$79,995 - The Official 2017 21VLX Thread

[IXFE]

16 minutes ago, SammamishMalibu said:

We have been working with the dealer for weeks on pricing 20 VTX, 22 VLX and now 21 VLX. All are available for 2017 by the way. The dealer here hardly even wants to sell us a 21 VLX. I am not sure if its because they don't think its a good boat or if they can't make as much money on them or both. Really pushing us to order the 20 VTX or 22 VLX instead. Also, they are not ordering any to have in stock so if we want to see one we would have to go elsewhere to find it. But of course we can't buy elsewhere very easily.

We have asked from the dealers perspective what the differences are, the most I can get is that the options available on the 21 VLX are very limited but not confirming anything in regards to finish, quality, etc. We would really like to objectively evaluate the 21 VLX and the other boats but seems that is going to be very difficult.

Just drive down the Portland to see the 21 VLX in the flesh. I bet @UpperleftWake would even give you a demo. 

The reason your dealer is pushing you into a VTX or a 22 VLX is most certainly because they make more money on those boats. The VTX and 21 VLX have very very similar MSRP (assuming they are equipped the same). But your dealer doesn't have to sell you the VTX for $79,995. He can charge you whatever he wants and most VTX's go for $90k+

Edited August 21, 2016 by IXFE

[ejj]

Foolish dealer. The money in these boats is in the long term care and repeat buying. 

[bamaboy]

54 minutes ago, ejj said:

Foolish dealer. The money in these boats is in the long term care and repeat buying. 

No.  Not really.  It's in selling a boat with a high profit margin and 250 dollar oil changes 

Edited August 21, 2016 by bamaboy

[Roachie]

The sales guy I spoke with said they'd be trying to sell these instead of Axis.

[bamabonners]

36 minutes ago, Roachie said:

The sales guy I spoke with said they'd be trying to sell these instead of Axis.

that's crazy... the comparable price point in Axis is a T23 or A23.  Those boats are longer and wider, perform better (guessing here), and have a great resell.  So, what is the buyer gaining here by purchasing the 21 vlx?

[DarkSide]

1 minute ago, bamabonners said:

that's crazy... the comparable price point in Axis is a T23 or A23.  Those boats are longer and wider, perform better (guessing here), and have a great resell.  So, what is the buyer gaining here by purchasing the 21 vlx?

1. Engine upgrade Minimum engine in Malibu's is 410

2.  Malibu command center  (arguably best dash on the market)

3.  Power wedge 2, this is a huge item for wake/wave tuning.

 

[Anderson24]

I believe Axis went to the 409 base for 2017. 350 isn't an option anymore. 

But you are right, wedge and command center are the biggest things right off the bat. 

[IXFE]

Don't forget the tower... The new G3.5 is pretty slick! 

 

[rugger]

6 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Don't forget the tower... The new G3.5 is pretty slick! 

 

Of course there's a 2017 G3.5... because I just finished retrofitting a 2016 G3.2 on my 2007.   No complaints though.  lol

[DarkSide]

Don't feel bad. They have made changes to G4 also, they just have not started calling it 4.x yet.

 

[NewMalibu]

On August 21, 2016 at 10:53 AM, SammamishMalibu said:

We have been working with the dealer for weeks on pricing 20 VTX, 22 VLX and now 21 VLX. All are available for 2017 by the way. The dealer here hardly even wants to sell us a 21 VLX. I am not sure if its because they don't think its a good boat or if they can't make as much money on them or both. Really pushing us to order the 20 VTX or 22 VLX instead. Also, they are not ordering any to have in stock so if we want to see one we would have to go elsewhere to find it. But of course we can't buy elsewhere very easily.

We have asked from the dealers perspective what the differences are, the most I can get is that the options available on the 21 VLX are very limited but not confirming anything in regards to finish, quality, etc. We would really like to objectively evaluate the 21 VLX and the other boats but seems that is going to be very difficult.

you are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place here. if i can guess your location (based on your screen name), the dealer you are working with has a habit of actively pushing its customers towards a popular I/O brand where they make a lot of margin. They are also very proud of all of their boat prices...

i live near by and ended up buying my boat from another dealer in the state because the local dealer:

1) does not know a lot about Malibu's (they do have one lady there that is pretty knowledgeable)

2) always orders their boats with the smallest motor (they tried to sell me a 247 with a 350 monsoon (smallest motor) after i told them i put a lot of weight in my boat and like to surf)

3) never order their boats with trailers 

4) try to charge what other dealers charge for boats with the mid level motor and trailer

It would seem like the best route would be to go to ActiveH2O in Portland (which i have heard a lot of great things about) or one of the other dealerships (which is where i went). but this local dealership has also said that they will not perform any warranty work on any boat bought out of territory. they will also not let one of the other very reputable (former Malibu and current Axis) dealerships work on out of territory boats for warranty work either. So that means a 2-3hr drive anytime you want to have any warranty work done.

PM me if you have any questions, and i can try to help out. 

[That Guy]

On 8/22/2016 at 11:26 PM, Anderson24 said:

I believe Axis went to the 409 base for 2017. 350 isn't an option anymore. 

But you are right, wedge and command center are the biggest things right off the bat. 

My dealer confirmed the 6.0l/409 is now the base engine in Axis boats and they also changed the gear ratio to the 1.72 that used to only be for the 350/450 engines, so I'm sure this is a nice upgrade in ability to move weight.

[Anderson24]

5 minutes ago, That Guy said:

My dealer confirmed the 6.0l/409 is now the base engine in Axis boats and they also changed the gear ratio to the 1.72 that used to only be for the 350/450 engines, so I'm sure this is a nice upgrade in ability to move weight.

Yea it's nice the 409 has the 1.72 tranny now. Weird that the past couple years it was left out of that equation. The 409 wasn't really much of an upgrade because of that. 

[shawndoggy]

On 8/22/2016 at 8:51 PM, IXFE said:

Don't forget the tower... The new G3.5 is pretty slick! 

 

is that a door handle from a mid-70s ford?

[IXFE]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

is that a door handle from a mid-70s ford?

Yes, it would seem so...

[bamaboy]

Just now, IXFE said:

Yes, it would seem so...

I actually quite like the G3.5 tower

 

Seems like a true upgrade over the G3 unlike that dirty lovechild known as the G3.2

[gobble]

Anybody surf the 17' VLX yet? Should I consider selling my 2013 VLX to order one?

[BadgerBoater55]

Alright... So they have now formally introduced the 22VLX.  Time to stir this pot up again!

21VLX is being marketed as "Well-optioned for $79,995" and the 22VLX is being marketed as "Endless Possibilities" for.... well... the sky is the limit I suppose.

I think they did a pretty decent job communicating the differences between the two variants of the VLX line. Video is below!  

FULL DISCLOSURE:  Do not take this as me saying "don't worry about how this changes the used VLX market". I know I am in that camp but still respect other peoples opinions.

 

[ejj]

I know some people are upset about the naming on the new VLX, but I don't think there is an issue. Buyers will quickly learn based on prices.  People don't care about anything but the features on the big name on the side.  

[67King]

The used boat market is not binary.  The simple fact of the matter is that VLX will become synonymous with "entry level Malibu" in the minds of a certain percent of the market.  And a certain percentage of those buyers won't even consider one.  May be 1%, may be 99%.  It will NOT be 0%, and it will NOT be 100%.  Again, the actual boat and what it is has no bearing, whatsoever on this.  It is all about how the secondary market perceives the boat (kinda like the "gas crisis" here in the south, which was way overblown, but frantic buyers made runs on gas to top off, and subsequently created a genuine issue where one was not previously).  That will shift the demand curve downward by that amount.  It really is just simple economics.  That will do two things - it will lower the price of the boats, and it pull some of them from the market (i.e. - reduce the supply as seller decide to not sell at the lower price).  And since the market sets the price, not the seller, it absolutely will affect the value of the boats, because the market base will shrink by whatever percent of the market base does not know the difference.  http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp if you don't follow.  It doens't matter that it is their fault that they are uninformed, their money is just as green as the most educated guy's money.  It doesn't matter what Malibu does to try to promote the 22VLX now.  It just means that with reduced buyers in the market for a high dollar, 22' Malibu, that educated guy will be able to get a better deal on the boat.  Malibu should have just renamed teh 22 VLX the 22 LSV back in 2015, and it would all make a lot more sense.

[ejj]

I see the VLX name more being tied to the purpose of the boat versus the value of the finishes.  (versatile crossover boat).

 

I think it was a smart move to make the Malibu name bigger and minimize the wakesetter logo.  That used to be a feature set for specific boats, and now it's common to nearly every tow boat. 

[teamerickson]

12 hours ago, 67King said:

Malibu should have just renamed teh 22 VLX the 22 LSV back in 2015, and it would all make a lot more sense.

But then that would've cheapened the LSV brand!

[semi]

i am trying to see how this is a great deal. If they say "no haggle" of course. I just priced out a NXT20, and a Tige RZR 21. Both came in nicely equipped for under 75k. Had pretty much what i wanted on the boat minus heaters. I was also looking into a Moomba for under 70 really nicely equipped. I think there has to be room to haggle. MSRP is just that, no one is paying it. So if this is truly "no haggle" i am struggling to see the value just from my own experience. 

I know the NXT i quoted is a 20 footer, but it was optioned for Surf and Wakeboarding with all the options. It wasn't stripped down at all. 

in addition, why do this to the Malibu name? why not just push the Axis brand? 

Edited September 22, 2016 by semi

[teamerickson]

13 minutes ago, semi said:

i am trying to see how this is a great deal. If they say "no haggle" of course. I just priced out a NXT20, and a Tige RZR 21. Both came in nicely equipped for under 75k. Had pretty much what i wanted on the boat minus heaters. I was also looking into a Moomba for under 70 really nicely equipped. I think there has to be room to haggle. MSRP is just that, no one is paying it. So if this is truly "no haggle" i am struggling to see the value just from my own experience. 

I know the NXT i quoted is a 20 footer, but it was optioned for Surf and Wakeboarding with all the options. It wasn't stripped down at all. 

in addition, why do this to the Malibu name? why not just push the Axis brand? 

The MSRP on the 21VLX is around $113k. So you are getting a great discount!

[semi]

19 minutes ago, teamerickson said:

The MSRP on the 21VLX is around $113k. So you are getting a great discount!

yah, i get that but isn't this the sweet spot for Axis? If all the other mfg's are discounting to the 70-80-90 range for their models i am still struggling to understand this. 

if corners are cut on the 79k model, when not get a fully loaded Axis for the same price with the same cut corners.