Anyone got an opinion on Calabria boats?

Can anyone tell me their experience with the Calabria boats? We are looking at a '02 and '03. I've heard they are very roomy and great wake behind them? True??? Also, what's a good price for one? Malibu's are out of our price range. Also, how is the warranty coverage on them? Is the warrany honored by this company with little hassle??? Thanks much~

Heather, we had a Calabria XTS (direct drive). I liked the boat, but the major drawback for me was that the boat had an extremely low freeboard (i.e., rollers came over the bow very easily). Also, this made the boat difficult to handle in rougher water.

The warranty for the motor was one year, which is standard for Mercruiser. I can't remember about the hull. I had a couple of issues where I had to deal with Calabria. They were not the fastest, but always came through in the end.

Hope this helps.

Tim - I have had the opposite experience with Calabria. My dealer sucks, so I do everything through Calabria in Merced, CA. If the person who answers the phone doesn't know the answer, they get the answer and call me back usually within 30 minutes.

Heather - Calabria also has longer than normally business hours. I have called at 5am west coast time before and had them answer the phone and called up to 6pm and still there is someone there to answer the phone.

One time, they couldn't figure out what was wrong from my description, so they weighted one of their boats identical to mine and went and water tested it to figure it out.

Overall Calabria is a great manufacturer I feel, my only warning is to get to know your Calabria dealer very well before you buy one. Dealerships can make or break a boat ownership experience. (the dealership isn't just a Calabria thing, all kinds of boat dealerships have their problems). Even if you don't buy from a dealership, you may need something from them and it is good to know you can trust them (I don't trust mine, hence I go directly to the factory).

(Message edited by tcluv85 on September 09, 2004)

(Message edited by tcluv85 on September 09, 2004)

i have a calabria-dd.i like it alot.good ski and wakeboard wake when weighted down.

Well I have put 350 plus hours on different Pro-Vs over the last 3 years we have had very little problems All Of the issuses we have had are with other vendors. The Factory is great to deal with super helpfull. The longest any of our boats has been in the shop was 3 days total in the year that we had it (bad coil driver took 2 days for parts)

heather it a great boat company was originaly ski brandella, the factory in merced will help you with anything. the only drawback is what tim said the water over the bow issue. in the last two years of riding behind my friends i cant remember a day we didnt take a t least a little water overthe bow

Since it has been mentioned twice here, I will tell about my experience. I had the same issue with water over the bow.

Turns out it was driver error that caused the water over the bow. If you learn how to drive then you don't get water over the bow. When the rider falls, if you take the boat off the plane to the left, the wake will past and you can turn right and go back through the wake, rather than over the wake. It works in my Pro-V. It makes for a much better bow rider experience and it doesn't swamp the bow. Additionally doesn't screw up the water for everyone else...I hate those power turners!

(Message edited by tcluv85 on September 10, 2004)

(Message edited by tcluv85 on September 10, 2004)

I love my 1998 Calabria open bow. I do what bsflower does, little or no water over the bow. The ski locker does get some water in it. We don't have a true Calabria dealer in Ptown so I service the boat myself or with a little help from a boat parts shop. — You can't go wrong with a Calabria —

I rode behind xxxl's boat. Fun stuff! The ballast system was sick. Filled super fast!