Any Jet Ski owners here?

charley95

I have been toying with the idea of maybe buying one. Who makes the best? Sea Doo,Yamaha,Kawasaki… Are they reliable if maintained? Are parts expensive and can they be easily maintained with mechanical knowledge? Are there better deals at the end of the season? Thanks for any info!

tonyb

I like the Yamaha's personally. Reliable, good performance......upkeep is about the same for all of them. You still have to go through the same motions maintenance wise. That's not to say the others don't make good models, just from my experiences the Yamaha's have been the most trouble free....for the longest period of times than most other brands.

Deals....like with anything seasonal happens at the end of the season, even in winter. They can be somewhat expensive to keep up but key is keeping them in a heated storage place and winterizing them. Not the type of thing you want to leave in the driveway with a tarp over it for the winter. Buy a decent trailer too.

Is this for adults or you want something the kids can bang on ? New...used ?

charley95

Adults only,don't have kids. It would be kept in heated garage. Going to San Diego in a few days and going to rent one out there and see what the wife thinks of it. Still not quite sure if it will be new or used. The only thing holding me back is our filthy Illinois river here in Peoria. What is involved in winterizing?

charley95

Looking at used ones online it appears there are quite a bit of them that have rebuilt motors. I know these things get a lot of abuse. Do the motors have a short life span?
I'm assuming they are constant maintenance?

tonyb

Constant ? Depends....

A lot of these run on oil and gas mixtures, some oil injection. Just like any 2 cycle engine you use like a weed wacker, if you don't have the mixture right you burn up the heads. If you leave it into the hands of kids, yeah....they'll get beat up and engine problems are likely.

Thing with jet ski's here in Illinois is they sit for 9 months out of the year, then maybe get used a handful of times in the summer. For the cash out lay to buy them, trailer, licensing fee's, storage, etc, it's almost more cost effective to just rent them when you want to have some fun.

charley95

I'm starting to think the same thing. Thanks for the tips. Paying a couple hundred for a rental sounds better to me.

tonyb

charley95 wrote: »

I'm starting to think the same thing. Thanks for the tips. Paying a couple hundred for a rental sounds better to me.

LOL.....Yep, which is why you see so many for sale. Kinda like owning a boat here, nice in theory but it's gonna cost ya.

WilliamM2

The family has had a couple of Sea-Doo's at the cottage since the late 90's. The only maintenance they have ever needed is a new battery every few years, and new impellers a couple time after the relative's kids abused them (rocks in shallow water). Seem very reliable to me.

Would I want my own? I don't use them enough to make it worthwhile.

tonyb

WilliamM2 wrote: »

Would I want my own? I don't use them enough to make it worthwhile.

Exactly William. Most find that out in the first few years of owning one, especially if your not in a climate where you can at least use them more.....or actually live on a lake.

If your somewhat mechanically inclined, the engines are simple, nothing really complicated about them. They are fun though, and the better ones can pull skiers or tubes.

jflail2

Used to work at a boat dock that sold and rented Sea Doos. Fun and comfortable rides, and we didn't really have any huge ongoing maintenance costs besides basic upkeep/tune ups.

But yea, I agree with the masses on all points. If you're going to buy one, do so in Sept or Oct, when buyers remorse has people selling them off. Kind of like timing a motorcycle purchase.

Honestly, if I could only use it 3 mos out of the year, I wouldn't buy one unless I lived ON the lake/river where you'll be riding it. Basically, if there's not a personal boat dock in my back yard, I wouldn't want any kind of water craft.

As the old saying goes, "The 2 best days of boat ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it."

charley95

Got a big 3 seat Yamaha reserved for when we arrive in San Diego. $175 plus gas for 4 hours then I walk away. Planning on cruising the coastline and play in the bay. I can't wait!

tonyb

That's actually a good price for4 hours, especially there. Nice sled too....have a blast man.