TheMalibuCrew - General Discussion Forum

looking at an 05 vlx next weekend, would like some input

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:09:09 +0000

I am hoping to become a boat owner in the near future so I recently joined the forum and have been researching like crazy.

The boat I am looking to purchase next weekend is an 05 vlx with the 340hp engine, 350hrs, heater, hot shower, titan tower, single axle trailer with brakes and a useable (but not great) boat cover. It has a sony stereo with 4 speakers but no tower speakers and only a single battery. The interior is in very good shape overall, has 2 very small cuts from a wakeboard (1/2" long). It came from up north but the last 2 years have been by the gulf. The owner says that he's only had it in salt for about the last 20hrs and he does flush it with salt-away. It is stored on a lift during the summer and inside the garage in the winter. There is a little corrosion on the tower mounts and it appears there is a very small amount on the steering wheel.

Should I be overly concerned about the exposure to salt? is there a way to check the exhaust manifolds other than taking them off (maybe with a scope)? Thoughts on what the boat should be worth?

Strongest product to remove black mildew from vinyl?

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:05:10 +0000

I just got my 2002 wakesetter. It was sitting out in South Carolina with out a cover on it and the vinyl is really bad. I tried magic erasers and it slightly lighted it.

Thanks for any advice! I got a good deal on the boat but spending the next week going over everything.

Fort Loundon Lake, TN "THE WORST"

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:00:42 +0000

It was a floating lumber yard. That best describes this lake. I kept an open mind and went. All I ever heard was its Fort Nasty, it smells, etc... I went and had a horrible time watching out for logs, tires, and crap. I decided to tell my buddy on a jet ski next to me to turn around and end the day before something happens. Going slow back to the ramp this happens. All good no harm to the prop. Never again will I boat on this lake. It is so bad that I think the Tennessee Wildlife agency deserves a call. The sad thing about all of this is that millions of millions of dollars have been invested in lakeside property by many people. I say its time for a restoration project. Living on a smelly lake that's thrashed stinks.

Freakin Stick by Afun2011, on Flickr

NORRIS LAKE FOR LIFE!!!

MXZ 24 or G23 Purchase

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:50:32 +0000

Well I didn't expect to be having this conversation but I'm currently trying to decided what boat that I plan to order between a MXZ 24 or a G23.

Back in August I had the opportunity to spend 2 days on a G23 and had given my local dealer all the specs and colors of the boat that we planned to order. I found out recently that I didn't order a boat so we started to look again and have narrowed the decision between the two boats. I have owned a total of 6 Malibu’s and currently own a Nautique.

Please provide me with any information that you feel will help in Making this decision. I have not had the opportunity to drive or seen the wake of the 24.

I don’t want to turn this into a Manufacture battle just looking for the pros and cons

Is this the one for me?

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:34:58 +0000

You all know I want a V drive. I don't want to really break the bank. I am debating on buying this one and selling my Skier in the spring. It doesn't have the tower I want and there is no perfect pass or wedge but I don't mind the idea of having some projects ahead of me.

Thoughts?

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=34196

1st ride of the season....glad I brought my tools

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:56:34 +0000

We pulled the VLX out of storage yesterday. After finishing up a few maintenance items at home, we dropped it in the water. It fired up immediately and my wife and I both smiled thinking how rock solid this 13 year old boat still is

After a cruise across the lake though, I noticed the temperature was way up. I shut down and pulled apart hoses looking for blockages, checked the impeller, had her crank it with the impeller housing open and verified it was working fine. By this time, the engine had cooled off, so we started back towards the dock. Temperature shot up again, so again we shut it down. I started pulling hoses apart while the wife cranked the engine until we found out where we had no water flow. It turns out my thermostat was stuck. I pulled it out completely and we got back to the dock just fine. Moral of the story was I'm sure glad we had the tool kit on board and that I have some mechanical know how to get us back. I'm also relieved that I think the problem is just a relatively cheap thermostat and not something more major. We'll be back on the water in no time.

My grooms cake.

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:42:07 +0000

Just got married tonight, they did a hood job on my grooms cake

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Ordered a boat early Feb still haven't seen it yet :(

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:14:43 +0000

Not really sure what to think about this, so I figured I'd bounce if off a few of you to see if my expectations are out of line.

First, My wife and I custom ordered a 23LSV February 12, 2013. It was, in my opinion, a pretty standard order judging by the threads on this forum and WW. The main reason we ordered is we wanted specific colors and most of the bells and whistles minus the stereo. (Ill most likely install an Exile system my self if it ever arrives). When we placed the order we gave the dealer 10K, and he told us our boat would show up at the end of April.

One small detail, when we were picking some of the options, I had to explain to him several of the details, which he had to confirm with his rep. He didn't know there were two Bimini options, different carpet options, speaker sizes, just to name a few which still stand out. Now that I think about it, maybe this should have been a red flag.

So anyway, this is where the communication from the dealer has stopped. I got antsy the last week in April after not hearing from him for several (8weeks) and dropped by the dealership, hooked a different 23LSV to my truck just to make sure my truck was set up right. I talked to him briefly and all I got was "Well, it's being made right now, Malibu got slammed in March". I went on my way... April came and went.

The first weekend in May we had a family houseboat trip, my wife, knowing how frustrated I was getting called the dealer unbeknownst to me. The dealer told her the boat would ship May 9th, and would take 5 days to arrive. By my math, that should be May 16th not including weekends for obvious reasons. However, although we are currently two days past the last known delivery date, we still have yet to hear from the dealer.

Now as I sit here writing this, on May 18th (over 4 months since I placed the order), I'm a little frustrated.

When buying a high end product you'd think there would be better communication from whomever the dealer is. We're not buying a 10,000 car, were buying an 80,000+ boat. I don't expect the local dealer to treat me any different than his other customers, but when buying a luxury product of this price point, isn't it fair to expect good service and communication? Our point of reference on luxury products is our Lexus IS250. Although this vehicle is not in the same vehicle league as Malibu in the boat world, they still roll out the red carpet every time we have it serviced.

My 80k boat has now taken three times longer to arrive -so far- than I was told it would upon ordering. Please give me some thoughts on this and any experiences any of you have had.

Not a cool move by the dealer. Venting

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:37:31 +0000

So we dropped our boat off at TNT to get some xm9s installed and a sub box made. The day before we took it in I played the stereo, sounded fine. When we got the boat back they told us "your sub was blown so we replaced it for you." The old sub was a RF P3. I liked that sub. They replaced it with a Kicker (?) which is IMO just loud and no "punch". A lower quality sub. Plus they charged us $235 we wouldn't have had to pay. What would you have done? Demanded a new RF sub? Asked for the money back?

naming the BU

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:37:03 +0000

Just wanted to start a thread and find a cool name for my boat , suggestions please!

i would name it witchcraft but already had an old response that had that name...