fuel in my tank right now, even with the oil pump working???.. im confused...

Anyways, I guess the decisions are based solely on the buyer, so buyer beware.

I am gonna call my guy at the shop and see if he works on mercury engines.....

 

[ocod]

ok well then...

So the shop that fixed my engine right now put in a new oil pump? is that the same thing?

The mechanic at the shop also stated he premixed the fuel in my tank right now, even with the oil pump working???.. im confused...

Anyways, I guess the decisions are based solely on the buyer, so buyer beware.

I am gonna call my guy at the shop and see if he works on mercury engines.....

#1 oil pump has the gear they spoke about above.
#2 new engine rec to pre mix despite injection.

I had a ford 351 v8 in a 24 chris craft and it was a pita to fix anything in the engine.
I rather have less reliable but cheaper repair with the rotax or outboard motor any day...

 

[Seneca Bill]

I am new to this so please excuse my ignorance...Are Mercury and/or Rotax power available as options? Certain models? Or are all new models Rotax power?

 

[cheappc]

From my understanding all new sea doo power boats are only Rotax Powered.

 

[RFoster130]

Seadoo used mercury engines from 2000 to 2003. It wasnt an optional thing. That is just what motor they used those years. If you bought a boat, you got a mercury motor, any other year and you get the rotax engine.

 

[WAJetboating]

Seadoo used mercury engines from 2000 to 2003. It wasnt an optional thing. That is just what motor they used those years. If you bought a boat, you got a mercury motor, any other year and you get the rotax engine.

More accurately:

Seadoo used Mercury SportJet engines on SOME models from 2000 through 2006. During those years they had models with one or two Rotax engines, and models with single Mercury engines. The engine choice was dependent upon the model, you could not "choose" a Mercury powered model and request a Rotax instead.

Early on they offered four Mercury engine options: 200 Optimax, 210 Carb, 240EFI, and 250 Optimax. Toward the end of the relationship between the companies the options shrank until during the last year I believe only the 250 Optimax was offered. Mercury still makes the 250 Optimax engine, and I believe even has the M2 jetdrive available as a special order. They definitely make parts for all of those engines since they were used not just for jetdrives but for huge production runs of outboards too.

The Rotax vs. Mercury thing caused a rift not only with owners (just read the comments on this site!) but with dealers too. One local Seadoo dealer I know stopped carrying the boats in 2000 specifically because they "didn't like the Mercury engines". I believe their real reason was that they were already tooled up to service Rotax since they also carried jetskis and snowmobiles. Come 2006-2007, when Seadoo went back to all-Rotax engines, this dealer started carrying their boats again. He had to retool for the new 4-Tec engines anyway so it was no additional overhead for him.