I purchased a '91 650sx from a forum member back in June for $750. I was told this ski was going to be gone over from top to bottom, front to back, and it would be perfect before I took ownership. This member was not the ski owner, but he was the one who vouched for it's condition and reliability in addition to being the person who set the whole thing up.
I was told the ski was his friend's and that it would be mechanically sound when I purchased it. He said he was going to replace items and double check everything.
When he delivered the ski it was cosmetically substandard and a big departure from his promises.(orange peel would be a compliment & he said it would be "all polished up" upon delivery, but never was). I'll post pics if you want.
He opened the hood and the engine was clean, but not CLEAN. The hull had grease and oil all over it. The new F/A and primer that were promised were not present. He told me it had new crank seals, reeds and was running great.
He worked for reputable shop and I believed his BS.
I took possession of the ski and he said he would get me the missing parts shortly (I do not have a signed copy of the bill of sale nor the title, so technically I never took ownership).
Got it home and began cleaning it up. The battery had about 1/3 of the electrolyte in it, the gas cap door was about to fall off and the ski was having starting issues, even with a new battery.
First ride out the ski died after about 10 minutes of riding (it still had the old battery in it). I got it running again and rode for about 15-20 more minutes before the ski started smoking and went into limp mode. When I opened the hood there were several melted hoses. I was done for the day after less than 1 hr.
I called this member numerous times, yet he rarely answered his phone. When he did he had nothing much to say other than he was working on it and I'll have my parts soon. I used this forum to help me with the ski's overheating issues because this member, who's quote is "top secret mechanic", wouldn't respond to my calls or texts.
Fast forward to August/September and this problem has not been resolved after numerous attempts to contact this member. Finally, I had to get help from a real mechanic, who just so happens to know this member as well.
I was informed today that the following things are wrong with this ski:
- electrical box full of salt water and corrosion with several exposed wires.
- Piston damage due to overheating and running lean.
- missing gasket for intake manifold to block (likely source for running lean)
- too much play in crank
- missing hardware in various places.
- blistered exhaust hose that was severely restricted on inside.
- badly rusted starter.
His advice is that it is not worth fixing and that I basically got taken. We are discussing it's replacement.....maybe.
I recently saw this member post the items he owed me for sale on this site. He knew he promised me the parts, but then tried to sell them on here instead of making good on our original deal. This is the post he had my comments removed from and then bragged about to his coworkers.
The bitch of it is that this member vouched for this ski and said it would be great, but instead I've ridden it less than 4 hours total and have never gone out without it breaking and now it is not even worth fixing. He came highly recommended from a good friend and has caused some friction between us and the shop in which HE USED TO WORK AT (gotta love karma).
If he was a stand up guy he would have made good on our deal, but instead he chose to stick his head in the sand and ignore me until I went away.
I was a little disappointed to see my original post deleted because I would want to know if someone else had a bad experience with another member on this forum.
If he was not in the wrong, he had his moment to clear his name, but he didn't, he deleted the posts instead. What does that say about a person? BUYER BEWARE of this forum member.
Feel free to add your side side of the story "top secret mechanic".
I was told the ski was his friend's and that it would be mechanically sound when I purchased it. He said he was going to replace items and double check everything.
When he delivered the ski it was cosmetically substandard and a big departure from his promises.(orange peel would be a compliment & he said it would be "all polished up" upon delivery, but never was). I'll post pics if you want.
He opened the hood and the engine was clean, but not CLEAN. The hull had grease and oil all over it. The new F/A and primer that were promised were not present. He told me it had new crank seals, reeds and was running great.
He worked for reputable shop and I believed his BS.
I took possession of the ski and he said he would get me the missing parts shortly (I do not have a signed copy of the bill of sale nor the title, so technically I never took ownership).
Got it home and began cleaning it up. The battery had about 1/3 of the electrolyte in it, the gas cap door was about to fall off and the ski was having starting issues, even with a new battery.
First ride out the ski died after about 10 minutes of riding (it still had the old battery in it). I got it running again and rode for about 15-20 more minutes before the ski started smoking and went into limp mode. When I opened the hood there were several melted hoses. I was done for the day after less than 1 hr.
I called this member numerous times, yet he rarely answered his phone. When he did he had nothing much to say other than he was working on it and I'll have my parts soon. I used this forum to help me with the ski's overheating issues because this member, who's quote is "top secret mechanic", wouldn't respond to my calls or texts.
Fast forward to August/September and this problem has not been resolved after numerous attempts to contact this member. Finally, I had to get help from a real mechanic, who just so happens to know this member as well.
I was informed today that the following things are wrong with this ski:
- electrical box full of salt water and corrosion with several exposed wires.
- Piston damage due to overheating and running lean.
- missing gasket for intake manifold to block (likely source for running lean)
- too much play in crank
- missing hardware in various places.
- blistered exhaust hose that was severely restricted on inside.
- badly rusted starter.
His advice is that it is not worth fixing and that I basically got taken. We are discussing it's replacement.....maybe.
I recently saw this member post the items he owed me for sale on this site. He knew he promised me the parts, but then tried to sell them on here instead of making good on our original deal. This is the post he had my comments removed from and then bragged about to his coworkers.
The bitch of it is that this member vouched for this ski and said it would be great, but instead I've ridden it less than 4 hours total and have never gone out without it breaking and now it is not even worth fixing. He came highly recommended from a good friend and has caused some friction between us and the shop in which HE USED TO WORK AT (gotta love karma).
If he was a stand up guy he would have made good on our deal, but instead he chose to stick his head in the sand and ignore me until I went away.
I was a little disappointed to see my original post deleted because I would want to know if someone else had a bad experience with another member on this forum.
If he was not in the wrong, he had his moment to clear his name, but he didn't, he deleted the posts instead. What does that say about a person? BUYER BEWARE of this forum member.
Feel free to add your side side of the story "top secret mechanic".
