Is this a good deal on 1999 SRX 700?

D

destey

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Jan 28, 2010
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Vermont
8000 Miles, new track, the guy who owned it says he only drove it up in Canada so easy miles he says. Wants $1700. I haven't looked at it yet but he says its ready to ride, doesn't need any work.

Seems like a lot of miles but at an ok price. I checked, looks like a top end rebuild is like $340 for the pistons, gaskets, etc off ebay. When do these things usually go in the bottom end? I've rebuilt motors before so I'm no stranger. But I've been out of snowmobiling since 1999 so no clue if this is a good deal or not. I see the other listings on craigslist are from $2-3k for SRXs with lower miles.

thanks in adance!
 
:wel:

i'd offer him a little less cash since the market is pretty slow right now. like you mentioned the top end might have to be done but you can do a compression test and i bet you will not need to touch it until the off season. the bottom end can last quite a long time. my 98 has 22000km and i still have not touched the bottom end.

if you do purchase it make sure you come back to this great site and there are a lot of knowledgeable guys that can help you with practically anything that could or might go wrong.

good luck with your purchase.

:letitsnow
 
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at 8000 miles i wouldnt worry to much about the engine, if the owner did his preventive maintence, and imo he did not if the top end has not been looked at yet, i would be worried about skid, w-arm, bushings, etc.... not to mention drive and jack shaft bearings, again these all last a very long time if takin care of and inspected and re-packed yearly, imo you could stay under 2 grand and prolly find one with half the milage, ;)!
 
sgauthier said:
:wel:

i'd offer him a little less cash since the market is pretty slow right now. like you mentioned the top end might have to be done but you can do a compression test and i bet you will not need to touch it until the off season. the bottom end can last quite a long time. my 98 has 22000km and i still have not touched the bottom end.

if you do purchase it make sure you come back to this great site and there are a lot of knowledgeable guys that can help you with practically anything that could or might go wrong.

good luck with your purchase.

:letitsnow
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Thanks! I did a little reading and this looks like a great forum.

What pressure should the cylinders develop?

I saw a SXR-700 with half the miles for $1500. But I had a 1997 XC600 with a triple into one pipe and wasn't all that impressed with the performance, so I'd rather the tripple pipes and variable exhaust port.

I haven't looked at it yet but supposing its in pretty good shape, just high mileage, how much should I limit myself, don't offer more than $1500?
 
dhoward said:
at 8000 miles i wouldnt worry to much about the engine, if the owner did his preventive maintence, and imo he did not if the top end has not been looked at yet, i would be worried about skid, w-arm, bushings, etc.... not to mention drive and jack shaft bearings, again these all last a very long time if takin care of and inspected and re-packed yearly, imo you could stay under 2 grand and prolly find one with half the milage, ;)!
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Thanks for the response. For the fabricated metal parts i assume I should look for breaks in the welds, crackets etc. How do I check the drive and jackshaft bearings, would a bad bearing show itself via up/down/side freeplay in the shafts?
 
i would worry....bad advice.

dhoward said:
at 8000 miles i wouldnt worry to much about the engine,!
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offer less!!! that sled should get rings and maybe pistons,will it still run??? sure it will but i guarantee that stuff is outa tolerance,you have blow by, pistons starting to rock in the boar,skirts getting hammered,crank seals dry should be replaced,on and on. Performance and efficacy is down and not what it was once was new.

good luck with her ;)!
 
like i said, if the maintence was performed,and at 8000 miles if the engine has never been opened up its prolly been neglected its whole life,think i would keep looking, good advice ;)!
 
it depends on your gauge but just as long as they are within a few lbs of each other. i would say anything over 100 -115psi you should be good for a while. i just checked out ebay and there are several sleds listed on there right now at very good buy now prices. there is even a 2003 Viper with just 475 miles in NJ. along with a few nice newer SRX's with less miles. you might want to check those out as well or the classifieds below. there are a few nice sleds listed there by guys from this forum.

liked mentioned by others you should pull the suspension out, check power valves and carbs no matter where and who you purchase it from just to make sure there are no cracks etc. i pulled my new to me 2001 SRX all apart to make sure everything was good and it only had 1300km(approx 700 miles) when i picked it up this past fall. good luck ;)!
 
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he sounded firm on the phone, but who knows. He says it has brand new track and its studded, new idler wheels, new hyfax. Never done anything to the motor he says. always starts 3rd pull. i was thinking i'd offer $1500 and if he didn't accept, i'd move on. on the other hand i may crumble and throw $1700 at him
 
700Stocker said:
$1700 is to much for that sled with those miles. It is a buyers market. Offer what you think is a fair price if he declines keep shoping.
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good advice. thanks again everyone! going to look at it now. i'll keep this thread updated
 
It's no good

Even if it slept in a hyperbaric chamber this would be true. You can expect to do seals, pistons, rings, all drive line bearings(no doubt), bushings in both front and rear suspension and clutches, and probably rebuild the shocks at a minimum. Been there done, usually on purpose for short money. That way, I know what I've got, that's the best position to be in. $1200 is a fair and reasonable offer. I'd say less but people just won't go lower until it pops. If you wait long enough it will probably crack a skirt on a test drive(multiple cold starts) then you can buy it for $900 LOL. My 2 cents, do what you will.
 
went and looked at it, it was fairly nice overall. The steering had slop in it coming from multiple points, the compression didn't feel all there, I offered him 13 and he wouldn't take any less than 1700.
 
Personally I dont think 1700 is bad at all. I wouldnt let mine go for any less. You could always buy a brand new one. 12000.00 later. After thinking about that 1700 sounds like a deal. And if he is firm at 1700 he knows what hes got and what its worth to him at least. I think at some point theres a cutoff to how far the price drops on these sleds. When its running properly this sled will still turn heads an out perform the best of them out there. Now what sleds could you buy for this short money that would do that. JMO
 
Update

Well its back up on craigslist $1500 he says in the title (I think, $1400 is written in the ad but I think he's talking about the trailer)

Emailed him saying "let me know when you get down to $1200, i'll be there with cash"

he emails back saying "1,300 will take it give me a call"

What're people's thoughts on this? To summarize again, when I looked at it a little while ago I didn't do a compression test, but it felt a little soft. But maybe its just me used to my decked head TRX250R. The steering was very loose, would need tie rods or whatever to bring it back. Plus the track had a couple of bent studs. Other than that it looked good.

Worth $1300?
 
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