Availability and pricing Info. Fr Ncal Yamaha dealer/salesman

[Ronnie]

For context, my wife fell in love with the Yamaha FX SVHO Waverunner we saw in the water last weekend, now she wants one, so I started looking at my local dealership.

The salesman is now confirming that an SVHO (the Red, silver and black one in the pic) is available somewhere in Ncal and is also looking for an HO version (Green and black) both cruisers. According to him both models top out around 70 mph but the supercharged version gets there faster.

He went on to state:

1. That they sold their last waverunner 4 months earlier, normally it would be sometime in september.
2. The current average interest rate for financing purposes is about 6%.
3. There are no finance deals, like deferred payments or no/low interest for x months and he doesn’t expect any such offers to be made for the next year or two.
4. They have two 252s on order and both have already been purchased, sight unseen, $80k each before taxes, dealer prep, etc., etc., etc.
5. He has had many cash buyers this including $90k for a boat last week and several seadoo and waverunner combos at $50k. Many of these buyers are refinancing their homes and using the equity to cover these purchases.
6. after telling him I had a 2010 242 and two fx waverunners he confirmed what I already suspected, I can sell them for or near their msrp value online.

If they can find a blue HO version I’m probably buying it, for my wife not me, really.

 

[WiskyDan]

I can’t imagine skipping across the water at 70mph with nothing between me and certain death but a life jacket.......

 

[2kwik4u]

I can’t imagine skipping across the water at 70mph with nothing between me and certain death but a life jacket.......

Had the same thought on a bicycle at 55mph, with nothing between me and the pavement but some Lycra and Styrofoam!

Thanks for the market feedback @Ronnie ! I had a couple people interested in my 4yr old AR190 this summer at payoff (which is sadly still really close to my '17 MSRP )

 

[Ronnie]

The 70 mph limit out of the box is supposedly what pwc manufactures agreed to with the u.s. coast guard years ago because after 70 mph the likelihood of death and / or dismemberment is much higher If the operator or rider falls off the pwc, or so I’ve read. I have not found anything official on this but note that regardless of hp (the svho has an estimated 260 and the top of the line Seadoos are at 300 hp) none break the 70 mph limit out of the box.

After doing more research I don’t think the salesman’s claim about equivalent top speed between the super charged and non supercharged waverunners is accurate. I know, Duh, he is a salesman after all. According to several reviews the NA fx tops out at 58/59 mph and the sc fx tops out at 67/68 mph. For reference my 2006 am fx with 160 hp tops out at 57/58 And my 2003 with 140 hp at 51/52 mph according to their speedos (aka dreamometers). my wife has since said she is fine with the na fx and a top speed of 60ish mph. I like the $2,200 reduction off list which should cover the “dealer prep” fee if we buy new. What prep I am not sure but I think it’s limited to adding a charged battery, oil and a fire extinguisher with the residual being pure profit. I on the other hand am on the fence about buying a new ski with the same top speed as a 14 year old ski that I already own but since the ski really is for my wife I am leaning towards getting it anyway and can justify it with, I should still be able to keep up with her on the water with our old ski. Still up to $20k for a new hull, cruise control and a brake lever is hard to swallow. Why does the saying “happy wife happy life” always seem to come with a high price tag?

The latest improvements were first made in 2019, mainly changes to the hull design which make it more responsive, so that is as far back as I can go used.

When I asked the salesman why he thinks people are willing to pay original msrp for used jet boats and PWCs he said many are new buyers that simply don’t know what these vehicles should cost so they don’t realize (or maybe they do and don’t care/can’t do anything about it but walk away) that they are paying a corona virus premium. I may put my 2003 fx up for sale this weekend, best for me to do it now but I’m reluctant to do so since I don’t have a new ski locked in yet. I also don’t plan on charging much of a premium for it. Currently I’m thinking of asking for / accepting between $4k and $5k for it which is only a little more than I paid for it two or three years ago and covers the improvements I have made to it like velocity stacks, iridium plugs, swim step, keel guard and blue tooth speaker.

Finally I’ve taken my skis to top speed many times, usually in a straight line or in very gradual turns, I don’t see how I could fall off at that speed or at 70 mph unless I intensionally jumped off.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I can’t imagine skipping across the water at 70mph with nothing between me and certain death but a life jacket.......

@WiskyDan ....had a 2081 SVHO FX for two years. Yes, it will do a gps verified 70 mph. Yes, that speed is scary and you had better know what you are doing. The speed can be limited (using a key fob to protect youngsters and newbies). We had the 3 seat FX Cruiser - very, very comfortable and stable.

 

[biffdotorg]

I find it crazy that folks buying new PWC, really think their $18K PWC is faster than a mid 2000's GPR. The correct term is quicker. All of the new hyper-skis are loads quicker. OMG, I had my arms ripped out by one of these Supercharged SeaDoo's, but it still topped out within 2-3mph of 70.

I do believe the hull designs allow these monsters to go through waves and chop at higher speeds as well. We noted that back in the early 2000's when the GPR hull came out. And with very few mods, the 3 GPR's I have owned, the GP1300r's would top out on GPS around 73. And they were considered highly advanced hulls back then. But these new ones are crazy stable at speed.

I am seeing plenty of the later model SVHO units hitting the used market up here in MN. Ronnie, I will share a listing if it's too good of a deal not to make the road trip! It's a beautiful drive from NorCal!! Done it a few times to Tahoe!

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I find it crazy that folks buying new PWC, really think their $18K PWC is faster than a mid 2000's GPR. The correct term is quicker. All of the new hyper-skis are loads quicker. OMG, I had my arms ripped out by one of these Supercharged SeaDoo's, but it still topped out within 2-3mph of 70.

I do believe the hull designs allow these monsters to go through waves and chop at higher speeds as well. We noted that back in the early 2000's when the GPR hull came out. And with very few mods, the 3 GPR's I have owned, the GP1300r's would top out on GPS around 73. And they were considered highly advanced hulls back then. But these new ones are crazy stable at speed.

I am seeing plenty of the later model SVHO units hitting the used market up here in MN. Ronnie, I will share a listing if it's too good of a deal not to make the road trip! It's a beautiful drive from NorCal!! Done it a few times to Tahoe!

@biffdotorg .......take a ride on an SVHO then post. We had two for two years and smoked EVERYTHING on the water for acceleration. EVERYTHING....and one of the biggest Sea Doo dealerships is close to my marina. We embarrassed the sea doos so badly when they saw the two all black yamaha SVHOs approaching they went elsewhere - the word was out you'll get smoked.

 

[biffdotorg]

@biffdotorg .......take a ride on an SVHO then post. We had two for two years and smoked EVERYTHING on the water for acceleration. EVERYTHING....and one of the biggest Sea Doo dealerships is close to my marina. We embarrassed the sea doos so badly when they saw the two all black yamaha SVHOs approaching they went elsewhere - the word was out you'll get smoked.

I just can't get myself to do it. I know I will love it, and we don't put enough hours on our current pair of GP1300r's. My buddy within 2 miles of me, has a GP1800r, and I want to ride it so bad. But I just have to say no.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I just can't get myself to do it. I know I will love it, and we don't put enough hours on our current pair of GP1300r's. My buddy within 2 miles of me, has a GP1800r, and I want to ride it so bad. But I just have to say no.

@biffdotorg ......a wise man spoken wisely, because if you get on one of those....... Fastest acceleration I have ever been on and that includes supercharged XKE, 2Xturbo Porsche, Mercedes AMG, a couple of superbikes. I would like to know what could beat it for the first couple of hundred feet. We had the two at a lake last year. It was a calm cool day and did a number of GPS/MPH runs. One ran 70.2 MPH average. Mine ran 71.5 on 4 passes averaged. A couple of cottagers came over to us at the ramp afterwards and I thought "here we go" but they said "never seen anything accelerate like that in my life".............I now KNOW I should have kept mine when we bought the SX195!

 

[Neutron]

My 15 FZS svho with some mods, Deans tune and a pitched impeller hits 80+ easy and is the scariest thing i have ever ridden by far. And i have driven a 1200hp 94 supra and the FZS is still scarry faster in my book. Pure instantaneous acceleration. Anyone who has driven it thinks the same. Nothing on the water here in New Bern can touch it.

 

[mrcleanr6]

My 2016 fzs tops out at 90mph. Its not so much the 90mph top speed. You get used to that actually. Its how fast it gets there. It is the tastest accelerating thing i have ever ridden and ive been on alot of fast vehicles of all types. I have estimated it around 450hp or so. Thats alot of power for a 10ft boat lol.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

@mrcleanr6 and @Neutron ......exactly. It's the ungodly acceleration that is impossible to describe unless you have been on one. there is so much torque and Hp for the mass of the boat (ski) and yamaha has dialed-in the hull. Arm stretcher - face puller - gut flattener - a$$.... puckerer! LOL

 

[Ronnie]

90 mph? Out of the box or modified? is that on the speedo or gps? My wife said she doesn’t need to go 70 so I can save
Money by passing on the supercharger, should I?

 

[mrcleanr6]

Thats 90 on gps and modified for sure. Thats as far as i can go with the engine and still run on 93 octane. Any more and then i have to run race gas. If she isnt interested in the supercharger then dont bother getting a ski with one. Less maintenance for you and more economical fuel wise.

 

[Ronnie]

Thats 90 on gps and modified for sure. Thats as far as i can go with the engine and still run on 93 octane. Any more and then i have to run race gas. If she isnt interested in the supercharger then dont bother getting a ski with one. Less maintenance for you and more economical fuel wise.

What about me? I have needs too. Why does she have to be such a stingy lover? Wait that’s something else.

Seriously, I’d like to experience the acceleration of a super charged waverunner but the practical and frugal side of me knows the supercharger is just one more (expensive) thing that can break and continually cost me more in premium fuel and maintenance in the future. Although if I get the NA version I would probably only fill it with super unleaded anyway. A lifetime ago I worked as a full service attendant at a gas station (basically I had to fuel customers‘ cars and wipe down their windows because they were willing to pay the $0.10 or $0.15 more per gallon of gas premium) and all the mechanics I met and worked with told me to, “Always afford super unleaded.” to reduce the chances of Future engine problems. I don’t plan on doing any major mods either. spending $15kish for a ski with the same top speed as one I already own is tough, I just have to remember those ski really is for my wife so I should just get what she wants, even if it still kind of sucks a little.

 

[mrcleanr6]

Well i wasnt really referencing that you need to out super in it since i am the same and run 93 either way BUT your tank of gas in the ski will last longer. You may be able to go out all day on a tank with a std na ski vs supercharged you may get less time out. That may or may not make a difference to you depending on marina location where you can fill up mid day. The supercharger maintenance isnt bad and depends how you ride. If your constantly coming unhooked from riding in choppy seas or you are prone to just letting the throttle snap shut then those are things that beat the clutch up. You could get 50hrs out of it or you could get 300. Really depends. Its $500 in parts to swap out.

 

[tkeru408]

He went on to state:

1. That they sold their last waverunner 4 months earlier, normally it would be sometime in september.
2. The current average interest rate for financing purposes is about 6%.
3. There are no finance deals, like deferred payments or no/low interest for x months and he doesn’t expect any such offers to be made for the next year or two.
4. They have two 252s on order and both have already been purchased, sight unseen, $80k each before taxes, dealer prep, etc., etc., etc.
5. He has had many cash buyers this including $90k for a boat last week and several seadoo and waverunner combos at $50k. Many of these buyers are refinancing their homes and using the equity to cover these purchases.
6. after telling him I had a 2010 242 and two fx waverunners he confirmed what I already suspected, I can sell them for or near their msrp value online.

If they can find a blue HO version I’m probably buying it, for my wife not me, really.

My thoughts on the above:

1. I totally believe the last of their 2020 waverunners was sold 4 months ago, practically all new boats and PWCs were sold out earlier this summer. 2021s will start arriving soon.
2/3. The Yamaha Waverunners site has offers listed on it right now...one is 3.99% for 36 months, another is 0 down/0 payments for 90 days (though as I understand it, your credit score has to be quite high to qualify for Yamaha's best offers). Both of those offers expire at the end of September, but they'll likely either be renewed or replaced by something similar. He's full of BS to say not to expect any such offers for the next year or two.
4. I believe it. I purchased my 252SE sight unseen in August and it arrived a couple weeks ago. 'Purchased sight unseen' is a bit of a misnomer though; actually I had a refundable deposit on it...if I didn't like it when I saw it, I didn't have to buy it. I did like it, so I did buy it.
5. Buyers refinancing their homes and using the equity to cover the purchase of boats/PWCs (or any other depreciating asset) is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. I wonder if the salesman tells people that "other folks are doing it" as his way of attempting to normalize the behavior--kind of like, if you hear other people are doing it then maybe you'll do it too.