Newbie - looking to buy a 2000 Sea-Doo Chalnger, and looking for advice

[ghurty]

Hi,

I am completely new to boating (besides kayaking and renting pontoon boats). I do have experience rebuilding my car engine though.
I am looking into buying a 2000 Sea Doo Challenger.
From the pictures, it looks like it is in very good condition and supposedly has low miles. I of course will be looking at in person.
A few questions:
1) What is a fair price?
2) What should I look out for when I look at it?
3) What is the annual average costs of owning one?
4) Do I have to have a water craft license for it?
5) Any tips or anything I should be aware of?

I am getting it as a way to relax in the summer/spring after stressful work hours.

Thank you

 

[philipmurphey]

I have a 2001 Seadoo Challenger 2000 (20') and there are a few things you need to look out for. 1st do a compression check. Should be 120 PSI or higher on all 6 with little variation.2nd if you are looking at a 2003 or older, it probably has the older 240 EFI in it which is known to have oil injection failures. You would need to do a oil block off if you have the Gen 1 motor in it. The newer 240's had a different oil system and are much better. You want to do a test drive and turn engine on and off a few times after running for about 30 min on the water at different speeds. Should restart easily if the blower is on to supply fresh air to bilge. I paid $6000 in Florida and that was a good deal. Try to find the newer 240 engine, its better and cheaper to maintain.

 

[Cablebandit]

what the guy above said. The older 210/240 is a great motor so don't rule those out. Just do the oil blockoff (20 bux) and premix

 

[ghurty]

Thank you.
They are asking for $7600 is that a normal price?

 

[Seadoosam]

Is this a 20 footer?

 

[ghurty]

Is this a 20 footer?

Yes it is a 20fter