2018 Malibu LSV - WTH

[Koocanusa G23]

We bought our first boat this past summer and it was a 2014 Wakesetter VTX....I don’t have anything to compare it to, but we put 60 hours on it and never had an issue. It was a nice ltitle boat, but definitely not the quality Nautique is. We purchased a 2017 G23 in the fall after we sold the Malibu (wanted something bigger so we could bring more people within us) and I couldn’t believe the size and quality difference. That being said, the G23 is also 100k more, so the build quality should be noticeably better. We are super stoked to water test the G this spring and get it out to the lake this summer!

[72Miles]

You have to be careful about issues and non issues reported on internet forums. A few comments from people having issues or people not having issue does not make a trend. If someone is in the business of marine mechanic and see a lot of different engines, then he or she can talk a little about reliability. Malibu has been trashed online since their IPO for their quality going south. Is it a fact or just trash talk online? I do not know. I might be able to say the same about nautique quality as my nautique had every piece of electronics and more changed under warranty. Does it make Nautique quality bad, I do not think so. I might have had bad luck with my boat and thus cannot infer a trend from my issue.
To the pictures shown, again, is it an outlier? or all the boats manufactured by Malibu present the same type of default. Some Malibu owners would say that their boats have been flawless. Malibu even said, in their financial reporting, that their warranty claims on a % basis is going down. Some will interpret that as better quality control and thus better quality, some others would argue that the % basis is a wrong metric as the more expensive the parts the less the manpower is in term of % and thus in term of % basis. I am in that second category . Only Malibu huge dealers with many years of experience before and after the IPO know for sure, but I bet they would say nothing negative if true .

Valid points. But in my opinion if any objective experienced boater boarded a Nautique and had a look, then immediately did the same on a Malibu the difference in build quality jumps out at you.

[Evening Shade]

I have never owned an Indmar but I do a lot of reading on many boat forums . Red flags for me fuel pump issues,oil sump issues,Catalytic converters lt just seams when there is a problem its always Indmar. I own 4 inboards all PCM never any trouble with any of them.

Thanks for the info. Like I said, I was just curious as I had an Indmar Monsoon 340 in my Malibu and put 400 hours on it in 4 years and never had any problems. I also have a couple friends with MCs that have Indmars and they have never had any trouble either. On the other hand, my previous boat had a PCM and I had a few issues with it. My current PCM has been great so far.

[Dave Rittiman]

I think it really depends on luck it seems like. In the past I have always had (6) Nautiques last boat was a 230 with the ZR409 overall great boat. It did have weird issues with electrical here and there, one was check engine light. 2 years ago bought a 16 Supra SE450 with the Indmar Raptor 450 and no problems what do ever and we put over 200 hours in 2 summers on it.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[xxrb2010]

Looks like the fiberglass showing is a thing and not a random issue for Malibu. Even the die hard fans on the Malibu crew admit that they are not happy with that, but this is a detail to them, nothing important. So, to each his own.

[thejean]

I owned a Malibu last year. Sold it and picked up a G23. Will never look back. I could have gotten a brand new 2018 LSV for $30k less than my 2017 demo G23 with 60 hrs and even then, I wasn’t swayed. The Malibu’s just don’t hold a candle in my opinion...

[srock]

I put 700 hours on a Monsoon 340 with out the slightest hiccup. Always started instantly and looked new when it was sold.

[ensign]

Same things on Axis last year when I bought my 2017 Nautique

[Blamey]

Noticed the carpet under the driver's seat at the boat show. It really stood out to me (not in a good way). Having just upgraded to a 2009 230 to get away from the carpet on my 96 Super Sport.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[mjp2222]

I owned 3 Nautiques, then bought a'15 Malibu and it had quite a few problems for 2 years. So I sold it and bought a G21 last summer. The fit and finish of the Nautique is so much better. To be fair I had issues with 3 out of the 5 boats I have owned. The only boats with no issues were the 2 direct drive Ski Nautiques. 07 220 had perfect pass that didn't work right and would surge when loaded with ballast. After many conversations with perfect pass and upgrading to stargazer with no luck, I replaced the system with Zero Off and it worked great. And my G21 had one minor issue - the seal in one of the ballast valves was missing so it would leak water in to the bilge until the rear tank was about half full. Dealer fixed under warranty in a week. The malibu was just a disaster -- screens, sensors, and in the shop about 1/3 the time I owned it.

[nohlan_4]

Fuel to the fire.....23 LSV all the same issues found in this thread plus this on the rear pad......I mean it was the first thing I saw as I walked into the boat. Boat show boat too.

[Wake.BC]

^^That’s just needed quality control right there.... it’s like how do I get bu to be extra careful making my boat?
The lsv I went through was one of the first, maybe they spent more time on it? It always used to be don’t buy first year productions, maybe it has changed.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[blueroom]

My Axis would alarm and throw errors if you started it from the "off" position. It would start and run fine, just beeped like crazy and went nuts. You had to turn it to the accessory position for a few, and then start it. It was a super big annoyance, especially if someone new was driving. The dealer could'nt figure it out, nor did they really care. One of the reasons we went Nautique, and avoid the Portland area dealer.

[swc5150]

I've never been a Bu fan, but wow, these pic examples are horrible.

[Beg4wake]

I felt the same way 2 years ago when I bought my 16 G23. I looked at MANY different brands. The ONLY 2 brands IMO that really had top notch quality control were Nautique and Mastercraft. Every other boat just had a "cheap" feeling to them. Just small things like above that constantly popped out to me. Supra and Malibu being the 2 biggest disappointments to me. I was really interested in those brands. The biggest failure IMO was the M235 that I saw at the boat show in Charlotte that year. I made a comment to many others and they all agreed 100%...that it just seemed that Malibu tried to rush that boat off the assembly line in order for it to hit boat show floors. SOOOO many quality control issues. Bad gel coat finish is areas, poor fiberglass edging like above, seats were hard to flip up, carpet just thrown in random places, etc, etc. To me, the only boats out that were even worth looking at were Nautique and MC, IF you weren't specifically looking for a budget boat. But speaking of budget boat...The one brand that has actually come to surprise me at the latest boat shows has been Moomba! They've come a long way from the 2007 Mobius LSV that I purchased for my first wakeboat years ago!