Time to upgrade?

[ajgear]

I got a very different story from a former Malibu dealer.  It had nothing to do with quality.  It had everything to do with Malibu's minimum number of units for the dealer to purchase/sell and their standards for service staffing/training.  Essentially, it became tough for him to justify the investment in floor plan and training based on his geographical market.  They switched to Supra/Moomba as well based on the smaller minimums and such.  He had nothing bad to say about the boats, and he genuinely believed that Supra / Moomba has a strong offering.

Personally, I never trust a dealer that trashes another brand (especially one they used to sell).  It's a big turn-off for me.  If you can't sell your product based on it's own merits, instead of talking trash (especially demonstrably false trash) about others' products, I question your integrity.  Even if there were quality issues with a brand I sold previously, I'd simply say something to the effect of, "You know, we just looked at what was in the market, and we felt that Supra and Moomba had more to offer our customers."  Negative selling is the hallmark of shady sales people.

16 hours ago, 06vride said:

The dealer I originally bought from,became a Supra/moomba dealer. They told me they dropped the Malibu line because of quality issues. They had too many problems with the newer boats. They said after I bought my boat, Malibu was bought and sold a couple times and became more interested in making money for investors than making good boats. 

 

[Koeh0083]

On 8/11/2017 at 6:02 PM, 06vride said:

Demo'd the T22. Handles very nice. But the sensors kept having glitches during the demo. Bad sign. 

Havent driven an NXT22 yet, but sat in one at dealer. Really like it. Seems really well made. The cushions and everything on board seemed very high end even though it was a entry level boat (at $70 freakin k!) 

Im shocked at the resale value of my boat. I wish my trucks kept their value like this boat did. 

Now all I can think about is getting a new boat. Great.....

Almost bought a NXT 22 until I was told of the VLX 21. My custom order loaded minus tower speakers was only 3500 more then dealer stock NXT 22. The VLX is way nicer fit and finish then NXT 22 and there is now way that boat is 70k trust me I can show you the nickel and dime quote of one. 70k does not include trailer or even tracking fins. Plus surf wave is way bigger, they had to demo NXT with 2 extra bags.

[06vride]

23 minutes ago, Koeh0083 said:

Almost bought a NXT 22 until I was told of the VLX 21. My custom order loaded minus tower speakers was only 3500 more then dealer stock NXT 22. The VLX is way nicer fit and finish then NXT 22 and there is now way that boat is 70k trust me I can show you the nickel and dime quote of one. 70k does not include trailer or even tracking fins. Plus surf wave is way bigger, they had to demo NXT with 2 extra bags.

Dude don't get me wrong, I would LOVE a VLX. I know they had that 79,999 deal going for the '17s, but not the 18s. Its a couple grand more comparably equipped. I figure there will be at least a $10k difference between the VLX and NXT. If I was 20 and had all the time in the world to become a stud surfer, I could justify the difference. I just don't know if I will personally benefit from $10k difference in options. There is no doubt the VLX blows the NXT out of the water. I don't even think its fair to compare the 2 of them together. I love the Malibu line. The fit and finish is awesome, and the features are incomparable. I just think it may be too much boat for me. Its like the guy who buys a Raptor and never goes off the pavement. He just paid an extra $30k to look cool. I'm too old and married to be cool. I want functional, reliable, and comfortable. 

But that VLX is so sweet. A guy on the lake has one, and I stop and show my wife every time we see it. 

According to the sales guy, the $70k includes everything, minus tax and license. It is a '17 they have on floor. I will know tomorrow for sure. I'm going out in the morning for a demo in the NXT. 

[Sixer]

Now that the '18s are coming out, I'd bet some dealers are going to be budging down off of the $79,995 price on the 2017 VLX's.  Worth a shot.  There's a lot of 17's still on dealer lots.

[06vride]

Is it a no brainer if I can get new '17 21vlx for $75k? Seems like that would be a fantastic deal 

[ajgear]

On 8/18/2017 at 7:14 PM, 06vride said:

Is it a no brainer if I can get new '17 21vlx for $75k? Seems like that would be a fantastic deal 

Seems pretty good, but there seem to be a fair number still out there.  You might even be able to squeeze a few more $s out.  But then again, you might not.  Depending on the options and such, it sounds like a decent deal.  You can check the dealer on cost based on options with See Dealer Cost.  Don't pay attention to the MSRP, because the 2017 21 VLX was a program boat with reduced MSRP.  Dealer cost should still be fairly close though.  I used that when I bought my last boat as a new, non-current boat (bought a '14 new when the '16s were coming out).

[hethj7]

On 8/18/2017 at 7:14 PM, 06vride said:

Is it a no brainer if I can get new '17 21vlx for $75k? Seems like that would be a fantastic deal 

You mentioned room in your first post.  While the VLX would certainly be an upgrade it still has a narrower beam and probably about th me same room as your v ride 

[DarkSide]

On 8/14/2017 at 10:36 PM, 06vride said:

I really want to stay in the Malibu family. Expanding my search to include the 23'. Just means I have to take off the swim platform ever time I garage it. 

The dealer I originally bought from,became a Supra/moomba dealer. They told me they dropped the Malibu line because of quality issues. They had too many problems with the newer boats. They said after I bought my boat, Malibu was bought and sold a couple times and became more interested in making money for investors than making good boats. 

I know a lot of that is salesmanship. But for those who have owned a couple different malibus, did you notice any drop off in quality? I don't know a lot about the boat industry, but I know you don't stay the #1 most sold boat if you are making lemons. But my dealer said, they are #1 because they crank out boats as fast as possible, cutting corners and being lax on quality control. 

Take a lot of it with a grain of salt.  There are a ton of promo program owners and dealers on here as well so the info here is also fairly biased.  

Almost every brand builds a quality product now.  Every brand will have some issues, the thing is the quantity and severity of the issues and how your dealer handles them.   

Demo for yourself, look inside the compartments, under the dash,  follow interior seams, Etc.  Intentionally ride through rough water, if it's smooth day, make rough water yourself with a couple figure 8's.  Does the tower wobble? Did crossing a wake make you want a kidney belt? Ride the wake and wave, pictures and video are nice but tell very little.   Is the wake too rampy?   Is the wave soft and mushy?   How long does it take to set up?    How hard is it to drive while wakeboarding or surfing?  How comfortable are the seats, are the backs at the right angle for YOU?   There is no substitute for demo!  

[06vride]

On 8/25/2017 at 3:54 PM, hethj7 said:

You mentioned room in your first post.  While the VLX would certainly be an upgrade it still has a narrower beam and probably about th me same room as your v ride 

I completely agree. After a very exhaustive and lengthy process of endless demos and questions, I locked in a NXT22. Figure the prices of boats are only going up. If I don't do it now, I will probably be priced out of the market within the next year or two. 

Space is a big issue, so that's why I went with the bigger NXT vs VLX. I know I should be comparing it more to the A22, but the NXT cost less, comparably equipped. And I really liked the feel of it better. I hate leaving my malibu, but all good things end. 

Wish I found this site years ago. A wealth of information on here! Thanks for everyone's input. 

[That Guy]

Congrats on the boat. What's the beam on those? Care to share what you paid, or just if it was over or under the 21vlx price, curious minds would like to know. 

[06vride]

Out of respect to the dealer, I can't give pricing. It was left over '17, so it was a significant savings over the VLX(which would have been too small for me anyways). 

But even the '18s are advertised pretty well equipped for less than the VLX. However, the VLX is a much more luxurious boat, so you would expect it to be more. 

[RedWakesetterVLX]

Did you trade your Vride in? 

[06vride]

no, listed it myself. 

[RedWakesetterVLX]

8 hours ago, 06vride said:

no, listed it myself. 

Sent you a PM.