Malibu New zealand wont help...

[shawndoggy]

I'm not sure I understand the warranty argument... I think anyone who imported or bought a used gray market boat would know there's no factory warranty (and that that's inherently part of the discount). But how does that relate to selling someone a swim platform bracket or a fuel sender? Seems to be much more protectionist of dealers than anything else... but in a very shortsighted way. I'd think the more 'bus on the water the better for the brand, regardless of their origin. Does keeping a gray market 15 year old boat on the water really dissuade people from buying a new one from the dealer, or does it suggest that the brand is viable and will be reliable for years to come?

[phataz5]

ok guys this boat is 15years old there is no warranty thats right 15years old, 1 does malibu nz have any old response for sale? dont see any on there web site, 2, i cant aford to buy a new boat thats why i bought a old 98 response 3, my family and i didnt want a bayliner which is about all we could aford here in nz.4, im with you shawndoggy the "more malibus on the water the better.

[Rmack]

You have to remember that the toilets flush counter clockwise in NZ! That's why the parts rip you a new Azzhole.

Complete BS though. I would advise Aussies to buy another brand.

Phataz, if you ever want a part, let me know. I will buy it ship it to you and you can pay me though pay pal.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Rmack

[pennery]

phataz5

In response to your post,

All parts ordered for any Malibu boat in Aust/NZ must be supplied with a HIN number, Malibu boats Aust will only supply parts to the boats that they have built. Your dealer there is the brand reprensitive for that region and report to Malibu boats Aust.

Malibu and Axis boats produced in Australia have numerous specification differences compared to their US counterparts. These imports can lead to customer confusion and dissatisfaction, thereby diminishing the Malibu brands.

It is widely advertised in both countries regarding parts and service support.

I Call BS as well.. There may very well be different factory specifications however I am sure Imported boats need to be inspected and brought up to the safety standards required. If these different specifications really were Australia/NZ specific the countries would not allow importations...

I have imported many vehicles into Canada from the US. They all required certain modifications (Daytime Running Lights) to qualify for importation.. I am sure the same applies...

I can understand buying a new boat you will want the warranty and the service however this is a topic about a small part for a 15 year old boat. If I was the Malibu dealer (Mattbnz?) I would have done what I had to, to gain a satisfied customer. Instead you have a thread on the Only Malibu discussion forum about how rediculous Malibu AUS rules are to protect such dealers???? Is this discussion protection enough?

[Bradley Thornton]

Ok, time to buy in to this debate. I bought my 2012 VTX in April last year (happy birthday to her!). When I was looking at my options, I considered importing one from the States - given the Aussie dollar is better than parity it was tempting... Until I looked at the bigger picture of support, warranty and resale. So I opted to by a genuine boat built here is Australia that had full factory warranty. Personally I would be surprised if anyone who did purchase directly from Malibu would be happy to see their resale value decline sharply due to a flood of "grey imports". I did have a few minor issues first up (eg wedge actuator failing, and a gearbox issue) - and the support from my dealer and Malibu Australia was superb! I am not sure what the set up is with Malibu Australia (eg franchise model or what) but I suspect they pay for the privilege of "owning the right" to sell the boats here. All they are doing is protecting that right, so they can continue to do the right thing by their customers that DO buy off them. I know I am swimming against the tide, but that's just my 2 cents

I also agree with most of the above. You buy Malibu for 2 reasons 1 looks and 2 they hold value. But in Australia as people import it make the new boats after the warranty is up drop in value hard and fast. This is just a bad deal no matter what. I think Malibu is doing it right as long as they don't try to stop all the importing all together. They have to hold out on selling to the imports or it would kill the market for the new boat owners. I think it's a fair trade yes you can buy a imported boat but it will be harder to buy parts and take it some where else to work on it or buy local and every thing will be easy. That will help hold the value up so only the ones that the only way they can afford the boat is by importing import and the rest bye from the dealer.

Phataz 5 is it really not a fair trade. You paid 20K less for the boat than the guy that byes the same boat local and so you have to do a little more work and pay a little more for parts. Sorry, no disrespect but that seems like a fair trade to me or is it fair for the guys that buy new to loss 40k in value over the first few years.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Bradley Thornton

[TrickyNicky]

Ok, time to buy in to this debate. I bought my 2012 VTX in April last year (happy birthday to her!). When I was looking at my options, I considered importing one from the States - given the Aussie dollar is better than parity it was tempting... Until I looked at the bigger picture of support, warranty and resale. So I opted to by a genuine boat built here is Australia that had full factory warranty. Personally I would be surprised if anyone who did purchase directly from Malibu would be happy to see their resale value decline sharply due to a flood of "grey imports". I did have a few minor issues first up (eg wedge actuator failing, and a gearbox issue) - and the support from my dealer and Malibu Australia was superb! I am not sure what the set up is with Malibu Australia (eg franchise model or what) but I suspect they pay for the privilege of "owning the right" to sell the boats here. All they are doing is protecting that right, so they can continue to do the right thing by their customers that DO buy off them. I know I am swimming against the tide, but that's just my 2 cents

You didn't have to buy from a local dealer, you chose too because it was easy regarding warranty, resale etc. You say you don't want your resale to drop because of "Grey Imports" well than you could have bought one from the states. But you chose not too and therefore I think your resale should suffer, return on investment (well loss) is what the importer gains. I don't see a problem with people importing used or new boats into a different country. They may be built in a different place but I guarantee they are the exact same. I understand a dealer not doing warranty work on an imported boat, but not selling parts or doing the work for a charge is ridiculous. And than we get the best question of all. If you could buy a brand new boat from the states and import it into Aus/NZ for cheaper than buying from your dealer than what is wrong with their business model? Either there too stupid to get the boats made at a reasonable price or they're over pricing. Keep in mind that you were fortunate enough to buy a new boat, so although they may be doing right to the customers that DO buy from them they will never gain a customer that did not, nor will Malibu customers ever feel any sense of support from a company that they indirectly invested in. If Malibu thinks that all there revenue comes from new boats and parts, than they should consider this. Take away every pre 2010 boat, now imagine who is going to walk into your showroom having not seen all the old malibu's on the water, having not read about the reputation of the company and the thousand of satisfied customers on sites like this. Your reputation may stem from the boats you have built but it is marketed by the owners, past and present. More Malibu's on the water will promote more sales of new boats for those that can afford them. But your not going to sell any new boats if it weren't for those driving the old ones.

Sum it up: If you want warranty than buy new and local. If you want to save money, import. Either way I think your all getting ripped off and I'd be furious. If 1 person can import a boat for less, than a company should be able to supply it for less.

Rant Over

[phataz5]

Hi Bradley please take a look at nz on the map , nz is made up of two islands a north and south i live in the north island if i wanted to take my boat to malibu nz i would have to drive six hours then put car and boat on a ship for three hours then drive five hours to get to where they are , there is no malibu dealer in the north what so ever so getting boat serviced by them is a no go......they dont have any old response for sale and if you take a look around here most people are happy with there old responses so there is not many for sale at all.what more can i say? if i rocked up to malibu and said i wanted a new boat and a fuel sender for the old response what would you think they would say then?

[phataz5]

and my little response i got has a hammerhead engine as well ,dont see any of them here like that

[wakebrdr94]

So does that mean no one else can service Malibu's? There is no local shop that just does boat service on a variety of brands? Source parts through them maybe?

[phataz5]

yes there is but im a little fussy i do like to us the right parts not after market ones, i do think its funny tho as the place that is malibu nz is also a importer of used cars ,would that mean if you bought a car off them that they have bought into nz shouldnt be sold any parts from any one in nz?

[Ozfabs]

Phataz5, if you need parts quickly you can try these guys here in Brisbane http://www.allaussieinboards.com.au/

A lot of my friends ( Nautique & Malibu owners ) are using them and are very happy as they service all AU & USA boats. They have factory trained technicians that worked for the previous Malibu Queensland dealer & will help with parts requests over the phone.

Parts will still be more expensive than from US but if in stock they will be delivered quicker. I personally order all my service parts from the US including extra spares that i may ( or may not ) need in the future. Never hurts to have spare spares.............

[phataz5]

Thanks Ozfabs I will keep them in mind for next time , my wife and I have put our mint response up for sale now sad I know but after just trying to get a fuel sender and getting no love from malibu nz i am going to the dark side ,i thought i would never never buy a nautique but the help nautique nz has giving me with my last mal and now this one why wouldnt we and they are super keen to help with any nautique i get weather it be from them or getting one in my self, I just cant see me ever turning back. So now i have started looking for a super sport. One sad malibu fan, I even have malibu caps ,tees, sweat shirts,cup coolers, as you can see im a fan hard.