Newbie - 2014-2015

[hethj7]

I think that is a great option and agree it checks a lot of boxes for you.  

A few thoughts on out of state purchase.

• The facetime walkthrough is an easy thing to do.
• Consider paying a local dealer (maybe not even the servicing dealer) to do an inspection for you - compression check on the engine, check that all lights and screens function, wedges, surfgates deploy, etc. My first used boat I booked a trip to go water test, but airline cancellations prevented that from happening.  I ultimately bought off of trust and conversations with the seller and a local dealer inspection.   I also sold my 2016 to a buyer that never put hands on it.   So, while we all agree it is better to see things like this, it certainly isn't unprecedented to buy without seeing or driving the boat.  
• A dealer inspection likely won't include a water test, so it wouldn't catch any weird vibration or throttle under load issues.   That is just something to consider. 
• If the distance to UT is a deterrent between shipping and being able to see the boat, I think there are likely lots of options that are available in the midwest and TX if you pass on that boat.  

Edited June 7, 2022 by hethj7

[JpCrOOked]

1 hour ago, shawndoggy said:

nobody takes wake boats on the GSL.  And if they had, you should run.  it's like 7x the salt content of the ocean.  But nobody does.  It's smelly and gross.

Gotcha, I had no clue.  I just looked up where the boat was located and noticed that body of water was really close by.

[JpCrOOked]

34 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

I think that is a great option and agree it checks a lot of boxes for you.  

A few thoughts on out of state purchase.

• The facetime walkthrough is an easy thing to do.
• Consider paying a local dealer (maybe not even the servicing dealer) to do an inspection for you - compression check on the engine, check that all lights and screens function, awedges, surfgates deploy, etc. My first used boat I booked a trip to go water test, but airline cancellations prevented that from happening.  I ultimately bought off of trust and conversations with the seller and a local dealer inspection.   I also sold my 2016 to a buyer that never put hands on it.   So, while we all agree it is better to see things like this, it certainly isn't unprecedented to buy without seeing or driving the boat.  
• A dealer inspection likely wont' include a water test, so it wouldn't catch any weird vibration or throttle under load issues.   That is just something to consider. 
• If the distance to UT is a deterrent between shipping and being able to see the boat, I think there are likely lots of options that are available in the midwest and TX if you pass on that boat.  

Great points, I'll likely start the Facetime process on this boat, continue to get my knowledge up, and find some local boats to view/test/drive, etc. 

I generally do get an inspection on a used car if from a private party, so this should be the same.

I agree the Utah trip is a little too much at this time, and think the best route would be to chill, save some extra funds toward the cost of the boat, inspections, etc.  We do only have a few months of season, and Texass should have multiple come available as the season ends.  My only worry about that is multiple boats down South were trashed after the cold winters we have had the last two years, it generally doesn't freeze as hard, and some get away with not properly winterizing, I have seen many listings with "new motor".  

[shawndoggy]

20 minutes ago, JpCrOOked said:

Gotcha, I had no clue.  I just looked up where the boat was located and noticed that body of water was really close by.

Willard Bay is sort of a dammed off portion of the lake that's fresh.  

[Leftlane]

Here is my take:

We transitioned from I/O when my kids got hooked on surfing.  The best selling wakesurf boat in the world is the 23 LSV, so we bought one - a used 2014 with 350 hours and impeccable service history.  We loved that boat and it did everything we needed, but we lost it in a flood.  We replaced it with a new 18 23 LSV and this boat is perfect for us too.  We are so far away from impressing anyone with our skills, and the boat is 100x more capable than we are.  I’m a big believer that when you are spending this kind of big coin on what is essentially a toy for the family, get the best and newest that you can afford - which for us kept us in the 23 LSV.  I wouldn’t hesitate to get a newer version when it is time to upgrade again.  The resale alone confirms our decision - get the one that is proven to be the best - you never regret paying up for quality that gets you on the lake every weekend with family versus saving a bit up front and regretting it later.

 

By the way, we’re in central Texas and I have the Raptor motor - more than enough.  The surf pipe does help with noise though.

[PNWoke]

@JpCrOOked That’s basically my same boat.  Looks like a great deal for $85k.  I paid more than that for mine last year at peak season.  Mine only had 300 hours but less than 500 hours I woulda pulled the trigger on that one.  Hours aren’t a real big deal, says it was well loved and that boat doesn’t look abused at all.  Id honestly be a little more worried about an 8 year old boat with less than 200 hours.  I bought mine from the same area in Utah, can confirm no one takes their wake boats out on the salty lakes there.  Most people go Utah lake and Powell trips, I test drove mine on a pineview reservoir lake northeast of SLC, there were a few other options but low water levels hindered a bit.  Utah has strict flush procedures everywhere due to shellfish regulations so that helps with the salt too.  The people in Utah are very nice Mormon types which translates well to buying boats from them.  Not liars and usually very decent folks to do business with.  I did a couple FaceTime calls, then drove out there for a 5 min test drive and bought it.  I had given a $500 Venmo to hold the boat for me for a week or two to get my financing in order.  I wouldn’t expect that boat to last long so make your decision quickly.  I wouldn’t feel need to fly out there for a test drive if they verify operation of everything via FaceTime (including verifying no engine codes past or present).  I would take the money you would spend on the flight and put it towards shipping or putting pnp bags in the rear (a must have if you wanna surf behind these boats).

Edited June 8, 2022 by PNWoke

[MNNewb]

That LSV looks like a great option.  If you don't buy it I can provide some VLX info.  

VLX

2013-2014 are one generation.  We have no issues with the 350 at a similar elevation.  Factory PnP + 550s in the rear lockers.

2015-2016 are the next generation.  Every generation gets a little heavier, 600#.  Again, at lower elevations the 350 is likely sufficient unless you are really slamming it with ballast.  Some improvements mentioned earlier like actuators, Power Wedge 2, etc.  

 

I stayed in the VLX instead of 23 LSV for a couple reasons.  Money being first and foremost.  At the time this was the most money I had and wouldn't do any less than a 2013 (surfgate).  I could afford a super clean low hours VLX in 2013 but an LSV would have been older.  I also still pretend to slalom so didn't want the bigger boat.

[anutami]

here’s a solid deal for you 👍
https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/boa/d/copperopolis-2015-malibu-23-lsv/7494954136.html

2015 23 lsv with g4 tower 4 sets of PTM racks and ls3 motor with 400hrs listing price @ 78k

Edited June 11, 2022 by anutami

[carguy79ta]

Here is a pic of my 15 A22 sacked out. 750s rear horseshoe sac in front. I did a mod to move the rear hose on the lockers further back to allow the sacks to fill perfectly. 350 monsoon. Manual wedge. Generally didn't use the wedge much. Experimented with a 540 sac around mid ship..(just in front of). We had as many as 9 peeps . Bottom pic is me surfing 210 lbs. All full no additional sack no wedge. Surfed about 10.4 iirc. 450 elev. It was a good boat didn't feel under powered for surfing. We didnt wakeboard much. Had the surf prop. If you were wakeboarding with weight it didn't have enough motor for that. I loved that boat esp with stereo pac 3. We did endup upgrading to a bigger heavier boat but we used the A22 for 2.5 seasons.

[JpCrOOked]

On 6/10/2022 at 10:25 PM, anutami said:

here’s a solid deal for you 👍
https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/boa/d/copperopolis-2015-malibu-23-lsv/7494954136.html

2015 23 lsv with g4 tower 4 sets of PTM racks and ls3 motor with 400hrs listing price @ 78k

Appreciate the lead! Thx

[JpCrOOked]

I think that waiting until the season is over, not buying during peak season is the smart way to go at this point.  I will continue to monitor and check for deals, but I haven't came across anything lately.

This might be a pipe dream, but I'm looking to get into a 2017+ <100K, and leaning more towards ~90K max.  Paying cash, so want to keep a little on hand...

I went through the sales, on FB and OI looking at what sold during the off season and there was great boats at much better prices.

1.  What do you guy think is the best platform for searching?

2.  What do you think the best months would be for purchasing?  I'm thinking October - February, but didn't know if one month might be better, before XMAS, or after? 

[MNNewb]

14 minutes ago, JpCrOOked said:

I think that waiting until the season is over, not buying during peak season is the smart way to go at this point.  I will continue to monitor and check for deals, but I haven't came across anything lately.

 

2.  What do you think the best months would be for purchasing?  I'm thinking October - February, but didn't know if one month might be better, before XMAS, or after? 

Depends on what region of the country.  There's really no boats here for sale after October until closer to spring.  Since we consider NW Ontario a neighbor that isn't for quite some time.  Our good boat buying season starts late August.  People want out of winterization and winter storage costs.

[JpCrOOked]

8 minutes ago, MNNewb said:

Depends on what region of the country.  There's really no boats here for sale after October until closer to spring.  Since we consider NW Ontario a neighbor that isn't for quite some time.  Our good boat buying season starts late August.  People want out of winterization and winter storage costs.

I get it with the colder climates, our seasons sometimes will run into October - November.

I updated my location, I suppose only the Midwestern states would know what OKC is.  (Oklahoma City, OK)

[JpCrOOked]

I found a 2017 23 LSV, lower hours, color scheme works for everyone, I am going to fly out and check it out this weekend.  Comes with many extra's, ropes tube, boards, but no surf boards.

I know normal things about a boat, however any other items I need to look for, touch, turn on, etc. to just cover my bases?

We are going to take it out to the lake, so I'll learn how deep it needs to be sunk loading / unloading, I'm sure plugs, straps, etc. I will be interested in learning.  I'm somewhat familiar with the dynamics of the screens, any way to check for codes, hidden codes, anything will help with my PPI.

 

TIA

[wdr]

First off, don’t fixate on the extra toys and get distracted from the boat. For me, the exterior condition of the boat says a lot about the owner and the overall condition of the boat. A couple small scratches here or there, stuff happens. If the hull looks like it has been in a cat fight, the owner most likely doesn’t care about the boat and probably hasn’t done proper maintenance on it. Look under the boat as well. To reinforce that, pull the panels and look into the bilge. A lot of oil, trash and rust will tell you the same. Check the fluids and condition of them. Any fluids in shades of light pink or grey is eventually going to cost you money! Don’t forget the trailer! All electrical works, master cylinder topped off with no leaks, Good tread on the tires. Some inner scrubbing wear will be normal on the front ones. Correct air pressure and inspect for checking/dry rot on the walls. 5 years is the generally accepted tire life. Check the lug nuts and studs. Have the owner go through all of the screens and drill down into each. Going into the FAULT code sections will show you any ACTIVE fault codes that need to be dealt with. $$$  INACTIVE faults may be shown if they haven’t been cleared by a dealer. If they have you wouldn’t know except from a receipt and get those to confirm maintenance history. Punch every button on every screen to verify everything works. Good luck. 

[JpCrOOked]

Gotcha - I have so much toys it's not going to phase me, just relaying info.  I need wake surf boards.  LOL

Like these pointers:

BOAT - Check hull, under hatches/panels, oils, electrical, screens, find faults in screens, maintenance history.

TRAILER - Master cylinder, tires, lugs, brakes, electrical.

 

[wdr]

1 hour ago, JpCrOOked said:

Gotcha - I have so much toys it's not going to phase me, just relaying info.  I need wake surf boards.  LOL

Like these pointers:

BOAT - Check hull, under hatches/panels, oils, electrical, screens, find faults in screens, maintenance history.

TRAILER - Master cylinder, tires, lugs, brakes, electrical.

 

The Hyperlite Shim has been a great starter and all around boat board for us. Upgrading to our 3rd next year most likely. Like an American Express card, we don’t leave home with out it!

[JpCrOOked]

I was able to take the boat on it's maiden voyage this weekend, WOW.  The boat was delivered from Northern California back to it's new home at Lake Eufaula.  It's quite an impressive vehicle for sure, I used Uship and couldn't be happier, I wrapped the boat 5-6 times around with cellophane where the boat cover goes on, as well as the entire tower, speakers, board racks, etc.  worked well.  

I was going to add a photo, but I am not sure I can...