45 minutes ago, UWSkier said:

Those are excellent slalom boats.  They are prone to dipping the bow under water pretty easily so if you're hanging out up there, do it in the no wake zone or prepare to navigate if/when the surf barges roll in.  That year boat with those hours would have the ETX non-cat manifolds, which tend to corrode away and need new plugs welded in.  Not a big deal, but something to check on.  Look for any water leakage signs on the manifolds.

That's the last year of throttle and shift by wire.  Check the cables for both for smooth operation and ask if they've ever been serviced (including the endpoint doohickeys that attach them to the throttle).

If you like it, BUY IT!  Great boat from Malibu's hay-day!

This sums everything up well. It’s on of my favorite boats Malibu every made and I love skiing it. 

I have one and it’s a great slalom boat.  Seems to be popular with the barefooters as well.  Note that this is one of the boats that was rerated due to the lawsuit and now is rated to hold 2 fewer people.  Also no people up front while underway.  
 

as mentioned above, they will dip the bow very easily.  Have to be careful to keep from getting wet.  
 

one thing to check out is the water box around the stuffing box.  They are know to leak.  They can be fixed, but good to know if that needs done or has been done already.  

I've always wondered if someone has been/or could be ambitious enough to install GSA style trim tabs on a surf gate boat. I realize the space probably isn't there to make it work easily, and you'd need smaller tabs than the standard GSA equipment, but what if you could have both and ability to fine tune the gate wave with a trim tab?  That idea has always intrigued me.

I have a few friends who won't buy Malibu/Axis boats because there are no trim tabs.  I don't really agree with that sentiment but I do see how boats with tabs have some inherent advantages. 

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Those are excellent slalom boats.  They are prone to dipping the bow under water pretty easily so if you're hanging out up there, do it in the no wake zone or prepare to navigate if/when the surf barges roll in.  That year boat with those hours would have the ETX non-cat manifolds, which tend to corrode away and need new plugs welded in.  Not a big deal, but something to check on.  Look for any water leakage signs on the manifolds.

That's the last year of throttle and shift by wire.  Check the cables for both for smooth operation and ask if they've ever been serviced (including the endpoint doohickeys that attach them to the throttle).

If you like it, BUY IT!  Great boat from Malibu's hay-day!