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Need some Advice on a Craigslist purchase.

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Pravius

Pravius

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Hello everyone,

Completely new to the forum, never have owned a jet ski but am a frequent rider. Short story about me. My family and I went out over this summer to go camping and my brother in law brought his 95 SP. Long story short, I realized that I was finally old enough to be able to afford one myself and have since become obsessed with browsing Craigslist for good deals.

I wanted your opinions however before I did buy one. This ski is pending my compression test on the cylinders but everything else looks amazing and just wanted to get some pros opinion before pulling the trigger on the sale.

Thanks in advance for any information, thoughts, opinions, etc!

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/boa/3274852098.html
 
well...there is no doubt that the 96 xp is a great ski and is super fast but i personally would not pay even close to his asking price on that...The engine bay looks terrible and that is the first place you can tell how the ski was maintained...Also it has an aftermarket air intake but i cant tell if it has aftermarket or BORED carbs on it so thats a negative (to me) .....i see it has a wiseco sticker on the back..Possibly been rebuilt (make sure to ask)......If i were going to buy it i wouldnt pay more than about $1000 on the trailer if the compression was good and all the fuel lines have been changed
 
i think the price is pretty fair given it sounds like your location they are priced higher than florida. but of course you can and should always try to jew them down a few more hundred. In addition to a compression test, I would recommend to test it in water. Because sounding great and reving it on land is different than actually running in water. I've read others recommend you check the impeller and wear ring to see if there is any damage. Also they recommend to see if the original gray tempo fuel lines are still in there and that could mean you'll probably need a carb clean or rebuild soon, so that could be another point of price negotiation. But best of luck, you picked a good one, everybody loves those 96 xp's

edit: i don't know anything bout the aftermarket stuff, so i'd listen to brock1's advice
 
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Thanks for the super fast reply. I noticed the engine did look a little rough, but was not sure if it just needed to be cleaned or what. The guy does say it runs flawless but I am sure so does everyone. All of these 96' XP's I find are always typically $2k or a little under with the trailer (the trailer does come with it.) I am not very mechanically knowledgeable, I work in IT and can build a computer from the ground up but an engine, not so much.. I am learning though and this is one of the reasons why I wanted to get one in fall, so I can spend the winter working on it!

My biggest concern right now is finding one before the spring because I have heard they skyrocket in the spring.
 
yeah they do go higher in the spring but i see them all over for 1500 during summer...heck if you want one really bad ill sell ya mine for $1500 but i dont have a single place trailer for it.... LOL But it does have basically evrery new part on it that i could get..new engine beginning of season...where are u in michigan
 
Mainly Southeast MI. I work in Troy, but I live in Almont which is about 8 miles south of Imlay City. I would need a trailer for sure, I guess my quest continues. I don't want to get ripped :P I just want something nice for my first ski, something fast, but also something reliable, something I can learn on, etc.
 
Learn from my mistake dude. No matter what someone tells you about the ski do not buy it unless you put it in the water and ride it. Aabd any ad that has any reason given that the ski wont start is a clear warning to run far away from it.(not saying this ad does just saying) Get a flash light and look at the impeller both front and back sides. Check for nicks gouges or bent blades, as well and damaged vanes on the pump body behind it.What does the bottom of the hull look like? some scrtaches are normal but not missing chunks. Put in in the water and ride it. How does it preform through all ranges of throttle. Is it crisp and responsive and any rpm. What rpm is it turning at WOT. Give it a good ride then stop dead in the water and pull off the seat(if possible). Any exhaust smoke or fumes in there? Is it running on both cylinders? Check to see that both plugs are hot. What about water leaks? There are so many details about these things well beyond "yeah it runs great". Don't forget to check the trailer as well. I had to immediately replace a bearing on mine and the first time I loaded the ski I noticed the winch is fubar. All this stuff you will never notice unless you use it. And if the seller has any issue with you doing this then I would fear he is hiding something so turn and walk away. Remember he has only one shot at selling it to you but you have hundreds of opportunities of finding another one somewhere else. If you do find things wrong then you can use these to lower the price if you are willing to fix them. Personally if I cant put it straight in the water and enjoy it, I would never buy another used one.
 
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Great advice summer and thanks for taking the time to reply. I will make sure to test all that stuff out. It's getting pretty cold here in Michigan so I might just wait till spring unless a somewhat warm day shows up where I can go out and ride.
 
ya, tops... but if you saw the one I delivered yesterday for 1600, (same ski with $600 in aftermarket parts and 8mph faster) you'd chit your pants....and would never pay 1200 for this... but a grand, if its for person use, and it runs, ya, that's what its worth.

is it worth a grand yes, would I buy it? probably not simply because the engine is so dam ugly, and you won't know the hours unless you take it to have it checked, but personally i HATE ugly engines.
 
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Spimothy Leary said:
ya, tops... but if you saw the one I delivered yesterday for 1600, (same ski with $600 in aftermarket parts and 8mph faster) you'd chit your pants....and would never pay 1200 for this... but a grand, if its for person use, and it runs, ya, that's what its worth.

is it worth a grand yes, would I buy it? probably not simply because the engine is so dam ugly, and you won't know the hours unless you take it to have it checked, but personally i HATE ugly engines.
Click to expand...

Tim, I've seen some of your motors, you could probably eat off of them, there are so clean.
I think I'll take you up on the idea about the GSX and Chuck.
 
OHHHH SURE.....i was just wondering which of you named the others Di*K ..CHUCK......but hey what goes on behind closed dooors is not my business
 
brock1 said:
yeah...thats why i said $1000 if it has good compression.....what is your price range
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My price range for a trailer and a ski is prolly around $2k. Because I am beginning I am looking for a used older machine that I can customize and the 96' xp I have heard has lots of customization.

You guys are right, the engine does not look very nice at all. It does look like it has calcium buildup or something, ah well I guess another one will come along.

I am scared to death of buying one of craigslist to be honest, as I mentioned I am not very mechanically inclined (yet). I have learned a ton in the 3 mths or so of research I have been doing but am no where near as smart as some of you guys are with mechanics. I just really am afriad Craigslist is full of broken skis and I will waste my money. I do have a compression tester I bought and know how to use that, but other than that... the only thing I know to do is what has been mentioned already in this thread :P
 
from the looks of the motor, i'd say its probably been stored with water in the hull for long periods for some time. the little plugs in the rave caps are supposed to be red, but they're almost the same color as the black plastic from all the gunk. probably needs fuel lines for sure, and for some reason people never bother to change the pump oil on these things. also - run, don't walk away from a modified ski for your first one, there is a lot to learn as a new owner and mods just make things more difficult.
 
ok...if you keep your eyes out you should be able to find a very nice unit for that price.....Offer stands still on mine...You can pick up a single place trailer for about 200 bucks all day around me...ill sell ya mine for 1400 without a trailer and you pick the trailer up or ill find ya one....at least you wont have any issues with mine...i JUST started taking the pink stickers off so it looks really sharp
 
brock1 said:
ok...if you keep your eyes out you should be able to find a very nice unit for that price.....Offer stands still on mine...You can pick up a single place trailer for about 200 bucks all day around me...ill sell ya mine for 1400 without a trailer and you pick the trailer up or ill find ya one....at least you wont have any issues with mine...i JUST started taking the pink stickers off so it looks really sharp
Click to expand...

I may take you up on that. As of right now however, I have to deal with Paypal. Just because most of my accessable cash is tied up in longer term investments (Bill me later has a finance deal for 18 months no interest.) Which part of the state are you in? I would of course pay all the fees. I am a verified user of paypal and have my LLC tied to it as well (own a computer repair business) so it is legit and not looking to play the paypal ripoff game at all.
 
brock1 said:
im up by standish...its about 30 minutes north of bay city
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Not too bad of a drive for me, maybe about 1.5 -2 hours. I will let you know.

And BTW the pic is David Gilmour from Pink Floyd. I am as straight as an arrow but he is my man crush. His guitar playing makes me feel like when I used to climb the rope in gym class. :P
 
yeah there was another member on here that was going to look at those and possibly buy them but we never heard back on whether or not he actually did..and yes they are extremely overpriced for this time of year...BUT he does have one on a single place trailer so i bet you could pick one up on the trailer for about 1300 if all checks out......
 
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