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400 hrs on an '07--what should I be concerned about?


Tack

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I'm in the central US and I'm looking at a used 2007 VLX that appears to be a nice boat all the way around (has some extra stuff added on at the factory plus the owner had some other things added on post-factory). Haven't seen the boat in person yet--maybe this afternoon. My hesitation is that the owner put on 400 hours in basically one season. He is a marine dealer rep and reps for other marine products (at this point I'm not entirely clear on it) and so does a lot of boat demos and because of his business, is on the water with his boats a lot. He's already bought a new malibu--he buys a new one each year and for the past seven years has sold his year old malibus to friends and non-friends with similar hours and says no one has had problems. What should I be concerned about regarding so many hours in just a year? I've never owned a malibu before and am not familiar with the Indymar engine. He has had it serviced by a dealer and an independent service person and I can ask to see the service records. He mentioned over the phone that it's possible to get an extended warranty for around $400-500, to make me more comfortable with the high hours. My family would use such a boat for probably 20-30 hours at the most in a season and I would estimate that we're pretty easy/gentle with our glastron and would be also with the malibu. He's asking a little under $50K for the boat. It does have, as I mentioned earlier, some nice additional features over a normal new boat, including a tower and boat sound system, heater, custom seat covers, 2 batteries, quad ballast, towable cover and custom bimini.

Thanks for any advice!

Tack

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400 hours is not a ton of hours on a monsoon and if you are only putting on 20-30 hours a year, the hours will average out to something more reasonable in a few years.

However, I went from a glastron (20-30 hours a year) to a ssvlx and ended up putting at least 100 hours a year on it. There is something about these boats that make you want to use it. with wakeboarding and surfing you will be on the water a lot more.

50g's, i don't know; have you shopped Link to Onlyinboards.com, there are some good deals to be found. Wakeworld classified has some good deals as well and of course this sites classifieds.

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400 hours is not a ton of hours on a monsoon and if you are only putting on 20-30 hours a year, the hours will average out to something more reasonable in a few years.

However, I went from a glastron (20-30 hours a year) to a ssvlx and ended up putting at least 100 hours a year on it. There is something about these boats that make you want to use it. with wakeboarding and surfing you will be on the water a lot more.

50g's, i don't know; have you shopped Link to Onlyinboards.com, there are some good deals to be found. Wakeworld classified has some good deals as well and of course this sites classifieds.

Thanks Cervelo for the input. I'm taking a look at the boat today and will get a feel from the seller about his care of the boat. You're probably right about using a towboat more! And I looked at the sites you recommended and that was helpful to compare prices. Take care.

Tack

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sounds like a good price to me.... to check and make sure hes really taken care of his old boats, ask for the number of a buyer whom bought from him.

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I would think if you're willing to drive, you could score a brand new 0 hour boat for not much more than what he's asking. It's not that there's anything wrong with the boat, its just that dealers are going to be wanting to unload these 08s pretty soon at big discounts so why go with a 400hr boat when you can get a brand new one for just a little, if any, more?

I have to wonder though why you would spend that kind of money on a toy that will only get 20-30 hrs. per year. As awesome as these boats are, I couldn't justify the purchase if I planned to use it no more than that.

Just my 2 cents of course. Good Luck!

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Nothing wrong with 400 hours on the motor, the 3 year warranty is unlimited hours on the motor anyway.

I agree that $50k is too much for that boat however.

-Chris

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Tack,

That seems way too high for that many hours. Sure it is only a year old, but has 4 years worth of hours on it. I would consider it in the low 40's. Just my opinion, but I am deal searcher when it comes to boats. You see similar boats for that price with 1/2 the hours.

Oh yeah, start surfing and your hour meter will be much higher then 20-30 a year.

Good luck.

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Thanks everyone for your input. I looked at the boat today. For a used boat it seems pretty nice. It hasn't been used in 2 months, since he's had a new boat for those 2 months. The seller is a factory rep for wakeboarding and water sports equipment, has ordered a new malibu boat each year for the past several years, plus he's participated in wakeboarding schools, plus he pulls for photo shoots for the companies he represents, and he travels to many pro level water events to participate or be involved in some capacity as a factory rep. Each year (for the last 7 years) he puts about that amount of hours on his boats and gets a new one each year. He seemed honest and not pushing to sell. The boat's in good shape with a few hull marks except for several nicks and chunks out of the material that is glued to the top of the fiberglass swim platform--from many wakeboarders hitting it with their boards. He's willing to allow me to have my boat service place check out the boat plus he's planning to take the boat to the place he bought from for another service and volunteered for them to do a report on the condition of the boat. He's willing to work with me on an extended warranty on the boat, since I'm quezy about the hours. The heater, seat covers, after market installed tower speakers and subwoofer, catalytic converter, carpet saver, bow ballast (total 1150 lbs ballast), traction kit (special application on bow and other places of boat for foot grip when climbing in and out of boat), dual batteries and custom bimini and a couple other things added are enticing. I agree that probably in a month or even next spring at the big boat shows, '08s will pretty cheap. I'll be thinking about this boat this week and I very much appreciate everyone's input on the subject. Thanks again!

Tack

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dont sweat the hours. i am a pilot and i would rather fly an airplane with 3000 hours than one with 200 hours assuming the same age. this is simply because if the systems in the plane dont get used they become problematic. boats are no different

i also just sold my 07 247 with 500 hours. the boat ran fine and i did not want to sale. my local dealer however made me an offer i could not refuse on one of the last 08's of the assembly line. that is the only reason i traded. no worries on the hours mate and means a better deal for you.

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He’s got the pull up collar ring under the throttle handle ball instead of the push button on top of the throttle ball that the ‘08s have and I like the push button better, but we could get used to collar ring I suppose.

Probably not since the older boats had a throttle cable & now it's throttle by wire.

I drove a new VTX a couple weeks ago & it took me a few minutes to get used to the new throttle. I still like my old one better.

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400 hours on the engine is pretty impressive in one year. The extras don't sound that impressive to me, finding a boat with speakers, heater and bimini is not uncommon. That still sounds like an awful lot of money for a boat that should be at a rock bottom price.

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Sorry, realized I deleted my last post which was responded to by ilovetrains. 99response and Bill_Air Junky (and thank you). Here's what my previous post said:

Thanks Rhino and others on the forum for your thoughts on the hours. I think if he was willing to go a little lower on the price, I’d be more excited about purchasing. It is pretty much a turn key boat and ready to use with amenities like a nice interior and tower sound system, heater, custom seat covers, wakeboard racks that a new boat probably wouldn’t have unless you pay a lot more. The boat has dual batteries but not a perko switch and the batteries are just hooked up in line. Since he hadn’t used the boat in 2 months, when he went to check it before I arrived to look at the boat, the batteries were dead. He’s putting it on a trickle charge and I may stop by his place this week to hear the sound system and see the instrumentation/displays. He’s got the pull up collar ring under the throttle handle ball instead of the push button on top of the throttle ball that the ‘08s have and I like the push button better, but we could get used to collar ring I suppose. Wonder if the throttle handle could be switched out to use the ‘08s top push button? Anyway, still considering this used boat. All advice is greatly appreciated.

Tack

Edited by Tack
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  • 5 months later...

get on boatrader.com there is a 2008 23lsv wakesetter brand new demo fully loaded, tower,racks, ballast, heaters, bimini, sounds system and more asking 52,000. Plus im sure he would go down to 50k !!!

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400 hours is not a ton of hours on a monsoon and if you are only putting on 20-30 hours a year, the hours will average out to something more reasonable in a few years.

However, I went from a glastron (20-30 hours a year) to a ssvlx and ended up putting at least 100 hours a year on it. There is something about these boats that make you want to use it. with wakeboarding and surfing you will be on the water a lot more.

50g's, i don't know; have you shopped Link to Onlyinboards.com, there are some good deals to be found. Wakeworld classified has some good deals as well and of course this sites classifieds.

Your not kidding........same thing happened to us

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I saw a 2004 Response LXi on onlyinboards for $25k, with 750 hours. It looks a little dirty, and has one of the bu crew sony remote holders on it so I thought it might be a members boat.

750 hours is a lot, thats about.....150 hours a year?? :o

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I wouldn't be turned off by the 400 hrs but rather how they were put on. I don't very often run my 99 response wide open just to cruise (I view it as un-needed wear & tear). I would be concerned that if the original owner was showing how the boat performed on a regular basis, it's probably run wide open a lot. Based on some of the price comments already posted, If I were in the market fot that that boat, I'd be shopping around & getting ready for a legnth road trip if neccasary. So what if it's a day or two tow. It's a one time event. I was prepared to drive from Jersey to Nebraska to buy a one year promo boat untill I got a killer deal on my 99 as a new boat. Shop around a little more & take the ride if need be. And ski or board behind the boat if at all possible (unless youv'e already done so behind the same model)

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"Replying to 400 hrs on an '07--what should I be concerned about?"

PRICE.

Save 20k and buy a brand new 08 Vride. There were new 08 Vrides on here for sale a couple months ago for 35-36 brand new and did not sell. Those are good boats for the money.

We bought a brand new 08 VLX loaded for less money in December. (two fixed racks, power wedge, illusion, all ballasts, factory cover, bimini, etc) No stereo which we installed later.

No comparison in the resale audience down the road either. I wish everyone would see it the way some do on hours, but when I sell boats most do not unfortunately. Plus a 08 warranty will go one year longer than an 07 just based on time, and you do not have to pay for transferring the warranties.

I don't want to sound negative for those trying to sell boats, but there are crazy deals on NOS right now.

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Tack,

That seems way too high for that many hours. Sure it is only a year old, but has 4 years worth of hours on it. I would consider it in the low 40's. Just my opinion, but I am deal searcher when it comes to boats. You see similar boats for that price with 1/2 the hours.

Oh yeah, start surfing and your hour meter will be much higher then 20-30 a year.

Good luck.

Plus1.gif on the price, and since the '09s are out, it makes the boat 2 model years old, it doesn't really matter when he took original delivery once you get into valuations. I would agree on the price, there will be deals to be had. Low 40's for this boat would be an appropriate price for the state of the economy. It sucks if you are a seller.

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I agree with everyone else, that price is high. There is an '07 VLX with 150 hrs for the same price at MN Inboard. When you buy one look me up cause I would love to go for a ride.

Troy

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