Questions on 97 VLX for sale

[TimW]

I’m looking at possibly buying a 97 VLX with about 950 hrs. Boat/Dorsey tandem trailer is in good shape; front seating has a little bleaching on the back cushion on one side but no rotten seams anywhere on the boat’s interior. Carpet is in good shape, no tears or fraying. The only concern I have is the owner said he did several summers of surfing behind this boat (with fat saks) and I am concerned that this put a lot of strain on the engine and transmission, the engine/transmission appear to not have any oil leaks. Gel coat is clean; rub rail shows no indications of collisions and no cracks/scratches above or below water line on the gel coat, also the keel is very clean and no damage/scratches. The owner lives on the lake and kept the boat on lift in a covered boat house. He has the annual service records from a local marine mechanic and they are available.

I am not sure what prop came on this series new but it has a 4 blade on it now.

Asking price is $16K but I think he will take $15K. My question is, if the compression is good and it steers and runs smooth, would this be a good buy at 15K? I have a 95 Sunsetter and I wanted to get a V-drive for the space. We do 80% boarding and 20% sking

[shawndoggy]

$15k for a vdrive in the middle of summer sounds like a deal period.

Does it have a tower, ballast system, and perfect pass? If the answer is yes, you'd better drive over there right now with a paper bag full of $20s before someone else buys it out from under you.

[Pistol Pete]

Agreed.

[TimW]

It has a rigid tower, i.e. not colapsable and speakers but no PP, but I just purchased a Stargazer for my 95 that I think willl work (sent email to PP tech). My concern is the hours and use.

[shawndoggy]

I don't think surfing with the boat is an out of the ordinary use.

[cbmalibu98]

Malibu boats are made to pull, as far as the hours it is going to depend on how well the boat has been kept. 950 hours is no big deal if the previous owner maintened regular maintence. If not then you could be looking at problems. Just my $.02, good luck on your decision.

CB

[Indyxc]

Malibu boats are made to pull, as far as the hours it is going to depend on how well the boat has been kept. 950 hours is no big deal if the previous owner maintened regular maintence. If not then you could be looking at problems. Just my $.02, good luck on your decision.

CB

Agreed,

If maintained 950 hours is not much. As I've said at least 3-4 times here before, as a GM employee the Monsoon derivative will do 3000 hours on a engine dyno at 80% duty cycl before any issues. That is a lot more severe that anything the boat will do to the engine, if it is maintained properly.

[ecadwell]

Wow, that sounds like an amazing deal for a V-drive in good shape. Heck, it's a deal at full asking price! Unless I'm missing something I'd jump all over it if I were in your shoes.

Think of the engine this way - water will give the same amount of resistance against a spinning prop whether the boat weighs 3000# or 6000#. While it takes more energy to get the boat up to speed, the prop is still spinning through the same water. Will there be some differences in pushing 2 different weights of boats? Yes, but I would probably consider it negligible for the purposes of deciding to buy the boat based on engine wear.

The hours are not a problem. All they will do is help you to get a better deal on the price. As long as maintenance is good, the engine should have plenty of life left.

Good luck!