2002 RX DI - What would be a good price?

[speedster98]

I have found a 2002 RX DI for sale and was wondering if this would be a good ski and what a good offering price would be for it? Here are the details:
-Freshwater only
-2 owners - 230hrs
-Clean title
-Stored indoors and covered entire life
-YachtClub trailer with good tires
-Clean, no rips or fading, does have minor surface scratches
-Bought last year by current owner, used 3 times, once this year
-Serviced, winterized, de-winterized by the original dealer every year
-New battery when de-winterized this year

My riding will normally be with 2 people, combined weight 310; cruising to slightly aggressive riding style and possibly towing; freshwater only use. The seller has agreed to let me get a compression reading on the cylinders. What should it be on this cold engine wide open throttle? Also what else should I look for and inspect. I've read some stuff about the fuel pump and compressor going out and will be asking the seller if and or when they have been replaced/serviced. Anything else like that I should be asking the seller? Thank you all in advance for your input and help in making a informed decision.

 

[lamajama]

230 hours on a 951 without a rebuild is really pushing your luck. In my experience you're looking at a rebuild at or around the
200 hour mark.

I was looking at one last week and it had 155 hours on it with a rebuild and I'm hesitating as it is as the machine has hull issues etc
as well. I would be also gambling that the rebuild (done by a friend) was done right. My friend just bought a 2001 RXDI with 80 hours on it.
As far as the fuel pump goes you can test them (usually only a dealer has the equipment to do it but as far as I know the pumps
either work or they don't.

 

[dpcarey98]

As far as the fuel pump goes you can test them (usually only a dealer has the equipment to do it but as far as I know the pumps
either work or they don't.

My 02 GTX DI ran fine on the hose, but would not run in the water, the dealer told me that as small as a 10psi drop in the fuel pump it would not run properly. I am in no way an expert just recent experience with the fuel pump.

 

[lamajama]

Can the dealer tell that the pump is failing? I was told by the dealer that comment I made - "working or not working..."
was all they could do. If they can tell, then the cost of the test ($100 or so) is probably worth it.

 

[dpcarey98]

$94.00 One hour Dealer shop time to find out what was wrong, they were not specific and I did not ask how they tested it. They just told me the fuel pump was the cause of it not working. They spoke like they could tell the specific PSI output of the pump. They said one only had a 7 PSI drop and would not run the week before me.

 

[lamajama]

Good to know. Although as I understand it, just because it's working Monday at the dealer doesn't mean it's working Tuesday
on the lake...! I have to pick up a part this week at the dealer so I'll get a clarification then. Thanks for the comment!

 

[nevitt4]

are u buying it from dealer or individual.

 

[nevitt4]

i just look it up on nada and it was worth about 2300 but u can only us that as guide line as if run perfect and looks like it has not been abuse... but make sure u take it out on the water for a ride that will tell u everything..

 

[speedster98]

It's being sold by an individual. In the water test what should I look for as far as running, acceleration, etc

 

[nevitt4]

look for dead spots, its accel good and hard, like jump up right on plane, no misses, u will know...

 

[nevitt4]

and the biggest mistakes ive seen this yr is people not putting in the drain plugs....lol

 

[speedster98]

Does anyone know what the compression should be on this engine? I will be doing a compression check on it cold wot. I know compression is the tell tale on the health of these 2 strokes

 

[El Toro 33809]

I believe that the 2002 RX DI has the 951 engine. The compression should be in the 125 neighborhood.

 

[speedster98]

Just got back from seeing the ski. It looks great and has been well taken care of, adult use only. Freshwater only. The 230 hours came from the previous owners going cruising after work daily. Impeller looks great and wear ring is well within spec. There are two 6" long by 1/8" wide scratches on the bottom side of the hull through the gelcoat and paint, but the fiberglass is fine and not spongy or wet. The scratches look like they came from missing the bunks and hitting the trailer light bracket. The engine is another story. I tested compression on both cylinders and found 90 psi, time for a top end rebuild. The engine did fire up immediately every time though. I will be doing any work myself including the rebuild using a SBT top end exchange. With this new info what should my starting offer be and what should my max be? It comes with a yachtclub trailer (in great shape), cover (original seadoo fitted with no fade or tearing), and anchor.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

well, i guess this new info cuts your offering price in half or less,
IMO top end AND crank at a minimum, if it was me, unless i'm getting it for less than say 1.1K, i'd walk away. and even then your probably buying a money pit. Proceed with caution, but your probably better off with a carb'd ski in the long run. DI ski's are a pain to fix.
i'd say starting offer $700 max offer $1100, only because i'm not the one paying,,, if it was me i'd start at $600 and max at $900.

what i'd probably suggest is that you keep looking, a DI ski IMO is for a buyer with either a) deep pockets b)lots of experience or c) both

if your seller is motivated to get full value and can sleep with himself at night, what he should do is not accept your lowball and hope that the next buyer doesnt' bring a compression gauge and doesn't realize that the hours = crank failure is right around the corner, then he'll get $2200+ and the poor sucker that buy's it will curse his name forever :cuss:

i had a similar ski, a 2000 that was part of a package deal, I paid $600 and I have an experienced tuner that has worked on DI's before, his advice was, lowball, buy the ski, sell all the DI parts and convert it to a carb ski, which is my plan, i spent another $500 and bought a carbed 951 that needs a rebuild, so right now i have $1100 invested minus $500-700 minimum in DI part out, money from part out to rebuild the carb motor and drop it into the RX. quite an undertaking but the problem was that I fell in love with the hull. This "project" will either be my best investment or my worst, the jury is still out.

this is your second "project" ski that we'll tell you to walk away from, but I like the way your thinking, keep looking, and the right ski will fall into your lap, be patient use searchtempest and expand your search a couple hundred miles.

 

[speedster98]

Thank you all for your help, honesty, and sharing your experiences I decided to pass on this ski and politely but respectfully let the seller know why. He was very respectful and appreciative. The search will continue for the right ski.

 

[browntim1]

Hi. i just bought a 2001 RXDI for $3400 with trailer and cover. the machine has only 50 hours. I'm in the Detroit area and the prices seem to be much higher than either Kelley blue book or NADA in this area. But i felt i got a great deal for what was being asked on the market at the time. hope this helps.