I am stepping up to a v drive. Any comments or opinions on qualities (wake and handling) of an 02 x-star and an 03 vlx? Both are comparable in hours and options (loaded).

I had an 03 VLX and my buddy still has 02 X-Star. Very, very close. It all comes down to personal preference. I hated the stereo in glove box, but that's minor. Both boats, proven hulls and wakes, hard to make a bad choice.

Tough call, like Shane said. <BR> <BR>Deciding factor for me would be the friendliness of the local boat dealer, warranty, prices, and color schemes. They are both sick boats.

im going to say x-star, mainly because i like the MC wake better than the BU' wake

I have an 03 vlx and love it. the stock wake is sick. Plus the wedge is awesome. it makes the wake steeper and really sends u up. Here are a couple pics. remember this is no added ballast, just the 3 stock tanks and the wedge. i think its pretty good. <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/338321.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/338322.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/338323.jpg" alt="Upload">

Dan you could be opening up the age old argument with this question. There are tons of people that are going to say Bu and there are tons of people that will say X-Star. Its all going to come down to person preference. You live in Nor Cal so there are both good and bad dealers and good and bad service shops. The bast thing for you to do is ride behind each one and see what you like better. Since they are both used you could factor in which one has less hours on it. I own an 02 X-star and love it, I have never had one problem and the wake is great. I have friends with the BU and its nice also. Like I said its all how you feel about each one. You cant go wrong with either boat. The last thing that may or may not make up your mind would be the resale later on. Go to Nada and see what each one is selling for. It could be the deciding factor on it. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by gizel on June 22, 2006)

If you have a family I think there is better room for people in the BU but I like the wake better in the x-star.

" have an 03 vlx and love it. the stock wake is sick. Plus the wedge is awesome. it makes the wake steeper and really sends u up. Here are a couple pics. remember this is no added ballast, just the 3 stock tanks and the wedge." <BR> <BR>That looks real good for a stock 03, how many people did you have in the boat for those shots? <BR> <BR>With our 05 we pretty much just run stock ballast with the 4 tanks &amp; wedge but 4 to 5 people really makes a big difference over 2. Heck just having a full tank of gas makes a noticable increase. The 21' VLX's don't take much extra to get much bigger (vs the 23) which is nice. I'll probably add about 300-400lbs of lead spread around this summer now that I have a bigger hoist.

I have 03 VLX. The stock ballast has 500 lb in center and 250 lb on each side of the rear. You upgrade to put 1000 lb in center ballast, that's what we have and throws a great wake for wakeboarding or wake surfing. good luck on your purchase. <BR>either way, you can't go wrong.

Where can you get this 1000 lb upgrade in the center ballast? <BR> <BR>Brand, contact info, etc.? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR> <BR>Danny

That whole 1000lbs is B.S. You can fit at most 375ish lbs into that locker. I have been using the fly high pro x seat bottom in there. The malibucrew.com has done a ton of testing on what fits in there including measuring the amount of water that goes in and comes out of that area. <BR> <BR>Edit: Get High Sports used to carry a 1000lb sack that was HUGE. something like 6ft by 2.5ft. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by liquidmx on June 23, 2006)

Matt: That's kind of what I thought. <BR> <BR>Thanks

I thought it was 900 lbs total for the stock ballast in the 2003 VLX. 250 in each rear and 400 in the center

I decided x-star (less hrs. a few more extras). Is 35700 a fair price? 220 hrs. loaded

No, you should be able to drop the price a lot lower than that. I had a loaded 2001 xstar and we got it for 39,900 brand new.

I will go ahead and do it <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" border=0> get a SAN!

Na stick with M.C. the 02 Xstar has a great wake. 35700 seems a little high, but then again I have not seen the boat you are talkin about so its hard to say. You say its loaded, list what the boat has.

zero flex tower with speakers,lights,triple ballast,perfect pass,stereo 2amps,depth,5.7 vortec,bimini,dual axle trailer swing away tongue

Sounds like a nice boat and it comes with a nice trailer. Mastercrafs hold there value nice so its in the ballpark, but I would offer them a couple grand less then what they are asking. <BR>Best of luck to you with your boat purchase.

You can't go wrong with either one. <BR> <BR>FYI...that VLX wake above is NOT stock. <BR> <BR>Both of those boats need at least double the stock ballast just to start if you're riding longer than 70 feet, or faster than 21 <BR> <BR>The 05 and up VLX is the only boat I know of that is awesome stock.

I'm a big fan of the stock SAN wake aswell. Not quite the size, but plenty of kick. Just thought I'd add that for the two or three people who actually care about stock wakes.

Danny: I don't know who makes it, but I can ask my dealer or you can try directly to Paradice Water sports in Arizona. 480-858-9800. <BR>Matt: I am sorry that you don't have 1000lb in your VLX, it really makes a huge different.

"FYI...that VLX wake above is NOT stock." <BR> <BR>Pretty confident statement there... were you around for the pictures? Maybe you saw him empty out those _secret_ fat sacks on the dock after photographing this lie? <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/biggrin.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>I can't imagine why Tingey would lie about something so trivial - maybe he had a few extra people in the boat with him but if he said he's running stock ballast and wedge, I'm sure he is. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by gehennaengine on June 26, 2006)

Thanks Jed. <BR>Come J-rod why would I lie about that. I just dont think u can handle a malibu, maybe a little jealous since u down graded to the MC. That wake is stock and is sweet. There are 5 people in the boat. Thats just what u get with a malibu, the best wake on the market

Dan, you are making the right decision.

"I just dont think u can handle a malibu, maybe a little jealous since u down graded to the MC." <BR> <BR>That should go over well. <BR> <BR>"Dan, you are making the right decision." <BR> <BR>As should that.

Jealous since he downgraded huh.... His LSV wake was kickin, but I don't think it ever quite approached the X2's wake. <BR> <BR>Anyway, I could see that wake being stock ballast. My stock ballast wake looks huge at 21mph and 70 of rope. I'd say at least that big, especially if you put 5 people in the boat. Plus with the MC you don't have anything dragging under your boat to make it handle like crap. <BR> <BR>I still say you can't go wrong either way. The MC may hold it's value better (not sure why, but they do really well). Also the MC trailer will most likely be a nicer trailer (means a lot to me), but they are both nice boats. Stock wake to stock wake I'd say they are very similar. Personally I'd ride the Bu without the wedge and with some extra ballast, but that's personal preference.

Thanks for your opinion Evan, very well put, I hope J-rod knows my comments were all in fun. I do wonder why people dont like the wedge. I love it. the extra steepness it adds to the wake is sweet and sends u a lot higher, which i like better then distance. The handling isnt very noticeable for boarding. but we are sure to put it up when we are just traveling to a spot or back in at the end of the day.

Yeah, I'm sure he knows it's all in fun. No worries. I just like the shape better without the wedge. You definitely have to add weight to compensate. On the LSV it was the other way around. I liked it with the wedge. Just personal preference. Could have something to do with the wedge design too. I know they changed it somewhere along the line.

I still want to know how in the hell you can fit 1000# worth of water in the center locker on an 03' VLX. <BR>I have one myself, and would love to be able to get that much weight hidden in there.....but know it can't be done. <BR> <BR>sushi....do you know math that no one else here knows?

i removed the 250 tanks in my 03 vlx and put 650 sacs... hooked up to stock ballast system works great. anyways, the 03 vlx is a great boat. the hull is awesome... again, the x-star is very nice as well. I love my 03 vlx. it's just like new