Thinking of making a switch...

[curtisco24]

MC is resting on their past successes. They are not what they used to be. Ask anyone that has owned one in the last ten years. The biggest majority of people will tell you they had multiple problems. Don't you find it funny that for years MC has been 10k higher on every comparable boat, and now you can buy one cheaper than a malibu? I got rooked into that deal. It was a mistake. I would imagine you will come to the same conclusion about June, and eventually when their problems catch up with them, resale will fall. Good luck with your purchase.

[jcbatt]

MC is resting on their past successes. They are not what they used to be. Ask anyone that has owned one in the last ten years. The biggest majority of people will tell you they had multiple problems. Don't you find it funny that for years MC has been 10k higher on every comparable boat, and now you can buy one cheaper than a malibu? I got rooked into that deal. It was a mistake. I would imagine you will come to the same conclusion about June, and eventually when their problems catch up with them, resale will fall. Good luck with your purchase.

I guess time will tell, but I sure wish I was buying it for cheaper than a Malibu. Maybe the X15 is cheaper than a 247 LSV, but thats not all that comparable. And while MC and Malibu are closer now in price than they used to be, I don't think its because MC got cheaper - I think its because Malibu's got more expensive (and justifiably so - they are great boats). I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with MC - I'm hoping mine turns out better.

[WakeGirl]

You do this often enough JC, that I have no doubt that you'll buy it right & have no problems out the other end. Good luck & stay with us.

[jcbatt]

Thanks Tracy, and as I've said before, this site is the best.

Now I'm curious, what does everyone think of metal flake? I've seen a few boats in person with it, and I think it looks hot, but my wife isn't crazy about it. Also, its about a $1K upcharge for flake.

Here are the 2 color options we are thinking about (first is no flake, 2nd has silver flake):

[jjackkrash]

Flake looks good out of the box, but good luck getting it repaired if it gets damaged.

[skicrave]

1st one, hands down, no doubt about it (especially since you'll want the best resale value so you can get back into a VLX ).

[obski]

Now I'm curious, what does everyone think of metal flake? I've seen a few boats in person with it, and I think it looks hot, but my wife isn't crazy about it. Also, its about a $1K upcharge for flake.

[88Skier]

I wouldn't go for the flake. Looking at this year's WSM BBG, I think MC has some of the best looking boats because theyv'e got classic colors and graphics. I'd go that route.

[auto]

Flake should be left to Ranger on a bass boat Besides like someone mentioned, you want resale when it's time to buy that new VLX

[DubsUCLA]

I would severly caution you against making the switch if how the boat handles is at all important to you.

Let me start off by saying I just took out my first boat, an '07 VLX on Sunday so I have clearly made my decision, but I spent numerous months late last summer and into the winter evaluating these two boats and had numerous test drives of each.

A number of your conclusions are right. The storage is better on the X-15. The X-15 paint job is nice and clean, but I just got my VLX with the standard progressive paint job, no graphics and IMHO it is gorgeous and even cleaner looking than the X-15! More standard options on the X-15, I like the fact that they are standard on the X-15 because everyone gets them anyway, but when you compare prices apples to apples with the necessary "options" on the VLX you are still much cheaper. To me all those things are small factors and the might be big to you, but to the point of my post -

My test drives/rides - the X-15 had an impressive wake with its stock ballast system, extremely solid, big and rampy - I was not expecting to be as impressed as I was. I do think the VLX wake is slightly better and I like the ability to shape it with the wedge. The one thing that really bothered me in my evaluation of the X-15 was the handling - I did not feel as safe in the boat given how it handled. I seriously thought that it was materially more dangerous (given the lack of responsiveness and needed effort) to drive. Personally I like the sports car feeling of the boat when its on the water, but that is my opinion.

Good luck with whatever decision you make and boat safe!!!

WW

[jcbatt]

Thanks for the input - we are likely doing the basic black/white/red. We'll probably do a red fiberglass platform, and a red trailer. The only open item on that design is whether to do the little stickers on the black in white (as they are in the pic above) or red.

DubsUCLA, you will love your VLX and I think you made a solid choice. I am glad to hear the wake was good on the X-15 - thats some of the first wake feedback on the boat that I've seen anywhere. As for the handling concerns, I'm expecting it to handle worse than the VLX, but for how we use the boat, its not a big issue for me. However, it may turn out that I'm wrong on this point - time will tell.

[srud]

I spent some time at the Mastercraft display last weekend while attending the Minneapolis Boat Show. In fact, I was thinking of you and mentioned this thread to my wife as we were looking. What we noticed immediately was that the fit and finish of the vinyl on the Mastercrafts we saw was not even close to the quality of a Malibu. From one seat cushion to the next, the beads and seams were about a 1/2 to 1 inch off from lining up. You'd never see something like that on a Malibu.

Nope, don't like the metal flake gel coat. If you must get the MC, go with the more conventional gel.

[Mike d Wakeboarder]

I am thinking about making a switch to brand x this year. I have had 4 new Malibu VLX's since 1999, and I have loved every one of them. My current VLX is the favorite out of all of them (love the colors, interior, and power wedge). So why consider switching? I have a few reasons for this that I won't go into, but the ones I'll post here are (1) I am good friends with a Mastercraft dealer, (2) I kind of want to see what else is out there, (3) I like the looks, interior roominess, and features of the X15.

So here is my question - does anyone out there have any experience with the X15? My biggest concern is the wake. I am far from a pro-wakeboarder, but I have grown used to the huge wakes the VLX (usually just stock balast w/ the wedge) puts out, and also love the surf wake it produces when I weight it properly. I don't want to be taking a big step down in terms of wake, and have to rely on filling lots of fat sacs to get a decent wake.

The decision may ultimately come down to a financial one - the X15 is definitly more money than I will get for my 06 VLX (or for what I am assuming I could get a 07 VLX for). If I can't justify the money difference (in terms of value), we'll just end up keeping the current boat. But, I figured I'd throw this out on the forum to get any thoughts.

P.S. - I'd still consider myself to be part of the Malibucrew, even if I buy brand x

i have never had experience with the x15 but i do have experience with xstar. i know that is not what you want but i would buy a VLX over a xstar. i would buy a xstar only if malibu did something bad with the design of their boats,BUT THEY WILL NOT DO THAT. so i would say do not go with the x15. i have friends at other boat dealers, but i still bought a malibu

[jcbatt]

We decided to try the X-15. We changed up the colors slightly:

Here is an 06 version of the colors we ordered:

I'll post some pictures of the actual boat when it arrives, as well as a full review (and comparison to the VLX) once we get it in the water.

We ordered it with the MCX (350HP) engine, 3 outlet heater, bimini, JL stereo w/ sub and amp (it comes standard on the boat), tower mirror, fiberglass platform (black), depth finder... I think thats about it.

[Bobby Light]

That's nice let us know how you like it.

[edwin]

Congrats on the new ride JC!

[VinRLX]

a full review (and comparison to the VLX) once we get it in the water.

Impartial?

Hey, seriously, enjoy the new ride. And we definitely need to see the pics! When will you get it?

[jcbatt]

I'll probably take delivery sometime in April. And yes, the review will be as impartial as I can make it!

BTW, if this had been the other way around (i.e. switch from MC to Bu), I would not have even been allowed to post such pictures (let alone have an open discussion) on brand X's site. While I'm sure the finances and workload would be a little easier on Wakegirl if Malibu were more involved, independence is a nice thing.

[aoblak]

Congrats on the new purchase and please let me konw of the differences. Everytime that I get ready to purchase a new boat I look hard at the Nautiques and Mastercrafts. I have owned a 96 reponse, 01, 02, 03 and 06 wakesetter VLX and my original plans with I switched over to a v-drive was to purchase an x-star but the dealer treated me like I couldn't afford the boat (so look what they have missed out on). Good Luck and I can't wait to hear the comparison

[BrianM]

Welcome to the dark side. I am a slalom junky and have a 10 year old MC so I am not qualified to comment on the differences between the VLX and the X15. Just wanted to invite you over to the other TMC site. I have no idea why it is taking so long to register over there. I just posted a thread there asking if there was some sort of issue. Hopefully you will have access soon. When you do please introduce yourself. Yeah the site is owned by MC and thus does not allow us the freedom to discuss other brands as openly as this site. Yeah there are a some Kool-Aide drinkers over there but then again what enthusiast site doesn't have some of those. But I think you will find that for the most part it is a pretty good bunch of people with a lot of knowledge of the brand.

[srud]

Nice! Congrats on the new ride. I like your color choice and gel style. Look forward to the pictures!

[jcbatt]

BrianM - I did finally get my access over there sometime late last week. I've been browsing some threads over there - jut haven't said hi yet.

Thanks to all for the congrats. I hope we like it!

[chathamsolutions]

I for one LOVE how the end of the boat looks 'dipped' in another color.

You'll enjoy the MC, no question. The details is where you'll see differences. The reality, they do some things very well and Bu does some things very well. You'll just have to decide which of those are to your preference.

Can't wait for the review. It'd be great if you could take some other people out as well, and get them to comment - as honestly as possible - about the wake. That may be difficult, since you just bought the boat for them to say, 'Man, I really liked your old boat better.' But there are people out there like that and they'll give it to you straight. We'd like to hear it if you can find one or two.

Good luck.

[jcbatt]

I sold my VLX to a good friend that I go out on the lake with all the time - there will be plenty of opportunities for head to head comparisons, and with my group of friends, the input will be honest. Plus, as you can probably guess, I'm not married to any boat, so I will have no reason to say the MC is great if it isn't. The tell-tale sign will be what my next boat is.

[Madmanacrossthewater]

I like the color combo JC, very nice looking boat.