Advice on buying 242 Limited S if 4 hours from dealer.

[NSPJH]

I am a first time jet boat buyer but have driven and loved yamaha jet boats for many years. I'm purchasing a jet boat mainly to use in Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Love the 242 Limited S and I'm inclined to get it. Only issue I have is the closest dealer is in Salt Lake City which is more than 4 hours drive away. That's a long way to go for service. We have a local shop that can change oil and winterize. They say they don't deal with many jet boats but are comfortable doing so. They don't do much work beyond this basic maintenance though. My question is how often do these boats have problems that require them to go back in for service? How reliable are they? Would you buy it in this situation? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Williamsone46]

@NSPJH I work for a dealer in Salt Lake City and we sell quite a few boats to WY, MT and ID. Very rarely will these boats back with problems requiring them to go back for major service. Some warranty issues can be taken care of without having to bring back the boat. If your interested give me a call and I will see what I can do for you and answer any questions you might have.

Adam Williamson
Retail Finance / Boats Manager
South Valley Motorsports
P. 801.576.1899 F. 801.576.9359

 

[OperationROL]

Adam will take care of you. Not just a dealer, but an owner as well. He eats his own dog food.

 

[rkgdmd]

I am a first time jet boat buyer but have driven and loved yamaha jet boats for many years. I'm purchasing a jet boat mainly to use in Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Love the 242 Limited S and I'm inclined to get it. Only issue I have is the closest dealer is in Salt Lake City which is more than 4 hours drive away. That's a long way to go for service. We have a local shop that can change oil and winterize. They say they don't deal with many jet boats but are comfortable doing so. They don't do much work beyond this basic maintenance though. My question is how often do these boats have problems that require them to go back in for service? How reliable are they? Would you buy it in this situation? Thanks in advance for any advice.

All I can say is that I would give a lot of thought to that purchase. Overall, these boats are very reliable, but they do have problems occasionally. I just had an major engine failure on my 2013 with only 44 hours on it. Admittedly this is not a common occurrence, but it does happen....and there may be far less serious problems that still require a dealers attention. I think dealer location is a big consideration, albeit not the only one. I think the bottom line is you need to be okay with that long drive should you need service. Yamaha really makes a great boat, it's too bad you don't have someone closer to home.

 

[Bruce]

There are fluke experiences like @rkgdmd's. But my experience with two Yamaha boats is that they only need the oil and spark plugs changed once per year. This is a task that you can perform in a few hours. I would not be concerned about distance from the dealer. When I bought my first Yamaha there were no dealers in my state. Now there is a dealer ten miles away but they are clueless when I ask about my boat. Perhaps you should feel comforted that you have a good dealer so close.

 

[Glassman]

Way back when I bought my boat there weren't many around.
The AR had just been introduced and very few dealers even knew Yamaha made full sized boats back then, no less had one in stock. I called all over. The only model I found nearby was an SR, which is essentially the same hull, but none of the goodies that come on the AR.
I called the dealer in Bullhead....they thought Yamaha only made jet skis, he said he'd look into it and call me back.
Turns out he found one that had just been delivered to Las Vegas...they had no idea just how popular these boats would become so they let the dealer in Bullhead have it. He went and picked it up with his personal pick-up and delivered it to my boat storage yard.
Both his dealership and where I store the boat are over 4 hours away. The boat has never been back to a dealer, any dealer.

 

[bmb5150]

Adam will take care of you. Not just a dealer, but an owner as well. He eats his own dog food.

I will second that! Adam is great to deal with. Not too sure about the dog food though...

 

[Julian]

One warranty issue in 12 years of ownership....so I'd pull the trigger on that any day!

 

[Nucem140]

I live 1 1\2 hrs. from dealer in Denver and 6 hrs from Salt Lake dealer (Adam). I chose to buy from Adam and very happy I did. South Valley Motorsports will take very good care of you. Buy the boat from Adam you will not regret it.

 

[Skysurfer2010]

I purchased Yamaha because I wanted reliability. I wouldn't hesitate at all.

 

[bmb5150]

I live 1 1\2 hrs. from dealer in Denver and 6 hrs from Salt Lake dealer (Adam). I chose to buy from Adam and very happy I did. South Valley Motorsports will take very good care of you. Buy the boat from Adam you will not regret it.

Dido on that.