Nice answer from a fellow Canadian. First, I am an IT person (and company owner) and starting a second career in mechanics at over 50 years old would currently be difficult and if I compare my salary vs a mechanics, I will stick with IT. I think I should have bought a brand new ski but after investing more than 100K$ in a cottage last year (on the top of my city house), I thought I didn't have the budget to buy a new ski. I saw an opportunity in a used model and I burned myself...
That being said, when I will retire, I will probably have too much more time on my hands (like the Styx song!) and maybe I will get invested into this fascinating field. My cottage is 45 miles away from Hawkesbury, Ontario where there is a cool BRP dealer but here in Quebec, the same ski that you are referring to is more in the 11,000.00$ range (by the time you get through the trailer and the taxes, it is more like 16,000.00$). Maybe I should buy in Ontario even if Hawkesbury is too close to Quebec...
But now it's too late. So I have this 2003 ski and I will stick to it for the next two years and really, it looks good! I love older cars and I have a pristine 2003 all-American car (not used in winter). When I rode a 4-stroke GTX 155 from a friend a few weeks ago, I had the feeling of having a bus under my bottom: so heavy and so complex. My 717 seems simpler.
I think that things will get better as the owner of the dealer in (Mirabel) Quebec has acknowledged that we both want this issue fixed once and for all. If my engine gives me a good 200 hours by being careful, I may finally be happy.
But if I had to choose again, I think I would have bought a nice 130 or 155 HP new in Ontario...
And to [MENTION=69623]Mickirig1[/MENTION] , there is one mechanics at this dealer who is a top notch guy (with grey hair). I hope they will assign him to my ski. I will push for that tomorrow morning by phoning the owner again. He is a wizzzz I was told by another mechanics I know (who knows him) and when I spoke to him, I had the same feeling. And I agree that 2-stroke engines are a thing of the past, except maybe for those new e-tec engines (see ski-doos).
I am not a rich guy, but I take great care of my babies:
Note: Sea-Doo on the lake in summer and ATV on the lake in winter under 3 feet or ice.
Benji.