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Are Mailbu's worth it?


billritchie

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I'm sure I will be in the minority here, but just curious what the overall impressions of recent Malibu boats is?  I bought a  2017 20 VTX last year.  While I enjoy the boat, I've had a few issues with it.  All fairly minor (took the dealer over a month to diagnose an error I was getting during the first week of ownership, defective sensors that had to be replaced, had to replace the engine blower, now I'm getting an error on the surf gates) but I guess I expect a little more reliablity on a $100K boat.  While I love it when its working properly, at this point I would not buy another Malibu again.  Just disappointing for what I would consider a premium boat.  Not used to having a boat in the shop 5 times in 1-1/2 years.

Maybe I just got unlucky.  Maybe its just working out the kinks.  My fear is I will continue to experience issues for as long as I own it. 

 

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What makes you think the other brands are any different?  That what you get for buying a new boat.  If you want something that isn't in the shop all the time, buying a couple year old one where the original owners works out all the new boat bugs.

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Eh, my little issues started popping up after 120 hours.  And whose to say a now 1-5 year old boat won’t have issues as some of these sensors and screens can seem to fail at about anytime, whether new or old.  

But, don’t think this is just a Malibu issue.  All brands seem to have some issues and again, dealer support is key on a new purchase.  

Yes, I would like to think hey would be trouble free for he price, but that doesn’t always seem to be reality.  That being said, I haven’t had s major failure that actually kept me of the water yet.  

I am curious - if you buy a small production supercar, do they have similar issues?  My guess is yes, and again, I bet dealer support is key. 

 

 

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My 2017 lsv has had a few hiccups, two tower struts needed replaced and at 103 hours 3/4 o2 sensors took a dump.  My surfband started doing random transfers the other day, replaced the battery and it seems to be fixed. I dont feel like the boat has been a problem at all IMO what I have experienced is about normal.

@billritchieThese boats are jammed with computers, it is what it is... I think for the most part they are usually reliable but a glitch every now and then is not uncommon.

A blower motor going out is just bad luck, cant really blame Malibu on that one.  IMO three items in 120 hours is not terrible.

A few tips I would recommend...

Keep your batteries fully charged at all times (on board charger you plug in).  These computers dont like low voltage.

Check your battery connections often, make sure everything is nice and tight.  You would be surprised how they can loosen up over time.

Keep your batteries turned off (perko) when you store the boat.

Keep up on software updates, especially if you are experiencing glitches.

 

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I had to replace a couple sensors on my 2017 21 VLX.  Tommy's came to me to replace the sensors instead of me having to drive 2 hours to drop my boat off to them.    This was more of an Indmar problem than strictly a Malibu problem.  This could be why Malibu is changing their engines in 2019.  My friend has a Mastercraft and he had things he had to get fixed on his brand new boat the first summer he had it in the water.  I have realized real quick that this is one of those things that happens.  I have heard similar new boat issues like this with wake boats, fishing boats and pontoons.  It's a boat thing.  Make sure you buy from a good dealer that has good service and will take care of you.

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Even though boats are luxury items, it's not like buying a $100,000 lexus LS in terms of kinks.  That said, I've had probably 10 new boats and 5 used boats, and I've had like 3 minor issues, ever.  Nothing that affected reliability.   Would certainly buy again.

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They are hand built, you can't match the quality control.  A friend of mine is an engineer at Mastercraft and, like me, has a background in automotive.  MC has similar issues, and from talking to him, lower employee morale.  I completely get the expectation that a vehicle that expensive should be more reliable, but ironically, it is often the cheapest stuff that is.  

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Thanks for the input and advice.   My dealer has been fantastic.  I think I'm just a little frustrated at this point.  Other than all the minor issues, I love the boat.  It's probably more of a question of "would I buy another performance wake boat again" vs something with less electronics, computer, etc

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ahopkins22LSV

I won’t continue to say what others have already said, but one suggestion. If it is just a minor issue that isn’t hindering anything on the water, document it with your dealer at the time it occurs and then take care of it in the off season. I understand that a fault like you had needed to be addressed right away but most minor things do not. We just took delivery of our 2019 two weeks ago, put 18 hours on it so far and I have a very short list. None of which need to be addressed until this winter. The bilge is spotless too. 

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2 hours ago, 67King said:

They are hand built, you can't match the quality control.  A friend of mine is an engineer at Mastercraft and, like me, has a background in automotive.  MC has similar issues, and from talking to him, lower employee morale.  I completely get the expectation that a vehicle that expensive should be more reliable, but ironically, it is often the cheapest stuff that is.  

:plus1:  Also so much of the boats, cars, and trucks as well as much of anything that is branded and assembled under a brand name comes from other company's. Yes in many the parameters are set from the buyer but the engineering testing are done outside so we are dependent on things that in the past was more controlled in house. So even if something is wrong with a piece of the build it can not be replaced at the wink of an eye. 

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7 minutes ago, braindamage said:

My primary concern is how the electronics will be supported 10+years out. The dealer service organizations are ill trained and under-staffed to work on these items so replacement is the primary action. At the rate of change (moore’s Law), there won’t be replacements. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens...

Probably the biggest reason I feel that Bu should swap to Murphy. The screens and PDMs are used in Multiple brands (MC, Nautique, Centurion, Tige, Supra, Moomba, etc), as well as in I/O brands. They are also in lots of construction equipment (My case excavator has the same 7” touchscreen that Is installed in boats),  ATVs,  Factory controls,  Large Generator controls, etc.

parts will be around for a long time.......

That’s not to say that Medallion might not build up a big surplus for future service. There is a good chance they’ll have it covered for quite a few years.

All of that said, these systems are ridiculously simple. I wouldn’t be the least bit worried about owning a 2018 Bu in 10 years. Someone with decent electrical knowledge could swap the entire system to manual control in a days work. The hardest part, would be building a new dash panel. There is also a high likelihood that you could just install a newer system. Once again, having to spend some time on a dash panel. A good upholstery shop could whip that out fairly easy.

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1 hour ago, TenTwentyOne said:

All of that said, these systems are ridiculously simple. I wouldn’t be the least bit worried about owning a 2018 Bu in 10 years. Someone with decent electrical knowledge could swap the entire system to manual control in a days work. The hardest part, would be building a new dash panel. There is also a high likelihood that you could just install a newer system. Once again, having to spend some time on a dash panel. A good upholstery shop could whip that out fairly easy.

And this right here is why I lamented the demise of the V-Ride series.

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I had a 2001 Chaparral for 8 years - only thing that ever went wrong was a trim actuator that went out, covered under warranty.

Then I had the first Four Winns SL262 in Texas - zero problems ever, even though it was a brand new design.  Beast of a boat.

My next boat was a 2011 Regal wake boat - had it for 3 years with zero issues.

Now I have a 14 23LSV that I bought last year with 340 hours on it, out of warranty, and I've added about 80 - and have had no problems at all.  It has been maintained extremely well by the prior owner and now by me. 

Maybe I've been lucky, but the overall reliability of newer boats (and new cars) is just crazy good.  Sometimes crap happens, but on the whole it is amazing how well these things work with the amount of use (and sometimes abuse) that gets heaped upon them.  I'd buy another Malibu with no hesitation at all - if I could afford it.  :)

As Bama said, the payoff from spending awesome time on the lake with my family and friends is worth any small headaches that might come up over time.

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I will only drop this kind of money on the wave, what produces that wave I open to as long as it's not a POS.  With that said, just about every boat I've demoed had a better wave than the mxz 22 or a22 I've demoed.  Can't afford the 24' models so I didn't bother to check em out.  Surfed a G23 & I was really disappointed.  Huge face like my MB which I liked, but what a short wave.  In my opinion GSA is proving to be the superior surf system.  

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3 hours ago, racer808 said:

I will only drop this kind of money on the wave, what produces that wave I open to as long as it's not a POS.  With that said, just about every boat I've demoed had a better wave than the mxz 22 or a22 I've demoed.  Can't afford the 24' models so I didn't bother to check em out.  Surfed a G23 & I was really disappointed.  Huge face like my MB which I liked, but what a short wave.  In my opinion GSA is proving to be the superior surf system.  

The stock setting is too slow.  Some dealers are under the impression that a huge short wave is good.  The wave on the G is plenty big stock that my family and I search for more length and go 12 MPH.  It shrinks the height of the wave some, but there was more than enough to start with.   Hopefully, you tried it faster and was still disappointed.  If not, then see if you can get behind it again and go a bit faster.  IIRC, the stock setting was 11.2.  A lot of guys scatter 300 pounds of lead up front and mid ship on the port side which also makes a difference.  

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6 hours ago, racer808 said:

I will only drop this kind of money on the wave, what produces that wave I open to as long as it's not a POS.  With that said, just about every boat I've demoed had a better wave than the mxz 22 or a22 I've demoed.  Can't afford the 24' models so I didn't bother to check em out.  Surfed a G23 & I was really disappointed.  Huge face like my MB which I liked, but what a short wave.  In my opinion GSA is proving to be the superior surf system.  

What have you demoed that is better than the A22 and 22MXZ?

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On ‎8‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 6:02 AM, WhiteWaterWeb said:

 

I agree with a lot of what has been said above; dealer relationships are key, documenting what needs to be addressed (not urgently) is critical (using emails/images, etc.), and yes, it would be great if the large sums of money we spent resulted in zero problems...but it is like that with other brands (MC, Centurion, etc.) and other high value items too (these crazy cars and their advanced computer systems often go wonky).

Having said all that I did a lot of research into other brands before settling with Malibu and a dealer 2 hours away from me (the closest one is 8 minutes from my house!). I haven't regretted either decision for a moment. The engineering/performance of a Malibu is exceptional...and because I know other brands have little 'defects' sometimes too, I opted for Malibu.

I'll easily forget the little issues I had with our 2018 VLX in the first 50 hours this summer, but I'll never forget the smile on my sons face when he asked if we could double surf. I didn't think a combined weight of 275 pounds would easily stay inside the pocket - but we surfed for over 3 minutes until he tried to get on my shoulders.

Worth. Every. Penny.

doubles.jpg

 

 

What board are you on there?

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2017 Hyperlite Shim that I bought on sale from evo.com; it was apparently a ‘blemished’ board but I have yet to find anything wrong with it. I only have one fin on in that pic and I can 360 it with ease. It is the 5’3” inch board - fast and fairly light.

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11 hours ago, hethj7 said:

What have you demoed that is better than the A22 and 22MXZ?

MB, slammed mastercraft x22, axis t23. Don’t get me wrong both the a22 and mxz threw great waves they just weren’t as big or long as the others.  

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On 8/21/2018 at 12:31 PM, TenTwentyOne said:

Probably the biggest reason I feel that Bu should swap to Murphy. The screens and PDMs are used in Multiple brands (MC, Nautique, Centurion, Tige, Supra, Moomba, etc), as well as in I/O brands. They are also in lots of construction equipment (My case excavator has the same 7” touchscreen that Is installed in boats),  ATVs,  Factory controls,  Large Generator controls, etc.

parts will be around for a long time.......

That’s not to say that Medallion might not build up a big surplus for future service. There is a good chance they’ll have it covered for quite a few years.

All of that said, these systems are ridiculously simple. I wouldn’t be the least bit worried about owning a 2018 Bu in 10 years. Someone with decent electrical knowledge could swap the entire system to manual control in a days work. The hardest part, would be building a new dash panel. There is also a high likelihood that you could just install a newer system. Once again, having to spend some time on a dash panel. A good upholstery shop could whip that out fairly easy.

Medallion is down the road and would be happy to sell you replacement screens for boats in the early 10's but malibu forbids it... Those small screens in 2009-2013s are like 1800 bucks... I can get a whole new factory infotainment solution for any car on the road for that (brain and screen).

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Just wait a few more years and try replacing the computers/screens.  Us old farts with the Kysor Medallion systems are looking at up to 2K for a new set of KM gauges and computer.  Screw that - I'm going back to analog.  For a third (or less) of the price!  And  it is a relatively easy swap - I can't imagine adding switches for all those pumps, fins, gates etc.  I am not sure where the idea arose that more complex is better.  And since when do electronics and water mix?

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