Thoughts on 2005 Malibu response lxi

[pjnyk]

2005 Malibu response LXI popped up the other day so we jumped on it. Asking price is 27500 CAD which is obviously high. 420hr on the monsoon 340, comes with perfect pass, heater, and a 750lb ballast bag. Single axle trailer as well. Owner said they did hit a rock a few years ago but spent 16k to have the bottom refinished and the strut, rudder, driveshaft, prop, and wedge replaced. Incident occurred two years ago and everything has ran like it should since then. Other than that there’s some sun fade on the exterior and the carpets a little worn (as expected with these years).

 

So basically I’m looking for general opinions on the boat, I’ve heard lots of good things about the model years between 03-06. We’re checking out the boat today, if it’s in good shape we were thinking around 23-24 is a reasonable price.

[foxriverat]

My ski bud has a 2003 lxi skis great. 22 off wake is good even at slower speed 28mph The walkthrough open bow is nice compared to my stepover lx

[Ski_Dad]

My friend has one. Skis great.

[LoopSki]

only drawbacks with mine was the loud engine noise as it did not come with motor box insulation. added that and solved that issue. also the trim on the rudder would not stay tight. made it quite the challenge when it came loose mid course! had to tighten every time before using to solve. not sure if that was isolated to my boat.

[UWSkier]

Ridiculously nice wakes at all speeds and lengths. Literally the only knock on that boat is the propensity to take water in the bow if you're not paying attention. Ski it. You'll love it.

[oldjeep]

Inlaws have a 2004, very nice boat with great wakes.

[bananaron]

Great boat with excellent wakes.I have had 2 of them and I think they are a great all around boat.Not sure about the damage to the boat that is up to you.Also most boats I buy even older don't have sun fade and the carpet usually looks good.I always buy my boats at great prices however you maybe restricted as far as travel to get different boats.

[pjnyk]

Update for you all, took the boat for a water test after checking it out on land and really liked it. Ski wake was awesome and boat was in great shape. Noticed a world of difference between our outback and the response. Carpet was just a little matted. Only issue was that the tracking fins whistle and the perfect pass cable seized over the winter. Owner will fix that for us, picking it up all in next week for 25k.

 

PS: boat comes with a boom, if anyone is looking for a brand new BI b202 universal contour boom send me a message.

[pjnyk]

@UWSkier you weren’t lying. Wake was nice and flat, I could slice through like nothing. Didn’t take any water over the bow today.

[pjnyk]

@bananaron I think the only reason the exterior was faded is that they didn’t have a canopy for the boat lift. Just stored with the mooring cover on.

[jhughes]

It's a good hull. One more model year and you get electronic throttle which came out in 06. I'd personally never buy a boat with that kind of catastrophic damage history but your mileage may vary.

[UWSkier]

Never encountered whistling tracking fins before. Make sure it's not a driveline noise. Could be a prop sing too which is no biggie.

[pjnyk]

@jhughes owner was more than happy to show the paperwork from the repairs and hasn’t had an issue in the two years since he had the work done so we didn’t think there was much risk there

[pjnyk]

@UWSkier the guy spoke to the boys at Malibu and they apparently said “so she’s singing to yah”. Supposedly you can take a rubber mallet to them to cease the singing. Going to make a call myself I think to be sure.

[oldjeep]

I don't think I would smack them with a mallet. They are lag bolted into the bottom with some pretty small screws

[davemac]

if the singing is at very low speed, it is likely "prop sing"....just water resonating as it goes over the trailing edge of each prop fin. My 03 RLXi had it (still does a little bit)...can be remedied with a file.

[Ski_Dad]

yes probably prop sing - check out this thread and read the last post: https://www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/673-prop-sing/&do=findComment&comment=14334

[pjnyk]

@Ski_Dad @davemac I do think it could be prop sing is literally everything from the bottom end was replaced. That being said, we heard the whistle between 30-36mph

[jhughes]

@pjnyk have you seen what it looks like when the wedge gets ripped off a Malibu? Will the owner share pictures of what the damage looked like pre-repair?

[pjnyk]

@jhughes can’t say I have. Not sure if they have photos but would be worth asking for sure. They were transparent about everything and let us know before we visited, also sent across the work order for the repair. going to have a marine mechanic check everything out before we go through with the deal. If you’ve got photos of a boat after the wedge is ripped out I’d like to see

[UWSkier]

Find out if when they replaced the Wedge they only replaced the foil or if the bracket was ripped from the transom. The foil arms are made of soft alloy and are designed to fail before the bracket comes off. If the bracket was inspected and found to be sound with no leaking, I wouldn't worry about the Wedge replacement.

[jhughes]

Just figure the boat is in the factory mold once in its life. If they re-did the bottom, unless they had a mold handy, it's potentially nontrivially modified wetted surface.

[pjnyk]

@UWSkier @jhughes supposedly the tracking fins are just out of alignment. We’ll see what the Malibu technician says once they get it

[Ed_Johnson]

Hit a tree log that was underwater on the Wailua River in Kauai with my 93 MC back in 95. Bent the front, of 3, tracking fins. Used a Big Rubber Mallet to knock it back and measured it with a straight edge. Easy fix.