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Demo Boat Purchase Expectations


Malibumichigan23

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We bought a demo 2020 23LSV in November. Bring a demo, what kind of condition should I expect the boat to be in at delivery?  The boat has a couple small gel coat issues along with some  scratches and a couple punctures in seating areas. Is it to much to expect all of these issues to be fixed and be like new? I am the GM of a car dealership and our demos are always perfect at delivery. I haven’t gotten an answer from the dealer yet but not sure what to expect. I don’t want to be unrealistic. 
 

Thsnks 

973496D6-AB41-453C-9C0D-9595897CE546.jpeg

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My buddy bought a demo 2020 23 MXZ. Had some small scratches, small tear in the upholstery, but was mechanically perfect.   They pretty much said take it or leave it and there not going to fix those small issues and with boats going fast someone else will snatch it up. I’d say if you like it buy it don’t worry about that stuff. 

Edited by dwc032
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The Demo boats i have looked at in the past were in various conditions, but I asked as part of the process if all the issues i could find would be resolved, the answer was always yes. One issue that was a deal breaker for us, was a result of a wrap that had been on the boat, the flake looked wet in some fairly large areas, and they did not know if that could be resolved.  

I guess it really depends on your dealer though. 

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ahopkins22LSV

Have you asked the dealer if they will take care of those items? If they are minor I’d guess they will take care of them with no issue. If it’s a defect from the factory then yes no questions asked it should be taken care of as almost all demos are sold with full factory warranty. 

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For the cosmetic wear items I would say it really depends on what you and your dealer agreed on. If you were fully aware of the damages and agreed on price I wouldn't expect it but I'm sure your dealer would work with you to make it right if you brought it up. 

I purchased a factory demo sight unseen to my dealer and myself, granted it only had 12 hours so still pretty new. There were a few manufacture defects on the hull that they fixed no questions asked and replaced the cover as it was worn. After taking delivery I did spend some time polishing but that's mostly just being overly particular. 

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I looked at a demo boat before purchasing my current ride.  Full factory warranty, but wear and tear was expected and as is.

Personally, I'd only expect the cosmetic stuff to be fixed if you asked about it before negotiations and signing the deal.  FWIW, I would expect the same with a car purchase.

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Surface scuffs on gel are usually very easy to buff out; deeper scratches into solid gel are pretty easy for a good gel guy to fix; deep scratches into metal flake gel are not so easy and usually pretty expensive to fix.  Replacing one or two seat skins usually isn't all that expensive, just the cost of the new skin and a little labor.  It is possible to patch seat skins but I have never been satisfied with a patch on a seat skin.  

With the above in mind, I'd negotiate what you can and if you want the boat be prepared to fix the issues on your dime.  The dealer knows, however, with the unusually high demand for boats, someone is going to buy pretty much any boat in their inventory for top dollar.    

 

Edit:  Re-reading the first post, did you already pay for and take delivery of the boat?  If so, I would not hold my breath on cosmetic, non-warranty wear-and-tear repairs.  

Edited by jjackkrash
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10 hours ago, RyanB said:

I looked at a demo boat before purchasing my current ride.  Full factory warranty, but wear and tear was expected and as is.

Personally, I'd only expect the cosmetic stuff to be fixed if you asked about it before negotiations and signing the deal.  FWIW, I would expect the same with a car purchase.

Read that warranty. Demo boats have a different warranty.

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Purchased a 2018 demo 23 LSV a few months back sight unseen from a dealer in TN. I had a hard time getting an accurate description of it's condition from the sales guy.  His stock answer to every question was, "boats in great condition and no issues".  Even when I asked very specific questions about tears/holes in the vinyl etc.  it was met with "looks great/no issues".  Decided to pull the trigger based on photos and it's low hours / 58.  Once the boat arrived and I had time to assess they were clearly not taking the time to look over the boat with any detail.  There are 2 categories in my mind. Wear & tear and mechanical / functional defects.  I expected some "wear and tear" which was luckily very minimal on my boat. Those things should be "as is" and not covered IMHO as long as they are fully disclosed.  Mechanical/functional defects should be fully addressed/fixed or disclosed so they can be negotiated at the time of sale. I was initially bummed but decided to engage my local dealer and they've been awesome to deal with.  Boats been with them since Feb and they are working through the issues with Malibu.  

 

Still glad I made the purchase but would have been nice if all these mechanical/functional items were either addressed or disclosed at the time of sale.  Seems like market conditions are so tight that dealers are turning inventory with a bit less care than usual.

Here's a list of the items sent to Malibu for warranty repair.  

1.      Rev 10 port side tower speakers not working.

2.      Side panels below windshield not attached (nuts missing from backside) and peeling vinyl.

3.      Engine Accessory cover cracked at mounting points

4.      Seat hinges bent and mis aligned.

5.      Rear locker gas shocks not working.

6.      Rear locker hinge screws stripped.

7.      Fuse/warning light plate warped.

8.      Trash bin lid mounting point cracked.

9.      Tower spacer mis-aligned. Tower bolts need retorque. 

10.   Check all surfgate and PWIII actuators are functioning properly.  

11.   Update to latest software revision.

Trailer:

Rear Left LED tail light plate rivets missing. (currently held in place with zip ty)

 

 

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4 hours ago, german88 said:

Purchased a 2018 demo 23 LSV a few months back sight unseen from a dealer in TN. I had a hard time getting an accurate description of it's condition from the sales guy.  His stock answer to every question was, "boats in great condition and no issues".  Even when I asked very specific questions about tears/holes in the vinyl etc.  it was met with "looks great/no issues".  Decided to pull the trigger based on photos and it's low hours / 58.  Once the boat arrived and I had time to assess they were clearly not taking the time to look over the boat with any detail.  There are 2 categories in my mind. Wear & tear and mechanical / functional defects.  I expected some "wear and tear" which was luckily very minimal on my boat. Those things should be "as is" and not covered IMHO as long as they are fully disclosed.  Mechanical/functional defects should be fully addressed/fixed or disclosed so they can be negotiated at the time of sale. I was initially bummed but decided to engage my local dealer and they've been awesome to deal with.  Boats been with them since Feb and they are working through the issues with Malibu.  

 

Still glad I made the purchase but would have been nice if all these mechanical/functional items were either addressed or disclosed at the time of sale.  Seems like market conditions are so tight that dealers are turning inventory with a bit less care than usual.

Here's a list of the items sent to Malibu for warranty repair.  

1.      Rev 10 port side tower speakers not working.

2.      Side panels below windshield not attached (nuts missing from backside) and peeling vinyl.

3.      Engine Accessory cover cracked at mounting points

4.      Seat hinges bent and mis aligned.

5.      Rear locker gas shocks not working.

6.      Rear locker hinge screws stripped.

7.      Fuse/warning light plate warped.

8.      Trash bin lid mounting point cracked.

9.      Tower spacer mis-aligned. Tower bolts need retorque. 

10.   Check all surfgate and PWIII actuators are functioning properly.  

11.   Update to latest software revision.

Trailer:

Rear Left LED tail light plate rivets missing. (currently held in place with zip ty)

 

 

Sounds like you had a pretty rough boat. It’s amazing how people can treat a boat they dont own so badly. 

Edited by Malibumichigan23
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19 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Capt. Obvious here, but for (I assume) several Bitcoin, why would you not have it checked in-person (or via an independant source - even a TMC member) before buying it?

Yeah no kidding. It amazes me folks would make a purchase like this sight unseen. 

Oh, and I’m sorry but a 2018 in 2021 can hardly be considered a “demo.” At the time of purchase that boat is up to 3.5 years old. What you have there is a USED boat. Nothing wrong with that but let’s call a spade a spade...

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21 hours ago, IXFE said:

Yeah no kidding. It amazes me folks would make a purchase like this sight unseen. 

Oh, and I’m sorry but a 2018 in 2021 can hardly be considered a “demo.” At the time of purchase that boat is up to 3.5 years old. What you have there is a USED boat. Nothing wrong with that but let’s call a spade a spade...

I've made 2 boat purchases sight unseen with this one being #2. Both were demo boats.  It's great when you have the time to travel and see the boat in person but the market conditions as everyone knows are nuts at the moment which makes it tougher.  First boat had 8 hours on it and was "like new" from Boulder Boats.  Great experience and boat was represented 100% accurate. On this one I wasn't given an accurate description and disclosure of the mechanical stuff. I was told by the dealer in TN it was owned by a lead engineer who installed and tested many of the 2019 features. 58 hours is still a fairly low hour boat and it's overall condition is right inline. The hull and interior are in excellent condition. Screens and seating are like new with zero blemishes etc. 

Getting back to the OP's question regarding expectations: Normal wear & tear, (gel coat issues like scratches and fender rash, interior punctures) fall into this category IMHO but should be fully disclosed especially if your not able to see it in person.  Mechanical issues etc. I feel should be addressed.  This is where the selling dealer fell flat in my case.  They passed the boat on without a thorough going over and didn't disclose a single issue on the list created by my local dealer.  Sounds like in your case the dealer is stepping up to the plate which is great news and your boat looks beautiful BTW!  

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