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Am I about to make lemonade?


AviciiSalad

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I’m looking at buying a 2013 MXZ (360hrs on Cadillac 572 engine) that meets all my criteria, only issue is the boat is 12hrs away, so taking my time to inspect and test drive and inspect again (maybe) is a bit hard to do. Been talking to the dealer and we’ve landed on a fair price though he’s mentioned he’s had to replace actuators on wedge, actuators on both surf gates, ballast bumps, and a switch that allows it to get into gear! but says all is operational and good to go now

Question: do y’all think this is a sign of a lemon!? (I had a 10yr old Malibu for a few years - never had those issues) OR common repairs par for the course.

And what would catch a larger issue during a pre-sale inspection if there were culprit for these issues (beyond poor original owner care?)

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It may be a sign that the PO just never used them, or never replaced them when they went out.
I’d ask for service records to see if this is an indication of not performing other maintenance.

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For a 12 hour drive, there have been a lot of issues that have been taken care of. Did they get them all? You may never have another problem with it. I kind of did the same thing with my first Malibu on a dealer demo boat, but got extremely lucky with it. 
The biggest question I would have would be, 14 hours later, will your local dealer welcome you in with a boat that wasn’t bought from them? 

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4 hours ago, braindamage said:

It may be a sign that the PO just never used them, or never replaced them when they went out.
I’d ask for service records to see if this is an indication of not performing other maintenance.

That was my first thought, previous owner didn't use much. On the service record front, it was a trade in on a new purchase and the PO was from out of state, so there's no paper trail at the new dealer for previous record. I do plan to have the closest malibu certified dealer (unfortunately this one isn't) do a pre-sale test before buying.

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Check the touch screen. if you see any delamination it will be close to $4,000 to replace. look at the thred under trobleshooting and maintanance.

Edited by windy1
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3 hours ago, wdr said:

For a 12 hour drive, there have been a lot of issues that have been taken care of. Did they get them all? You may never have another problem with it. I kind of did the same thing with my first Malibu on a dealer demo boat, but got extremely lucky with it. 
The biggest question I would have would be, 14 hours later, will your local dealer welcome you in with a boat that wasn’t bought from them? 

My last malibu (a 2010 247, purchased in 2019 w/ 103hours on it) was in mint condition and passed an in-land presale inspection perfectly, and I only had issues with the shaft seal cracking during the first season out and having to replace that (it had dry rotted from sitting on a lift for so long w/o use). But then smooth sailing for 3yrs 'til i parted way. All that said, I bought that boat from 6hrs away and my local dealer was incredibly welcoming! Their half the reason I want to stick w/ Malibu - great service and people all around!

  • Like 2
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2 minutes ago, windy1 said:

Check the touck screen. if you see any delamination it will be close to $4,000 to replace. look at the thred under trobleshooting and maintanance.

Interior looks fairly mint (from photos anyways). This boat has towing cover as well as a snap on cover. The screen on this 2013 MXZ is the same as my 2010 247 - a LCD display with block rubber buttons on the left/right. I've heard this generation Mali-view screen (pre-2015) were way more reliable than the newer. But beyond sun exposure or water exposure to damage the screen, is there something else a delaminated screen would be a sign of?

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5 minutes ago, AviciiSalad said:

Interior looks fairly mint (from photos anyways). This boat has towing cover as well as a snap on cover. The screen on this 2013 MXZ is the same as my 2010 247 - a LCD display with block rubber buttons on the left/right. I've heard this generation Mali-view screen (pre-2015) were way more reliable than the newer. But beyond sun exposure or water exposure to damage the screen, is there something else a delaminated screen would be a sign of?

The delaminating wouldn’t be a sign of anything. It would just be a potential cost you may need to incur.

Also-I think the screen issue affects pre-2015 just as frequently.

Edited by braindamage
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7 minutes ago, AviciiSalad said:

Interior looks fairly mint (from photos anyways). This boat has towing cover as well as a snap on cover. The screen on this 2013 MXZ is the same as my 2010 247 - a LCD display with block rubber buttons on the left/right. I've heard this generation Mali-view screen (pre-2015) were way more reliable than the newer. But beyond sun exposure or water exposure to damage the screen, is there something else a delaminated screen would be a sign of?

It is the touch screen on the lower right side of the dash that you need to worry about delaminating.  The larger center screen is much less on an issue.  I am fairly certain that a 2013 MXZ will be one of the most vulnerable years for screen delamination, but I could be mistaken.

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when replaced my wedge actuators after one went out the dealer recomended replaceing both at the same time. That may be why both have been replaced. I don't think thats a bad thing. Other than the touch screen delam that MXZ is a great boat.  I went through several touch screens before going to an aftermarket solution (wakeswitches). It's not if the screen will delaminate it's when. If you see any delam at all I would knock 4 grand off the price. 

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12 hours ago, AviciiSalad said:

I’m looking at buying a 2013 MXZ (360hrs on Cadillac 572 engine) that meets all my criteria, only issue is the boat is 12hrs away, so taking my time to inspect and test drive and inspect again (maybe) is a bit hard to do. Been talking to the dealer and we’ve landed on a fair price though he’s mentioned he’s had to replace actuators on wedge, actuators on both surf gates, ballast bumps, and a switch that allows it to get into gear! but says all is operational and good to go now

Question: do y’all think this is a sign of a lemon!? (I had a 10yr old Malibu for a few years - never had those issues) OR common repairs par for the course.

And what would catch a larger issue during a pre-sale inspection if there were culprit for these issues (beyond poor original owner care?)

I realize this thread is just for a gut check for you, but honestly I can't tell if you are trolling with asking if that qualifies a 10 year old boat as a lemon. If those are the only things that have needed replacement in that amount of time, that boat has been great.

  • Like 1
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21 minutes ago, Jhucke said:

I realize this thread is just for a gut check for you, but honestly I can't tell if you are trolling with asking if that qualifies a 10 year old boat as a lemon. If those are the only things that have needed replacement in that amount of time, that boat has been great.

Nope, definitely not trolling!

Windy’s comment about replacing all actuators if you replace one have me A LOT of solace that I’m not looking into a boat that has an electrical grimmlin lurking somewhere. And I DEFINITELY appreciate the call out from Amartin in the lower right lcd - I didn’t know that was as big an issue as it sounds it is.

 

What’s still throwing me off though is when the sales rep said they replaced a switch that prevented the boat from going in to forward gear… what would that have been? A limit safety switch? I can ask for more info from dealer, but I’m not familiar with those components

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He specifically said 'I have replaced all the actuators for the surf gate and the power wedge, replaced all the ballast pumps, and it had a switch go bad where I lost Forward. All of that has been replaced and the boat runs and works great. It didn’t sell twice because those things failed on the delivery. Past that everyone comments in the colors they do not like it.'

(it's a custom ordered Red/White/Blue boat and I LOVE the colors) Still throw off by a switch go bad where he lost forward... What could that have been? 

PS - apologies if I'm turning this into a mechanical/tech convo. I wanna buy this boat, but have to take a fine toothed comb to this as it's such a commitment to travel to pick 'er up

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The boat is drive by wire (even my 2008 is) and there is a switch that controls the transmission going in and out of gear.  Most of the things on your list are things that wear out over time. Actuators, especially on the wedge, seem to be very normal for this vintage boat.  

I've never owned a new boat, and the used ones I've had have always treated me well.  Ballast pumps, check engine codes for things like misfires (plugs, sensor, etc), impellers, seals, hoses, etc are all normal things that need to be replaced over time on boats that are 10+ years old.  I learned a long time ago that being your own mechanic for most boat repairs is important.  While I never want an issue to ruin my weekend on the water, I actually enjoy turning my own wrenches and learning how to fix stuff.  I feel it makes me ready for the zombie apocalypse.  :-)  

Good luck with your purchase process!

  • Like 3
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1 hour ago, EchelonMike said:

The boat is drive by wire (even my 2008 is) and there is a switch that controls the transmission going in and out of gear.  Most of the things on your list are things that wear out over time. Actuators, especially on the wedge, seem to be very normal for this vintage boat.  

I've never owned a new boat, and the used ones I've had have always treated me well.  Ballast pumps, check engine codes for things like misfires (plugs, sensor, etc), impellers, seals, hoses, etc are all normal things that need to be replaced over time on boats that are 10+ years old.  I learned a long time ago that being your own mechanic for most boat repairs is important.  While I never want an issue to ruin my weekend on the water, I actually enjoy turning my own wrenches and learning how to fix stuff.  I feel it makes me ready for the zombie apocalypse.  :-)  

Good luck with your purchase process!

This is the down to earth talking to I needed to reassure myself that all is good and I was making a mountain out of a mole hill! Appreciate the 2¢ and vote of confidence!

  • Like 1
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Actuators go bad becouse of seal failure not an electrical glitch. they sit under water and water seeps in over time and they fail. I agree with others that everything you have listed as potential problems are common with a boat of that age. Like I said earlier MXZ's are great boats and nice examples should not be passed over becouse of a few minor problems.

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  • 2 months later...
On 2/7/2023 at 9:49 PM, AviciiSalad said:

I’m looking at buying a 2013 MXZ (360hrs on Cadillac 572 engine) that meets all my criteria, only issue is the boat is 12hrs away, so taking my time to inspect and test drive and inspect again (maybe) is a bit hard to do. Been talking to the dealer and we’ve landed on a fair price though he’s mentioned he’s had to replace actuators on wedge, actuators on both surf gates, ballast bumps, and a switch that allows it to get into gear! but says all is operational and good to go now

Question: do y’all think this is a sign of a lemon!? (I had a 10yr old Malibu for a few years - never had those issues) OR common repairs par for the course.

Doesn't sound like a lemon to me.  I don't know anything about the caddy motor Malibus so study up on them.  As far as the ballast pumps and wedge/gate actuators, that's just good maintenence by the dealer.  I know they usually recommend replacing them as a set, and if you have a good one, it still gets replaced and then you have a spare on hand if you need it.  Ballast/bilge pumps were in really short stock the last 2 seasons and I know quite a few people who were running on only 1 bilge pump all last season because they couldn't get a new one.  I also know quite a few people that had to go without a ballast pump waiting on replacement parts as well.  Now with the stock levels back higher I'm sure there are a lot of boats being traded in that need some of these parts.  As far as the shifting problem, that's also pretty common and a cheap fix simply changing for/rev solenoids rather than having to spend $800ish on a new livorsi throttle.

IMHO all the issues mentioned warrant no real worry.  They are all easy fixes, it probably took less than a day of shop time to do all of that, and its all simple plug and play repairs.  Good luck with your purchase!

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