2011 21 VLX potential purchase...opinions please

[69charged]

Hello all. Long time lurker, and our family has been wanting a wakeboat for probably 10 years or more. Well, the time has come for us to be able to make it work. I can't tell you how excited we are to be able to finally, maybe, hit the water this summer. We have 3 kids who are now 20, 18, and 14 and we wanted to be able to take them out and enjoy watersports so bad, and feel a little too much time has passed us by, but now the boys could take it out on their own whenever they want. 

Which brings me to my question. We are looking at a 2011 VLX with about 700 hours on it. It looks to have some wear on the seats where people have been climbing in over the years, and we actually haven't seen it in person yet. Going this Saturday to look at it. Also looking at a 2008 SAN 210 with about 500 hours on it. I have been a Malibu fan since day one starting to look for boats years ago. Now is my chance to own one. But to do my due diligence I owe it to myself to look at the others as well. What do I need to look for on this Malibu, given the age and hours on it? I am fairly mechanically inclined (Mechanical Supervisor by trade). 

 

2011 Malibu Boats WakeSetter 21 VLX | Robertson Motorsports & Marine

They say it was owned by 2 people, that they personally know, and serviced at their dealership. Second owner traded it in to them for a new, or newer Centurion.  

I realize its a Malibu forum, but what does anyone know about the Nautique? 

2008 Nautique Super Air 210 Team Edition | Robertson Motorsports & Marine

Thank you for taking the time to respond and hope to be around more now that I have something to contribute with!!

Clarence 

[69charged]

Sorry. My links didn't work. 

https://www.robertsonmotorsports.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=7144499&p=5&s=(Sort By)&d=D&fr=xPreOwnedInventory

 

https://www.robertsonmotorsports.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=13927486&p=5&s=(Sort By)&d=D&fr=xPreOwnedInventory

 

 

[pawter1970]

Hi Clarence,

2 great boats but I will only comment on the VLX as I use to have the same boat:

Great boat, surfed mine a ton but the 350HP engine maybe an issue with power depending on how many people you have in the boat and if you are mainly surfing. Typical surfing set up will require 2 x 750's in the rear trunks and potentially lead in the fron bow so lots of extra weight.  Also +700hrs is for sure up there, I would get a full mechanical inspection as I am sure you have considered already. In addition you need to ask when was the last time the power wedge actuators have been replaced. They typically go after 300 or so hours and replacing both will run you in the $500 plus just for the actuators.

The MTC screen (lower screen on the right side) is bubbling, showing delamination on the outside edges of the screen, meaning it will soon be defective and certain buttons may not work. This may not be the case yet but something I would also flag with the seller, there is a very long thread on this subject regarding that issue on this site with alternatives for replacement screens. 

looks like the upholstery tear on the rear latch is at the seam so would not be much to repair, compared to a full pad re-upholstered. 

 

[windy1]

I agree with pawter1970 about the actuators and the touch screen on the Malibu. I have a 2011 with 760 hours that I love, howerver, I have replaced the actuators twice and the touch screen three times and I just had seat repair done similar to what that boat will need. As a negotiating point the touch screen is around $3,000 last time I checked and the one pictured needs replacing (don't let them tell you that it does not). If the screen fails on the water there is no way to start the boat. My seat repair was $1,000. If you have maintanace history the hours are no big deal. My boat with similar hours runs perfect with no oil use and I expect another 1000 hours out of it easy and I run the hell out of it fully loaded every time out.  That Malibu looks nice with normal ware for the hours but the price is for a boat that does not need $4,000 + of work. That said at 62 years old my 2011 will be my last wakeboat and I expect to ride it into the sunset.

[69charged]

Thank you very much for that insight. I would not have thought of the screen issue. Never zoomed in to even look at it. 
As for the price, keep in mind that’s Canadian dollars. Which converts to 45,000 US. If that helps at all, I’m not sure! 
I have not offered anything yet, but I feel they may try not move much, thinking I’m driving 6 hours one way to go see it. I would imagine they will think “there’s no way he coming all this way and not leaving with it”.  
Ultimately, my dream boat would be a 22MXZ, as I love the pickle fork front end. And they started them in 2012, but the asking price for those up here is pretty crazy.
Tell me more! 😂 I thought I maybe read something about exhaust manifolds? Or was that different years? Anyone else have a comment on the Nautique? I will admit I’m not a huge fan of the green. And if you can believe it, the payments and interest rates are different for that boat because it’s too old they say! 

We do plan to get the upholstery fixed, even if it’s just for this summer as a patch job. The upholstery guy quoted me about 5-6000 to redo the full interior, which we would plan to do over some winter. 
Thanks

Clarence 

[Bozboat]

@69charged

Both are great boats. Buy one or the other and make this Summer count.  Speaking from experience, time accelerates exponentially after the last kid hits Jr High. 

[69charged]

14 minutes ago, Bozboat said:

@69charged

Both are great boats. Buy one or the other and make this Summer count.  Speaking from experience, time accelerates exponentially after the last kid hits Jr High. 

You’re not kidding! One of my biggest regrets, but we just couldn’t make it happen financially all these years. Now I envision someday the kids coming home and having them take grandkids out. Seems the more kids you have the faster the time goes. 
Clarence 

[pihlstrom]

I have the same Malibu boat and 350 engine with 400 hrs. Great boat! I have had to fix a few things but that’s normal. I’m on my 3rd set of wedge actuators but you can install them your self. Check out bakesonline.com. Hopefully they can tell you when they were replaced. I replaced the lower screen with a switch panel with a key ignition from wakeswitches.com. The owner is great and reasonable cost. I’m so glad I did went with the switches, easier to raise the wedge with switch than push on screen. That year has no key ignition backup! So like others said if  screen stops working, you’re in trouble. Ask me how I know. We wakeboard and don’t surf. I recently learned about the Etx cat exhaust hose re-plumb kit. It appears this boat does not have the kit installed. There’s a long thread on here about it. Basically if exhaust manifolds get too hot, they will crack. And they are impossible to get replacements. I just made my own kit because bakes was out of stock. Luckily I never had a problem but I’m on a cold river but now manifolds are running much cooler. 

[69charged]

23 minutes ago, pihlstrom said:

I have the same Malibu boat and 350 engine with 400 hrs. Great boat! I have had to fix a few things but that’s normal. I’m on my 3rd set of wedge actuators but you can install them your self. Check out bakesonline.com. Hopefully they can tell you when they were replaced. I replaced the lower screen with a switch panel with a key ignition from wakeswitches.com. The owner is great and reasonable cost. I’m so glad I did went with the switches, easier to raise the wedge with switch than push on screen. That year has no key ignition backup! So like others said if  screen stops working, you’re in trouble. Ask me how I know. We wakeboard and don’t surf. I recently learned about the Etx cat exhaust hose re-plumb kit. It appears this boat does not have the kit installed. There’s a long thread on here about it. Basically if exhaust manifolds get too hot, they will crack. And they are impossible to get replacements. I just made my own kit because bakes was out of stock. Luckily I never had a problem but I’m on a cold river but now manifolds are running much cooler. 

Thanks for the info. Something else to research. That’s why forums are so good. We own 2 jeeps and I’m always on the forums for stuff. 
I’ll ask about the bypass kit, and the manifolds. They claim to have known the past 2 owners, and done maintenance for them, so they should be able to answer any questions I have. I think because of the answers I’ve  gotten so far, they will be surprised when I ask about all these!! 😂

But that’s good. Hopefully that works in my favour for bargaining power. 
Clarence

[Bozboat]

The best thing about the Malibu option is that the people on here will help you fix anything that goes wrong.  Something always needs attention, that’s what you do in the  off season.

[windy1]

I have also replaced my touch screen with wakeswitches panel (my actual dash is pictured on the website). The replacement screens will fail as well but the wakeswitch panel is a one time fix.

$45,000 US is a much better price.

[kstateskier1]

What are you planning to do with them?  The 210 is a really nice wakeboard wake.  It's been ages since I've been on that era of VLX but my neighbor has that gen 210 and the wakeboard wake is really good.  Need a good amount of weight to surf it very well.  Would probably go with the Malibu if you're thinking about younger kids on it in the future because of the adjustability of the wake.  Hard to slow the Nautique down and not get a bunch of wash on the wake for wakeboarding.  

[69charged]

I would say wakeboarding and surfing mostly. Of course tubing with other people, and then the rest just cruising and laying around on the water. But for the most part boarding and surfing. I do know that I have to do a set up for surfing, and get a wakeshaper or something similar. I’m prepared to dive into all that with either boat. We have wakeboarded for the last 7 or so years here and there. Behind everything from our seadoo to pontoon boats, as well as other wake boats. And surfed behind others boats. 
Both boats will serve us well I’m sure. I’m really trying to not let my emotions get in the way of the right boat, in this price range. By emotions I mean I have always had my heart set on a Malibu. Don’t know why, as I’ve never even been in one. I’ve been in an older nautique and a mastercraft X2. Obviously both awesome boats as well, but it’s been a Malibu I have always had my eye on. It started with around the 2006ish styling of the red and black 23 LSV’s. They just looked so sleek to me and fast while standing still. I loved the front swept tower they had. Then one thing led to another as I looked for newer and newer years. And so now here we are. 
Thank you for all the info. Just asked the dealer about the issues brought up so far. 
Clarence 

[granddaddy55]

15 hours ago, 69charged said:

Thanks for the info. Something else to research. That’s why forums are so good. We own 2 jeeps and I’m always on the forums for stuff. 
I’ll ask about the bypass kit, and the manifolds. They claim to have known the past 2 owners, and done maintenance for them, so they should be able to answer any questions I have. I think because of the answers I’ve  gotten so far, they will be surprised when I ask about all these!! 😂

But that’s good. Hopefully that works in my favour for bargaining power. 
Clarence

these older boats surf best listed so the crossover cooling line is even more important as the cat on the non surf side really can be starved for cooling being higher than the surf side cat thats getting more water 

[69charged]

Ok. Just got a text back. He says they have done the work on the boat since 2012. He can’t recall the actuators ever being replaced. He admitted that the screen delaminating is a common issue on malibus, but says he’s never had an issue of them not working. 🙄

He said they have never done any manifold work, except replacing a hose coming off one of them due to rubbing through on a bolt. 
They have winterized it and stored it at their store since 2012. Replaced the trailer tires last summer, and had it out wet testing it late in the fall before winterizing it. 

[windy1]

The wakeswitches garman replacement screen is only $1,300. Just plug it in and go.

I have never had an issue with my manifolds. They are origanal. I also have installed Infinity surf tabs. best mod I have ever done.

[69charged]

2 minutes ago, windy1 said:

The wakeswitches garman replacement screen is only $1,300. Just plug it in and go.

I have never had an issue with my manifolds. They are origanal. I also have installed Infinity surf tabs. best mod I have ever done.

I think I would do the tablet replacement or the switches. Not the factory screen again. Like others have said, once and done. 
I’ll look into the surf tabs. Thanks for that. 
 

[pawter1970]

Actuators are definately on their last leg, the annoying thing is most likely only one will seize first but no point just replacing one. The screen will also be defective at some point. It may work perfectly at the moment but that issue has been ongoing for a long time. You can find the thread on here and show the seller....lots of BU owners very upset about it (and rightfully so). For example my MTC screen is also delaminating, screen still works pefectly after 4 years but I made a deal with the seller for my boat to reduce the selling price so I can purchase a back up screen (they were half the price of what they are now), but as mentioned there are other replacement options available with wakeswitches.com. 

[pawter1970]

Here is the surf set up for that boat that works well:

- 2 x 750 in rear trunks, purchase the piggy back systems/kits on wakemakers.com for that boat, they come with all the hoses which will connect to the hard tanks (hence why it's called piggy back), the added bags will fill first and drain in the hard tanks. Draining will take longer due to gravity.

- put 100lbs of lead bags under the corner seat on each side and put 100-150lbs lead somewhere in the front bow. 

-Set your MLS pre-sets to all ballast full (100%) and power wedge all the way down. 

- Speed at 10.4 or 10.6, you will notice that you will need to play with the speed on the goofy side due to the prop rotation, the goofy side will have a much steeper wave so you will need to go slightly faster to smooth it o

-Yes buyu  wake shaper device, easy to put on and versatile. 

[Bozboat]

3 hours ago, 69charged said:

....I mean I have always had my heart set on a Malibu. .... but it’s been a Malibu I have always had my eye on. It started with around the 2006ish styling of the red and black 23 LSV’s. They just looked so sleek to me and fast while standing still. I loved the front swept tower they had. 
 

There is the answer.  Get the Malibu, It sounds like it has been well cared for.

[DRB10SEVEN]

Just now, Bozboat said:

There is the answer.  Get the Malibu, It sounds like it has been well cared for.

 

3 hours ago, 69charged said:

I’m really trying to not let my emotions get in the way of the right boat, in this price range. By emotions I mean I have always had my heart set on a Malibu. Don’t know why, as I’ve never even been in one. I’ve been in an older nautique and a mastercraft X2. Obviously both awesome boats as well, but it’s been a Malibu I have always had my eye on. It started with around the 2006ish styling of the red and black 23 LSV’s. They just looked so sleek to me and fast while standing still. I loved the front swept tower they had.
 

I can relate to you not trying to let emotions get in the way, but I would also say this; sometimes picking something that is your FAVORITE is better than picking something that is "the best". When I bought my 2008 247 in 2021, it may not have been the best boat I looked at, it certainly wasn't the best value for a wakeboat for sale at the time, but I had dreamed about owning a 247 LSV for years. It is one of my all time favorite boats ever made. I don't care how many people tell me the Illusion XS tower is not nearly as good as other towers, (they are right by the way) I love it. It is my  favorite. And it is impossible to argue with the word "favorite".

Regardless, good luck buying a boat, and I hope you and your family put another 500-700 hours on whichever boat you buy!

[69charged]

Yeah. We actually looked at a 247 LSV a couple years ago. Was a gorgeous boat, and was not a bad price. I couldn't believe I was saying it, but I told the wife that it was just too big.  For the lakes we will go on, it was too much boat. We sat in it, and we were like " holy crap this is huge!!" after being in my 1988 17' Bayliner for a couple years.  

[windy1]

I run a similar setup as pawter1970 with the addition of a 650 v-sack up front and no lead. both 750's in the rear and the 650 up front are on their own reversible pumps for faster fill and emty time each with its own toggle switch. Also with the kind of waight i'm pulling I had to install a much more agressive prop. the stock prop will not cut it. I have had this boat for around 9 years and these modifications have been added over the years of ownership as I figured out how to dial everything in for the best wakeboard and surf wake. For surfing we run full wedge at 10mph. The power wedge is your friend.

BTW my buddy sold his 2004 (monsoon 350) with 1300 hours on it and it still had perfect compression even after extremely hard use.

[69charged]

So I should add a compression check to the list I guess. 
We’ll see tomorrow!! Ideally I’m looking to get somewhere around 5000 off the asking price. I hope that’s fair, and gives me a bit of room to correct anything that might come up this summer. If it does. We are planning to get the interior redone. So that’s not included in the 5000. 
Thanks all. 
Clarence 

[justgary]

Please show a better view of the manifolds, mostly from the sides.

I'm looking for rust showing between the manifold and riser.  That is an indication that the water jacket may be rusted too much to live much longer.

I'm also looking for the OEM socket head cap screws instead of hex head that might indicate replacement in the past.

Edited February 16 by justgary