Articles
   
       
Pics/Video
       
Wake 101
   
       
       
Shop
Search
 
 
 
 
 
Home   Articles   Pics/Video   Gear   Wake 101   Events   Community   Forums   Classifieds   Contests   Shop   Search
WakeWorld Home
Email Password
Go Back   WakeWorld > Boats, Accessories & Tow Vehicles

Share 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old     (BoNashvegas34)      Join Date: Sep 2019       09-12-2019, 11:13 AM Reply   
First some background - live in Alabama and family has had place on lake for 20+ years, but have never owned a wakeboard boat. Just an early 2000's inboard/outboard ski boat, pontoon, and jet skis. My kids are now 12 and 8 so I want to look into purchasing a wakeboard boat for them to enjoy. Other family members will be using boat as well.

Max I want to spend is $80k or so. I'm torn between buying something new or looking at something that's older, say 2015 model year or newer.

I'll keep the boat for a good while. Not one to trade or buy often.

Here's my question - am I better off looking for a new boat or used based on criteria above? Will primarily use for surfing. Would like to have something that my kids will be able to enjoy when they become teenagers and are bigger than they are now. Hate showing up on a Friday and having equipment issues, so reliability is very important to me as well.

From a timing standpoint, I'd like to hopefully purchase something before next February or March. Otherwise, I'll just hold off until after Labor Day 2020. Any advice would be appreciated!
Old     (hal2814)      Join Date: Feb 2006       09-13-2019, 1:38 AM Reply   
$80k is really going to limit your options if you’re just looking at new. Even a lot of the “budget” wake boats are going to come in over that, especially the ones that are good at surf. Also, if you’re primary goal is surf I’d avoid crossover boats. They’re fine but you’ll eventually grow out of it, especially for surfing. You have a LOT of options used in the wake boat market at $80k. And personally I wouldn’t limit yourself to 2015. Something like an early G23 would be a great boat at $80k.

As far as reliability, true inboards like v-drives and direct drives are way more reliable than any I/O I’ve ever owned. The true inboard setup is easier to work on and in my experience the major brands have great parts availability for long term ownership. You can still find parts for Pleasurecraft’s reverse rotation Ford setups they haven’t even used since the early 90s. Finding Ford parts for a Volvo Penta I/O setup from that era is a nightmare by comparison.

Another thing you may not be aware of based on your previous boat ownership is depreciation in the wake boat market. These boats depreciate in value slowly. A lot of the boats being sold now for $80k weren’t much more than $80k back when they were new. My local Nautique dealer has twice given me what I originally paid them on a trade in. I could’ve sold the boats locally for about the same amount, too. I’ve never been able to do that in the I/O, pontoon, or jet ski markets after a few years of use. I only mention that because it’s really not a huge deal if you make a mistake and/or decide you want something else. You sell/trade them pretty much for what you bought it for assuming you get a brand that’s at least decent at holding value.

Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you end up with!
Old     (joeshmoe)      Join Date: Jan 2003       09-15-2019, 4:27 AM Reply   
Stick with the 2015 or newer, you just need to find the right boat, I bought my low hours 2005 VLX in 2009 and now the boat is almost 15 years old and the engine is still in great shape! I have seen an old owner of a nice old ski boat on Conneaut lake in up in new york, come down to the lake for two weeks, take the boat out and use it for two weeks, then he had it winterized for the next year! That's the boat you want to buy, one thats been taken care of and has low hours, if you don't find it this year wait till next, but make sure you test the surf, even on my VLX (newer bigger haul in 2005) they had to add extra ballast to get the surf wake because the driver and I were the only ones in the boat.
Old     (Shakarocks)      Join Date: Mar 2013       09-17-2019, 5:18 AM Reply   
You've got a lot of options. You can get some great 2015 or newer for less than $80k or you can drop $30-50k for something like an older Malibu VLX, throw on some Infinity Wave tabs, and upgrade the ballast and have a surf and wakeboard machine.
Old     (cwojtak)      Join Date: May 2016       09-17-2019, 2:56 PM Reply   
Any preference on capacity or pickle fork vs. traditional bow? If not what lake/river will you be on? There are a lot of good options out there given your budget (assuming you're interested in performance > luxury) so depth, capacity and overall chop at your lake should help narrow narrow them down
Old     (Matt0520)      Join Date: Feb 2019       09-18-2019, 3:41 AM Reply   
I was in same boat as you earlier this year. I didn’t want to hassle with a bunch of DIY fixes, we ordered a Moomba Craz during the boat show for under $75k with 7 year warranty.

It’s a hell of a boat for us and I’ve had more advanced guys on it that love the wake as well. 92 hours so far this year and no issues...very happy.

Old     (onlyinboards)      Join Date: Oct 2014       09-18-2019, 5:00 AM Reply   
So many options! But if it were me i'd go used. Quick search shows a bunch in the South East that fit your criteria
https://www.onlyinboards.com/used-sk...=85000&Drive=1

Reply
Share 

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:11 PM.

Home   Articles   Pics/Video   Gear   Wake 101   Events   Community   Forums   Classifieds   Contests   Shop   Search
Wake World Home

 

© 2019 eWake, Inc.    
Advertise    |    Contact    |    Terms of Use    |    Privacy Policy    |    Report Abuse    |    Conduct    |    About Us