Mastercraft X30 or Malibu LSV

I have been studying the LSV for over a year now. I went to the local boat show with the intention of buying one this weekend. Trying to cover my bases I looked at the Mastercraft one last time and discovered the "2006" X30. Now I am struggling to decide which is the better boat/buy. I am sure this could be a "religous" topic, but I am looking for opinions.
Thanks in advance for being kind to a new poster.

what boat show was that at?

sit in both boats, look at the options, price out both boats, go for test drives. We made that choice last spring, we went for the LSV. It was 10k less than the x30. And had some other key featues that sealed the deal for us. Go through each boat, tear it apart, see if you can see staples under the seats, how do the seats feel? hows the carpet. Both boats have a ballast monitoring system, malibu has it in the spedo LCD display along with time air water temp and a few other options. The X30 has analog gagues going down on the right corner of the dash. That is just personal choice. I did notice one thing, check it out when you are there to make sure it wasnt just a flaw in the one I saw, but the cooler under the seat, we could not take it out. the seat wouldnt allow enough space. Im not sure where you live, but also do research on the dealers, see how their service is and all that kind of stuff.

Since you are looking for opinions here is mine.

We chose the LSV of the X30 because of the interior space, but now they are even i think. Malibu had more choices, in color schemes for the outside, even though we got it all white. It also had more tower options, and tower accessories. We also liked how the titan tower folded the flatest of all of the tower, a big thing for us. I also like the versitility in the wake, having the wedge, and 1250 pounds stock for the LSV.

Best of luck, both boats are awesome, You will be happy with either boat.

Thanks to both for the replies.

tyler - we were at the Kansas City, Missouri boat show. Malibu is offering $1500 downpayment match + free cover + trailer upgrade. MC is offering $1500 rebate + $500 in store "allowance" in addition to discounted show prices.

hyperlitenerd - thanks for the input. I have been sold on the Malibu for quite a while. Several of my friends own them and all are very pleased. But, I really like the 2005 tower that MC has. The ability to have the racks spin inboard to load, coupled with the fact that the new racks don't use bungie cords were both very appealing. I am tall and I don't hit my head on the MC rack either! I am guessing I am looking at about 5K-8K difference between the two boats. FYI Garage height issues go away with the 2005 MC tower, as it folds below windshield height.

(Message edited by kscrib on February 13, 2005)

Thats good to know that the MC tower folds down better now. Malibu also has spinner racks on the titan tower we got some, and they are nice for the shorter people in the boat who cant quite get the board in the racks when its not spun around. I am also a tall guy I guess 6'2, I dont hit my head on the tower, only when its folded down, and that smarts! ouch!

the 500$ store allowance is nice though, we had that option for both the malibu and the MC, we ended up ordering alot of the options we wanted with our allowance, which was 2k i think.

oh, did you check the cooler on the 06 x-30?

Check out your local dealers to see if any 04 models remain. The dealers are much more motivated to discount the current inventory to make room for the incoming boats.

Regarding your comparison, I purchased the X-30 after comparing several different lines including the Malibu. In the end, my decision came down to the best deal I could work from an excellent dealer. I purchased my X-30 (04 Model, most options, 350HP) for $50,500 (MSRP $68,500. IMO, its worth checking out the remaining 04 lineup.