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04 vs 08


DenaliG

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Hi everyone.

somewhat new here and have been doing a lot of reading and have learned a lot just in the short time. I am looking to buying my first boat and have narrowed it down to two. I want to stay around 30k - and ok with a boat that needs some interior work as I plan on doing things to the boat slowly over time to upgrade/update it (interior, stereo, seadek, more ballasts if needed, etc)

these are the boats I’m between - one is an 04 w ~900hr, looks like it has been well taken care of.
 

https://www.onlyinboards.com/2004-Wakesetter-23-LSV-Very-Clean--for-sale-Traverse-City-Michigan-115421.aspx

 

the other is an 08 with ~1200hr. Not as in good condition interior wise, needs some upholstery eventually replaced and slightly more expensive. 
 

https://www.onlyinboards.com/2008-Malibu-23-LSV-for-sale-Knoxville-Tennessee-115752.aspx

 

any and all thoughts are welcome! Thanks! 

 

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I think you should buy a ski boat !   just kiddin'

i think the 04 is a nicer boat.  I always suggest at least a compression test and a lake test with any boat purchase. 

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Here’s my biased opinion:

The 04 looks like it’s in way better shape, Which means you get to do the things you want to do to it instead of the things you need to do to it. I just picked up an 04 VLX as a project boat and thinks it’s awesome and so far it has been easy to work on. I paid 28k for it with 900 hours, So it looks like you’re in the Wheelhouse dollarwise.

The question is, can you do a yellow boat?

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Do a little homework on the hammerhead.....I think they like to drink oil or something......there are various threads here about that.  

 

The '04 does appear to be in better shape.  I'd be looking at that but for under $30k.  I have a friend with an '05 and it's a great boat.  His has the 350 with 1900 hours on it and runs just as well as it did when he got it with 600 hours on it.  It's a great boat.  

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1 minute ago, SkiPablo said:

I think you should buy a ski boat !   just kiddin'

i think the 04 is a nicer boat.  I always suggest at least a compression test and a lake test with any boat purchase. 

Thank for the input. We will use more Mostly surfing, learning to wakeboard. I won’t buy a boat without either test, that’s something I figured from the beginning! 

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4 minutes ago, MarkN said:

Here’s my biased opinion:

The 04 looks like it’s in way better shape, Which means you get to do the things you want to do to it instead of the things you need to do to it. I just picked up an 04 VLX as a project boat and thinks it’s awesome and so far it has been easy to work on. I paid 28k for it with 900 hours, So it looks like you’re in the Wheelhouse dollarwise.

The question is, can you do a yellow boat?

Good point on being able to do things I want vs need.. Yellow is the one thing that I’ve questioned about this boat since I came across it. I did think of wrapping it down the line to get reduce some of the yellow.. And oddly enough the yellow is growing on me. Weird. I know. Lol

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6 minutes ago, DenaliG said:

Thank for the input. We will use more Mostly surfing, learning to wakeboard. I won’t buy a boat without either test, that’s something I figured from the beginning! 

You can get a decent wave out of that boat if you load it up well.  It may need to list.  

Edited by Slayer
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3 minutes ago, Slayer said:

Do a little homework on the hammerhead.....I think they like to drink oil or something......there are various threads here about that.  

 

The '04 does appear to be in better shape.  I'd be looking at that but for under $30k.  I have a friend with an '05 and it's a great boat.  His has the 350 with 1900 hours on it and runs just as well as it did when he got it with 600 hours on it.  It's a great boat.  

Thanks slayer. I found the 04 on both Facebook marketplace and onlyinboards. He has it listed for 30k on FB. So I’m sure we could work something out. 
 

the other thing I like about the yellow boat is it is CLEAN. Makes me think owner is meticulous and likely has maintenance records. 

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The 04 with the hammerhead is the call for sure.  You will like the extra power and the fact that it is a much cleaner boat. I just sold my 04 not running and needing lots of interior work as well as a few unknowns after sitting for a few years for $15k but it was definitely a project boat. 

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No questions ask, hands down the 04. I feel the 04 is in good shape, yellow bu's look so good on the water

 

The 08 needs several thousands in upholstery repairs. Looks like it has sat outside its entire life. The dash alone is enough to make me not want it.

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2 hours ago, Slayer said:

You can get a decent wave out of that boat if you load it up well.  It may need to list.  

We will normally be out with 4-6 adults. I’m the only goofy one in the group.. what would your suggestions be for additional ballast sizes in the rear lockers? I want to stay away from having “exposed” bags on the seats! 
 

sounds like consensus is the 04, I was leaning that way anyway due to the condition but did t know if I should swing the newer year. 

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3 minutes ago, DenaliG said:

We will normally be out with 4-6 adults. I’m the only goofy one in the group.. what would your suggestions be for additional ballast sizes in the rear lockers? I want to stay away from having “exposed” bags on the seats! 
 

sounds like consensus is the 04, I was leaning that way anyway due to the condition but did t know if I should swing the newer year. 

I can't answer that question.  I'm sure someone else here could.  I was only on that boat once when surfing and all I can tell you is that it was listed, it had a suck gate, and bags in the lockers as well as on the surf side below the seats.  I don't know what size or volume those bags were, but the boat was pretty well loaded.  

You may want to do some searching on the site and I think you should be able to uncover something.  

 

 

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12 minutes ago, DenaliG said:

We will normally be out with 4-6 adults. I’m the only goofy one in the group.. what would your suggestions be for additional ballast sizes in the rear lockers? I want to stay away from having “exposed” bags on the seats! 
 

sounds like consensus is the 04, I was leaning that way anyway due to the condition but did t know if I should swing the newer year. 

05 lsv with diamond hull. Runnins 400s in the rear lockers, 400 bag on the floor, 400 bag in ski locker, 300# lead in the bow, 400 lead surf side, swell shaper, floating wedge, 5 adults in the boat as well.

Ill be upgrading my rear bags this winter so I dont have my floor bag like you had mentioned (will gain some weight too with bigger rear bags)

07C125C6-D601-4D68-B103-4F1D48516538.jpeg

Edited by 06malibu
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I'm going to go against consensus here and say the 08 is a better deal.  Yes, it needs upholstery but as long as you're able to go into it knowing that is the case, you should still have a solid boat.  The 2008 is the updated hull and although I don't think it will surf any better, it is worth more money when it comes time for resale.  Plus -- the 2004 is yellow and that is a hard color to sell (and a hard color to own!!)

They both have the full MLS systems and I'm assuming both will have the wedge.  Piggy back bags in the rear plus a suck gate and you should be golden. I run 1100s in each side of my 2004.  Surf side 100% full, non-surf side is 50% full.   It's a ripping wave that I get compliments on all the time from people with much newer/more expensive boats.

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The upholstery will cost you 5K to redo and the 04 seems to be in great condition.  900 hours vs 1200 is better as well.  Resale if you redo upholstery the newer will do better.  Depends on your budget.  The colors do not bother me either but everyone has their preference.  With those hours on the motor you will be looking to put in a new engine sometime in the future with either boat.  Maybe keep looking and see what else you can find.  Many boat are coming on the market right now since some people do not want to store through the winter.  Prices are normalizing a bit as well.  If I had to make a decision I would go 04 unless I had an extra 5K laying around.

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I vote the 04 as well.  it looks nearly new.  That 06 looks like it has not been well cared for, the upholstery is obviously a mess, but the outside looks all oxidized as well, not super expensive to fix, but the 04 is ready to go.

Yellow looks great on the water.  I loved the way our yellow boat looked. 

20190725_092856.thumb.jpg.271999ac6c097377fe06ce44a221e37e.jpg

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15 hours ago, Slayer said:

Do a little homework on the hammerhead.....I think they like to drink oil or something......there are various threads here about that.  

 

The '04 does appear to be in better shape.  I'd be looking at that but for under $30k.  I have a friend with an '05 and it's a great boat.  His has the 350 with 1900 hours on it and runs just as well as it did when he got it with 600 hours on it.  It's a great boat.  

The Hammerhead offered in 04 was the 380 HH which was completely different then the 383 stroker Hammerhead that began on 05.

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Thanks everyone for the replies. How many hours should I be concerned about. I kind of did my own little math and related it to a car. 60k mile car with oil changes every 3k = 20 oil changes.. I don’t really want to look into an engine rebuild or something in a near future. 

boat with 1000hrs, maintenance every 50, = 20 oil changes...

is that dumb logic? I have had work trucks in the past that idle a lot. And would have extreme hours but not much mileage.... 

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2000+ hrs to major overhaul if it has been looked after - at a minimum. 2500-3000 is not unknown.  It really depends on how well the boat was taken care of. Mine is 22 yrs old - 700 slalom hours and it has needed one heater core and one fuel pump. Plus usual oil and filter and a couple sets of plugs etc.  If you can see the maintenance records you will be able to figure it out.

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10 hours ago, DenaliG said:

Thanks everyone for the replies. How many hours should I be concerned about. I kind of did my own little math and related it to a car. 60k mile car with oil changes every 3k = 20 oil changes.. I don’t really want to look into an engine rebuild or something in a near future. 

boat with 1000hrs, maintenance every 50, = 20 oil changes...

is that dumb logic? I have had work trucks in the past that idle a lot. And would have extreme hours but not much mileage.... 

There is a post on the Malibu Owners FB page boats over 1k hours...there’s a bunch of them.  One guy has over 5k hours on his 14 Axis A20 and he claims original power train and no major repairs.  Base 5.7L 330 monsoon. 

Edited by RedWakesetterVLX
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6 minutes ago, RedWakesetterVLX said:

There is a post on the Malibu Owners FB page boats over 1k hours...there’s a bunch of them.  One guy has over 5k hours on his 14 Axis A20 and he claims original power train and no major repairs.  Base 5.7L 330 monsoon. 

summer camp next to us has nearly 7500 hours on one of their boats (moomba, same base motor as the 320) and over 5000 on another (yes a moomba).  but they did blow a motor at only 1000 hours last year on a different moomba, they run 4 of them now

Its more about how they get treated, and maintained.  The 04 the OP is looking at looks very well maintained, the 08, not so much.

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On 10/3/2020 at 12:33 AM, RedWakesetterVLX said:

The Hammerhead offered in 04 was the 380 HH which was completely different then the 383 stroker Hammerhead that began on 05.

Is the 05 383 HH the better motor - reliability speaking? Compared to that of the 04 380 HH?

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On 10/3/2020 at 12:33 AM, RedWakesetterVLX said:

The Hammerhead offered in 04 was the 380 HH which was completely different then the 383 stroker Hammerhead that began on 05.

Thanks for the clarification. 

 

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