New Supra SC 450/550

[nyryan2001]

Where is the "chrome plastic stuff" in the MXZ????... did they start using plastic in the 2014 MXZ? I have not ever seen a post on this site about any Malibu dash coming apart or fading for any reasons.

my plastic Malibu dash falling apart

[wakesetter8796]

At only 96 hours lol

[IXFE]

The dash on my 2012 VLX came loose as well (only on one side). It was an easy fix my dealer under warranty. But I have a theory about what causes this. In my case I lower and raise the tower ever time I put the boat away in my garage. When the tower is lowered, it rests right on top of that dash pod. In my case, it's pretty heavy because I have four big Exile XM9's on the tower. My theory is that the weight of the tower resting on the dash loosens those screws over time. I'm not sure that the dash was designed to be used as a tower support when it's down.

For you guys who have also had loosened dash, do you rest your tower on it?

[bamabonners]

Lets be objective for a moment. I am seeing posts saying that malibu should cost more than the Supra. I have to ask why?! Why shouldn't a supra be on par with Malibu? Both have a great history, both have comparable features. You could argue hard tanks vs bags, but that is personal preference. One could argue that the bags are an easier cheaper upgrade than plug and play, but hard tanks take up less storage when full. Wakes are personal preference. Styling is personal preference. Malibu has Medallion and supra has Murphy. I think both use boatmate trailers. Both use indmar motors and zf transmissions. Both now have snap out carpet. Both have solid towers (personal preference on style).

Standard features and options quick comparisons:

The major things that Malibu has that supra doesn't is a better warranty and manual wedge. Malibu does offer an OPTIONAL surf enhancing device and power wedge. g3 tower with 2 board racks.

Major things that supra has standard is zero off standard, gps nav standard, power seat, pop up cleats, walkover sun deck, trim plate, s bend tower with 4 speakers.

[Bawshogg]

I have my theory's also as to why they loosen. Goes like this. No Nylock and a BiG 15.

[IXFE]

I have my theory's also as to why they loosen. Goes like this. No Nylock and a BiG 15.

That's funny, right there!

[skurfer]

I have my theory's also as to why they loosen. Goes like this. No Nylock and a BiG 15.

:) What she said

[IXFE]

Lets be objective for a moment. I am seeing posts saying that malibu should cost more than the Supra. I have to ask why?! Why shouldn't a supra be on par with Malibu? Both have a great history, both have comparable features. You could argue hard tanks vs bags, but that is personal preference. One could argue that the bags are an easier cheaper upgrade than plug and play, but hard tanks take up less storage when full. Wakes are personal preference. Styling is personal preference. Malibu has Medallion and supra has Murphy. I think both use boatmate trailers. Both use indmar motors and zf transmissions. Both now have snap out carpet. Both have solid towers (personal preference on style).

Standard features and options quick comparisons:

The major things that Malibu has that supra doesn't is a better warranty and manual wedge. Malibu does offer an OPTIONAL surf enhancing device and power wedge. g3 tower with 2 board racks.

Major things that supra has standard is zero off standard, gps nav standard, power seat, pop up cleats, walkover sun deck, trim plate, s bend tower with 4 speakers.

I was being objective... the reason is resale value.

[VH5150]

I was being objective... the reason is resale value.

That is not a valid point at this point in time either as we haven't seen what will happen with the resale value on the new Supra lines as of yet. I had stated earlier that it was one of the things I looked at before purchasing my SA450 is that it is an unknown at this point in time. But the other thing I considered was if I do loose money on resale value it was worth it to me to have the boat that I liked the best when I was purchasing.

[VH5150]

Lets be objective for a moment. I am seeing posts saying that malibu should cost more than the Supra. I have to ask why?! Why shouldn't a supra be on par with Malibu? Both have a great history, both have comparable features. You could argue hard tanks vs bags, but that is personal preference. One could argue that the bags are an easier cheaper upgrade than plug and play, but hard tanks take up less storage when full. Wakes are personal preference. Styling is personal preference. Malibu has Medallion and supra has Murphy. I think both use boatmate trailers. Both use indmar motors and zf transmissions. Both now have snap out carpet. Both have solid towers (personal preference on style).

Standard features and options quick comparisons:

The major things that Malibu has that supra doesn't is a better warranty and manual wedge. Malibu does offer an OPTIONAL surf enhancing device and power wedge. g3 tower with 2 board racks.

Major things that supra has standard is zero off standard, gps nav standard, power seat, pop up cleats, walkover sun deck, trim plate, s bend tower with 4 speakers.

I agree with everything above. It seems like some here don't believe if you bump the quality of your product you should be able to charge more for it because of your past market position.

[nyryan2001]

I have my theory's also as to why they loosen. Goes like this. No Nylock and a BiG 15.

The dash on my 2012 VLX came loose as well (only on one side). It was an easy fix my dealer under warranty. But I have a theory about what causes this. In my case I lower and raise the tower ever time I put the boat away in my garage. When the tower is lowered, it rests right on top of that dash pod. In my case, it's pretty heavy because I have four big Exile XM9's on the tower. My theory is that the weight of the tower resting on the dash loosens those screws over time. I'm not sure that the dash was designed to be used as a tower support when it's down.

For you guys who have also had loosened dash, do you rest your tower on it?

Has nothing to do with the tower or subs... its cheap nut/bolt hardware and/or failure to followup with thread locker. piss poor assy process and supervision. Those are locknuts in the pic I bought at home depot. OEM hardware are standard nuts and bolts without locknuts or threadlocker. garbage.

Didnt mention previously how the 6 hex bolts on the steering wheel also did the same... only thing holding them in was that black plastic centerpiece, else the steering wheel would have been in my lap.

But everytime someone does a factory tour everyone remarks how awesome the floor and assy production managers are.

[VH5150]

These are the funniest comments! How slow must people be to take 10 minutes to change surfers? It's not like your strapping in. It takes us 30 seconds to switch surfers, maybe 2 minutes if we're switching boards too. (one guy takes his jacket off jumps in the water, the other puts his on and sits in the boat)

Regardless I think the more appealing part of switching sides with SG is the convenience, more so than the time. I'm sure PNP style bags take a toll on this.

I would say you are correct on my comment, I should have worded it better. 10 minutes to change sides is no big deal to me for what I feel is a cleaner and larger surf wake. Now before anyone wants to jump on me for that statement, as I stated "for what I feel" which is my perception and my perception is what drives me to purchase what I feel is the best in it's class.

[TrickyNicky]

I agree with everything above. It seems like some here don't believe if you bump the quality of your product you should be able to charge more for it because of your past market position.

It's not that we don't believe it but it's not an easy position to get into. I wasn't around, but I'm sure there was a LOT of this talk about malibu when they started competing to make a big 3 instead of a big 2 (that had been around for years). Its just natural to undercut the under dog even when they may be putting out a very quality product it is still a precedent with that company. I don't know the supra boats but it sounds like the new SA and SC are NOT what a typical Supra has been, so it is going to draw attention when you see a supra selling for 80k used when most supras before it have sold for 60k (hypothetical numbers here). Whether you are able to do that and people recognize this leap by supra, only time will tell.

If ford puts out a luxury car to compete with the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, it's going to look like a stupidly overpriced car until the public has it's way with it and makes it's own decision on how effective Ford has managed to make this car to that quality as opposed to a fusion.

To sum it up YOUR supra is not a regular supra, it's trying to compete with a malibu, either the opinion of supra will change and they will successfully compete with malibu and bring in equal $$, or peoples opinion won't change and your going to get the resale value of a typical supra. Clearly you have casted your vote on the subject by buying one, keep in mind you are on a forum where many have casted there votes the other way.

[Brett B]

Ok first lets be honest. I just love how the Malibu crowd always likes to say the big three. I know your not talking total sales because Malibu sells about 2k boats a year, MC sells about 1900 a year and CC sells less than 1k. So you have to be comparing boats then. There is no comparison between a high end MC or Nautique and a Malibu period. But then again with either CC or MC being 30+k more they should be the top tier boats and THEY ARE.

So why are you here?

Justify your purchase to yourself?

Work out some sort of Malibu inferiority complex?

Convince all of us ignorant Malibu owners that somehow Supra is better and Malibu isn't really one of the "big 3"?

Just like to troll forums for boats you don’t own?

Well according to market share, product pricing, business growth, dealer sale/support network, long term customer satisfaction, and quality assurance (as evidenced by their warranty coverage), it's pretty clear to everybody but you who the big 3 really are.

It’s good to see Supra has hired some Malibu talent and is finally updating their boats. They have been known for having a terribly temperamental wake for years. If you like your Supra, that's great. I think it's a nice boat and I like that we have choices. Plenty of other smart people on this forum have looked at other boats extensively and are very pleased with their decision to go Malibu instead. Some had a bad experience with one brand and purchased a different brand. I certainly don't blame them and would likely do the same in their shoes.

But you keep trying to tell us why Supra really is better. Except Supra themselves don't seem to agree with you when it comes time to stand behind their product, as their warranty absolutely pales in comparison to the actual big 3 manufacturers. The Supra warranty is equivalent of what Yamaha offers on a $30k jet boat. For $100k? Umm, no thanks.

Edited July 25, 2013 by Brett B

[VH5150]

It's not that we don't believe it but it's not an easy position to get into. I wasn't around, but I'm sure there was a LOT of this talk about malibu when they started competing to make a big 3 instead of a big 2 (that had been around for years). Its just natural to undercut the under dog even when they may be putting out a very quality product it is still a precedent with that company. I don't know the supra boats but it sounds like the new SA and SC are NOT what a typical Supra has been, so it is going to draw attention when you see a supra selling for 80k used when most supras before it have sold for 60k (hypothetical numbers here). Whether you are able to do that and people recognize this leap by supra, only time will tell.

If ford puts out a luxury car to compete with the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, it's going to look like a stupidly overpriced car until the public has it's way with it and makes it's own decision on how effective Ford has managed to make this car to that quality as opposed to a fusion.

To sum it up YOUR supra is not a regular supra, it's trying to compete with a malibu, either the opinion of supra will change and they will successfully compete with malibu and bring in equal $$, or peoples opinion won't change and your going to get the resale value of a typical supra. Clearly you have casted your vote on the subject by buying one, keep in mind you are on a forum where many have casted there votes the other way.

I totally agree with you. And I know I am on a Malibu board and do not want to start a disagreement with anyone here. I wanted to make a point that different things are important to different people and that is why our market place is so great and the driving factor behind new innovations that keep us moving ahead. I think your Ford analogy is a good one with the minor fact that Ford did manufacture the Ford GT and received great accolades for a very great product even when being compared to Ferrari and Lamborghini. A friend of mine has a 2007 Murcielago which he traded his Ford GT for and he says it was a horrible mistake as the GT was hands down a much better and more exciting vehicle to drive. Now that being said he also has a 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia and he says that is on par with the GT.

[nyryan2001]

I would say you are correct on my comment, I should have worded it better. 10 minutes to change sides is no big deal to me for what I feel is a cleaner and larger surf wake. Now before anyone wants to jump on me for that statement, as I stated "for what I feel" which is my perception and my perception is what drives me to purchase what I feel is the best in it's class.

still havent seen the surfwake... can you post up some pics of what you are describing?

[bamabonners]

Easy Brett. VH is new....

I agree, the SC warranty is pretty pitiful when compared to bu, cc, and MC standard warranties.

Personally, I have experienced very good outcome using Malibu warranty. they replaced my discolored vinyl, chrome pieces around windshied that discolored, and gave me a new cover.

[VH5150]

still havent seen the surfwake... can you post up some pics of what you are describing?

I will try and shoot some this weekend. There are plenty on google and YouTube.

[Ifinallygota21v]

I owned 2 supra's before my vlx and I really like the product. The key decision in me comin to malibu was the interior. Most of us spend 80% of the time in the boat and the fit and finish of malibu along with the overall room did it for us. I really love the 21v wake and ease of use. Malibu styling is second to none where as supra's is old technology others have moved on from.

[VH5150]

So why are you here?

Well according to market share, product pricing, business growth, dealer sale/support network, long term customer satisfaction, and quality assurance (as evidenced by their warranty coverage), it's pretty clear to everybody but you who the big 3 really are.

It’s good to see Supra has hired some Malibu talent and is finally updating their boats. They have been known for having a terribly temperamental wake for years. If you like your Supra, that's great. I think it's a nice boat and I like that we have choices. Plenty of other smart people on this forum have looked at other boats extensively and are very pleased with their decision to go Malibu instead. Some had a bad experience with one brand and purchased a different brand. I certainly don't blame them and would likely do the same in their shoes.

But you keep trying to tell us why Supra really is better. Except Supra themselves don't seem to agree with you when it comes time to stand behind their product, as their warranty absolutely pales in comparison to the actual big 3 manufacturers. The Supra warranty is equivalent of what Yamaha offers on a $30k jet boat. For $100k? Umm, no thanks.

Brett, the reason I posted that goes back to being told buy my Malibu dealer in my market place. Now I have been out of water sports boats for years and decided to get back in to it. With that being said I was continually told "the big 3". I come from the time when you had MC and Nautique. So to me I did not and still don't see Malibu in that category. I see CC and MC as manufacturing boats up to he 155k+ range and just my perception that the Malibu crowd trying to be the comparable and they a,re not. Now that isn't a bad thing because I don't believe Malibu is trying to build a 155k+ boat. So they own the 100k and under market which is a choice I would believe suits them and their board of directors just fine. So to me a Corvette ZR1 is a great car but it will never be a Ferrari 458 Italia but that doesn't make the vette a bad car but not in the same class as Ferrari and Lamborghini. And that is how I perceive Malibu. As for my purchase it works for me. I haven't said anything about it being better factually. I have stated it as my perception which is how I spend my dollars. And maybe next year the G23 or the X46 will be in my future. But until then they all make great boats in their own nitche's.

[VH5150]

Yikes, that Supra warranty is pretty weak sauce... on all levels, especially with all the electronic components these days on any of these boats. I don't think anyone is not saying Skiers Choice is putting a great product out with SA and now appears with the SC. It just seems like every new boat release from Supra that gets any "praise" imo, looks like a Malibu spin off.... most people are aware Skiers Choice hired a few people from Malibu awhile back... when I first saw that picture I thought it was the new LSV design... lets face it, there "Mojo" boat that Supra designed from scratch looks hideous, how they ever got that thing signed off from the big man I will never know... and regarding the comment on the 22SSV wake, that hull sucks, plain and simple... they should be redesigning that boat, the wake is impossible to get dialed in and its like hitting a brick wall, I experienced it for multiple years.... which is why I went to a Malibu... maybe the new SC will replace the SSV????

I do like the adjustable seat height in the SA, dash looks great, and there rear facing seating options are also nice. I do think there biggest hurdle for 2013-14 will be not having a surf system, some don't care, but many buyers are now becoming aware of it and want it. I just took some people out today surfing with Surfgate and they were blown away with the surf wake and how easy it is to dial in, switch riders, sit in the boat comfortably, etc.... looking forward to see what MC, and Skiers Choice have coming out for a surf system, there must be something on the drawing board.

On the warranty, the only thing that is 1 year is the Gel Coat, all other is 3 years and the hull is lifetime. The owners manual can be downloaded on their site and it is listed there what all is covered under warranty and the time period it is covered for. Edited July 25, 2013 by VH5150

[malibu.c.c]

For me supra has a terrible washed out wake ....quality is rubbish and to compare to a malibu is crazy...

Malibu sold 3 times more boats then all it's competitors combined in Australia in 2013 !

Malibu is not just one of the big 3 ..its in number one position !

[malibu.c.c]

And wait till you make a claim with supra ..Good luck ! No company has been better in warranty service then malibu !

[VH5150]

For me supra has a terrible washed out wake ....quality is rubbish and to compare to a malibu is crazy...

Malibu sold 3 times more boats then all it's competitors combined in Australia in 2013 !

Malibu is not just one of the big 3 ..its in number one position !

Before the SA and SC you may be correct. I have no ideas I had never looked at their product. As far as the warranty Supra is great to deal with. As far as sales in Australia goes I have no idea and really don't care as the country has a population a third less than the state of California.

[Fman]

my plastic Malibu dash falling apart

I do not know if two nuts coming loose would classify the dash as "falling apart", but definitely an easy fix for Malibu to address, on my 2011 they used a simple star washer/nut combo that came loose as well, I replaced them with nylock nuts and never had an issue with them coming loose. I was refering to the dash stitching, gauges, etc... fading or pulling apart and not being quality components.