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Buying a new boat - also


MalibuWantToBe

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My post is very similar to MHenry who just posted. I finally got my wife on board with buying our own boat. We currently use my Dad's deck boat, we have 4 kids ranging 6 to 11 all who ski and/or wakeboard. I was planning to find a used Wakeboard boat. I wanted her involved so I brought her to our local Malibu dealer. She sat in a new VTX and fell in love. I just wanted her involved not making the decisions.

Bottom line though is the VTX is close to twice as much as I want to spend, so I talked her down and said lets look at a VRide. Our dealer didn't have one so we made the trek to a dealer that did.

So to add confusion to the mix before we got to the Malibu dealer with the VRIDE, we stopped at a MasterCraft dealer (seats were too hard), Moomba (spotter seat wasn't right), and looked at a 2002 Wakesetter (seats were too worn.) Really it was like red riding hood. We then stopped at a Supra dealer. We looked at a Supra SSV20 which was about 12K less then the VTX and 4K less then the VRIDE. We actually saw this boat before we got to the Malibu dealer to look at the Vride. She really liked it. Seats were good, spotting positioning was right, and it had some nice bling... I have never driven or rode behind a Supra, but the boat seemed very solid and looked very nice. So walking out of there she was 50/50 on the value for $ we were getting with the Supra.

We then got to the Malibu dealer, she tried to keep an open mind, but just came away with I guess the Vride would be fine. As the guy was working up a price on the Vride she went and sat in the VTX . I could tell I she really liked it. We then got the VRIDE price, I thought no way the difference between his best deal on the VRide and the deal our dealer offered us on the VTX was only about 8K. That is still a nice savings, but it isn't worth the wife settling for a 'fine' versus a 'great'.

Some background, my wife and I are both are skiers, I have put on a wakeboard a handful of times and will continue to do so once we have the boat, but I'm 42, my bag of tricks will be small. My wife is also a skier, but is dying to try surfing. She feels that will be her thing. My 9 yr old son has wakeboarded since he was 6 and my daughter since 5, the boat is really for them (the other 2 are skiers but eventually will wakeboard). We do a fair amount of tubing and hope to catch on to whatever comes along next. And we plan on keeping this boat forever, seriously we think either the VTX or the Supra will meet our needs for a long time.

So when she compared the CTX to the Supra she said the bling factor on the VTX was much nicer. A lot of polished chrome and nice finish work. On the Supra she loved that it came with Perfect Pass, loved the 5 year tip to tail warranty and as I said the price was great. I know I'm talking to a biased crowd, if anyone would like to comment on a few questions I have that would be great.

- Does anyone have any opinions on the quality of the two boats, does a 5 year warranty really make a big difference? 5 families we know all drive Malibu's, all love them and would buy them again in an instant, I know very little on Supra except what I read and the sales guy told me.

- Perfect Pass versus Malibu Cruise? Perfect pass sounds great, but is it overkill? One dealer said it was very complicated.

- Any idea which will handle better in rough water. I was told by the MasterCraft guy and the Supra guy that the Malibu will not perform as well in rough water.

- The CTX were looking at has a powerwedge, the Supra guy (again baised) was saying that is not as nice as their Smartplate. The reason being the PowerWedge is like driving a car with the E-brake on. Where the Smartplate is used to shape the wake without adding substantial drag to the boat. It also helps plan the boat automatically when taking off without someone being towed.

- The Diamond cut versus the Wake Hull. The MasterCraft guy said the Diamond cut would kill your resale value, again hoping not to resell so maybe it won't matter. But will going with the Diamond Cut for my skiing kill the wake for our kids wakeboarding. I see reviews in the forums that the Wake hull is a pain to ski on, I will demo this out myself and continue to read the reviews, but any comments on the resale?

Okay this question could get me in trouble. Is the VTX worth $12K more for what seems like similar features? I know if the prices were the same I would buy the CTX, yet at that premium it just seems like a lot.

Last question, if we go the VTX route is it worth it to wait for the 2009's?

Thanks to anyone who makes it through reading this and more thanks to anyone who responds.

Edited by MalibuWantToBe
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I bought an 05 Vride a few months ago & am loving every minute of owning it. Super nice setup & gets lots of compliments.

I rode behind an 08 VTX this weekend. Great boat. But it's well over $20k more than the Vride. I loved the boat but not that much.

The Supras are nice. And one of a short list I'd consider if I were looking again. It would be a tough call. I'm a foil rider & the Titan tower is the best so Malibu was on top of my list.

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Have the Supra and Malibu dealer meet you at the same lake, same time with their respective boats. Test drive them back to back, make sure you ski/board or whatever you want to do.

Sounds like alot of dealers have told you this/that about power wedges, cut hulls (and I'm sure the same with the Supra), etc. I think its time to save the salesman the effort and let the boats do the talking.

-Chris

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If im not mistaken the vtx comes with perfect pass!!

I was kind of in the same boat you were a couple weeks ago before I bought my used boat.. I honestly couldnt afford the vtx/vlx so I opted for the vride right away and was real close to getting it then i found a sweet deal on a used Vlx that was immaculate with really low hours and just couldnt pass it up!!

I would really weigh your options between the vride and the vtx whatever is the said to be budget!! Whistling.gif

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Although you are asking about the difference in prices and making it a factor in your decision, if you can afford it, make sure to get the boat that you really want. Next year and the year after that, you won't remember that you paid 5k or 10k more, you'll look around and be happy with what you have. But if you buy the cheaper one, based on price, you may always be wondering "what if?".

Also, if you and your wife are primarily skiers, I think that 8/10 people would tell you to get the cut diamond VTX over any of the other boats. You can make a ski hull into a good wake boat, but not the other way around.

I also find it difficult to believe it kills the resale value, because there are enough people looking specifically for a used good skiing V-Drive (like me). And the rest of people would have no idea that it's even possible to get 2 different hulls on a "Wakesetter."

I have a Supra dealer 3 miles from my place (vs 60 miles for my Malibu dealer.) I love the way they look also. So I go there to buy accessories/toys for my Malibu!

Ken

Edited by Badger
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Our Family of 3 well actually 7 if you count our regular crew - 4 adults 3 kids (9,9, and 6). We were in this same position last year - Malibu versus Supra. I test drove a Supra 22SSV and loved it however I was concerned about the wake for the wive and kids. After doing some research I thought a smaller boat was better so the Malibu V-ride, Malibu VLX, Supra 20SSV, and Supra 21V were now the leaders. The Supra 21V did not have the seating arragement I liked, the VLX was out of the price range so it really came down to the V-ride or the 20SSV. The V-ride has deeper seating and makes you feel like you are in a bigger boat than the 20SSV. After a V-ride test drive we never looked back. We picked up a used 2006 v-ride with the illusion-X tower and we have put about 42 hours on it so far this year. The V-ride is a very versatile boat. We are able to make a nice wake for the kids (hip high on them with clean lips) at 18-19 MPH and make a pretty decent wake for the adults at 21-22MPH. The ONLY thing I would change on the boat would be to put a Titan III tower on it. The illusion-X is one COOL looking tower however the rope is always getting hung on the board racks and it limits the rear view through the mirror.

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My opinions/experiences on a few of your questions:

- Perfect Pass versus Malibu Cruise? Perfect pass sounds great, but is it overkill? If you ski a course and are concerned about extremely accurate times get perfect pass. Or if you wakeboard and can't accept +/- 1.5 mph swings then get Perfect Pass. For 90% of the people who buy these boats the Malibu Cruise is good enough. With that said, I am considering adding Perfect Pass to my boat.

- The CTX were looking at has a powerwedge, the Supra guy (again baised) was saying that is not as nice as their Smartplate. The reason being the PowerWedge is like driving a car with the E-brake on. Where the Smartplate is used to shape the wake without adding substantial drag to the boat. It also helps plan the boat automatically when taking off without someone being towed. I am very pleased with my powerwedge. It helps a lot for surfing!

- The Diamond cut versus the Wake Hull. The MasterCraft guy said the Diamond cut would kill your resale value, again hoping not to resell so maybe it won't matter. But will going with the Diamond Cut for my skiing kill the wake for our kids wakeboarding. I see reviews in the forums that the Wake hull is a pain to ski on, I will demo this out myself and continue to read the reviews, but any comments on the resale? I expect there are as many people looking for a crossover boat as a dedicated wakeboard boat. Also, in my opinion most people looking for a dedicated wakeboard boat are going to go with the VLX or 23 LSV boat if they can afford it. The Diamond Cut is good for skiing. It is no Malibu Response but is far better than any other V-Drive that I have been behind and even compares favorable to a Tige 20i in my opinion. If you are course skiiers then the bump at 22 off will probably be an issue but if you ski shorter than 22 off the wake nearly disappears. Skiing at 15 off it is decent. Clearly not world class direct drive level but very good. I do notice a difference in the wake with 1/4 tank of gas vs a full tank. The comments on the 22 off and shorter line lengths are from a guy who runs down to 35 off. I pulled him through the course with a full tank of gas so about the worst possible wake. For wakeboarding, it is still very good. Most people think that they need a pro level boat but this boat with the Cut Diamond hull is amazingly versatile. I wakeboard with several people who are very good boarders (very solid on 4 or more invert tricks each) and all of them like my Cut Diamond Hull. They especially like the smooth lip and ramp that it gives (probably similar to the wake hull). They do most of their boarding behind MasterCrafts and they get more wash at the top of the wake so they welcome the clean lip. You will get plenty of wake for your kids to continue to enjoy wakeboarding and develop with the Cut Diamond Hull. Does the wake hull have a better wakeboard wake... I would expect so, but the Cut Diamond hull is still very good. I can easily surf with stock ballast and power wedge. Granted, I use a relatively big board, but it is surfable. As I am sure you noticed that most of the comments were from people who are much better than me at their specific passion. However, since I want to do it all (barefoot, slalom, and wakeboard and I wanted a V-Drive the VTX was to me the only option. I also tested a Tige 20V and X2. I didn't test the Supra 20V but after the VTX with the Cut Diamond Hull demo, I know I found my boat.

Okay this question could get me in trouble. Is the VTX worth $12K more for what seems like similar features? I know if the prices were the same I would buy the CTX, yet at that premium it just seems like a lot. That is a question that only you can answer. Will you have another $12k more fun... probably not but I had just as much fun in my '79 Mastercraft that I bought for $2000. However, I will say that I have no regrets on buying my VTX.

Last question, if we go the VTX route is it worth it to wait for the 2009's? To me the answer is yes, the new dash will be awesome... plus you get to order exactly what you want. I highly recommend the Titan III tower vs the Illusion X tower for this boat. The illusion X blocks most of the side entry into the boat. You have to get onto the sundeck and then into the boat. Aslo, ask for a jump seat to sit in the walkway. It gives one more rear facing seat. We often go out with 4 people and in the MasterCrafts, someone usually sits on the floor to level the weight of the boat or sits sideways on the back seat trying to watch the rider. The jump seat is used even more that I thought it would be in my boat. It is similar to the Launch seats on the I-Ride so they may not make them anymore but for $300 it is worth a try.

Thanks to anyone who makes it through reading this and more thanks to anyone who responds.

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The core of the '09 VTX should be the same as the '08s.

The 2009 V-ride wake will be different than the 2008 v-ride. If you want to know what the 2009 vride wake will be like try out a 05-08 VLX (which were also available with a diamond or wake hull).

If your passion is skiing then the Cut VTX is the best choice of all the Malibu's you've listed (3 out of 4 of our crew preferred the cut hull VTX for skiing).

Malibu's come with Malibu Cruise speed control and it is NOT the same as Perfect Pass. If you never had either, than both are fine. But if you are coming from Perfect Pass into Malibu Cruise you will be frustrated.

Interesting comments from the MC dealer. Many have argued that if you don't have a length limitation why would anyone buy a VTX over a VLX.... So many opinions.

The bling looks good now, but.....

I can’t stress what has already been posted: you have to try the boats on the water before you buy them!! The brand name is doesn't mean anything if the boat doesn't do what you need it to do for you and dealer experience is just as important as the name on the side of the boat.

Okay this question could get me in trouble. Is the VTX worth $12K more for what seems like similar features? I know if the prices were the same I would buy the CTX, yet at that premium it just seems like a lot.

Are you paying cash? Is $12K pocket change? Seriously, the boat is just the beginning. Do you already own a coast guard package? Skis? Boards? Vests? Ropes? Gloves? Sky Ski?? You'll be replacing all of that (except the Sky Ski - well maybe) nearly as often as you change the oil and I won't say anything about gas cuz this will spiral out of control.

Edited by CTSunsetter
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We vacation every year with a family that is on their 4th Supra (91, 92, 05, 08). Their current is an '08 20SSV and we got to spend a week in & behind it last month. It's a nice boat, but according to them needs to be going 34/36 to have a decent ski wake - it's pretty rough below that - even with the plate adjusted. It seems to compare to a VTX with wake hull. With the ballast full, it is a nice boarding wake. We never did ski behind the Supra as we always used my DD Sunsetter.

PP is not too complicated once you get the hang of it. More options than Malibu Cruise, more accurate speed holding. If you search, you'll find a few recent threads talking about that. I believe it's an option on the VTX & available with built-in GPS.

I'd take power wedge over smart plate any day. More options & tune-ability with it. The power wedge is not like driving a car with e-brake, it's like driving a boat with 1000lbs of ballast instantly available. The supra isn't too spry with it's ballast full & it takes time to fill/empty. The wedge will not count against your Coast Guard capacity.

Can't say on the CD hull vs wake hull. Mastercraft salesmen are known for spreading FUD and bashing their competitors unfairly, so take what they said with a grain of salt. Some v-drive buyers will want the wake hull, but there are also skiers who want the layout of a v-drive with a good ski wake & the only v-drive that has it is the VTX. To those buyers, it will bring a premium.

The Supra/VTX should be comparable in rough water. All the Mastercrafts I've ridden in have been horrible in rough water. Gotta let the water tests verify that.

See what you can find out about the service department's reputation for each of the dealers. It won't do you much good to have a 5 year warranty if it takes them a month+ each time to repair your boat. Stay away from yellow & orange with Supra if you don't want to worry about spider cracks in the gel-coat. Also have a spare fuel filter or two available for the first 20 hours or so.

As far as the 08 vs 09, I don't think there are significant changes in the VTX, but you should be able to get the exact colors you want. You should be able to work a slightly better deal on the 08 & have it much sooner.

It will really come down to if it's worth it to you. We bought used for our boat & dealt with some of the issues, but saved $$$. If you look, you may be able to find a clean VTX/VLX out there - they will cost a little more, but they are there.

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Test drive back to back and you will be sure. As for other dealers coaching you on Malibu, take it with a grain, or maybe shaker of salt. The wedge will add drag, because it is in effect adding displacement to make the wake larger. The purpose of th wedge to add a ballast effect. Supra's plate is simply a trim-tab. As for the diamond hull, especially on the VTX, I think that will only help resale, but you said you will keep this boat forever, so who cares?

Lastly, if budget is too much of a stretch, look at 04, 05. Go look at and compare 6 or 7 year old Malibus to 6 or 7 year old Supras and get an idea of how things hold up also. (I can't say either way, just one way to see how a boat will hold up if you want to keep it a long time) Good luck!

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Supras are nice but IMO the Malibus are a step, or more above. To me it would come down the the dealership. If the Supra dealer is awesome and the Malibu dealer is acting like a mastercraft dealer, I would go with the Supra for sure.

If they are both good dealers I would choose the Malibu.

Report back if you do the lake test.

Edited by LiQUiDSX
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Thanks for all the great input. I think as almost every poster said it is time to get out and drive them. I've got my Malibu VTX test drive Monday morning at 8:30. I can't test the Supra until a week later, which I know isn't great, but it is the best I can do.

Any suggestions for what to take the boats through, beyond:

- Wife pulls me slaloming.

- Wife pulls son Wakeboarding using Cruise.

- I pull son Wakeboarding.

- Set the boat up for surfing (we don't actually surf, but want to), get a feel for the drive.

- Look for some rough water to drive on.

Thanks again for all the great input.

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Thanks for all the great input. I think as almost every poster said it is time to get out and drive them. I've got my Malibu VTX test drive Monday morning at 8:30. I can't test the Supra until a week later, which I know isn't great, but it is the best I can do.

Any suggestions for what to take the boats through, beyond:

- Wife pulls me slaloming.

- Wife pulls son Wakeboarding using Cruise.

- I pull son Wakeboarding.

- Set the boat up for surfing (we don't actually surf, but want to), get a feel for the drive.

- Look for some rough water to drive on.

Thanks again for all the great input.

On the VTX when you Slalom, make sure that rudder is loaded (you want it to pull to the right). If the rudder is neutral at slalom speeds, she will feel like you are pulling her around. My trim tab on my rudder is sticking out to the left fairly significantly for a good slalom pull. With it set like this, I can run it thru the course without a problem.

Also, have her pull you using Cruise when you are slaloming, but make sure you use the RPM mode and not the speed mode.

Enjoy - that boat rocks.

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One of my regular riding buddies bought a 2007 20 SSV and the first comment he made to me with my 2006 WS VLX is when looping around to pick up your downed rider when you cross your own wake he said my boat was considerable quieter which according to the Malibu salesman is because Malibu uses more layers of fibreglass during construction Dontknow.gif . His Supra really seem to slap the water when crossing the wake but other than that they both are really good boats. As long as you and your family are having fun on the water making memories does it really matter what year boat your rollin' in, buy what you can afford and enjoy it. With all that being said i wouldn't give up my BU for the world, it's the second one of owned to date.

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You guys have been so great with the information that I wanted to ask a few other questions. The 2008 VRide option is back on the table. The one were looking at does not have a bolster seat and only the standard center ballast?

Can I add a bolster seat for a reasonable price?

Would we be able to Surf behind it without the rear ballast? I have surfed once, and my wife wants to learn, we just want to make sure the boat can accomidate it or are we going to have to upgrade right away. It does have a manual powerwedge.

Thanks again.

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You guys have been so great with the information that I wanted to ask a few other questions. The 2008 VRide option is back on the table. The one were looking at does not have a bolster seat and only the standard center ballast?

Can I add a bolster seat for a reasonable price?

Would we be able to Surf behind it without the rear ballast? I have surfed once, and my wife wants to learn, we just want to make sure the boat can accomidate it or are we going to have to upgrade right away. It does have a manual powerwedge.

Thanks again.

Can't help you on the bolster seat question. On the surfing question, though, after recently

doing research to get started surfing, I'm pretty sure that lack of factory hard ballast in the

rear of that boat is a non-issue. If you're going to surf, you're going to want extra ballast

back there (I just ordered a 750 lbs. fat sac), way more than what the hard tanks would provide.

Wedges are either manual or power. The newer manual wedges are free-floating, whereas

the older manual wedge (pre-2007) was locked in either full up or full down. The power

wedge allows you to have it at any point between those extremes. It's a nice option, though

not entirely without bugs to work out (some folks are having problems with theirs). Either

manual wedge or power wedge will work well, but the power wedge is quite a bit more expensive

an option.

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Well, took the test drive today and it was smooth as silk. The VTX handled extremely well and just cut through the water like a hot knife in butter. It was also very comfortable.

So our test results...

Me slaloming, for me it was the best ride I've had in 20 years. Now I have only skied behind I/O's for 20 years, so that might not be saying much. It was also very calm on the lake. so that helped. But I can say there was no struggle in getting up. The wake was almost nothing. I was suprised by that, 20 years ago I remember some bumps, but this was almost too flat. I'm wondering if we needed to set something. As for her driving, she loved the cruise control, but mrothwell was right, she said I pulled her all over the place. I mentioned the post and she felt better that if set up right it shouldn't do that.

Wife pulls son: She was afraid too, because she couldn't throttle the boat slow enough. I think the comment that she almost pulled my arms out of the socket scared her. I pulled him and the throttle held very easily at his speed, and then the cruise made it a piece of cake. My son's review is buy it.

Set up for Surfing, took a long time to fill the ballast tanks. He (sales guy) filled all 4 tanks and we definitely had a big surf wake, but it was all foam. I'm assuming this is again just the set up being off. My wife drove it and said it felt fine. She couldn't see anything directly in front of her even on the bolster, but figured we do that in the middle of the lake anyways it wouldn't be that big of a deal (don't feel great about that comment).

Look for some rough water. None to be found, as there was absolutely no wind. Took it to the middle of the lake and drove it around on the biggest chop I could find, and it made no difference. I think once I got the hull to pop down as I came over another boat's wake, but I really couldn't test it.

So overall it was a great ride, but I don't think we can swing the budget this year. I'm not even sure we can swing it next year. Them boats are pricey, and buying it is only the beginning. Does anyone know how the feel of an 08 Vride will compare to the VTX? We definitely like the VTX better, but maybe need to consider second choices?

Tomorrow we are test driving a used 2005 Supra V21. The Supra dealer says it is mint condition. Then the following week a 2008 Supra SSV 20. Two different dealers as one has the used v21 and no SSV 20. And the other has the 2008 SSV 20. I guess the rides are completely different so we will see.

Thanks again for the input.

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