re: Buying a cheap jetski.

In my experience they are a maintenance nightmare but easy to maintain and not overly expensive. They are pretty simply machines...if you don't mind tinkering on it. Depending on the kid and their level of interest and mechanical aptitude (if they can turn a wrench and know which way a pair of channelocks works) it may be just the ticket to get them interested in tinkering with motors etc. I had a CT70 Honda mini bike when I was a kid and to ride it an hour required about 4 hours, on average, of taking something apart and finding a way to fix it. I learned almost all I know about mechanicing (Not much LOL) keeping that thing on the dirt road. Not a lot of difference accept the cooling system. Might be good for a kid in more ways than one....