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Buying my first Malibu


sconely

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On the market for a boat that I can wake board and surf behind in the $25k range. Ive found a few 2000-2005 vlx's in my price range. Is there any specific issues that I should look out for with this generation boats? Ive heard of defective towers, what years are affected?

Any pointers would be appreciated.  

 

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Water test to ensure everything works as advertised and inspect the trailer electrical, tires and surge brakes. Look in every compartment for issues and condition and look at the keel while it is on the trailer for damage. IMO,  overall condition says a lot about the most likely condition of the engine internals. But you have no way of knowing for sure. Be prepared to find out that in a couple of outings the ballast pumps are starting to fail or have failed. Not uncommon and not a hard or expensive fix. IIWM I would be prepared to walk away from any engine or dash electrical issues. JM2C

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Those are good years for VLXs.  I still miss things about my '01 VLX.  There were a lot of towers available back then.  I added a Titan I tower myself.  Rock solid.  Overall though the things were pretty elementary and easy to inspect compared to the fancy stuff on boats now.  Check the mounting points, bolts, etc.  Look for bent tubing where someone might have tried to back it into a garage before putting it down.  Or bad cracks in the gel near mounting points.  That kind of thing.  Look for the same kind of thing UNDER the boat near the fins, rudder, etc.

It'll be worth it for you to find the nearest tow boat dealer and pay to have the mechanic do a thorough inspection and check of the engine if you short list 1 or 2 boats.  When I put mine up for sale I sent the oil in to Blackstone for testing and included that in the sale advert.

I'd say grab an '02 or newer if you can.  There were some fit and finish improvements that year I envied a little.  But don't let that stop you from an '01.

Make sure the windshield is a good fit and the walkthru hatch closes and is well aligned. 

Overall those are good crossover choices.  Get a bow sac, some locker sacs, a wedge, and suckgate and it'll be awesome for you.

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The 2000 and 2001 21’ VLX hull still makes my favorite wakeboard wake. With a little effort, the entire boat is easy to plumb for ballast. 

The standard “tuna” tower on the 2000 is still the classic look. 

We put 3800 hrs on ours and never did anything other than general maintenence. 

As others will say, there is a whole lot less options/bells and whistles... but thats a lot less to go wrong with a boat. 

Good luck in your search.

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Agreed, that era hull was great for wakeboarding and super easy to dial in.  I still miss my buddy’s 2008 Vride (with the early 2000 era VLX hull).   

 

To the OP - I think 2004 was the hull change in the VLX in those years, just FYI.   Both hulls get great reviews but for surfing I think the 04+ generally gets the nod.  You can certainly surf the 03 and older hull though.  

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9 hours ago, hethj7 said:

Agreed, that era hull was great for wakeboarding and super easy to dial in.  I still miss my buddy’s 2008 Vride (with the early 2000 era VLX hull).   

 

To the OP - I think 2004 was the hull change in the VLX in those years, just FYI.   Both hulls get great reviews but for surfing I think the 04+ generally gets the nod.  You can certainly surf the 03 and older hull though.  

Hull change was 05.

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On 3/26/2019 at 10:05 AM, sconely said:

On the market for a boat that I can wake board and surf behind in the $25k range. Ive found a few 2000-2005 vlx's in my price range. Is there any specific issues that I should look out for with this generation boats? Ive heard of defective towers, what years are affected?

Any pointers would be appreciated.  

 

Hah.  Know what.  For grins I went to Only Inboards and my old boat is up for sale.

https://www.onlyinboards.com/Malibu-21-Sunsetter-VLX-for-sale-Lexington-Kentucky-87551.aspx

 

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