Finally Part of the Malibu Family (follow up with disappointment)

[NorCalSurfer]

I’ve told Malibu customer service multiple times to check out this forum. I don’t think they do. 

[Ronnie]

4 hours ago, NorCalSurfer said:

I’ve told Malibu customer service multiple times to check out this forum. I don’t think they do. 

They’re here almost every day. They respond almost every day. They’re for the most part, not going to expose themselves. Can you imagine dealing with an unruly or unsatisfied customer on a forum?

[DUKENO1]

I don't blame you for being upset.  The gel looks horrible.   At these crazy prices I would expect much better quality control.

[NorCalSurfer]

These imperfections are all over the boat. 

[redrooster]

Good lord.  Can you take it back and get another boat??

 

Maybe a centurion.  They are nice!!

Edited July 11, 2023 by redrooster

[CDAWake]

Have you called Malibu directly?

[rockbottom]

Wow, that is bad, disappointing when you pay that much.  The boat is 85% fiberglass, you would think they could be experts in that area.  Shopping for a new MXZ now, I think I will expand my search to other brands.

[Slayer]

My 2022 25 LSV has tons of bad gel coat issues.  My dealer hasn't been the greatest about getting it resolved.  Mine was also delivered with marked up emblems, a puncture in the vinyl, numerous gel coat issues, etc.  Since I bought the boat, they are on their 3rd service manager so it's difficult to have any continuity when they can't keep good people.

[Five Cent Worth]

2 hours ago, rockbottom said:

Wow, that is bad, disappointing when you pay that much.  The boat is 85% fiberglass, you would think they could be experts in that area.  Shopping for a new MXZ now, I think I will expand my search to other brands.

You have to assume at some point Bu is going to start regulating this forum like MC and Nautique do to theirs.  

[ahopkins22LSV]

38 minutes ago, Five Cent Worth said:

You have to assume at some point Bu is going to start regulating this forum like MC and Nautique do to theirs.  

I highly doubt that.

I do agree that the gel coat issues I’ve seen here, and on our 2022 are way worse then anything I’ve seen in the past and I don’t see how the business model of letting the dealer handle it is a good one. Hopefully those things change. 

[COOP]

1 hour ago, Five Cent Worth said:

You have to assume at some point Bu is going to start regulating this forum like MC and Nautique do to theirs.  

MC and Nautique actually own and run their forums. All of the posts are monitored, they delete what they dont like.

This forum is paid for by the members. Malibu has no control here. 

 

That gel coat is pretty bad. Malibu will say its "mold marks".

The hardest part is getting the repair amount approved by Malibu. 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by COOP

[SouthsideBoarder]

That’s sad. Our 2018 gel was in fantastic shape and I would be incredibly disappointed. However, being crappy at handling issues must just be a general dealer thing at a lot of places as even some of my reported warranty issues haven’t been resolved and the warranty is now expired. 

[The Hulk]

ask anyone working at a boat, Camper, RV, ATV, golf cart company that has been there before COVID till now.. most will NOT purchase a model made within the past few years due quality issues.. due to labor issues, or lack thereof, parts shortages, rush orders, parts + equipment substitute and so on.. some of these industries are experiencing record rejection rates. 

love Malibu, best bang for the buck still, but heck for the past two years Malibu can't even run their wires through their own wire loops & supports... 

 

 

 

[hethj7]

7 hours ago, The Hulk said:

 

love Malibu, best bang for the buck still, but heck for the past two years Malibu can't even run their wires through their own wire loops & supports... 

 

 

 

Eh, just did my own LED install on my 2022 and found all the wiring along the gunnels tied and neatly tucked in place.  I know it is in style to bash so many things post Covid, but I will give credit where it is due. 
 

Now, after being out in the rain yesterday, I would have appreciated the factory using a dab of sealant on the GPS puck and windshield stop mount.  A wet observer’s compartment, including water dripping on my amps, wasn’t a welcomed sight.  

[ahopkins22LSV]

2 hours ago, hethj7 said:

Eh, just did my own LED install on my 2022 and found all the wiring along the gunnels tied and neatly tucked in place.  I know it is in style to bash so many things post Covid, but I will give credit where it is due. 
 

Now, after being out in the rain yesterday, I would have appreciated the factory using a dab of sealant on the GPS puck and windshield stop mount.  A wet observer’s compartment, including water dripping on my amps, wasn’t a welcomed sight.  

I agree. The wiring on our 2022 is the best I’ve seen. 
 

I’ll have to look at our gps puck sometimes it is damp is there I wonder if that is the culprit.

[Brandonloos21]

14 minutes ago, ahopkins22LSV said:

I agree. The wiring on our 2022 is the best I’ve seen. 
 

I’ll have to look at our gps puck sometimes it is damp is there I wonder if that is the culprit.

Wow. I wonder if is was a change in batches, boats, or shifts. The wiring in my 2022 was awful. The tabs in the gunnels were epoxied in but none of the wiring was zip tied up to them. The wiring runs were hanging down above the cup holders, if you were sitting down on other side of boat you could see wire dipping down. 
 

When I ended up doing the stereo modifications I ran my speaker wire and zipped all of the wires up into their respective spots! 

[ahopkins22LSV]

1 hour ago, Brandonloos21 said:

Wow. I wonder if is was a change in batches, boats, or shifts. The wiring in my 2022 was awful. The tabs in the gunnels were epoxied in but none of the wiring was zip tied up to them. The wiring runs were hanging down above the cup holders, if you were sitting down on other side of boat you could see wire dipping down. 
 

When I ended up doing the stereo modifications I ran my speaker wire and zipped all of the wires up into their respective spots! 

Things change on the fly constantly at production facilities. We are constantly making changes on our processes. Most are invisible to the end user but some are. Even the big guys, Ford, GM… etc make changes on the fly. 
 

While I am not saying Malibu is perfect by any means, no manufacturer is. But there is clear signs I’ve picked up on over the last few years. Little things like quality approval stickers on components and fit ups. Our platform, gates, each windshield piece etc had a QC sticker on it. Little design changes like how they cut the soft grip flooring. They are eliminating small strips and small open edges. You can’t implement a quality system in a matter of days weeks or even months but if they continue working on those things and keep a decent core staff (maybe the most important and hardest part) I think the trend will be positive. Of course I could be totally wrong. If you have a revolving door at for your staff it makes it incredibly hard, if not impossible. Guess we will see. 

[vanamp]

On 7/10/2023 at 10:26 PM, NorCalSurfer said:

I figured I’d follow up on this thread with an update after over 4 months of ownership and 40 hours. I would say over I am pretty disappointed, in Malibu and the dealership. When paying this much for a boat it’s pretty unbelievable the lack of care and quality. Let’s start with the gel coat. I couldn’t be more disappointed. To make matters worse, the dealership thinks they are going to fix it themselves, in house. I told them absolutely not. This is basically done by a tech after hours. He’s not a gel coat or fiberglass expert. I got a quote for a gel coat shop of $5k but they said they will not deal with Larson/Tommy’s do to them taking forever to get paid. That’s not something you want to hear as a client who just drop make coin on a brand new boat that need significant repairs to hear they hate your dealership. I was being generous also just focused on the major issues and letting go of the numerous small issues, I’ll be reevaluating my position on letting the smaller stuff slide when it’s time for repair in the off-season. Here are some photos. What’s not pictured are huge lines in the gel coat on the hull around the prop and rudder. 

 

 

 

 

 

Not uncommon for dealerships to bring in people for Gel/paint and any sort of hull/body type work due to the seasonality of the business.  That does not necessarily mean they are not skilled they just need to make a living 12 months a year and not worry about layoffs.  Gel repairs on solid colors is not difficult and they have to stand behind the work so there are no issues having your dealer do the work. 

 

 

[COOP]

Also, as far as the bimini, Malibu doesnt even open these. They come from Commercial or great lakes wrapped up, and Malibu just puts them with the boat. They wont get opened until the dealer preps the boats.

[Brandonloos21]

2 hours ago, ahopkins22LSV said:

Things change on the fly constantly at production facilities. We are constantly making changes on our processes. Most are invisible to the end user but some are. Even the big guys, Ford, GM… etc make changes on the fly. 
 

While I am not saying Malibu is perfect by any means, no manufacturer is. But there is clear signs I’ve picked up on over the last few years. Little things like quality approval stickers on components and fit ups. Our platform, gates, each windshield piece etc had a QC sticker on it. Little design changes like how they cut the soft grip flooring. They are eliminating small strips and small open edges. You can’t implement a quality system in a matter of days weeks or even months but if they continue working on those things and keep a decent core staff (maybe the most important and hardest part) I think the trend will be positive. Of course I could be totally wrong. If you have a revolving door at for your staff it makes it incredibly hard, if not impossible. Guess we will see. 

Oh yes 100%. I have a manufacturing engineering background so I’m understanding of quality teams etc. 

I think mine (and many others) frustration stems from owning multiple of these boats, and the older boats were built better/had less quality issues. 
 

Given, I’m fully understanding of the covid complications, but even after covid times, as suppliers get back to normal, we are seeing a rise in prices in correlation with a decline in quality. It’s frustrating forsure. 
 

Now to play devils advocate against myself, who is the reason why prices keep going up, us who keep buying, haha!

[Five Cent Worth]

On 7/13/2023 at 12:50 PM, COOP said:

MC and Nautique actually own and run their forums. All of the posts are monitored, they delete what they dont like.

This forum is paid for by the members. Malibu has no control here. 

Yep, this is the point I was making......  Complain about quality over there - thread is gone.  (I'll leave the political symbolism out... )

[The Hulk]

not trying to bash, rather hope someone from the factory sees it and has someone inspect ALL the boats for electrical work. I've hopped in a few different boats at a few different locations & shows and looked up under to see some had perfect wiring and some it was just laying on top of the inserts.  

[vanamp]

18 hours ago, The Hulk said:

not trying to bash, rather hope someone from the factory sees it and has someone inspect ALL the boats for electrical work. I've hopped in a few different boats at a few different locations & shows and looked up under to see some had perfect wiring and some it was just laying on top of the inserts.  

My Theory is knowing dealers were waiting on boats and the factory could not keep up, there was probably a feeling at the factory that the dealers could just fix oversights.  Not a written/verbal  policy or anything official just a pressure to get them down the line knowing there is someone on the receiving end capable of cleaning up the mess.

 

[spikew919]

Love how people seem to pass it off as covid being the time that malibus qc department sucked. But I can 100% say it was nonexistent long before then. Their 2017 flagship m235 I ordered and took delivery of would turn your stomach to the mess behind the panels and even staring you straight in the face.  Anyone that knows me, knows I don’t mind calling a spade a spade.  🤷🏻‍♂️🤣🤣🤣

[wdr]

I noticed little to no difference between the build quality and techniques on my 2010 compared to my 2019. You would have thought almost 10 years of complaints and experience would gotten the edges rounded off both literally and figuratively.