Worth Buying? please help 99 Speedster

[legend0121]

I have a chance to buy 1999 speedster for $1500. One motor seem to be good with 125psi on both cylinder and the second motors needs to be rebuild..(overheat) The hull is in great shape but the seats are all beat up.. I did some research and was able to source a used motor for $500 and a DIY seat cover kit for $300. Is this worth it? I have done a few rebuilds on Khawasaki and Yamaha motors but never worked on a Sea Doo. Do you guys think this is a good deal or should i pass??

 

[nickj718]

For the type of engine the speedster has in it 125psi is low. The engine mint should hit 150 - 155 mint. I would say you need to rebuild both motors so in that case I would lean more towards 900-1000 range.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

first, re: 125 psi, thats on the low side.

second, overall, its a fair price, as long as the MPEM is good, that's critical. (and the shifters are pretty important as well)

duly noted: cables can be pricey, but all the other misc parts at least from my experience are fairly easy to locate and reasonably priced.

I assume this comes with clear title, and trailer ? I'd still like to see you bargain it down a little if you can, getting closer to $1000 will help with taking care of the nickle and dime stuff that WILL crop up.

if you didn't source the DIY seat cover with seadooupholstery.com, check them as well, I had my challenger kit from there and I was extremely pleased with the work.

overall I found the seadoo boats pretty easy to work on, the hull cleaned up nicely with soft scrub and wet sanding, compound and wax, the plastic can be restored, cupholder replacements can be had at wall mart, hatch clips are only like $10 each on ebay (you just need the right part #) used motors tend to scare me,, a new one at SBT isn't that much more and comes with a warranty and its right around the corner from you,

edit: like nick said above, 125 is NOT a selling point, thats a negative.

 

[legend0121]

$1500 includes trailer, title and registration for a year. I don’t believe they will go any lower. As for the motor with 125psi, do you guys think rings would be enough or piston and rings or complete top engine rebuild with new sleeves?
I really like the boat but at the same time, I don’t have much funds to put into it…

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

B.O.A.T. Break Out Another Thousand...

 

[legend0121]

you said it!!

 

[Minnetonka4me]

The seats are NO fun to do...but if your willing to do all that its not a bad deal.

Used engines are like playing craps at a crooked casino. You might get lucky...more so from a reputable seller, but its always a crap shoot with used watercraft motors.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

$1500 includes trailer, title and registration for a year. I don’t believe they will go any lower. As for the motor with 125psi, do you guys think rings would be enough or piston and rings or complete top engine rebuild with new sleeves?
I really like the boat but at the same time, I don’t have much funds to put into it…

this is always a terrible terrible starting point with any watercraft, let along a 15 yr old one with one bad motor and a 2nd that is questionable. IMO for this project to be a winner and not a financial and emotional drain on a relationship (etc), you should have about a $3500 budget at a MINIMUM, even with a $1500 initial price point.

if you don't have that.... walk away now.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Spim is right.

Also...if you cant test the mpem and make sure it works correctly its even more of a crap shoot. Those MPEMs pull 1300+ very hard to find.

 

[racerxxx]

this is always a terrible terrible starting point with any watercraft, let along a 15 yr old one with one bad motor and a 2nd that is questionable. IMO for this project to be a winner and not a financial and emotional drain on a relationship (etc), you should have about a $3500 budget at a MINIMUM, even with a $1500 initial price point.

if you don't have that.... walk away now.

Spim you nailed it. I've been reading this post and you summed it up right there.

I just looked on CL in Sarasota Bradenton and there are at least 3 98 Speedsters from $8K to $4K. The $8K is stuffing something in his pipe.

 

[legend0121]

thanks for all the input.. I decided to buy the thing after all. Was able to pull $1300 out the door with title work for the trailer and the boat. time to get to work and pull the motors..

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Nice! let us know how it goes!

 

[racerxxx]

Sweet, before you yank the engines get an impeller removal tool and take the pto off the engines. So much easier with the engine bolted down versus rolling it around on the garage floor.

Now, post some pics of the beast!

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Spimothy Leary]

woohoo ! a project !

(and I don't have to get greasy to stay involved... bonus !)