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What Boat should I Buy?


Mattonspeclake

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Hi Malibu Crew.

After many months of research and forum lurking, I’ve finally narrowed it down to 3 boats. My budget is $70,000-$80,000.

- 2014 LSV 23 450 LS3 w/ 200 hours. $75,000

- 2015 LSV 23 350 w/180 hours. $80,000 

-2018 Axis T22 with power wedge w/67 hours. $72,000  (Transferable Warranty)

All boats are super clean, dealer maintained, fresh water boats with similar options and colors.

surfwave, resale and reliability are my top 3. 

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2015 LSV with 350 motor for 80K seems a bit high, but I am notoriously tight.  

Frankly, I like the Axis out of those 3 with those prices.  Wave should be competitive, solid resale based on the price you are buying it for.  That drive train should give you years of reliability.  

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I'm with @TallRedRider, but in the interest of disclosure I have a 16 T22 (and also had a '14 LSV with the LS3).  The nice thing about the 18 T22 is you also have the 6.0 motor, which would be my pick of the three motors.  And probably surfband?  I've had luxurious boats and more spartan boats.  That aspect alone has NEVER influenced my day on the water.  The LSVs are nicer inside tho, no doubt!

Wave-wise you would probably be a little better off with the LSVs.  Not a lot, but a little.  The T22 is definitely a VERY surfable boat, but sacked out you can get a little more from an LSV.  Of course my experience is based on the 1st gen T22 hull and a floating wedge, so power wedge and new hull on T22 are sure to make that comparison even closer.

Reliability -- is what it is.  The thing about the 14 450 is that it's a one and done motor from Marine Power, so parts aren't quite as ubiquitous and dealers have less experience with it.  The 6.0 in the T22 is a pcm product and has served for at least a decade in many other manufacturers.  Same of course for an indmar 350 in the '15, which is pretty much the cornerstone of the malibu family in the last 15 years (though also the weakest of the three motors).  Of course in a single instance any of those boats could be a lemon.  Can't really control for that.

Resale... my gut says the 14 with 450 is probably going to retain the most value going forward.  Agree with TRR that the 15 is priced a bit high.  And the T22 probably has a bit of steep depreciation to go before it totally levels out.

Edited by shawndoggy
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Just for comparison, a friend of mine recently purchased a 2013 lsv with 120 hours and ls3 motor for 65,000. I know it’s a different hull, but fairly indicative of where you might be at with the value of those boats in a couple years. The two you’re looking at might hold their value just a touch better since they’re the updated hull though. I know the 2015 has the newer dash, but I’d probably pick the 14 with bigger motor for less money between the two Malibu boats.  At the end of the day though, I’d go with the Axis. Newer design, power wedge, warranty, low hours, and the cheapest of all of them. 

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Tallredrider.

Thanks! Only thing drawing my to the 2015 is the Viper dash and newer Wetsounds audio. But everyone is listing the 2015 + LSV 23’s at $80,000 or more, unless it’s a crazy Gel color or saltwater or something that’s not good. 

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The dazzle of the dash will wear off quick and for $8k you can put in a hell of a stereo of your choosing. I’d go Axis out of that list. 

Edited by Slurpee
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Shawndoggy.

Thanks for the detailed response. Agreed, the 6.0 would be my motor of choice too. I’m coming from a Indmar Raptor, and can’t say anything good about it.

I’m concerned the 2015+ Malibu’s will have more issues, based on the Viper screens, Wiring and Gelcoat. 

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34 minutes ago, Mattonspeclake said:

Thanks for the detailed response. Agreed, the 6.0 would be my motor of choice too. I’m coming from a Indmar Raptor, and can’t say anything good about it.

What boat are you coming from? 

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47 minutes ago, Mattonspeclake said:

Tallredrider.

Thanks! Only thing drawing my to the 2015 is the Viper dash and newer Wetsounds audio. But everyone is listing the 2015 + LSV 23’s at $80,000 or more, unless it’s a crazy Gel color or saltwater or something that’s not good. 

That isn’t full Wetsounds in 2015 if it is factory, just FYI.  Unless the previous owner rebuilt the stereo.  

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I’m considering the T22 with powerwedge. Does anyone know the cost and procedure for transferring the warranty? I will be purchasing it from a private party in a different state. 

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Probably somehwhere around $1500-2000 depending on the dealer.  The dealer must do it, including running full checks on the engine (whatever that entails) to report back to Indmar

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congrats! The 18 t22 is very impressive with powerwedge. Make sure it add in plug n play if the previous owner never did. It will really wake up that wave! Post some pics once you get it!

 

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On 3/27/2019 at 8:48 PM, Mattonspeclake said:

Cptotr 

Definety a price drop off 2013 or older. Axis seems 2014 or older experience’s a huge price drop off. 

I think that a 2014 Axis was still a budget boat.  The 2018 still is a budget boat in comparison, but Axis boats have come a long ways since then.  I would expect some part of the dropoff to be because most everything has gotten better in 2018, vinyl, motor stereo, etc. 

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The price drop off on Axis is pretty simple. 2014 is the year when surfgate came out.

The vinyl 09-12 was fairly subpar.

13+ has better vinyl

14+ has surfgate

Engines have never really been an issue on Axis. Although now, the 410 is standard, whereas the 330 was standard in the early days.

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