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Anyone Lemon Law A Malibu


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I've read this forum for years and have received a lot of useful information. After searching (unsuccessfully) for anyone really discussing legal take backs, I decided to jump on and solicit information. The trans. issue scared me to death. With people in the water after a tow, i would spin the boat around for another tow. Every once in while I would go from a slow float into reverse, but nothing would happen. The boat would continues forward. I would have to reset to neutral for a second or two then go back into reverse. It does not sound like a long time, but if you have someone one holding the rope, or someone or something in front of the boat, its a heart attack. Now with the NEW leaking engine, the trans makes a loud spinning noise that was not there previously. Regarding the issued listed, those were just the main ones. The letters sent to Indmar and Malibu were three pages in length.

Badbu, feel free in the future when you are having issues to at least make a comment here. Maybe other folks are having the same issues and you could possibly help all with passing information.

Steve B.

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When you put the throttle into reverse, but the transmission stays in neutral you need to adjust the linkage at the transmission. I haven't stuck my head down there on my 06 to see if anything changed but on my 89 sunsetter it came down to moving a couple nuts around on the linkage. Assuming your tranmission is the same (someone can chime in here I'm sure) all you need to do is download the manual for your specific transmission and it will show you which way to adjust your linkage. I can understand this issue would be downright frightening, when you need to stop you need to stop.

I've never heard of oil leaking into the bilge, was it maybe something simple like a gasket? You said this occurring again even after they replaced the motor?

Anyways, what's the current status on your boat? I've gathered you sent letters, sounds like the engine got replaced, and now they won't return your calls? Who's "they" a dealer, malibu, or indmar? I know you mentioned sending them letters. Having a paper trail is beneficial if you plan on going a litigation route, but otherwise it's a slow process. Any chance you've called them and talked to someone?

Sorry to hear about your issues.

Edit: now that I think about it the throttle is electronic on the newer boats. I'm sure this changes things about the transmission adjustment process. Can someone chime in on that please? I'd like to know too if I ever need to adjust.

Edited by wakeboarder3780
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IIRC, there were throttle/trans engage issues on that year boat and Malibu sent techs out to owners homes to R&R those (and other items) at Malibu's expense. You might check to see if your's was ever was in the recall.

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Ronnie,

I believe '08 was the year that had those issues. If I recall, the throttle prior to replacement had the ability to keep the boat from going into gear and "juice" the throttle (to give a higher idle speed). After the fix, the new throttle did not have this ability (as many noticed right away).

I'm thinking one way to tell might be if the throttle has the ability to force the transmission into neutral through an override button of some type.

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Bottom line, we had to get a Lemon Law attorney. The paperwork was filed last August and now we are in limbo. We have had depositions with both and now we are just waiting. My understanding is that they will drag their feet until September when we have a court appearance. That means another season without being on the water, another seasons without family time on the water. My two boys 9 & 11 are really bummed out. Initially I would chalk this up to just receiving a bad boat and most likely would have re purchased another Malibu. But the way it has been handled up to this point, I'm very disappointed. If they drag their feet through another season, i will be looking for MC, Nautique, or Tige. The documentation has been thorough and complete. They just don't drop a new $30,000 motor in a boat that did not have a problem. Now for it to continue, that's ridiculous. On top of it all, when they dropped the motor in last season, they only warranted the new "LEAKING" motor for 1 year, which meant by the time we dropped it in the water this year, we would have been on the boat twice. Not enough time to work the bugs out. Oh, I forgot to mention that the first time we took the boat out with the new motor, they reversed the transmission plugs. When I dropped my wife and kids off on the launch ramp, she hit reverse. The boat went forward nearly hitting the dock and other boats. Thank goodness we had other thoughtful boaters who jumped in to help. Then 9 mile down the Colorado River the engine went out. Malibu said they believed it was the fuel pump and would not warranty it. After a 6 hour tow to the shop and $400. in gas, they found out the distributor on the new motor was not right. Go figure. Any boat owner, Malibu or not, should feel my frustration. One step further, now imagine every time you brought the boat back from a great day on the water with your family you reached under the motor and pulled up a handful of motor oil. 3 1/2 years of that.

Edited by Bad Bu
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sorry to hear all that. just an fyi, If a trucker were to get a motor replaced under warranty, it is only warrantied until the original warranty on the truck expires, the engine warranty does not start from the time the new engine was installed. I believe that is industry standard.

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  • 4 months later...

BadBu - Any progress on this? I am researching attorneys now and have had very similiar issues on an 08 VLX with the HH 383. Attempting to work with Indmar. Long and short the boat has been in the shop 6 out of 16 months with ongoing issues all having been warranty work.

Edited by norcal_rdr
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I strongly disagree.

I heard that.

I've sold a few boats. The good ones it hurts to see them towed away by someone else. The bad ones....... good riddance.

And buying a boat..... geez, every time I buy one they cost more & more & the buyer's remorse lasts longer & hurts more!!

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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the two happiest days in a boat owners life:

the day you buy the boat

...and the day you sell the boat.

Two types of people say that, those who are unprepared for boat ownership and those of wish they could be apart of it.

  • Like 2
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My question to the OP - the boat in question is a 2008 model year. Are you the original owner?

Why would it matter if the OP is the original owner or not? If the boat is still under original manufactures warranty and there are multiple issues, especially the same issue 5 times, those issues need to be repaired under warranty. I don't care if it is new or used, no one should spend $50k+ on boat and be left holding the bag for thousands of dollars in repairs, on a 2-3 year old boat. That is why most people buy cars/boats with manufactures warranty, to avoid this very issue. Indmar and Malibu should stand by their product, bottom line.

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Why would it matter if the OP is the original owner or not? If the boat is still under original manufactures warranty and there are multiple issues, especially the same issue 5 times, those issues need to be repaired under warranty. I don't care if it is new or used, no one should spend $50k+ on boat and be left holding the bag for thousands of dollars in repairs, on a 2-3 year old boat. That is why most people buy cars/boats with manufactures warranty, to avoid this very issue. Indmar and Malibu should stand by their product, bottom line.

How is it Malibu / Indmar's issue if the original owner bought said boat, beat the living sh#t out of it, abused it in every way imaginable...only to spend a couple hundred bucks on a detail and sell to someone as "lightly used" or "barely broken-in"? The factory warranty is designed for manufacturer's defects...not someone mistreating the boat.

I've seen more mistreating (and subsequent misrepresentation) of boats than many can imagine - promo driver with 0.9 hrs on the clock pulling a barefooter WOT for almost 5 mins straight, another brand's promo driver having his boat run over a sand bar and having the tracking fins, shaft, strut, and rudder ripped out of the boat - only to clean em good at sell as "like new, factory maintained, etc." We've also read many a story on this site about folks here wondering why the engine sounds like it's cutting out as they run WOT for 15 minutes. In the end, lemon laws IMHO should only apply to the original purchaser as the manufacturer has ZERO control of how the boat is used / abused. Just saying...

Also, spending $50k on a boat is great...but on the boat in question it's at least $30k LESS than new. This remind me of folks buying a new to them 2008 car for half the price of a new one and expecting it to be like the new one.

Edited by edwin
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Edwin, I don't see why the # of owners makes any difference. Auto mfrs don't change the warranties based on owners and even they have to prove misuse/abuse or lack of maintenance to deny warranty. A boat mfr shouldn't be any different.

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My question to the OP - the boat in question is a 2008 model year. Are you the original owner?

How is it Malibu / Indmar's issue if the original owner bought said boat, beat the living sh#t out of it, abused it in every way imaginable...only to spend a couple hundred bucks on a detail and sell to someone as "lightly used" or "barely broken-in"? The factory warranty is designed for manufacturer's defects...not someone mistreating the boat.

I've seen more mistreating (and subsequent misrepresentation) of boats than many can imagine - promo driver with 0.9 hrs on the clock pulling a barefooter WOT for almost 5 mins straight, another brand's promo driver having his boat run over a sand bar and having the tracking fins, shaft, strut, and rudder ripped out of the boat - only to clean em good at sell as "like new, factory maintained, etc." We've also read many a story on this site about folks here wondering why the engine sounds like it's cutting out as they run WOT for 15 minutes. In the end, lemon laws IMHO should only apply to the original purchaser as the manufacturer has ZERO control of how the boat is used / abused. Just saying...

Also, spending $50k on a boat is great...but on the boat in question it's at least $30k LESS than new. This remind me of folks buying a new to them 2008 car for half the price of a new one and expecting it to be like the new one.

Edwin, I don't see why the # of owners makes any difference. Auto mfrs don't change the warranties based on owners and even they have to prove misuse/abuse or lack of maintenance to deny warranty. A boat mfr shouldn't be any different.

OP Already said the boat was bought new.

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Edwin, I don't see why the # of owners makes any difference. Auto mfrs don't change the warranties based on owners and even they have to prove misuse/abuse or lack of maintenance to deny warranty. A boat mfr shouldn't be any different.

I don't disagree, but cracked tower, cracked gelcoat X2, etc makes me suspect of abuse. I spent 7 years working at a car dealership and there were genuine manufacturer related warranty claims, but also quite a few because some beat the heck out of their car. You would not believe how many 2-3 year old cars are sold because they were a POS for the original purchaser...they just passed the trash.

Sorry - don't buy something a few years old and expect it to be like new. If you want like new, buy a new boat.

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I was testing the water, because I did get a bad Bu. I'm not a Bu basher, because this was actually my second malibu. The first one was so good, when i bought this last one, i felt guilty even looking at other boats. But let me tell you, I had issues from day one with this 08 247 LSV. Cracked tower, cracked gel coat (X2), transmission problems (beyond the recall throttle issue), stereo issues. Oh, did i mention an oil leak from day one which went back to the shop no less than 5 times. To the point where Indmar started picking up the boat. It was a legit issue, because after numerous letters, calls... Indmar replaced the 383 Hammerhead. Just one problem, it too leaked motor oil into the bilge. At that point they stopped returning calls. I'm not bashing Malibu, but you can imagine my frustration. So I sent this out to see if anyone had a similar issue. It was purchased new.

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  • 2 months later...

I don't disagree, but cracked tower, cracked gelcoat X2, etc makes me suspect of abuse. I spent 7 years working at a car dealership and there were genuine manufacturer related warranty claims, but also quite a few because some beat the heck out of their car. You would not believe how many 2-3 year old cars are sold because they were a POS for the original purchaser...they just passed the trash.

Sorry - don't buy something a few years old and expect it to be like new. If you want like new, buy a new boat.

Wear and tear is no doubt expected when purchasing anything used. That is not the point to this conversation. If you read back, the gel coat and tower issues are just icing to the bigger issue from the OP who had major engine problems which was replaced by Indmar. Indmar is not going to give anyone a new motor uness it is a warrantable issue that is not from abuse or misuse - and those little computers are very smart.

That said, warrantable issues may not be obvious at first or in the case of myself, there was a continually mis-diagnosied issue that lead to multiple failed fixes. This developed over months which turned into over a year which included: 2 damper plates, a new transmission, fly wheel, and most recently an Indmar rebuilt motor due to a cracked/broken crankshaft. The crankshaft didn't blow until 1 month out of warranty and came in the form of engine misfires which took 2 months of testing to figure out the real issue. Despite all these other problems in the 16 months leading up to the blow we got left holding the bag for labor and shipping the motor from CA which wasn't cheap. Even worse, first day out we get an engine fault code... whats next :cry:

There are many reasons to buy used, perhaps you dont like the new hull or don't want to buy in the first year of a new production line for the very reason of the unknowns. I think I speak for most people out there, when buying used you know there is an inherit danger to the previous owners use, but what it not acceptable and why I personally purchased a boat under orignal warranty is for the major mechanical defects, not gel coat cracks or blemishes.

You are missing the bigger picture. Not sure who you were selling cars to but comparing the average purchaser of a Honda Civic to that of a Range Rover is completely different customer base and product expectation. There are many boat brands that have "comparable" product that offer brand new boats for what many pay for a used Malibu. I paid the premium for a premium brand with the expectation of better craftsmanship and quality, and that is not what I have recieved or experienced with my purchase. I feel for the OP.

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Bottom line, we had to get a Lemon Law attorney. The paperwork was filed last August and now we are in limbo. We have had depositions with both and now we are just waiting. My understanding is that they will drag their feet until September when we have a court appearance. That means another season without being on the water, another seasons without family time on the water. My two boys 9 & 11 are really bummed out. Initially I would chalk this up to just receiving a bad boat and most likely would have re purchased another Malibu. But the way it has been handled up to this point, I'm very disappointed. If they drag their feet through another season, i will be looking for MC, Nautique, or Tige. The documentation has been thorough and complete. They just don't drop a new $30,000 motor in a boat that did not have a problem. Now for it to continue, that's ridiculous. On top of it all, when they dropped the motor in last season, they only warranted the new "LEAKING" motor for 1 year, which meant by the time we dropped it in the water this year, we would have been on the boat twice. Not enough time to work the bugs out. Oh, I forgot to mention that the first time we took the boat out with the new motor, they reversed the transmission plugs. When I dropped my wife and kids off on the launch ramp, she hit reverse. The boat went forward nearly hitting the dock and other boats. Thank goodness we had other thoughtful boaters who jumped in to help. Then 9 mile down the Colorado River the engine went out. Malibu said they believed it was the fuel pump and would not warranty it. After a 6 hour tow to the shop and $400. in gas, they found out the distributor on the new motor was not right. Go figure. Any boat owner, Malibu or not, should feel my frustration. One step further, now imagine every time you brought the boat back from a great day on the water with your family you reached under the motor and pulled up a handful of motor oil. 3 1/2 years of that.

He said Sep. maybe he will come back on and let us know the results. But it says he hasn't chimed in since 4/17/12

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have also wondered about this subject. I have had nothing but problems with my 08/09 lsv with the hh. Power wedge problems, motherboard problems, cracking in the gelcoat at the base of the tower and engine problems. My boat has been out of commision for the last summer and a half because of engine issues (have had several posts about it) indmar now suspects that its a cracked or broken crank shaft. I did not buy the boat new but i did buy it with less than 30hrs on it. I can tell you that the boat was not abused by me and that the main engine problems started about a year and a half- 2 years ago. Indmar has been great but malibu has done absolutely nothing. I am done calling them and have only emailed because I want reponses in writing, I can tell you out of about 10 emails I have only had one response. This is not acceptable for a boat that is worth 100k or more. Even past its warranty the boat is only 3 years old same with the OP. I think he has every right to be choked as do I. I bucked up to by the best wakeboard boat in my opinion and the thing has been nothing but a lemon. Malibu should #1 work on their customer service and #2 back their product. Having these kinds of engine issues after only a year and a half should not be acceptable. Yes it is indmars engine but its malibus boat and their decision in which engine to put in. I even went as far as asking malibu to take this lemon back and to give me a new boat at a great deal. I will buck up the extra money to get a new boat but not 40k or so. Let me say Im not doing this to get the latest and greatest things on the new bu's,especially not the surfgate since I am not a fan. Malibu should stand behind their product and not just during the warranty period. After my boat is fixed I will be in 9k in charges, do you think thats acceptable for a boat that is worth 80+k? Not to mention all the stress its put me through. When I do get the boat back the engine will most likely be rebuilt but still, every time that ill be on the water now I going to be worried that the boat wont start or if I hear something weird I am going to be concerned. That should be the last thing on my mind when Im on the water. I cant sell the boat for what its worth because if someone runs the history on the boat they will see all the work that has been done on it and A: they wont buy it becuase they are scared of it or B: I wont be able to get the price I want. Def. venting right now lol but I do sympothize with the OP and the others that have posted on this with problems and am kinda pissed at some of the responses to the OP. MALIBU SHOULD STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT IF THEIR PRODUCT HAS NOT BEEN ABUSED. I hope that the OP wins his case and if he does please let us know because I will be the next to do so. I have over 180 emails ready to use.

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