Hey there.. looking at getting my first boat!

[jjdurrant]

Ok.. I am waiting to get more details.. but I may have found it!

http://greenbay.craigslist.org/boa/4602727402.html

 

[JC6275]

If everything the seller says is true. And they have paper work to back it up, definitely worth looking into further. The twin 135 motors are a plus. New interior isn't cheap,

 

[jjdurrant]

I emailed him.. we'll see. I found it interesting he only wants 2 stoke and no 4 stroke for his new boat.

 

[JC6275]

I love my 2 stroke, they are much faster and simpler, no oil changes. And cheaper to repair. These are not near you but just giving you ammo for negotiations..
http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=111427752305&alt=web
There are a few ls2000s listed on eBay rite now and a few exciters as well, didn't see any close to where you are but it will give you an idea of what they are going for.

 

[JC6275]

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=331279504899&globalID=EBAY-US&alt=web

 

[jjdurrant]

Thanks.. do you think the $8500 is high? I offered $7k cash.. don't want to insult him though.

 

[jetboater4life]

I think you offered him a fair amount for a boat that old. He probably won't sell that low because of all the upgrades/updates but it's a good starting point.

 

[JC6275]

I agree with @jetboater4life , if it is what he says and has paperwork to back it up. Probably $7500 to $8000, but cash talks, I would not be offended at your offer, I would counter it with all the upgrades and updates I had done. You can counter him with the age, and the season is coming to an end, does he maybe want to sit on it all winter. I'm sure somewhere in the middle is common ground.

 

[jdonalds]

That looks like a nice boat for you, in your price range. I think you're opening offer of $7K was quite reasonable.

 

[jjdurrant]

Heard back from the seller.. Going to try and make it out there this weekend.. he is about 4 hours from me..

--

Before making an offer you should really see and experience this boat. This is about as close to new as a 1999 is going to get. I paid 6K for it and put about $3500.00 in it. There aren’t many of these out there…..I looked for 2 years! When you find them they are beat to shit and require a ton of work…

Something else worth mentioning….the factory wiring is 100% there isn’t a single wire that was ever cut or replaced! That is HUGE when you go into a 15 year old boat.

 

[4x15mph]

I think I would look more since 1999 is an earlier 2 stroke. I am also skeptical when someone puts a lot of money into a boat and then sells it. Are these SBT replacement engines and what other parts were used to fix up this boat?

I think you can get the lx210 that the seller is looking to upgrade to for $8/$9k.

If this was around the corner I would look at it. Otherwise, I would probably use it as a starting point and a price point.

 

[jonw9]

One thing to keep in mind is how are you going to use the boat. I am guessing trailering it to the lake on weekends? That is what I did with my first boat, a 17' SeaDoo Speedster SK. The thing sat 4. That sounds cool, just you and a couple friends. But assume you are heading for a day on the water, you are going to have a cooler (or 2), towels, a tube, raft, water toys. Add in a bag of lotions and snacks, life jackets, anchor and other stuff and things fill fast.

Maybe I am wrong, but that boat doesn't look to have a lot of storage, but just something to consider.

 

[Bruce]

There are four LX210s on Boattrader

http://www.boattrader.com/search-results/NewOrUsed-any/Type-all/Zip-71968/Radius-4000/Make-Yamaha/Keyword-Lx210/Sort-Length:DESC

The prices are high but with the end of the season coming I bet someone will come down to your price range. We had a LX210 and loved it.

 

[jjdurrant]

More info.. I think I am going to pick it up Sunday!

--

The oil injection removal was done correctly when engines were installed. They were put in by a Yamaha dealer in Chicago at the end of 2011. That owner did that in October of 2011…then only put about 4 hours on the boat until I bought it.

Compression is 118-120 across all six cylinders

Mechanically this boat is 110%......Click here to read about the Group K fixes….I have done both the springs and the air/fuel separator.

http://www.groupk.com/yjetboat.htm

The pumps are 100% NEW! Painted to match the boat. They also had the SBT replaceable wear rings installed so if and when they need replacing again….it is a $35.00 Delron ring and not $1500.00 in pump parts!

The hull I would say is 90% there…..when I got it there were some gelcoat chips (its 15 years old!) they have all been fixed but two of them on the front lower section require some additional sanding and paint….we are talking one afternoon for even a slightly handy guy. I did them 50% just so they weren’t visible with plans on finishing them this winter.

This boat never experienced salt water….

Like I said in an earlier email…..i will meet you in the middle @ $7750.00 but not a penny less. I did this boat right….no shortcuts.


Thanks!

 

[farrelltravis]

Thanks for the additional feedback.. I am afraid $20k and a four stroke just isn't in the budget right now.. $10k is really my max. Any thoughts on the Sugar Sand Tango? I wasn't even considering those, but a buddy's dad has a 1998 that he bought new. Low hours and usage and he is only asking $4k. It has the Merc 175 Sport Jet.

I better decide soon or I will run out of time this year. Time to move to FL!

I know you are looking seriously at the other boat. But, wanted to respond to this post just a tad bit. I used to own a Sugar Sand Tango. Sugar Sand made great boats. The Mercury jet drive was great. The boat and the engine took lots of abuse from us, and kept going. I like my new Yamaha better, but just wanted to give you a little feedback on Sugar Sand also. Sugar Sand has, and continues, to have rumors that they are going to start producing new boats again.

 

[jonw9]

"Oil injection removal"? So that means you have to run pre-mix, correct?

 

[jjdurrant]

Yeah sounds like it

 

[Glassman]

Welcome Justin, good luck with your search!

 

[Bruce]

Here is BoatTest's review of the Exciter 270 http://www.boattest.com/Partners/Partner-Main.aspx?lp_id=403&Videoid=54&p=0&s

This is the manual for it http://www.yamaha-motor.com/assets/service/manuals/1999/LIT-18626-03-52_387.pdf

The rated capacity for the Exciter 270 is 5 persons or 930 pounds of people and gear.

A LS2000 or LX210 will seat 7 or 1300 pound of people and gear.

This is my taller than you 275 pound friend in the bow of our LX210

The one you are looking at appears to be a really nice exciter. But I worry that you will quickly want to upgrade for more space. I suggest buying as much boat as you can afford now. I bought a LX210 in 2012. We loved it. A year and three days later we sold it to upgrade to an SX230 for more room. We like to take friends and family along when we go out on the water. Our LX210 was a well cared for almost stock boat that I upgraded all the gauges and added a depth gauge to. I sold it for about what I had in it. If doubt that you would be able to get your money back on the exciter a year from now. I also would want to know where the engines came from. If they are Yamaha engines that is great. If they are SBT engines or some other builders engines then how long will they last?

Here is BoatTests review of an AR210 http://www.boattest.com/Partners/Partner-Main.aspx?lp_id=403&T=BOAT-TEST&Videoid=505&p=0&s=

I almost bought a LS2000. Fortunately it almost sunk on the test drive. A couple of weeks later I bought the LX210. Just adding the swim deck to the back made a huge difference in usability for us. I am so happy that I bought the LX210.

 

[JC6275]

I'm glad someone chimed in about the sugar sand, if it is close to you, I would for sure check it out. Especially since you said it was a buddy's dad's boat and a 1 owner. Also rite off the bat it's almost 1/2 the price of the other. You can see it then go check out the exciter, at least you can see a 4k boat VS a 7.8k boat, the Yamaha does have the twin 135s so that raises the value but just talking thru email he dropped from $8500 to $7750. In my world that tells me $7500 or even a little less will take it home when you wave cash in front of him. Especially with a 4 hour drive. But again I think you owe it to yourself to at least check out the sugar sand. As @Bruce said there are some ls and lx yamahas out there and that 3' may not sound like much, that is huge on a boat. Extra storage, more seating, better ride.