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2021 23 LSV Review


bcoppess23

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Another thing I didn't mention that's super frustrating, and it's a small gripe, is that when we're driving the boat at cruising speed going straight down the lake, the steering wheel is not straight.....it's rotated 180* such that the part of the steering wheel that's horizontal with the Malibu logo is vertical when the boat is going straight.  It bugs the hell out of me.  Again, minor but unacceptable.  

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10 minutes ago, Slayer said:

I don't like the idea of succumbing to poor quality.  It's simply not acceptable to me.  I look at it like I look at my business.  If I leave less than high quality installations, my clients get disappointed and lose faith and trust in us which results in less business.  That's not how I want to leave my clients and I would think the same should apply to Malibu.  I did take pics and send them to the dealer.  When I polished and sealed the boat this past weekend, I attempted to rub out the overspray and it was a no go.  Everything I did offered zero improvement, so the dealer will have to address it. 

The adhesive being wiped on the gel is also unacceptable.  It's a joke that it happens and an even bigger joke that it doesn't get addressed in final inspection.  

I completely agree, and I'm the guy going through with a light to make sure I'm not missing anything. Probably have 70-80 blue taped areas that are documented in the warranty system this year, which is about the same as it's been in the past. I'm told my warranty work tends to run about 10% of MSRP, which I figure has to get some attention back in Loudon. 

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Just now, NWBU said:

I completely agree, and I'm the guy going through with a light to make sure I'm not missing anything. Probably have 70-80 blue taped areas that are documented in the warranty system this year, which is about the same as it's been in the past. I'm told my warranty work tends to run about 10% of MSRP, which I figure has to get some attention back in Loudon. 

I would hope so!  That's crazy though.  If it's 10% of MSRP, lets just say $18k, how is that even acceptable to Malibu??  It would suggest to me that there are not as many savvy buyers as one might think or the margins are such that they can absorb that 10%.  Seems crazy.  

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As far as running boats, we try and put an hour or so on them before delivery. We do have a few customers that have us run the break in hours so they can get the first service out of the way, but theres a charge for it, and only myself and two others are allowed to do it.

 

 

Edited by COOP
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On 4/28/2021 at 9:21 AM, Slayer said:

I would hope so!  That's crazy though.  If it's 10% of MSRP, lets just say $18k, how is that even acceptable to Malibu??  It would suggest to me that there are not as many savvy buyers as one might think or the margins are such that they can absorb that 10%.  Seems crazy.  

Margins have been growing but aren't anything crazy. Most people just don't have as much ATD though, and also most don't buy as much black gel as I like, which is part of my own problem. Although for as much the fit and finish gets my focus, I've had zero mechanical issues on 4 boats now, knock on wood. Two screen freezes is all I've ever had.

Edit - I went back and looked and margins are actually consistently trending down over the last 5 years, with 2020 margins being well below where they were in 2016-2017. Sorry, couldn't let an inaccurate statement just sit out on the interwebs.

Edited by NWBU
Added margin clarification
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5 minutes ago, NWBU said:

Margins have been growing but aren't anything crazy. Most people just don't have as much ATD though, and also most don't buy as much black gel as I like, which is part of my own problem. Although for as much the fit and finish gets my focus, I've had zero mechanical issues on 4 boats now, knock on wood. Two screen freezes is all I've ever had.

I get it.  I'm all about black boats as well.  Our VLX was nearly all black and our RLXi has a black hull.  It looks amazing, but as you suggest, it shows EVERYTHING.

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3 hours ago, bcoppess23 said:

I am uneasy hearing they are putting the 10 hrs on the boat.  What that sounds like to me is, the dealer doesn't have inventory so they are using your boat as a demo boat for potential customers.  Which begs to ask, are they loading the boat up and doing their full surf/wakeboard set for that customer and not properly breaking it in for you...  It is not cost effective to put someone on a boat for 10 hours to work out the "kinks" considering the dealer freight and prep is 2,500-ish dollars.  If they said they put an hour, maybe two, to work out the kinks, that is more believable. 

Yea, I can see your points.  I have bought three new boats from these guys.  They have some trust built up with us.  Plus, it saves me the break in service cost and I honestly think most of the bugs can be worked out in 10 hrs vs 1-2.  

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3 minutes ago, Five Cent Worth said:

Yea, I can see your points.  I have bought three new boats from these guys.  They have some trust built up with us.  Plus, it saves me the break in service cost and I honestly think most of the bugs can be worked out in 10 hrs vs 1-2.  

That's what dealers should do!  Build trust with their clientele.  

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Sorry to hear about your issues @Slayer, this is truly one of my biggest fears with a boat on order right now. I keep saying I would rather have the factory taking their time to build it right versus rushing it and having issues. Hope your dealer gets everything corrected with a minimal impact to your summer. Your boat does make me excited to see the nassau in person though!

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4 minutes ago, ndahlberg12 said:

Sorry to hear about your issues @Slayer, this is truly one of my biggest fears with a boat on order right now. I keep saying I would rather have the factory taking their time to build it right versus rushing it and having issues. Hope your dealer gets everything corrected with a minimal impact to your summer. Your boat does make me excited to see the nassau in person though!

Thanks.  We love the color.  It looks amazing in the sun and there are few out there in Nassau.  

 

I do think our dealer will step up and take care of things.  I'm supposed to be talking with them today.  

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We got to surf a bit this weekend.  100% full at 11.0 with wedge on 2 or 3.  Coming from a '19, it felt maybe a tick or two better, overall the same.  What is a HUGE difference is that the boat steers (!) and doesn't pull when loaded up.  This is true at surf speed and while at idle.  What a difference!  You can also adjust the wedge and it doesn't get bogged down.  From behind the boat the M5 is a quieter than the 450.  

Sorry for the okay pics, for the most part, this is a nine year old taking them (the driver of the RC boat :)).

IMG_2542.jpg

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Cool!  We have yet to surf ours.  It's going in soon for the 10 hour.  

I've noted that the M6 seems much more quiet, as has been reported numerous times here, than the Raptor in our old VLX.  It feels more powerful but I'm not sure if that's related to the 2:1 or simply the engine.  Either way, I'm good with it. 

We have loaded ours up and took a look at the wave and it's looking much better than the VLX did.  What prop is on your boat, @Five Cent Worth?

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4 hours ago, Slayer said:

It feels more powerful but I'm not sure if that's related to the 2:1 or simply the engine.  Either way, I'm good with it. 

We have loaded ours up and took a look at the wave and it's looking much better than the VLX did.  What prop is on your boat, @Five Cent Worth?

I agree in the power point of view.  We were so shocked on how much more effortlessly it surfed compared to our '19. 

Looks like we have the 165 x 14 - 3537 high Altitude / Torque prop.

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On 4/28/2021 at 9:21 AM, Slayer said:

I would hope so!  That's crazy though.  If it's 10% of MSRP, lets just say $18k, how is that even acceptable to Malibu??  It would suggest to me that there are not as many savvy buyers as one might think or the margins are such that they can absorb that 10%.  Seems crazy.  

Yesterday I picked up my 2019 from the shop and it was a milestone moment... 25 months of warranty repairs from poor craftmanship and dumb mistakes at the factory when it was build... finally all resolved.  I haven't had a single mechanical issue... just lots of build quality issues that were there when we unwrapped it.  10% sounds about right if you consider my boat. The sad thing is that most (if not all) of the issues could have been easily avoided if someone had just taken an extra 30 seconds to do it right at the factory... 30 seconds.  But they didn't and because of that it lead to bigger issues and more costly repairs for Malibu.

Edited by gregtay
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On 5/3/2021 at 11:26 AM, Slayer said:

Cool!  We have yet to surf ours.  It's going in soon for the 10 hour.  

I've noted that the M6 seems much more quiet, as has been reported numerous times here, than the Raptor in our old VLX.  It feels more powerful but I'm not sure if that's related to the 2:1 or simply the engine.  Either way, I'm good with it. 

We have loaded ours up and took a look at the wave and it's looking much better than the VLX did.  What prop is on your boat, @Five Cent Worth?

Don't sleep on the 17" prop .. much more ...err, rubber on the road?!?

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Great review. I would echo this review for the M220 except rough water ride and overall wave size and shape is improved. The decision between the two was tough until we hit rough water, then decision made.

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14 hours ago, Kingfish2wkbrd said:

Great review. I would echo this review for the M220 except rough water ride and overall wave size and shape is improved. The decision between the two was tough until we hit rough water, then decision made.

Did you try out the wakeboard wake any on the M220?  How did it compare with the LSV?

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14 hours ago, Kingfish2wkbrd said:

Great review. I would echo this review for the M220 except rough water ride and overall wave size and shape is improved. The decision between the two was tough until we hit rough water, then decision made.

We would have much preferred the M220 almost solely for the rough water ride.  I will be the first to tell you, on a big rough lake like ours, I believe rough water ride is the most desirable thing to be improved on.  But the cost between the two aren't the same.  Not even close in all reality.  We were willing to compromise for an incredible value in the 23 LSV. 

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26 minutes ago, Five Cent Worth said:

We would have much preferred the M220 almost solely for the rough water ride.  I will be the first to tell you, on a big rough lake like ours, I believe rough water ride is the most desirable thing to be improved on.  But the cost between the two aren't the same.  Not even close in all reality.  We were willing to compromise for an incredible value in the 23 LSV. 

We looked at the M2220 for a brief minute.  Then when we were considering cost vs value, for us the 23LSV made the most sense, not to mention the boat lift matter.  Our lift is 7,500# capacity and I would want to attempt an M220 on it.  The 23 LSV is close enough to capacity for my liking.  

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On 4/28/2021 at 12:21 PM, Slayer said:

If it's 10% of MSRP, lets just say $18k, how is that even acceptable to Malibu??

Simply put, it's terrible business. Putting your customers in the position to accept crappy craftsmanship, or be "that guy" that becomes the dealer's worst nightmare because he wants what he paid for. 

However, I can certainly see how it's possible for the 2021-22 MYs. Customers are hollering for their boat to be finished, so they have no choice but to rush everything out. Quality has no chance.

 

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4 minutes ago, BigCreek said:

Simply put, it's terrible business. Putting your customers in the position to accept crappy craftsmanship, or be "that guy" that becomes the dealer's worst nightmare because he wants what he paid for. 

However, I can certainly see how it's possible for the 2021-22 MYs. Customers are hollering for their boat to be finished, so they have no choice but to rush everything out. Quality has no chance.

 

Unfortunately, I think you're right on this.  However, I'm hopeful that my dealer will take care of us on the issues we have.  It could be much worse.  I've seen worse, so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it's rectified at the end of the season less the other mechanical issues that need resolution during the 10 hour service.

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On 5/3/2021 at 4:05 PM, Five Cent Worth said:

I agree in the power point of view.  We were so shocked on how much more effortlessly it surfed compared to our '19. 

Looks like we have the 165 x 14 - 3537 high Altitude / Torque prop.

I think I saw you out Friday or at least a similar colored boat near Gov Island. I was running around on the jet ski trying to wreck the water for anyone surfing... :)

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Took delivery of our 2021 23 LSV w/ M5di motor today.  Had a 2013 23 LSV before this.  Overall love the boat!!  
 

Having said that I too noticed some of the items others mentioned (steering wheel, deck scuffing).  I thought it was my ocd at first but.  

Anyone notice this alignment of the fiberglass backing for wakeview seat? Just curious,  looks fixable, just kind of scratch my head wondering who put that together and said wow that looks great! 😂 it actually catches the rear hatch when lifting or lowering.  2E2B8BBA-F4B9-43EC-967A-C7E50C032AF9.thumb.jpeg.87a594acded810aec9934d46170c5890.jpeg

Also think there may be a column of of pixels out in the dash. It’s a straight black line when normal dash is illuminated.  62798BA5-ABA4-424C-84CA-EE43C60EB236.thumb.jpeg.5f9a888e00aae6f2cac64350a03b8e39.jpeg

  Our 13 had its quirks from time to time too, but it was a great boat to us.  Hoping this one will be great too.  I added one pair of rev 10’s and waiting on the clamping racks.  
 

733CF02B-5AA4-490C-8EB4-978ABE57DC65.thumb.jpeg.60490c739ac06b5cbadb508ea3a9bb0d.jpeg

Edited by AWADD09
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