I'll take a stab at these...

1. Starting: Battery could be getting weak. How old is it? I killed one in less than 2 years.

2. Platform pad: I went the cheap route and put the foam workout pad squares. It works great and has held up for a couple of years so far. Everyone comments on how soft the platform is. To get the old one off, well that takes lots of scraping and some patience. I just gave up getting all of it off because I figured that if it was on there that good, that it would be an okay base for the new stuff.

3. Ballast: I don't understand what the problem is, can you clarify?

4. Impeller: It is not about the longevity of the impeller, you are supposed to change it every year according to the maintenance schedule. Would you rather replace a $30 part once a year, or a $3000 (or more) engine?

5. Gelcoat cracks: Not sure about this one. If you are the original owner, it might be a warranty issue. If not, I am not sure there is much you can do about it. It probably won't hurt anything anyway.

I hope this helps some.