5 replies to this topic

[Craig]

Guys,

I'm looking hard at a 2008 Challenger 180SE with OEM Wake tower. Boat has 18 hours and under warranty till 12/2012.

1) Whats considered a good price on this? Under $17,000???

2) I'm still utterly confused as to which boats still have the ceramic washers. Will this 2008 have steel or Ceramic?

Craig

[keviseeb]

Craig, the value of used boats has changed dramatically for the worse this year mainly due to nationwide dumping of new boats by dealers, go to www.nadaguides.com for the latest values, I'm not saying I agree with them however these are the numbers that banks go by to make loans. The tower adds $2,000 to the price of a standard 180 SE. I think you'll find an average retail of around $15,000 for that boat. Used prices will most likely go up next year as the oversupply of 2008 boats will be gone and the 2009 and 2010 boats will be relatively scarce due to low orders placed by dealers this year and next. The 2008 180 series as well as all other supercharged boats of that year will have the ceramic washers. I'm not sure thats a problem, we have only had one failure on a 180 so far and the operation of that boat was questionable. Keep in mind the titanium coated steel washers require servicing every 100 hours, the hour meter will let you know when it is time. You will have to weigh the value of that fact to the ACTUAL statistics of ceramic clutch failure. In either case good luck with the Seadoo and welcome to the family!

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

Guys,

I'm looking hard at a 2008 Challenger 180SE with OEM Wake tower. Boat has 18 hours and under warranty till 12/2012.

1) Whats considered a good price on this? Under $17,000???

2) I'm still utterly confused as to which boats still have the ceramic washers. Will this 2008 have steel or Ceramic?

Craig

[Craig]

Kevin,

First let me say I'm not new around here. I bought a new 2007 Utopia 205 in January and just recently sold it so I could buy a Challenger 180. I've been reading this forum periodically and am extremely impressed with what you contribute here with your experience and professionalism. I sincerely appreciate you responding to my questions.

I offered that owner $16,000 for his boat however I am doubtful he will accept it. I am fortunate in that I live in Florida and can boat year round. I am not opposed to waiting until November or December to purchase a boat. As you say, it may be slim pickins this winter but the boats that are left over will be at good prices I believe.

As for the supercharger washer replacement procedure. Is this a fairly straight forward process? Will I require special tools? I'm a Field Service Engineer by trade and am accustom to working on complex medical devices. I "Think" I can do this but I've learned over the years the devil is in the details.

Craig

Craig, the value of used boats has changed dramatically for the worse this year mainly due to nationwide dumping of new boats by dealers, go to www.nadaguides.com for the latest values, I'm not saying I agree with them however these are the numbers that banks go by to make loans. The tower adds $2,000 to the price of a standard 180 SE. I think you'll find an average retail of around $15,000 for that boat. Used prices will most likely go up next year as the oversupply of 2008 boats will be gone and the 2009 and 2010 boats will be relatively scarce due to low orders placed by dealers this year and next. The 2008 180 series as well as all other supercharged boats of that year will have the ceramic washers. I'm not sure thats a problem, we have only had one failure on a 180 so far and the operation of that boat was questionable. Keep in mind the titanium coated steel washers require servicing every 100 hours, the hour meter will let you know when it is time. You will have to weigh the value of that fact to the ACTUAL statistics of ceramic clutch failure. In either case good luck with the Seadoo and welcome to the family!

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

[keviseeb]

Craig, I stay away from "how to" questions for obvious reasons however I see no reason why someone with technical capabilities couldn't do a replacement themselves. You need good torque wrenches, some holding tools, a service manual with updates, etc. In the case of a new boat there is no reason to do it yourself since the very rare failure will be covered under warranty especially since the advent of the 5 year warranty that appeared a few months ago.

Kevin Seeber
Kingsland Marine

Kevin,

First let me say I'm not new around here. I bought a new 2007 Utopia 205 in January and just recently sold it so I could buy a Challenger 180. I've been reading this forum periodically and am extremely impressed with what you contribute here with your experience and professionalism. I sincerely appreciate you responding to my questions.

I offered that owner $16,000 for his boat however I am doubtful he will accept it. I am fortunate in that I live in Florida and can boat year round. I am not opposed to waiting until November or December to purchase a boat. As you say, it may be slim pickins this winter but the boats that are left over will be at good prices I believe.

As for the supercharger washer replacement procedure. Is this a fairly straight forward process? Will I require special tools? I'm a Field Service Engineer by trade and am accustom to working on complex medical devices. I "Think" I can do this but I've learned over the years the devil is in the details.

Craig

[Craig]

Well, the owner says $16,500 is his bottom line number. I think its a fair price for the feature set. While Nada has this boat at $15,000 I suggest thats an artificially low number. In addition considering he has the extended warranty I think $16,500 will do it.

Hope to have the boat in my garage this weekend!!

Craig

[Kevin Leclair]

Sounds like a good deal to me, be sure to post some pics once you pick it up!