Alright, so i have been toying around with buying an older used jet ski. I live about a half mile from the beach so it'd be nice to have. Andi 'm talking one of the older standup ones.

what should i be looking for in terms of wear? how do i check for soft spots in the fiberglass? i'm a total newb to personal watercraft, so anything you could tell me would be awesome.

 

Ive had a jet ski for about 10 years now (Sea Doo XP). From my time of playing with these things, here is what I have seen.
1. Damage to the hull from hitting rocks, running up on a rocky beach, or something hard like a dock.
2. Ghetto jerry rigging. You will see where people put in mods/repairs that are completely half a$$.
3. Color of the gel coat faded from the sun.
4. Ghetto paint jobs.
5. Damage to the upholstery if you have a sit down model.

In terms of knowing when an engine will fail or not once you get it home, listen for knocking sounds if you get a chance to start it up. Try to let the seller run it for you in the water so that you can make sure the drive system is working well and it also gives you time to listen to the engine. If it is run out of the water, you will only have a couple seconds to listen because they cant be run for too long when out of the water. Um... this is what comes to mind at the moment.