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Looking to buy used malibu


Slayer

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I have been searching boats for the last several months. I have owned pontoons and I/O's in the past but now am looking to an inboard skier and have been looking at MC PS 205 and Malibu......

Found a few decent deals on mid to late 90's Response (96 to be specific) and Echelon (95 to be specific). The boat will likely be used mostly for skiing and cruising the lake on the weekend. I'm interested to hear recommendations based on the intended use from all of you experienced Malibu Owners. Also, I would be interested to hear what to watch for when looking at older boats like this.

Thanks for your time in advance.

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You'll get better advice if you indicate...

price range?

number of people you will have in boat?

Price range between $12-16k. Looking for open bow and will likely have no more than 6 people in the boat. The six people would be 4 adults, 2 little ones....

Thanks.

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Frankly with 4+ people onboard you'll be happiest with the Sunsetter direct drive. If you can find a 1999 or newer with fuel injection and bigger 35+ gallon gas tank for cruising. With the Sunsetter you can put 2 passengers in the roomy bow area and you and an observer can move around the boat to tend to your skier. Best wake of course is the narrow Sportster then a Response LX. Storage and room is tight on those without a trunk. But the wake on the Sunsetter is acceptable to ski.

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^ not sure if I agree with the comment above about the wake for a Sportster over a Response LX for slalom. Better for footing, not for slalom in a course though...just my opinion.

And any Response '99 or newer will have a trunk (not huge, but a few slaloms will fit in there, with ropes and jackets).

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For clarification:

When I was looking for boats the only Response (not LXI) that had a trunk was the Response LX version.

I can not and did not specify that a 1999 Response does not have a trunk but I never ran across one. For me the trunk would be the reason to choose a Response LX. Plus a Response LX looks way cool on the water and is only 2500# weight.

Either way a Sunsetter is roomy enough to cruise 8 in a pinch, and pull a skier with 4 onboard. Malibu made more Sunsetter direct drives than any other model I believe. I would not be afraid of a well taken care of Old Sunsetter as there are some garage queens around and the prices are often low. You will need to test them on the water to be safe.

jgouveia3: Do you consider a Response LX (with trunk) a comfortable boat for 4 people while skiing considering the open bow space is a step over and fairly small in the bow ?

Edited by DONTW8
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i'd try to find a Sunsetter LX with a titan tower and wedge.

trust me, everyone says they want to slalom, but after the first summer, they start to wakeboard more, then surf and they start to wish they had a tower and wedge.

how old are the kiddos? will they start wakeboarding soon?

much easier (and affordable) to find a Sunsetter LX which is loaded up rather than paying out of pocket for goodies later.

A sunsetter LXi might be out of the price range...very sweet ski boat, a little longer than the Sunsetter LX.

my 2 cents.

BTW, welcome to the Crew! Lots of great opinions here. don't be afraid to ask very specific questions!!! Thumbup.gif

Edited by Arctic Slalom
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^ not sure if I agree with the comment above about the wake for a Sportster over a Response LX for slalom. Better for footing, not for slalom in a course though...just my opinion.

And any Response '99 or newer will have a trunk (not huge, but a few slaloms will fit in there, with ropes and jackets).

I would bet that a Sporty would have a little better wake than a non-diamond Response, which is what the OP is looking at. If he truly wants slalom though, he needs to be looking at a '98 or newer on the diamond hull (& that should be noticeably better than a Sporty) & as noted a '99+ will have a trunk. But I tend to think that neither would be very comfortable with a crew larger than 3. Sunsetter LX/Sunkicker would be a better choice IMO, or if he can stretch to the Sunsetter LXi, even better.

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Kids won't be in the water for another 2 years, so it will be all daddy time on skis until then. I do like the idea of a Sunsetter loaded up though. I have only seen one in the price range, it's a '97 with about 400 hours on it and it just looks beat up. It's almost like the previous owner didn't really care about it.....

As for questions, I'll likely be asking lots....I tend to be pretty anal when making a purchase like this. I'll be doing homework for a while all while convincing the wife that we need one of these on a lift next to our pontoon! With only one car payment......I can't understand why she's not quite on board with me on this one.........she's a bit cheap......unless it's a purse or shoes! Go figure!

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There's a good one right here. (It's an LX, not an LXi.)

WOW, that is a nice looking boat for 17K

Edit- that is a nice looking boat regardless of price!

Edited by TheBlackPearl
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There's a good one right here. (It's an LX, not an LXi.)

inlandlaker,

i think that Sunsetter LX rear seat would look even better with a new pair of shoes and purse for your wife.....

how could she say 'NO' then? Yahoo.gif

good luck!

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craiglist: Michigan, Detroit, Boats, Malibu

http://detroit.craigslist.org/boa/1244874805.html

Out of your price range but a screaming buy on a 2004 Response LXI. (best boat in their lineup IMHO)

http://detroit.craigslist.org/boa/1217253120.html

I had not yet seen that Response you linked here. More convincing of the wife is required.......

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For clarification:

When I was looking for boats the only Response (not LXI) that had a trunk was the Response LX version.

I can not and did not specify that a 1999 Response does not have a trunk but I never ran across one. For me the trunk would be the reason to choose a Response LX. Plus a Response LX looks way cool on the water and is only 2500# weight.

Either way a Sunsetter is roomy enough to cruise 8 in a pinch, and pull a skier with 4 onboard. Malibu made more Sunsetter direct drives than any other model I believe. I would not be afraid of a well taken care of Old Sunsetter as there are some garage queens around and the prices are often low. You will need to test them on the water to be safe.

jgouveia3: Do you consider a Response LX (with trunk) a comfortable boat for 4 people while skiing considering the open bow space is a step over and fairly small in the bow ?

4 is ok, but we have the seat behind the drivers side when we do have 4 (if you mean 4 plus skier). But to be honest, it is usually just 3 of us total (i am selfish, and want to take the minimum :-) )

if we aren't skiing, then we hop in the Center Console and cruise the river, head to the beach, or hit the bay, or shoot across the harbor to Newport...

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^ not sure if I agree with the comment above about the wake for a Sportster over a Response LX for slalom. Better for footing, not for slalom in a course though...just my opinion.

And any Response '99 or newer will have a trunk (not huge, but a few slaloms will fit in there, with ropes and jackets).

I would bet that a Sporty would have a little better wake than a non-diamond Response, which is what the OP is looking at. If he truly wants slalom though, he needs to be looking at a '98 or newer on the diamond hull (& that should be noticeably better than a Sporty) & as noted a '99+ will have a trunk. But I tend to think that neither would be very comfortable with a crew larger than 3. Sunsetter LX/Sunkicker would be a better choice IMO, or if he can stretch to the Sunsetter LXi, even better.

I wasn't commenting on what the OP was saying, just that DONTW8T had commented that the sportster wake was better than a response LX (at least that is how I read it).

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^ not sure if I agree with the comment above about the wake for a Sportster over a Response LX for slalom. Better for footing, not for slalom in a course though...just my opinion.

And any Response '99 or newer will have a trunk (not huge, but a few slaloms will fit in there, with ropes and jackets).

I would bet that a Sporty would have a little better wake than a non-diamond Response, which is what the OP is looking at. If he truly wants slalom though, he needs to be looking at a '98 or newer on the diamond hull (& that should be noticeably better than a Sporty) & as noted a '99+ will have a trunk. But I tend to think that neither would be very comfortable with a crew larger than 3. Sunsetter LX/Sunkicker would be a better choice IMO, or if he can stretch to the Sunsetter LXi, even better.

I wasn't commenting on what the OP was saying, just that DONTW8T had commented that the sportster wake was better than a response LX (at least that is how I read it).

I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A DIAMOND HULL.....problem is that i likely can't afford it right now. I'm thinking more and more that I'm in the Sunsetter LX territory......

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