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Picky Issues with My New 2016 VLX


mallen

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1 hour ago, bamaboy said:

When you guys switch brands or stop working for Malibu then come back here and complain about the brand it makes you look terrible.  

1)too chicken to let people know your problems while you own the boat 

2)have an axe to grind with Malibu for whatever reason.  

 

If you don't have the stones to criticize the boat when you own it then well....Ya know.  

 

Like many have said all brands have issues.  Malibu is no different.  

 

And for the record, I'm not referring to everyone here that has commented.  Those select few know who they are.  

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1 hour ago, bamaboy said:

When you guys switch brands or stop working for Malibu then come back here and complain about the brand it makes you look terrible.  

1)too chicken to let people know your problems while you own the boat 

2)have an axe to grind with Malibu for whatever reason.  

 

If you don't have the stones to criticize the boat when you own it then well....Ya know.  

 

Like many have said all brands have issues.  Malibu is no different.  

 

And for the record, I'm not referring to everyone here that has commented.  Those select few know who they are.  

 

@bamaboy if you are referring to me read my first post in the first page of this thread voicing my concerns when my boat was new. I actually still own the boat, but yes I am switching 

 

 

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Agree to the point of IXFE only keeping boats a season, but he also puts more hours on in a season than a lot of average boaters put in in 2-3 seasons.  Season 2 will start with 56 hours on mine and we will see how my seams hold up. But yes, it does seem to be a too often theme on here. 

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On 2015-09-12 at 10:45 PM, wheelman said:

MAlibu should be ashamed of them selves, charging so much and turning out such a poor quality controlled product. I brought my new boat home from the lake last week and the more I look into it the more problems I find.

Problems that no way should be left from the factory like that. I mean how hard is it to put screws in straight and make sure things are tight, not stripped half way and then left. I spent a day going through my boat and

Fixing everything myself so I know it's done right and will stay that way. I should not have to do this. Why is it we spend so much money on a

Boat and find this acceptable but spend half the money on a

Vehicle that we use everyday and would not accept it. Shame on you Malibu. This will reluctantly make me look at other brands next time.

Here is the post!

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My comment about vinyl was in reference to @TenTwentyOne comment about several vinyl issues on his '16 Nautique. I was simply saying that I've never had a "year 1" vinyl issue. 

There's a difference between...

1) new boat cleanliness,

2) initial quality, and

3) long term reliability 

 

it's fair to question my ability to comment on #3. But I think I'm uniquely positioned to weigh in on #1 and #2 (I have more recent data points than most). Even on #3, my boats have all sold either locally or to people I know and I'm not aware of any major warranty items, but vinyl seams could have popped without me knowing. 

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This thread is an interesting read, given that I am moving from an old boat (1997) that I EXPECTED to have a fair number of issues with and really didn't.    I decided to buy new for this boat because I didn't want to risk a lot of issues - my water time is precious, and I don't want my boat down much when I can be on the water.   Having said that, I do expect to encounter some stuff... and that is where I think the dealer support becomes VERY important.

I had the chance to buy essentially the same boat (new, but model year '16) vs my custom order '17 for less (and it was NOT a rounding error).   After a lot of mental wrestling, I chose to buy from my local dealer (who BTW did ALL the work as I figured out what I really wanted) so that I would have a quality relationship with someone LOCALLY who would be there for us when issues do emerge.    My scorecard for this boat will not be based upon how many sample defects I can find, but on how well the boat support us having a blast this summer.   Minor stuff I will have taken care of when it is convenience.   Hopefully nothing major does come up, but if it does, the most important thing to me is how much (or little) impact it has to our plans for the lake.   Since the dealer is an hour away from me, that does mean minimizing the number of trips.

 

  • Like 3
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16 VLX...no problems or issues to date!  My only reference/comparison is my 12 Crownline, which had many issues!  Screws falling out and or stripped, gel pin stripping peeling off, tower paint peeling off, and then some!!  Like others have stated, these boats are hand made, not rolling off an assembly line controlled by micro precision robotics.  So if someone on the Malibu line is having a bad day then output quality will potentially suffer.  But that applies to all brands!  A bad day is a bad day!  I get the QC issue and the money we spend, but alot comes back to a good relationship with your dealer.  Will they go to bat for you?  If so most issues can be handled timely and easily.  Expecting exceptional quality is realistic, but expecting perfection will surely lead to a let down.  

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I have had plenty of Vinyl issues in my boat. Both rear locker sections replaced, center seat cushion, drivers seat.   My dealer has been great....Malibu tried its best to get out of repairing the rear locker sections but eventually they caved.   The issues never really bothered me that much,  I made note, contacted my dealer and the vinyl was replaced over the winter.  Less wear and tear on the new skins in my opinion.   

 

What will be annoying is once its out of warranty, vinyl should last without repairs for years , not just a couple hundred hrs.  Although according to the warranty department at Malibu putting on more than 90hrs a season is considered excessive.   

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I think a lot of boat owners equate their vinyl durability to that of their cars or trucks. The problem here is that we don't stand on the seats of the cars and trucks. I ask people that attempt to step into our boat with shoes on if they would think about standing on the seats of an expensive sports or luxury car's seats. With such a concentrated weight of a persons body on one foot or even the ball and toes of the foot, there's a lot of pressure on the vinyl especially on the seams in that area. The seams are the weak spot and that is exactly where the seats are the showing the most problems. A folded towel on the seat where people step into or out of the boat would extend the life of the seams a lot. I believe that owner care is one thing that would extend the life of the interiors of our boats.

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36 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I think a lot of boat owners equate their vinyl durability to that of their cars or trucks. The problem here is that we don't stand on the seats of the cars and trucks. I ask people that attempt to step into our boat with shoes on if they would think about standing on the seats of an expensive sports or luxury car's seats. With such a concentrated weight of a persons body on one foot or even the ball and toes of the foot, there's a lot of pressure on the vinyl especially on the seams in that area. The seams are the weak spot and that is exactly where the seats are the showing the most problems. A folded towel on the seat where people step into or out of the boat would extend the life of the seams a lot. I believe that owner care is one thing that would extend the life of the interiors of our boats.

Agreed... this is my first NEW boat.   My plan is to pick up a couple of "SeatSavers" - one for the Bow, one for the back seat, and step onto those when boarding.    HOPEFULLY that will extend the life a bit.   Cheap insurance.

  • Like 2
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10 minutes ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

Come on Ronnie,

You sound like Malibu,   the seats are not designed to be stood on...blah blah.....how else are u suppose to get in and out of the boat?   I suppose we as customers should be satisfied with 100K wake boats that vinyl has issues after 1-2 seasons of use.       A little better design, reinforcement, and quality in these high stress areas, would go along way. 

FYI ....no shoes on my boat. 

A little birdie told me that a redesign has happened on the seams in those high traffic areas.

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12 minutes ago, Rednucleus said:

They should put kevlar over the foam, then the vinyl. Bet that would make for some durable seats. 

It would probably make them bullet proof also. Would be a great feature against pirates!

Edited by teamerickson
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52 minutes ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

Come on Ronnie,

You sound like Malibu,   the seats are not designed to be stood on...blah blah.....how else are u suppose to get in and out of the boat?   I suppose we as customers should be satisfied with 100K wake boats that vinyl has issues after 1-2 seasons of use.       A little better design, reinforcement, and quality in these high stress areas, would go along way. 

FYI ....no shoes on my boat. 

like Malibu?  Where in this thread or elsewhere are you seeing Malibu hasn't warranteed in warranty period?  Personally, I don't even see it as a warrantyable item.  It wears.  

Same w CC and MC and they have the same issues.  

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1 hour ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

Come on Ronnie,

You sound like Malibu,   the seats are not designed to be stood on...blah blah.....how else are u suppose to get in and out of the boat?   I suppose we as customers should be satisfied with 100K wake boats that vinyl has issues after 1-2 seasons of use.       A little better design, reinforcement, and quality in these high stress areas, would go along way. 

FYI ....no shoes on my boat. 

You need to reread my post. Not one time did I say the seats weren't designed to stand on. I doubt that Malibu ever said they couldn't be stood on either. I did say, that you must have missed, is you could help with the durability of them by spreading out the load from your feet by stepping on something to spread the load and not wearing shoes. I expect one of the reasons why Malibu changed vinyls is that the new vinyl is more flexible and stretches more. The older vinyl, like in your year of Malibu, isn't near as giving when you stand on the seats as the new vinyl is. This helps with the tearing of the seams at the bead in the center part of the cushion. This is one thing I have wondered about when people redo their complete interior and demand the older factory vinyl, ignoring the new and improved.

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15 minutes ago, 85 Barefoot said:

like Malibu?  Where in this thread or elsewhere are you seeing Malibu hasn't warranteed in warranty period?  Personally, I don't even see it as a warrantyable item.  It wears.  

Same w CC and MC and they have the same issues.  

In my conversations w the factory my first vinyl warrantee claim was denied.   We had to jump through a bunch of hoops to finally get it covered and it was a seem issue.

 

And I understand it wears,  but most peoples complaints are about the first few years of ownership.  My point is you shouldn't have vinyl issues related to "wear" in the first few seasons in MHO.  

Edited by Chrisjjbrown
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10 minutes ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

In my conversations w the factory my first vinyl warrantee claim was denied.   We had to jump through a bunch of hoops to finally get it covered and it was a seem issue.

 

 

In my experience warranty is only denied if it is owner neglect or it is outside the warranty coverage period. If it was outside the warranty period then they covered it under goodwill. Goodwill is something they did not have to do at all.

 

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3 minutes ago, 23LSVOwner said:

 

In my experience warranty is only denied if it is owner neglect or it is outside the warranty coverage period. If it was outside the warranty period then they covered it under goodwill. Goodwill is something they did not have to do at all.

 

Ok I guess you know how Malibu handles every warranty claim... You know what that say about people who make assumptions......  Malibu has handled the majority of my issues no problem and it hasn't just been vinyl ...... 

Listen bud my warranty claim that I am referring to was after one summer.....and they tried to claim I had used the boat excessively because I put over 90hrs of use on it.   When my boat is in flawless condition and this was just a seem issue.  

My next three vinyl issues they took care of no questions asked.

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1 minute ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

Ok I guess you know how Malibu handles every warranty claim... You know what that say about people who make assumptions......  Malibu has handled the majority of my issues no problem and it hasn't just been vinyl ...... 

Listen bud my warranty claim that I am referring to was after one summer.....and they tried to claim I had used the boat excessively because I put over 90hrs of use on it.   When my boat is in flawless condition and this was just a seem issue.  

My next three vinyl issues they took care of no questions asked.

No Sir, I didn't say that I know how they handle every warranty claim. However, as someone who has worked in the marine industry (from wrenching on the end all the way to manufacturers) for more years than I care to admit I do know how warranties are handled.

 

Snap off if you want. I was just stating how things are generally handled. They took care of you and you are still moaning about it.

 

 

 

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31 minutes ago, 23LSVOwner said:

 

In my experience warranty is only denied if it is owner neglect or it is outside the warranty coverage period. If it was outside the warranty period then they covered it under goodwill. Goodwill is something they did not have to do at all.

 

Here you imply , the result of my claim originally being denied was either neglect, or out of warranty coverage......  In all your years wrenching in marine industry I guess you didn't learn how to read btw the lines

10 minutes ago, 23LSVOwner said:

No Sir, I didn't say that I know how they handle every warranty claim. However, as someone who has worked in the marine industry (from wrenching on the end all the way to manufacturers) for more years than I care to admit I do know how warranties are handled.

 

Snap off if you want. I was just stating how things are generally handled. They took care of you and you are still moaning about it.

 

 

 

I am happy they covered me and they should....... and my point remains the same as my first post .....let me spell it out for you. 

Year one vinyl issues do happen, Year 2 vinyl issues happen, year 3 vinyl issues happen, ....the vinyl should last longer

Edited by Chrisjjbrown
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1 hour ago, Chrisjjbrown said:

In my conversations w the factory my first vinyl warrantee claim was denied.   We had to jump through a bunch of hoops to finally get it covered and it was a seem issue.

 

And I understand it wears,  but most peoples complaints are about the first few years of ownership.  My point is you shouldn't have vinyl issues related to "wear" in the first few seasons in MHO.  

I see,  they warrantee'd it and that wasn't good enough because you had to jump through a "bunch of hoops".  And in the end they warrantee'd.  Is your expectation that they should just send out skins, or it reasonable to inquire of your use, maintenance habits, care, and document with pictures?  

I've never had a vinyl problem.  Some boats I've kept many seasons.  Yet I go on a lot of other people's boats who treat the interior like a trampoline.  Of course they're going to have problems.  Are you in that latter category?  I dunno, I don't know your habits, but with careful use, in my experience, I have no reason to think I'd ever have an interior issue.  In fact the 04 sunscape is still in the family and it has nary a split anywhere and sits in southern sun year round on a lift (covered but not shaded).

Edited by 85 Barefoot
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On 2/26/2017 at 10:35 AM, bamaboy said:

When you guys switch brands or stop working for Malibu then come back here and complain about the brand it makes you look terrible.  

1)too chicken to let people know your problems while you own the boat 

2)have an axe to grind with Malibu for whatever reason.  

 

If you don't have the stones to criticize the boat when you own it then well....Ya know.  

 

Like many have said all brands have issues.  Malibu is no different.  

 

And for the record, I'm not referring to everyone here that has commented.  Those select few know who they are.  

 

Those who have issues typically complain the most and are the most vocal.  Just as the dealers are quickest to downplay and redirect.  

Agree every brand is going to have some issues, as long as the issues are not severe or frequent, a good dealer can help you through while still maintaining your love of the product.   If they become too severe and or too frequent even the best dealer can't help.

Just like with most things 10 attaboys are quickly erased by one OS.  Your 10 favorite things are immediately overshadowed, when things start breaking.   

Unfortunately the happy people say very little for the most part.   Malibu is a great boat for 98% of the users, especially those who want to do multiple disciplines.  

 

Edited by DarkSide
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