Goodbye to my first Jet Ski

May 16, 2023

I have spent the last 8 months (off and on) working on the 1996 Seadoo GTI (came with a trailer) that I purchased for $400. For information on what I did to repair the Seadoo, see my two previous posts listed below:
  1. Buying a $400 Seadoo
  2. Rebuilding my first Carb
Even though we are entering summer and the jet ski would be perfect to have, sometimes it is best to sell while a vehicle is running perfectly (and before the next inevitable problem). I also have the upcoming Cannonball Run road trip that I need some funding for. That said, I made the decision to prepare the Seadoo to sell.

First and foremost, I took some before pictures. Needless to say the Seadoo was disgusting prior to cleaning.






I spent about 4 hours cleaning the Seadoo with all different kinds of chemicals (all healthy to breathe I'm sure) and removed the rubber padding on the hull (it was coming up and actually becoming a hazard for tripping). This was by far the most time that I have ever spent cleaning a singular vehicle, but I think the time was worth the effort. Here was the outcome:










While I am not a fan of cleaning, I am the first to admit that the most important step in selling anything is the process of making it look good. The pictures only do it some amount of justice, but there was a tremendous improvement between before and after the cleaning.

The next day I did some market research (primarily Facebook Marketplace) to determine a fair-market value for the Seadoo. I settled at $1,600. While that may sound cheap for a solid jet ski and trailer, it is a 26 years old and not cosmetically perfect (few scuffs, hour gauge doesn't work, etc.). I listed it for $1,600 and within a week an individual from an hour away contacted me and wanted to purchase the Seadoo. He came the same day he initially contacted me and could not have been more excited to buy it. Here was the last picture that I took as the new owner drove it off:


In total, I spent ~$700 on the jet ski and sold it for $1,500. I put an estimated 20 hours on it over the course of several months. While this was not my largest flip, it was probably the one that I enjoyed the most!

I thoroughly enjoyed learning to work on Seadoo products and now have a new appreciation for carbureted 2-stroke engines. I am sure that I will find myself working on another Seadoo in the near future (post-Cannonball Run)!

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