Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

These boats are EXPENSIVE!!!


drewsy77

Recommended Posts

38 minutes ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

This is when these discussions go down hill FYI. Yes, no one can argue that math. And yes no one can say you can't have as much fun on older boat as a new one. However one can debate that if you are super into surfing, boarding or skiing, new boats are without question better. 

Bottom line it comes down to what you want out of a boat and how you are willing to pay for it. Everyone of us is going to have a slightly or very different opinion how to make that all happen. 

I can say "we" have more than 50% more fun on our newer boat.  The SSLXi was great but we were limited on the amount of the people we could take and sports we could do.  Now I flip a few switches and we're surfing both sides instead of filling and draining sacks manually and shuffling them around.  We can take 12 people with no issues which means we can take another family out with us instead of just us.  I'm pretty sure that if we wouldn't have upgraded, that we wouldn't have a boat anymore.  When the kids were real young it didn't matter new vs old as all they wanted to do was jump of the back but now they want to go with friends and other people and do every watersport imaginable.   We were on vacation last week and put 30 hours on with two days of rain in there.  We average 120+ hours a season whereas we averaged about 70 in our last boat.  To some, it will never make financial sense but after being on vacation for a week and seeing my kids and wife progress so much, it's worth the extra coin to me.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
20 minutes ago, wedge88 said:

I can say "we" have more than 50% more fun on our newer boat.  The SSLXi was great but we were limited on the amount of the people we could take and sports we could do.  Now I flip a few switches and we're surfing both sides instead of filling and draining sacks manually and shuffling them around.  We can take 12 people with no issues which means we can take another family out with us instead of just us.  I'm pretty sure that if we wouldn't have upgraded, that we wouldn't have a boat anymore.  When the kids were real young it didn't matter new vs old as all they wanted to do was jump of the back but now they want to go with friends and other people and do every watersport imaginable.   We were on vacation last week and put 30 hours on with two days of rain in there.  We average 120+ hours a season whereas we averaged about 70 in our last boat.  To some, it will never make financial sense but after being on vacation for a week and seeing my kids and wife progress so much, it's worth the extra coin to me.

We are just like you.  No offense to our old VLX, but we get way more than 50% more enjoyment out of our new ride.  Sure, it costs more, but we also are spending WAY more time on the new boat vs. our old one.   And just like you, we had another family out Friday night.   12 of us on the LSV - granted, many were kids, but we didn't feel too cramped and everyone had a great time.  Wakeboarded, ZUP'd, and surfed with minimal change time between each.   Yes, we could have got a larger boat and added GSA, etc. and probably got the same results.  I'm not arguing that it couldn't be done cheaper than buying new.   But certainly the enjoyment factor and hours we put on the boat each year has gone way up for us.  Same story for another buddy that jumped from an '08 Vride to an '14 LSV.   

Link to comment
30 minutes ago, wedge88 said:

I can say "we" have more than 50% more fun on our newer boat.  The SSLXi was great but we were limited on the amount of the people we could take and sports we could do.  Now I flip a few switches and we're surfing both sides instead of filling and draining sacks manually and shuffling them around.  We can take 12 people with no issues which means we can take another family out with us instead of just us.  I'm pretty sure that if we wouldn't have upgraded, that we wouldn't have a boat anymore.  When the kids were real young it didn't matter new vs old as all they wanted to do was jump of the back but now they want to go with friends and other people and do every watersport imaginable.   We were on vacation last week and put 30 hours on with two days of rain in there.  We average 120+ hours a season whereas we averaged about 70 in our last boat.  To some, it will never make financial sense but after being on vacation for a week and seeing my kids and wife progress so much, it's worth the extra coin to me.

I can do all that on my used boat that has less than $40K in it - and I don't sweat it when someone spills in it, bumps it against a dock, or steps on the seats with shoes on.  And we can slalom ski behind it too.  And no payments - just some wrenching time for the upgrades - which I actually enjoy.  If I still had one of those long hour corporate jobs then I think new would be the way to go just for the time factor.

To each their own.

Edited by minnmarker
correction
Link to comment

No need to go down the hill.   I think we are all agreeing right now - to each his own.   Let's face, it's tough to economically justify any type of boat, so we're not all the different here now are we?

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Closer to the original topic here...  Why are these boats so expensive and going up every year?  Looking at RVs recently, at the same price range of these boats.  Both are toys, both have a lot of hand built assembly...  What makes the boat so stinking expensive?  

Link to comment
15 minutes ago, bamabonners said:

Closer to the original topic here...  Why are these boats so expensive and going up every year?  Looking at RVs recently, at the same price range of these boats.  Both are toys, both have a lot of hand built assembly...  What makes the boat so stinking expensive?  

300 Million Americans and only 8500 wakeboard boats built new last year.  Supply and demand. 

Gotta pay to play!

Link to comment
12 minutes ago, bamabonners said:

Closer to the original topic here...  Why are these boats so expensive and going up every year?  Looking at RVs recently, at the same price range of these boats.  Both are toys, both have a lot of hand built assembly...  What makes the boat so stinking expensive?  

Well for one, they keep getting bigger and bigger.  Bigger means more material, more time/labor to apply said material, and also the other costs you won't see, the biggest one likely being R&D. Just because we don't see brand new models/gelcoat colors/hull refinements every year, doesn't mean they aren't trying new things, and it all gets passed on to the consumer.

Plus, they keep selling them... and more of them... gotta make hay while the sun shines.

Link to comment
4 minutes ago, NAW said:

300 Million Americans and only 8500 wakeboard boats built new last year.  Supply and demand. 

Gotta pay to play!

out of curiosity, How many folks do you think are in the 100k wakeboat buying category?  Has any of Malibu's financial information said how big their target market is?  I guess anybody that busy any boat is considered target market?

Edited by bamabonners
Link to comment
14 minutes ago, bamabonners said:

out of curiosity, How many folks do you think are in the 100k wakeboat buying category?  Has any of Malibu's financial information said how big their target market is?  I guess anybody that busy any boat is considered target market?

I made a crack at the Mastercraft Rep about not making it affordable & he said point blank to me, I'm not their target, they cater to a higher end customer.  Wasn't the nicest thing to hear but I liked the honesty.  

Link to comment
1 hour ago, NAW said:

300 Million Americans and only 8500 wakeboard boats built new last year.  Supply and demand. 

Gotta pay to play!

Don't forget about us Canadians!

Link to comment
2 minutes ago, Cole2001 said:

Don't forget about us Canadians!

Good point...I probably shouldn't rule any nationality out.

 

7.5 billion people and only 8500 new wake machines.....prices just went up!

Link to comment
1 hour ago, BadgerBoater55 said:

Well for one, they keep getting bigger and bigger.  Bigger means more material, more time/labor to apply said material, and also the other costs you won't see, the biggest one likely being R&D. Just because we don't see brand new models/gelcoat colors/hull refinements every year, doesn't mean they aren't trying new things, and it all gets passed on to the consumer.

Plus, they keep selling them... and more of them... gotta make hay while the sun shines.

That and some of these are publicly-traded companies and need to show shareholder value.

Link to comment
13 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

That and some of these are publicly-traded companies and need to show shareholder value.

Right, didn't want to open that can of worms, but nonetheless it is a factor.  I think the vertical integration (trailers... soon to be engines...) will (should) help increase margins over time, helping with the value side of the equation in Malibu's case. BTW, their stock is up 107% in the past twelve months. (NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE).  

Link to comment
13 hours ago, BadgerBoater55 said:

Right, didn't want to open that can of worms, but nonetheless it is a factor.  I think the vertical integration (trailers... soon to be engines...) will (should) help increase margins over time, helping with the value side of the equation in Malibu's case. BTW, their stock is up 107% in the past twelve months. (NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE).  

Sounds like I missed the....wait for it......the boat...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
On 6/26/2017 at 6:44 PM, Cole2001 said:

Don't forget about us Canadians!

Who? ...north of the wall.. Wildlings ? 

Ha jk. Jk. Couldn't resist.. "game if thrones" no offense

 

On 6/26/2017 at 6:44 PM, Cole2001 said:

Don't forget about us Canadians!

10 hours ago, Cole2001 said:

There's a 2012 23lsv at my local dealer for 92k!!!! Can you believe that? Yes Canadian dollars, but still!

It's has the ice breaker keel option and snow treaded trailer

  • Like 2
Link to comment
On 6/26/2017 at 2:13 PM, bamabonners said:

Closer to the original topic here...  Why are these boats so expensive and going up every year?  Looking at RVs recently, at the same price range of these boats.  Both are toys, both have a lot of hand built assembly...  What makes the boat so stinking expensive?  

The answer to your question is in the MBUU thread. Spend just a few moments studying their financial statements and you'd see that Malibu's gross margin % has been very consistent over the years (i.e. the cost to build a new Malibu in the factory is increasing at the same rate as the price to buy one at the dealership).  I've posted graphs demonstrating this very point  

Funny you should mention RV's. I was surfing YouTube the other day and came across a video by a prominent RV vlogger... the topic was how terrible the QA/QC of today's RV's has become. Made me chuckle given all the whining on this forum about the same topic. I seem to recall some even wondering why Bu can't be as good as RV's.  Watch this video and you'll be glad they're not!

 

Link to comment

RV's are crap and the dealers that fix them are even worse. Throwing a little sealant here and there doesn't fix a leak!

Ours has been fixed twice now from 2 different leaks. 

Edited by Cole2001
  • Like 2
Link to comment

Side on looks nothing like an axis it looks like a 25 cut down to a 23 with different gel patterns .. looks big and classic! 

And most of all the ballast tanks of the new 24mxz! So your talking huge wakes ! 

I have a pic but can't post it here .. too complicated for me haha 

 

 

Link to comment

@IXFE I was speaking more to the ones that are in the same price range as the Bu, MC, or nautique (100-125k, on up to 150k).  We've been looking at Tiffin, Georgetown, and Fleetwood.  Cheaper models can be had - thor, FR3, but they use cheaper materials.  These cheap under 30k ultralite travel trailers are just that... cheap.  I'm talking the better class A....

If I remember correctly, wasn't MBUU gross profit averaging around 27% per unit?  I forget off hand...

 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, bamabonners said:

@IXFE I was speaking more to the ones that are in the same price range as the Bu, MC, or nautique (100-125k, on up to 150k).  We've been looking at Tiffin, Georgetown, and Fleetwood.  Cheaper models can be had - thor, FR3, but they use cheaper materials.  These cheap under 30k ultralite travel trailers are just that... cheap.  I'm talking the better class A....

If I remember correctly, wasn't MBUU gross profit averaging around 27% per unit?  I forget off hand...

 

My recollection is 25-26%. I haven't verified that in several quarters but I doubt it's changed much. 

I would go back and look, but all my images are gone forever thanks to Photobucket. That thread (and many others) is basically worthless now. 

There are plenty of RV's that cost MORE than Malibus also. What I don't know is whether they increase pricing 3-5% per year like inboard boats. Judging by the number of RV dealerships I see and size of their lots, I'm thinking it's a MUCH bigger market than inboard boats, meaning they push volume (not price). Every boat dealer I've ever been to pushes price over volume  

To answer your earlier question. There are only 10,000 inboards built a year. That's a tiny number compared to the population of just the USA + Canada + Australia (three biggest markets). There are EASILY enough households that can afford these boats, especially when you add in the prevalence of cheap financing. That's why prices go up every year. People keep paying. I was at the factory last year and Malibu bragged that they built over 30 M235's the prior month!!  

The industry has definitely left some people behind. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
17 hours ago, malibu.c.c said:

Side on looks nothing like an axis it looks like a 25 cut down to a 23 with different gel patterns .. looks big and classic! 

And most of all the ballast tanks of the new 24mxz! So your talking huge wakes ! 

I have a pic but can't post it here .. too complicated for me haha 

 

 

I'm with you... don't see the Axis resemblance at all. It's basically the same scheme as the 25 LSV, only remove the rear portion of the "swoosh" and add that little horseshoe thingy

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...