Patiently waiting...,

[Slayer]

8 minutes ago, IXFE said:

Actually, there is a very remote chance guy saw a real one (especially if you live in Michigan)... there are a few pre-production units floating around. 

As far as taunting... I certainly deserve it, but @Txstoj wins that trophy today. 

I've seen a couple of them running around here lately.  They've all had MFR plates on them, so they're test rigs.  Regardless, I'm excited for you.  

[hunter77ah]

I've seen a few south of the MI border.  The one was just a blur lol. The driver had to be doing 90+!

[IXFE]

1 minute ago, hunter77ah said:

I've seen a few south of the MI border.  The one was just a blur lol. The driver had to be doing 90+!

There were a bunch down in AZ a few months ago for testing and press events. The forum was all over it. Some guys even figured out what hotel they were staying at (just by looking at pics from the parking lot) and went there to stalk them. Lol

[Slayer]

12 hours ago, zhuskers1 said:

I have been a life long loyal advocate of Malibu Boats.   If true, what is happening now saddens me.   I have had many Malibu Boats and have always been treated with dignity and respect.   It looks like things have changed.....  

I ordered a new 23 LSV on November 13th and was told by my dealer today that my build date is now May 12th.   I understand and appreciate the production issues caused by circumstance outside of Malibu's control - that's not the issue.  The issue is that Malibu appears to value certain customers more than others.   Based on posts on this forum and on Malibu Owners FB page, there are many other clients who ordered their boats after my order date and their boats are sprayed or scheduled.  When I asked my dealer (by the way who is an amazing person and business person) about this, he said that could happen based on dealer size.   In a normal year when production capacity is equal to or greater than demand...who cares.   But when you get into a situation like we are in today.....that system does not work...   The CUSTOMER is the BOAT OWNER and not the dealer.   I ordered early so I could avoid this situation....I guess my order fell into the "less important" customer bucket.

Man, @IXFE spilled some clarity here for you.  I totally understand your position.  I ordered before you and didn't get a spray date until the second week of January.  That date was 2/25/21.  My boat has been built and is awaiting shipment.  This is a very unique time in which to be ordering a boat and what you have experienced in the past cannot be compared to the dynamics of today.  I get the frustration, but there's far more in play here than many realize.  Wait patiently, and you'll get your boat.  

Also, I don't think this is Malibu not caring about the customer.  It's them playing a balancing act with the orders.  I heard so many different stories from different dealers this fall it was mind numbing.  I nearly took my order to a dealer that's 2.5 hours from my house rather than the one that's an hour away because i was being told different stories.  My dealer ended up trading a stock build slot for my custom order.  Otherwise, I would likely be where you are.  @ndahlberg12 makes a great point, too.  You ordered the most popular wake boat on the market.  It is what it is, unfortunately.  

Good luck......

[Bozboat]

36 minutes ago, IXFE said:

What you saw was a Bronco Sport (small suv based off the Escape). They’ve been out for months. The Sport isn’t even remotely similar to the actual Bronco (based off the Ranger) which isn’t in production yet. The Sport isn’t a trim level; it’s a completely different model built in a different plant. There are over 190k reservations for the actual Bronco. Walk into a Ford dealer today and not only will you not see one, but you can’t even place an order (unless you have one of those 190k reservations). Ford will build all the customer reserves Broncos before building ONE for dealer stock. General public won’t be able to get one until late in 2022, at best. Unless dealers manage to scoop up some cancelled orders... and they will do what dealers do... mark it way up. Perhaps then we’ll see a thread: “Very disappointed in Ford.”

How long a wait for one with doors?

Edited March 17, 2021 by Bozboat

[Stevo]

6 minutes ago, Bozboat said:

How long a wait for one with doors?

 

[zhuskers1]

1 hour ago, Stevo said:

Thank you for your response 

[justgary]

45 minutes ago, zhuskers1 said:

Thank you for your response 

I want it now is usually my response to ordering from Amazon... I mean, their distribution center is only three states away!

[Eagleboy99]

8 minutes ago, justgary said:

I want it now is usually my response to ordering from Amazon

I get pissy when my same day delivery does not show up until 8 PM. 

[Stevo]

I see the thread title changed. 

[zhuskers1]

11 hours ago, Slayer said:

Man, @IXFE spilled some clarity here for you.  I totally understand your position.  I ordered before you and didn't get a spray date until the second week of January.  That date was 2/25/21.  My boat has been built and is awaiting shipment.  This is a very unique time in which to be ordering a boat and what you have experienced in the past cannot be compared to the dynamics of today.  I get the frustration, but there's far more in play here than many realize.  Wait patiently, and you'll get your boat.  

Also, I don't think this is Malibu not caring about the customer.  It's them playing a balancing act with the orders.  I heard so many different stories from different dealers this fall it was mind numbing.  I nearly took my order to a dealer that's 2.5 hours from my house rather than the one that's an hour away because i was being told different stories.  My dealer ended up trading a stock build slot for my custom order.  Otherwise, I would likely be where you are.  @ndahlberg12 makes a great point, too.  You ordered the most popular wake boat on the market.  It is what it is, unfortunately.  

Good luck......

Thank you for your thoughtful response.   To eliminate any opportunity for ridicule by the "experts", I will not disclose any additional info.  I have a VERY long list of how Malibu Corporate and my Dealer have EARNED my deep respect and admiration over the last 25 to 30 years.   That is why I change the title to this thread....it was too harsh.    This is a very unique situation having less to do with the pandemic and more to due with enormous demand and supply chain issues.   In the normal flow of business I have no issue with the current dealer allocation model, but when you are virtually "sold out" and running behind.......  FIFO seems like a very fair approach.  Patiently Waiting.........

[dlb]

10 minutes ago, zhuskers1 said:

Thank you for your thoughtful response.   To eliminate any opportunity for ridicule by the "experts", I will not disclose any additional info.  I have a VERY long list of how Malibu Corporate and my Dealer have EARNED my deep respect and admiration over the last 25 to 30 years.   That is why I change the title to this thread....it was too harsh.    This is a very unique situation having less to do with the pandemic and more to due with enormous demand and supply chain issues.   In the normal flow of business I have no issue with the current dealer allocation model, but when you are virtually "sold out" and running behind.......  FIFO seems like a very fair approach.  Patiently Waiting.........

Patiently waiting....  The story of 2020 and now 2021.  In the end let’s all hope and pray that we live to tell the tale...

[Murphys]

Remember, this time last year most of us were patiently waiting to purchase toilet paper, masks and hand sanitizer. Who would have ever imagined that a deadly virus pandemic would result in such high demand for luxury items. Psychology books may likely be written pertaining to the human race response to this crisis. 🤔

[Brandonloos21]

Ordered in mid December. Was told dates in feb, then March, now april/may. It’s scary because family and friends are wanting us to book trips with them, but it wouldn’t be worth it to rent a house on a different lake without a boat. We ordered a 23 lsv, so I know that is the most popular option therefore most demand and increased lead times. I find it sad that when we called malibu corporate to ask about options it took nearly a week to get ahold of someone (to sell a 150K item!!!), now when trying to call and talk about delay/lead times, same boat. I’m a huge advocate of good customer service, as that’s how you get returning customers. Thankful for our helpful and awesome dealer, as they’ve been able to provide us with some insight. 

[NWBU]

8 hours ago, Brandonloos21 said:

Ordered in mid December. Was told dates in feb, then March, now april/may. It’s scary because family and friends are wanting us to book trips with them, but it wouldn’t be worth it to rent a house on a different lake without a boat. We ordered a 23 lsv, so I know that is the most popular option therefore most demand and increased lead times. I find it sad that when we called malibu corporate to ask about options it took nearly a week to get ahold of someone (to sell a 150K item!!!), now when trying to call and talk about delay/lead times, same boat. I’m a huge advocate of good customer service, as that’s how you get returning customers. Thankful for our helpful and awesome dealer, as they’ve been able to provide us with some insight. 

In my experience, your dealer is going to have better information on lead times than the corporate customer service folks. ICBW, and maybe you got some answers from customer service in the end, but production planning isn’t a big part of their role.

[justgary]

12 hours ago, zhuskers1 said:

FIFO seems like a very fair approach.  

Of course it seems fair.  The devil is always in the details, though.  So when everybody orders "COVID Red" metal flake and the factory runs out while building FIFO, do they stop the line and send everybody home until the new shipment of flake comes in, or do they keep building boats that don't use that flake so that they can satisfy others who are also waiting patiently?  The thing is that supply chain issues hurt when a manufacturer adopts a "just in time" schedule for incoming parts and materials.  In normal times it works great, and the manufacturer doesn't use a lot of valuable warehouse space holding a mountain of products.  Items show up at the dock and immediately get used on the line.

When the supply chain breaks down, they are tempted to order extra and sacrifice some (very limited) warehouse space, but every other manufacturer just ordered extra also, so now demand is higher and they can't produce "COVID Red" flake fast enough.  The flake manufacturer has a choice to make: do they distribute FIFO because it is fair, or do they negotiate order fulfilment to try to get some flake to everybody who ordered?  Now go through this exercise for every part on your boat.  Keep in mind that just one little bolt could keep your engine from being complete, or the black thread for your upholstery might stop all work on black seat panels, etc.

Honestly, logistics is already a nightmare in normal times, but when you are negotiating with raw material and part vendors who are having their own logistics nightmares at the same time, the issues just seem to stack up.  I have always marveled at people who can sort through logistics issues quickly and keep things moving.  I can assure you that they don't care about FIFO.

Edit:  I strongly encourage you to visit the Malibu plant and take a tour.  You will see all of this firsthand, and you will still be a believer in the brand.

Edited March 18, 2021 by justgary

[Sixer]

I can't remember where I read it (I'm sure it was here somewhere) but I heard MC is sending boats out to dealers that are missing wiring harnesses.  Those will have to be shipped as soon as the come back in stock and installed by dealers.  Weird times.

[oldjeep]

11 minutes ago, Sixer said:

I can't remember where I read it (I'm sure it was here somewhere) but I heard MC is sending boats out to dealers that are missing wiring harnesses.  Those will have to be shipped as soon as the come back in stock and installed by dealers.  Weird times.

That might make it hard to do a proper QC check before it leaves the factory - and force the dealer to do the water test.  Hopefully it is just stereo wiring

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by oldjeep

[NWBU]

22 minutes ago, Sixer said:

I can't remember where I read it (I'm sure it was here somewhere) but I heard MC is sending boats out to dealers that are missing wiring harnesses.  Those will have to be shipped as soon as the come back in stock and installed by dealers.  Weird times.

The RV makers have been doing that for months now. Your new RV may very well arrive at the dealer without a fridge or AC unit, especially if you ordered one with multiple AC units.

[justgary]

5 hours ago, oldjeep said:

That might make it hard to do a proper QC check before it leaves the factory - and force the dealer to do the water test.  Hopefully it is just stereo wiring

 

Unless they use a test harness and remove it after the test.  It would make sense to do it that way.

[windy1]

hit a log in august 2020 in my 2011 VLX (500 hours) and my transmission went out. Thought it was toast and so did the dealer. Ordered a replacement and discovered no one could give the dealer a delivery date for a new transmission. could be a month, could be 6 months, could be never. I was really upset about the whole mess (not at the dealer or anyone in particular). after a week I took maters into my own hands and made the dealer pull the old transmission. They did not want to pull it until the replacement came in. Took it apart and discovered the sheer pin had sheered off and that was all that was wrong with it. In other words the part that was suppose to fail did.

Now the problem was finding a replacement pin (a $9.00 part the size of your pinky fingernail). after two more weeks of searching literally all over the world the zurn rep stepped in and found one at an odd ball parts house in Seattle (thank you).  had it overnighted for $50.00 put her back together, had the dealer re-install and it worked perfectly. had about a month + off the water.

I don't have any advice for your new boat order I just thought I would share a story on the frustrations of boating in a pandemic. 

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2021 by windy1

[Michigan boarder]

7 hours ago, justgary said:

I have always marveled at people who can sort through logistics issues quickly and keep things moving.  I can assure you that they don't care about FIFO.

Darn freaking right man.  I've been assembling those puzzles for years, it's a constant adjust/re-adjust.  My eye is always on the process or team that is the least efficient or otherwise holding back development.  Fix/improve that issue, then look for the next one in line.  Fix/improve that issue, then again, and again.  I'm actually pretty good at it.  Sure, strive for FIFO, but it's not a KPI so it doesn't carry nearly the same weight as everything else.

[Michigan boarder]

@windy1 wow!  That should be shared in supply chain management schools!

[geogilbert]

On 3/16/2021 at 9:17 PM, zhuskers1 said:

 

I ordered a new 23 LSV on November 13th and was told by my dealer today that my build date is now May 12th.   I understand and appreciate the production issues caused by circumstance outside of Malibu's control.

Same build date for my 220. They will be next to each other id things stay to plan. 

[DAI]

The market around me always seems ‘less hot’ than everywhere else.  My dealer seams to have a decent amount of inventory.  Historically their website has been up to date on sales, but have not been in there in 6 months so could not tell you if that changed.

https://www.munsonski.com/default.asp?page=xNewInventory#page=xNewInventory&make=malibu boats

Edited March 20, 2021 by DAI