What year VTX to buy

[kodyind]

Been thing about buying a diamond hull VTX, don't want to spend more then 60,000.00 so that puts me in that 2009 to 2015, been reading about the 2013 and 2014 having issues with the throttle and some have said the vinyl is not that good and of course the screen and some said the actuators in the power wedge and surf gates, heard the 2012 and older don't have issues with the throttle, I don't know, what do you think

[oldjeep]

2012 and older, no surf gates if that matters to you.

[ahopkins22LSV]

The sweet spot year in my opinion of your budget would be 2015. You get zero off speed control, power wedge 2 and it’s still on the best vtx skiing hull. 

[Sixer]

+1 for 2015.  Best ski hull.  Only down side to that era boat is the touchscreen on the lower right (MLS screen) has had delaminating issues.  I had a 2014 and it's a great boat, but that screen was like 3k to replace last I checked.  13 was first year of surfgate.  14 had faster actuators.  15 had Power wedge 2.  

If you get into a 16+, it's a bigger boat (heavier) with more freeboard, but also has the newer touchscreens.  Will surf a bit better, but the trade off will be a slightly bigger ski wake.  16-19-ish also had Raptor motors which were on the louder side.  I personally wasn't a fan, but I hear they are very reliable engines.  2012-2015 will have a GM block which is a great engine as well.

[oldjeep]

Thankfully there are a couple other options on the touchscreen, which I think starts in 2011?

I paid 2400? For my replacement a few years ago.  Had the manual switch panel been available I would have done that.

[Sixer]

Here are examples of the deamination issue. You can see around the edges of the screen on the bottom pic there is bubbling of the screen. Once it bubbles, the buttons underneath aren't able to be pressed. 

These pics are off these two listings: https://www.onlyinboards.com/2015-MALIBU-WAKSETTER-20VTX-for-sale-South-Jordan-Utah-165448.aspx

https://www.onlyinboards.com/2015-Malibu-Wakesetter-VTX-for-sale-Chester-New-Hampshire-163924.aspx

Edited December 3, 2023 by Sixer

[kodyind]

3 hours ago, ahopkins22LSV said:

The sweet spot year in my opinion of your budget would be 2015. You get zero off speed control, power wedge 2 and it’s still on the best vtx skiing hull. 

So are you saying the 2015 hull is different then the 2014 and older

[ahopkins22LSV]

1 minute ago, kodyind said:

So are you saying the 2015 hull is different then the 2014 and older

No, 2015 is the same as the previous years leading up to it. The previous years before 2015 do not have zero off gps or power wedge 2 though. And like @oldjeep mentioned, 2012 and older do not have surf gate Hull changed in 2016 to be more surf/wake specific and then changed again in 2020 to improve the ski wake again. 

[MidwestVTX]

I had a 2011 with lots of vinyl cracking and a bad touch screen that needed replacement.  I also had a 2015 that was great.  Any year of that hull is awesome for skiing a pretty darn good for surfing. 

[MidwestVTX]

To clarify, I'm referring to the 2015 and before diamond hull.

[kodyind]

2 hours ago, MidwestVTX said:

I had a 2011 with lots of vinyl cracking and a bad touch screen that needed replacement.  I also had a 2015 that was great.  Any year of that hull is awesome for skiing a pretty darn good for surfing. 

so is the vinyl better in the 2015 vs 2014 and older

[oldjeep]

7 minutes ago, kodyind said:

so is the vinyl better in the 2015 vs 2014 and older

Not really.  You need to look out for the grey grid pattern vinyl.  It was used as an accent on a lot of boats and it cracks, especially if you remove a cushion and look at sides where it would have stayed damp.  That is why I reupholstered my 2012 cushions a couple of years ago.

[kodyind]

27 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Not really.  You need to look out for the grey grid pattern vinyl.  It was used as an accent on a lot of boats and it cracks, especially if you remove a cushion and look at sides where it would have stayed damp.  That is why I reupholstered my 2012 cushions a couple of years ago.

did you do all the seats and if so what did that cost, I found a 2011 with 320 hours for 45,000.00 that needs some seats done so if i bought it i might have it all done

[oldjeep]

I did all the cushions.  Bought new skins from Gabe and installed myself.  You would need to check current pricing.  https://gabescustommarine.com/about/

[MidwestVTX]

Oldjeep is right on that accent vinyl.  It looks like hammered metal or fish scales.  I had a lot of cracking on that, but the rest was holding up fine.  That 2011 sounds like a decent deal, i bought and sold mine in that range and that was before all the big price jumps.

[Joshuntnd]

2 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Not really.  You need to look out for the grey grid pattern vinyl.  It was used as an accent on a lot of boats and it cracks, especially if you remove a cushion and look at sides where it would have stayed damp.  That is why I reupholstered my 2012 cushions a couple of years ago.

That color is obsolete. We replaced all of our interior this year using skins from Gabe. Gabe is awesome to deal with! 

[Sixer]

IMO I would try to go closer to the 2015 boat if you are able.  Even if you don't intend to surf now, it is nice to have that as an option with surfgate on 2013+ boats.  Will help hold value and resale in the future with the capability to surf.  

I had a 2012 VTX and didn't think I'd ever want to surf.  Once I tried it I was hooked.  Upgraded to a 2014 with surfgate, and now I ski a couple times a year, but surf a lot.

[oldjeep]

1 hour ago, Joshuntnd said:

That color is obsolete. We replaced all of our interior this year using skins from Gabe. Gabe is awesome to deal with! 

No crap.  The replacement skins Definitely did not have it.  But a lot of the originals did.

[SouthsideBoarder]

Not sure if I missed you saying this but I think it depends on how aggressive of skiing you are planning and if you plan on surfing too. If you’re open water casual skiing I think a great deal on the newer hull with more freeboard can be nice on rougher water days and give you a possibly better surf wave from being a heavier boat but as previously said you give up some of the ski wake. If you’re out chasing buoys then the prior gen hull which I have owned gives a great wake at 32+ mph and 15 off. 

[kodyind]

On 12/3/2023 at 5:21 PM, Joshuntnd said:

That color is obsolete. We replaced all of our interior this year using skins from Gabe. Gabe is awesome to deal with! 

so did you have them install them or did you just get the skins and what about the the seat backs, did you do them also and what did it cost you

[Joshuntnd]

12 hours ago, kodyind said:

so did you have them install them or did you just get the skins and what about the the seat backs, did you do them also and what did it cost you

This should help! 

[Joshuntnd]

We went with a black carbon fiber.