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recommend any 4tecs around 2500?
- Thread starter arctyler
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Michael211_2000
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You're looking for just an engine?
- Michael
- Michael
Michael211_2000
Well-Known Member
You're not going to find one in that price range that's actually running and ready to go ride. You can find a wrecked/sunk one for that much, or one with engine problems for that much, but essentially ~$2500 is the cost of a good used hull with electronics or the cost of a good used 4TEC engine alone, but not all-together and ready to run. Sorry. And the trailer alone for a 2 or 3 seater hull runs a good $600 used by itself.
For the money you have to spend, a mid-90's 2-seater 2-stroke model on a trailer in ready to run condition is all you're likely to find. You're not likely to find a 4-stroker that's in good condition and ready to run at that price point though, I'd be VERY suspicious of anybody looking to sell you a 4-stroker (especially a SeaDoo 4TEC PWC on trailer "lake ready") in that price range, there's something bad wrong with it IMHO and the seller isn't telling you the whole story about it.
My 2006 RXT I paid $2100 for on the trailer, but the engine had a bent connecting rod and was out of the hull and lying in pieces (the owner couldn't afford ~$4500 for the dealership to fix it, and didn't have a clue how to fix it himself). So I bought it for very little figuring I could take a stab at fixing the engine myself and hoping there was nothing else wrong with it, or spend another ~$2500 or so on a good used or freshly rebuilt engine). Lake ready-to-run this machine sells for ~$6500 on trailer all day long so as long as I came in under that amount I figured I'd be ok. I was able to fix the original engine though with just a couple hundred more dollars and several weekends of my time and effort. For a deal like this you have to be willing to buy something that's broken and figure out how to fix it and there is some risk involved you might find there's more wrong than you thought and/or not be able to fix it right... I took a chance, it worked out well in my case. Just saying... this is the only way to get one for that price range that I know of. Beware scams offereing a too-good-to-believe deal on an exceptionally clean SeaDoo with low hours ready-to-run, they're always too good to be true and the internet is filled with those!
Unless you're offering a ridiculously low amount of money for it, always test drive it 1st! Other's have been burned and posted about it on here lately, there's plenty of people looking to get rid of lemon's that they've put together with spit and bailing wire and they don't want you to test drive it at all they just want your cash and "bye-bye now!".
- Michael
For the money you have to spend, a mid-90's 2-seater 2-stroke model on a trailer in ready to run condition is all you're likely to find. You're not likely to find a 4-stroker that's in good condition and ready to run at that price point though, I'd be VERY suspicious of anybody looking to sell you a 4-stroker (especially a SeaDoo 4TEC PWC on trailer "lake ready") in that price range, there's something bad wrong with it IMHO and the seller isn't telling you the whole story about it.
My 2006 RXT I paid $2100 for on the trailer, but the engine had a bent connecting rod and was out of the hull and lying in pieces (the owner couldn't afford ~$4500 for the dealership to fix it, and didn't have a clue how to fix it himself). So I bought it for very little figuring I could take a stab at fixing the engine myself and hoping there was nothing else wrong with it, or spend another ~$2500 or so on a good used or freshly rebuilt engine). Lake ready-to-run this machine sells for ~$6500 on trailer all day long so as long as I came in under that amount I figured I'd be ok. I was able to fix the original engine though with just a couple hundred more dollars and several weekends of my time and effort. For a deal like this you have to be willing to buy something that's broken and figure out how to fix it and there is some risk involved you might find there's more wrong than you thought and/or not be able to fix it right... I took a chance, it worked out well in my case. Just saying... this is the only way to get one for that price range that I know of. Beware scams offereing a too-good-to-believe deal on an exceptionally clean SeaDoo with low hours ready-to-run, they're always too good to be true and the internet is filled with those!
Unless you're offering a ridiculously low amount of money for it, always test drive it 1st! Other's have been burned and posted about it on here lately, there's plenty of people looking to get rid of lemon's that they've put together with spit and bailing wire and they don't want you to test drive it at all they just want your cash and "bye-bye now!".
- Michael
yeh i was thinking about doing the same thing you did before, 2 weeks ago i was going to check out a gtx 2004 supercharged that the guy said had a blown piston, i was just about to go but i had a gut feeling i shouldnt drive 150 miles to check out a ski that is probably going to need more than 3000 in work when he was asking 2100 so thats alot more than i wanted to spend
Michael211_2000
Well-Known Member
If the hull was in nice condition, I would have offered him like $1600 for that gtx... it's 2 years older than my RXT, and it's alot further away from you than this RXT was from me (I had to go about 20 miles to see it in person). The $1600 offer would have been contingent on the hull looking good when you see it in person though.... for $1600 on a trailer you could have gotten another good used engine or rebuilt engine for it and installed it yourself, assuming the original engine was really truely ruined (what is a "blown piston" exactly? A hole in the piston or in the cylinder wall or did it inhale a valve head? idk).
Just because a seller is asking 1 price doesn't mean the seller isn't open to a reasonable counter-offer... the original owner of my RXT was 1st asking $3200 in the Craigslist ad for it, then about a week later he dropped it to $2500, and then I decided to send him a message asking if the hull was in pretty good shape (there were pics in the listing, but pics don't always show everything!) and if he'd consider $2000... we settled on $2100, I went and met him at the SeaDoo dealership and looked it over for myself and then we did the paperwork I gave him the cash he paid the dealership for taking the engine out and apart we hooked it up to my hitch put the engine (and all the bolts and parts that weren't stashed inside the hull) into my truck bed and away I went with my new 2006 RXT project. I've put 8 operating hours on it so far (severe drought here last summer shortened our boating season dramatically), and other than 1 scare where the spark plugs gave out suddenly it's purrs like a kitten... I've been very happy with how this project turned out.
When it comes to a broken "project" watercraft remember people aren't standing in line to buy the thing you as the potential buyer have A LOT of negotiating power you just have to use it... how many people are willing to delay gratification, take a chance and figure out how to fix the thing after all? Buyers aren't standing in line with baited breath hoping the owner will sell it to them! LOL!
ps. Just be careful not to offer too much on a busted watercraft, consider the worst case scenario and how many hours you could potentially end up spending on it when you think about how much you want to offer the seller. And if you're willing to see it thru to completion, a wintertime project can be fun but if finishing things isn't your style then.... better to save your penny's for awhile longer and keep looking!
- Michael
Just because a seller is asking 1 price doesn't mean the seller isn't open to a reasonable counter-offer... the original owner of my RXT was 1st asking $3200 in the Craigslist ad for it, then about a week later he dropped it to $2500, and then I decided to send him a message asking if the hull was in pretty good shape (there were pics in the listing, but pics don't always show everything!) and if he'd consider $2000... we settled on $2100, I went and met him at the SeaDoo dealership and looked it over for myself and then we did the paperwork I gave him the cash he paid the dealership for taking the engine out and apart we hooked it up to my hitch put the engine (and all the bolts and parts that weren't stashed inside the hull) into my truck bed and away I went with my new 2006 RXT project. I've put 8 operating hours on it so far (severe drought here last summer shortened our boating season dramatically), and other than 1 scare where the spark plugs gave out suddenly it's purrs like a kitten... I've been very happy with how this project turned out.
When it comes to a broken "project" watercraft remember people aren't standing in line to buy the thing you as the potential buyer have A LOT of negotiating power you just have to use it... how many people are willing to delay gratification, take a chance and figure out how to fix the thing after all? Buyers aren't standing in line with baited breath hoping the owner will sell it to them! LOL!
ps. Just be careful not to offer too much on a busted watercraft, consider the worst case scenario and how many hours you could potentially end up spending on it when you think about how much you want to offer the seller. And if you're willing to see it thru to completion, a wintertime project can be fun but if finishing things isn't your style then.... better to save your penny's for awhile longer and keep looking!
- Michael
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