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Advice for purchase of 2006 21 V-Ride ?


Latecomer

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Hi all,

I'm hoping to find a Malibu for a first boat here in the French Alps for an Alpine lake,

I have a visit planned for a 2006 21 V-Ride, and would appreciate advice on what to look for and what to check? I have not been able to find much info or specs - am not even sure of what options were available or of the standard equipment...

This model has 240 hours, and we plan to use for general recreation - family.

Any info or input would be great, many thanks Pete

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Pete,

Look at the top of the page.  There is a "Resources" section.  Click on it and look for "Malibu Specifications."  Click on that, then scroll down to 2006 and click on the v-ride.  Should have access to the Malibu brochure from that year, and the Malibu and Indmar manuals.

Base engine, I think, would have been the Indmar 320 LCR, with the 340 Monsoon as an upgrade.  This was the pre-catalytic converter era.  Boat should come with Illusion X tower and ballast tanks. 

I own a 2006 Malibu and honestly can't tell you that there is anything in particular to look out for.  Very solid boats.  That era of boat did have relatively rare damper plate failures, though mine is still going strong.

On an older boat like that, condition and proof of maintenance would be the biggest deciding factors for me.  YMMV.

Edited by srab
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Also, just remembered, the boat should have "The Wedge," probably the manual variety, though the power wedge was available that year.  It locks in the up position underneath the swim platform most of the time, but there is a small trap door in the swim platform that will give you access to it while on the water.  You squeeze together the extensions on the locking pins to unlock it and swing it down to the lower position, where it locks in again.  The Wedge enhances the wake at wake-boarding speeds and/or for surfing. 

The hardware connecting the black foil to the NiBrAl arms has been known to fail over time.  Best to replace the screws from time to time.  Easy enough to do, but just something to be aware of should you decide to purchase.

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FWIW, I thought most damper plate issues seemed to be most common on the 2005 models.  

As already said, that era is generally a solid build and as long as the boat was cared for, I wouldn't hesitate pulling the trigger on one at all.  That hull produced a really nice wakeboard wake and was easy to dial in.  

 

  • Like 2
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The Ride series was Malibu's effort at getting into the "price point" boat market. So typically they were pretty simple, ie; LCR, manual Wedge, Illusion tower, not much billet trim, etc. But there were quite a few people who ordered the Vrides fully loaded, ie; Monsoon, power Wedge, Titan tower, billet throttle knob, dash, steering wheel, rub rail, etc. Which obviously drove the price up.

We'd love to see some pics of what your looking at.

Don't be afraid to request a test drive, even test ride behind it. Drive it like your going to use it, ie; fill the ballast, use the speed control, check out the stereo, heater, shower, etc. Good luck with the purchase!

  • Like 2
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We have the "i" version but in general the boat is fitted out the same as a vRide. If you're looking for an all round boat that allows you to wakeboard, surf, float around with a decent amount of space its a great option. Like Bill said above they are pretty "standard", well most of them anyway. What color scheme? Some of them have really really basic color schemes.

Is the boat listed online anywhere for us to take a look at it?

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FWIW, I sold my Vride 3 years ago for 30k with 500 hours on it, the upgraded monsoon 340 hp motor, titan 3 tower, color above the rubrail, and 3 ballast tanks, along with many other personal upgrades that many members on here would scoff at but they're holding up just fine to this day.  It's a great boat but beware that you'll catch the fever and in a few years you'll wanting to upgrade, mine has claimed 4 victims already :biggrin:

16_zps6f646559.jpg

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To all of your kind replies thank you very much - a true welcome to the Malibu family event without the boat yet !

The listing is on a Swiss site in French, (sorry I've not managed to upload photos...), there is basic information in the ad, engine stated as 5.7L MPI, 
One thing is that the owner does not have a mooring on the lake and therefore at each outing had to take out and return the boat to hangar,
Perhaps why it only has 240 hours over 11 years...

I'll check the documents for maintenance and history for the boat, it is stored next to the lake in a hangar for the winter - I guess the key piece of advice is to wait to organise a test on the lake before finalizing the purchase ? (assuming that visual inspection of documents and boat = OK)

Perhaps the presence or not of the wedge is also an important factor - would affect boat capabilities therefore price ?

Again many thanks for your info and advice, I visit next Saturday and will post results of the visit, Pete

 

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2 hours ago, Latecomer said:

 

The listing is on a Swiss site in French, (sorry I've not managed to upload photos...), there is basic information in the ad, engine stated as 5.7L MPI, 
One thing is that the owner does not have a mooring on the lake and therefore at each outing had to take out and return the boat to hangar,
Perhaps why it only has 240 hours over 11 years...

I'll check the documents for maintenance and history for the boat, it is stored next to the lake in a hangar for the winter - I guess the key piece of advice is to wait to organise a test on the lake before finalizing the purchase ? (assuming that visual inspection of documents and boat = OK)

Perhaps the presence or not of the wedge is also an important factor - would affect boat capabilities therefore price ?

 

 

Both the LCR and the Monsoon are 5.7L fuel-injected engines, both marinized versions of the Chevrolet Vortec 350, both by Indmar.  Monsoon would affect price, as it was an upgrade that cost, IIRC, about $1500 US at the time.

I wouldn't really be concerned about the low hours unless the boat was used 50-100 hours/year for a couple of years and then sat unused for many more.  In general, boats that aren't used regularly tend not to be maintained regularly.

The wedge certainly affects the capabilities of the boat, assuming that you are interested in using it for wake-boarding or surfing, but the "manual" wedge wasn't a particularly pricey item at the time.  The "power" wedge, on the other hand, was an expensive upgrade that would, I think, affect resale value.  But, it has electrical components that can go bad over time (especially actuators), so, if it has a power wedge, make sure that it works!  The upside to the manual wedge is that it is a relatively simple mechanical device that just needs a touch of lubrication [and the above-mentioned hardware exchange] on occasion.

 

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44 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

power wedge wouldn't have been an option on a vride of that vintage tho.

According to the '06 brochure every Malibu model had the Power Wedge option.  I am sure very few optioned with it.

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You are right that the brochure says that. Never ever seen on in the wild that wasn't a custom retrofit (@bradley thorntons comes to mind). @WakeGirl would know for sure. 

But I certainly wouldn't confine a crude search to one with the PW. You gonna be waiting a long time. 

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11 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

You are right that the brochure says that. Never ever seen on in the wild that wasn't a custom retrofit (@bradley thorntons comes to mind). @WakeGirl would know for sure. 

But I certainly wouldn't confine a crude search to one with the PW. You gonna be waiting a long time. 

My neighbor has an 06 Vride with the PW. Another guy on our lake has an 08 too.

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I had a 07 V-Ride with a power wedge. Back in 07 the difference between the WS was very little fit and trim; they had the same computer and screen. 

The width on the hull was only 93.5" as well.

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9 hours ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

My neighbor has an 06 Vride with the PW. Another guy on our lake has an 08 too.

I have an '06 iRide and I can confirm that the power wedge was a {very pricy} option that I did not elect to get.  I do have the manual wedge though.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi guys,

really happy to be a new member of this forum,

also really happy as I've agreed purchase of 2006 vRide yesterday! (Can't wait for delivery in around 1 month)

the boat is in excellent condition, has the monsoon and a power wedge, here's a pic:

VRide

 

I'm going to try to contribute to the forum as best i can and will doubtless have many questions, as this is our first boat, so be back soon with a pic at delivery! 

Cheers Pete

 

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