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Looking To Buy A New Boat


Kingfish

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First off I'd like to say hello to everyone and what a great forum.

Like the topic states I'm looking to buy a boat and to be honest Malibu was not on my list. I had read some stories about transom damage and saw related pictures which scared me off. Recently I went to the various dealers in my area to not only to look at the boats but to get a feel for how they treated a potential buyer. I won't go into detail on each one but I will say that Wizard Lake Marine came across as someone that cared about the customer after the sale was complete. There were a ton of boats to look at and many owners coming in for winterization. As well they are expanding which indicates they are going to be around for awhile. Any experiences with this dealer would be appreciated.

I have driven a an 07 wakesetter VLX and my son has ridden behind it and at that time we were both impressed with quality and wake shape. I had thought about the VRide but I'm not so sure after doing some research. Some of the other boats I had looked at were:

- SAN210. Nice boat, good quality and my son has ridden behind this one at competition

- Tige Z1. Dealer had none in stock, the wider beam is nice and it is supposed to throw a good wake for surfing/wakeboarding. The 22VE and 20V quality wise seemed seemed nice. My son has ridden behind the 22VE and RZ2 , with ballast they throw a good wake

- MC X2, X15. Just not the boat for me, I did like the snap out carpet.

- Mobius LSV. I have driven this one and my son has riden behind it. I think its pretty good bang for the buck but I was looking for something with just a bit more wake shaping and overall finish.

- Supra 21V or 22 SSV. Never had a chance to see one but my son has ridden behind the 22SSV at competition and liked the wake.

- Malibu. Great seating, quality, adjustable wake, really the list goes on and on. The dealership was also a clincher for me as after sales service is important.

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Welcome to the TMC. First off, there are some very nice boats on your list that are functionally very good. Of course here we are a bit opinionated. Based on reviews to date, I think if you tried an '09 VLX you would be done looking. There are a couple recent threads here...

Here is one: http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....showtopic=17441 There are couple more you can search and find.

One thing that no one can match is the Power Wedge, you can see the wake shape change while trimming the wedge to get it to your liking.

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Thanks for the responses so far. Glad to hear trenty6930 that Wizard Marine is giving you good service, this supports my initial impressions. I hope to hear from more people using Wizard Lake Marine. Hey BlackPearl the first set of photos in the link are of ? The boat ballast full and wedge down?. Looks like a 750# sack when added will provide a monster wake for surfing. I have done some searching for 09 VLX but there is not to much out yet, what is out says nothing but good things.

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Kingfish, they have been great so far. I even book my service trips for one day, drop it off in the morning, head to Edmonton for some R and R and pick it up on the way home. It saves me a lot of time because I live 2 hours from Calmar.

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First off I'd like to say hello to everyone and what a great forum.

Like the topic states I'm looking to buy a boat and to be honest Malibu was not on my list. I had read some stories about transom damage and saw related pictures which scared me off. Recently I went to the various dealers in my area to not only to look at the boats but to get a feel for how they treated a potential buyer. I won't go into detail on each one but I will say that Wizard Lake Marine came across as someone that cared about the customer after the sale was complete. There were a ton of boats to look at and many owners coming in for winterization. As well they are expanding which indicates they are going to be around for awhile. Any experiences with this dealer would be appreciated.

I have driven a an 07 wakesetter VLX and my son has ridden behind it and at that time we were both impressed with quality and wake shape. I had thought about the VRide but I'm not so sure after doing some research. Some of the other boats I had looked at were:

- SAN210. Nice boat, good quality and my son has ridden behind this one at competition

- Tige Z1. Dealer had none in stock, the wider beam is nice and it is supposed to throw a good wake for surfing/wakeboarding. The 22VE and 20V quality wise seemed seemed nice. My son has ridden behind the 22VE and RZ2 , with ballast they throw a good wake

- MC X2, X15. Just not the boat for me, I did like the snap out carpet.

- Mobius LSV. I have driven this one and my son has riden behind it. I think its pretty good bang for the buck but I was looking for something with just a bit more wake shaping and overall finish.

- Supra 21V or 22 SSV. Never had a chance to see one but my son has ridden behind the 22SSV at competition and liked the wake.

- Malibu. Great seating, quality, adjustable wake, really the list goes on and on. The dealership was also a clincher for me as after sales service is important.

Your definitely on the right track, service after the sale to me is at least 30-40% of the decision on my next purchase, fit and finish is next. Here, where we live there are many choices for Malibu services within 2hrs or less but if that was not the case every boat would get great consideration. Good Luck in your search, and the best thing to do is test drive, test drive, test drive Thumbup.gif

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Test drive is really the way to go but for me season is over and I want/need a new boat for next season. Driven a 22VE, Mobius LSV, 07 VLX and Outback. From those boats I have a pretty good idea of what I want and my dealer visit was helpful in looking at quality, layout differences and of course dealer attitude. Unfortunately issues this summer prevented us from test driving earlier in the season. A missed opportunity for sure. On the brightt side my son has ridden behind all the boats I listed at the start of this forum. It's his opinion I'm relying on for the wakeboard wake and of course places like this. Everything is taken with a grain of salt when it comes to forums but there are alot of knowledgable folks who can pass on their experiences and biased/unbiased opinions. Help me to decide Biggrin.gif

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Did it speak to you.... Tongue.gif

Justin, haven't we made it clear that you have no business correcting anyone's spelling, grammar, or the like? Whistling.gif

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I've been rreading the reviews and I'm torn on what to get VRide, VTX, VLX. I really like the 09 VLX reviews so far but I'm wondering if its not a little to dressed up for my needs. The only thing I was a little turned off by mostly was the chrome billet and dash other than that I thought the boats looked great. I'm also a little old school when it comes to electonics, gauges and switches always seem easier to maintain and more reliable; more of a misconception I think than anything else. My son wakeboards and so do his buddies, they like to compete and are all doing HS/TS backrolls, raley's, wake to wake 360's and tantrums. So I want a boat that will fit those needs as well adaptly handle surfing duties for me and the wife. I do not want to have ballast all over the floor. At most I'd probably have 5-8 people although the odd time more.

I'm also a little unsure yet of the wedge, I've read stories about boats loaded down and on turns slipping out and losing control, they use alot more gas than a trim tab, make turns more difficult, reliabilty issues and so on.

Also I was hoping to hear more response back from customers of Wizard Lake Marine, should I start a new thread for that ?or is asking that specific a question frowned upon in the forum?

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I've been rreading the reviews and I'm torn on what to get VRide, VTX, VLX. I really like the 09 VLX reviews so far but I'm wondering if its not a little to dressed up for my needs. The only thing I was a little turned off by mostly was the chrome billet and dash other than that I thought the boats looked great. I'm also a little old school when it comes to electonics, gauges and switches always seem easier to maintain and more reliable; more of a misconception I think than anything else. My son wakeboards and so do his buddies, they like to compete and are all doing HS/TS backrolls, raley's, wake to wake 360's and tantrums. So I want a boat that will fit those needs as well adaptly handle surfing duties for me and the wife. I do not want to have ballast all over the floor. At most I'd probably have 5-8 people although the odd time more.

I'm also a little unsure yet of the wedge, I've read stories about boats loaded down and on turns slipping out and losing control, they use alot more gas than a trim tab, make turns more difficult, reliabilty issues and so on.

Also I was hoping to hear more response back from customers of Wizard Lake Marine, should I start a new thread for that ?or is asking that specific a question frowned upon in the forum?

i am really happy with my vlx from wlm. my boat hasn't been in an alberta lake yet and because of where i holiday, i do my own servicing and really haven't had any warranty issues. i have dealt with wlm for 4 years now (also with my old boat (2001 sunsetter vlx)) and when it came time to upgrade to new don and ron were the clear choice. If you decide to go with a Malibu, don't deal anywhere else.

choice of boat, i only have experience with the ws vlx. it has been great for surfing but we don't have anyone in our crew that wakeboards like your crew does.

The wedge is the best thing since sliced bread. It must have been the competition telling you about the "slipping and losing control" "make turns more difficult" that does not happen. A lot more gas, again, i would say no. i think the '08 ws vlx with the power wedge gets better fuel economy than my '01. there is a gas premium to be paid when the wedge is in the fully down position as you are adding a 1000lb's worth of downforce on the boat. A trim tab is generally used to lift the rear end of a boat out of the water, not sink it.

if you are going to have 5-8 people in the boat, then with the stock ballast and a 750 in the trunk, you will be able to surf quite well, we use the phase 5 icon (smallest one) and there is lots of push even for the big guys.

edit: oh and Welcome.gif

Edited by Cervelo
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Thanks Cervelo for the welcome.

Glad to hear your experience with WLM has been positive, the after sales service is really important to me. Ron pretty much sold me on the dealership, he's knowledgable and does not pressure you into a deal right now kind of thing. Some of the wedge issues and chinning? I have read were on this forum, I have not seen to much bashing of BU anywhere else. I do know people who have VTX/VLX's and they seem to really like them. Couple things I like about the wedge is no ballast on the floor, storage area is still useable and wake is shapeable. I am concerned though with the width of the VLX wake; seems pretty wide. Thanks again for the input.

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I've been rreading the reviews and I'm torn on what to get VRide, VTX, VLX. I really like the 09 VLX reviews so far but I'm wondering if its not a little to dressed up for my needs. The only thing I was a little turned off by mostly was the chrome billet and dash other than that I thought the boats looked great. I'm also a little old school when it comes to electonics, gauges and switches always seem easier to maintain and more reliable; more of a misconception I think than anything else. My son wakeboards and so do his buddies, they like to compete and are all doing HS/TS backrolls, raley's, wake to wake 360's and tantrums. So I want a boat that will fit those needs as well adaptly handle surfing duties for me and the wife. I do not want to have ballast all over the floor. At most I'd probably have 5-8 people although the odd time more.

I'm also a little unsure yet of the wedge, I've read stories about boats loaded down and on turns slipping out and losing control, they use alot more gas than a trim tab, make turns more difficult, reliabilty issues and so on.

Also I was hoping to hear more response back from customers of Wizard Lake Marine, should I start a new thread for that ?or is asking that specific a question frowned upon in the forum?

king fish you just you just said you want an 09 vlx. read the reviews and ask queshtions. the vlx fits your bill to the t. the wakrboard wake will take your children to any level they want. If you read my review you will see the surfing for you and the wife will be every thing you hoped for and more. all with no ballast baggs showing. as far as the high tech electronics. go for it you will love haveing them. also let malibu put your mind at ease. If there ever is an issue you can be sure they will take care of it. for an example look at the 08 throttle recall. malibu started this before it was a problem they sent techs all over the country and had what never became an issue resolved in less than three weeks. as far as the wedge concern the new wedge is awsome with its auto feature it is 30% more efficiant than previous years. and we had no issues with it breaking loose or looseing control weighted. Go and drive it tell the dealer you want a long test drive take the kids and wakeboard it. tell the dealer to bring a 750# bag to put in the surf side locker and surf it. at that point you will be sold and very very happy. I cant speak for wizard marine but i must say i have no herd anything bad. If you realy want to know ask the dealer for 6 refferals. 3 good and 3 bad. talk to the bad ones in detail. find out if they truly are justified or if they are just supper anal. I know i did and the bad refs i got had legit complaints all of which the dealer took care of just not in the time frame the customer wanted. something that from a third party i could see as being up setting but also a fact of life if they dont have parts they cant fix it. sorry for the long rant bu the more i read your post the more i can honestly say the vlx is the boat for you.

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Thanks liljohn for you opinions/experience with the VLX. I am impressed with Malibu's response to the 08 throttle issue, nice to know they can be proactive. I'll look into referalls from WLM, see what they say. In you review the first two photos of the wake have no caption, I'm wondering is the boat unloaded? wedge down?. I do have a concern about wake to wake width; too wide and less experienced riders may have a problem capping the wake. I'm off to work, later.

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Kingfish, we have 6 other Malibu owners at my lake that bought at WLM. They were the only reasin that I stopped in to check out the VTX. I had another boat on order from another company and changed my mind the first time I walked in their doors.

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Thanks liljohn for you opinions/experience with the VLX. I am impressed with Malibu's response to the 08 throttle issue, nice to know they can be proactive. I'll look into referalls from WLM, see what they say. In you review the first two photos of the wake have no caption, I'm wondering is the boat unloaded? wedge down?. I do have a concern about wake to wake width; too wide and less experienced riders may have a problem capping the wake. I'm off to work, later.

hey kingfish, the photos that are unlabled are the factory ballast and wedge. yes the wake is a little wider easily compinsated by shortining your rope.(for example if your used to riding at 70` shoten it to 65`) the best thing you can do is demo. A good dealer should have no problem with taking the couple hours to let you ride, surf, and crawl all over the boat.

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liljohn - for some reason I was thinking the wake started out wider than 65-70 feet, duh.

trentj6930 - You talked with most of the owners and no complaints? Thats pretty good for a dealer, with you that makes seven. Your VLX has been running great to? how many hours. Anything you would do differently. What lake do ride on and do you wakeboard and surf?

Another question a little off topic but on the home page there is a red, white DD boat with a black stripe and black tower at the dock. Who's is it, reason I ask it that's one nice looking boat, great lines and colour scheme very classic look in my opinion.

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I actually have a VTX. We put 140 hours on it this year and we have no issues at all so far. It needed a couple of minor warranty repairs that they completed the same day we dropped it off. We ski, wakeboard, and surf. It has been a very versatile boat for our family.

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I also have a VTX from Wizard, and have been very happy with the way they treated me. At the beginning of the season, we needed to get a new ECM in the boat, and they had no problems fixing that under warranty.

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Why VTX over VLX. Pretty good hours at 140, if I can get 40 -50/ season I'm doing good.

In my initial post I stated I'd driven an 07 VLX, I'm thinking it may have been the VTX. The only identification on that boat was wakesetter with no VLX or VTX designation. Either way it was a great boat to drive and a threww a substantial wake.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I purchased my Sunsetter LXI sight unseen from Don at Wizard Lake Marine this spring. The boat was exactly as described and I couldn't be happier. I found them very honest to deal with and their pricing was far better than anywhere else.

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