I gotta ask...

A Bu dealer told me he had first hand knowldge of an 06 X2, where they filled the center ballast which caused the boat to flex enough that when closing the center windshield glass it did not catch and fell through to the inside of the boat. He also said a new Nautique hull cracked from driving through a double up due to the use of cheaper fiberglass this year. Lastly, he said adding any kind of extra ballast voids a MC warranty but is not issue for Malibu. I think the dealer was grasping at straws but I had to ask what you all thought.

I'd stay far away from a dealer that trash-talks the competition like that. And I wouldn't make a buying decision based on anything he said. No boat line is perfect, not even any of his Malibus.

Wow, I sell against those brands mentioned but what was said by that dealer is so far from the truth. Like Jeff said, stay away from that dealer.

the dealer is an a$$clown ! I wish dealers would just stick to qualities of their own brand and stay away from bashing the competition.

he's full of ••••

Sounds like a typical salesman.

I'm thinking of the logic in his statement. The windshields would have to separate about 2 inches for the center wind shield to miss the catch. Plus, the 06 X2 has a hard center tank (correct me if I'm wrong.) If the boat was sitting in the water, and you added weight to the center, wouldn't it cause the boat to flex the opposite direction - (if it were to flex.)

Last year, I test drove an X2 during the dealer's promotional event. The salesperson said something like: "The Malibu and MC plants are really close to each other. If you tour both plants you see that Malibu does a crappy job, the shops are messy, you can see the quality difference. The MC plant on the other hand is clean, high-quality and pretty."

Then later, the other Sales person said the exact same thing. (Sale manager fed them that line?)

I bought a Malibu.

yikes,

Whether that happened to those boats or not, it isn't his place to talk about it. Try selling your boats, not un-sell the competition

I agree with Craig's logic on the windshield, like you said - if anything it would squeeze the sides of the boat together, not pull them apart.

Another thing the dealer said was adding ballast to an MC will void the warranty, but not the case with Malibu - which did concern me; however, considering the rest of the BS he fed me I doubt anything he said.

dont you think mastercraft and nautique would have thought about that?
think about it
they want a customer for life! not just a customer that is not happy with a purchase!!!
anyone agree??

Typical sales BS

Sounds to me like he wanted to bash the two companies that build a better product. Most boats out today are made really well, but Nautique and Mastercraft are among the best, and your salesman knows this and feels threatened by their products.

Too bad, this dealer should go. When I bought my boat, the dealer never brought up another brand, not even to compare comfort creatures. I'd stay away from that guy.

Did he mention that Mastercrafts have an Added Ballast trip sensor? It trips a switch and the computer records a voided warranty flag for adding additional weight.

SO DON'T PUT FAT SACKS IN YOU MASTERCRAFT.

or fat chicks

It really boils down to: Mastercraft, Malibu and Correct Craft are the top three manufactures. You can't go wrong with any of them. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses that may or may not appeal to your personal tastes. Each unique boat can be subject to faulty manufacturing or poor workmanship and cause you problems. Without factual data, I would estimate they are all equal quality.

<sarcasm>
Except for Malibu - they're just higher quality.
</sarcasm>
Which reminds me, I need to call my Malibu dealer to get my laundry list of warranty items fixed.

Mike, your kidding me right? You know what they say about opinions

I love blanket statements. I especially love how gullable and close minded people are about boating companies... These two are the best, malibu sucks, blah blah blah. Sometimes people speak on subjects that they have no experience or data to reinforce their comments, but I guess thats the internet; and it makes me laugh everytime.

Brand BASHING ROCKS! hey I have never even sat in a nautique but I know malibus are worse becuase they dont market to the upper class lol. If a boat costs more its better! lol.

Jeffrod, research is really the only thing that can help you make the right decision, and one thread isnt enough. Do some searches on several sites and read as much as you can to discover where you want to place your hard earned money. Silver tongues sell boats to make money for themselves (for the most part), not to ensure you are happy with your purchase. If they werent making money off your purchase would they still show up to help with the deal?

Stay way away from that guy. He would tell yoou the same thing about Malibu boats if he worked for Mastercraft. Hard to believe that salespeople out there are still shovelling this garbage. Boats are boats. It is all in what you want, how much you want to spend, and what makes you happy. Let us in on who this guy is.....maybe some pressure to change his ways will make a better representative out of him. Many Dealers watch this web-site to get feedback from future or prior customers, they just dont let you know who they are (most of the time).

PS...hey Matt, you want to ride at Anderson next week? Always looking for riders during the week.

You should make a copy of this thread and give it to the salesman. Maybe it would show him the true effects of his sales tactics.

more expensive does not indicate better, I believe it was Mercedes who got the poorest quality of the year award last year, I will stick to my high quality supra for 15k less any day of the week over any of the above, no offense they are great boats, but so is mine and I have more cash in my pocket which puts a smile on my face

Howie, I would be there in a heartbeat, but I must take a rain check until after the 17th for tax purposes. Believe me, working 60+ hrs a week, I want to get on the water so bad!

Shane,

not kidding! Research shows that Mastercraft and CC have the lowest problems per boat sold per year, among the highest customer satisfaction ratings, higher resale, etc. Not kidding!

my bu dealer told me that putting any extra ballast in the trunks would void any warranty on the built in rear tanks.

Sales 101...rule #1.

Never trash your competition or their products and/or services! It's a sign of weakness and insecurity.
It's a saleman's job to put the wind in his hair...not crap in his head!

DC

(Message edited by foxrepdc on April 10, 2006)

Run, don't walk, away from that dealer!!

It might just be a dumb salesperson. I would consider telling the owner or manager about the ridiculous story you were told. I would suspect any good business person would know that is a poor sales tactic. That is, if you really want a bu.

Thx mike, I will run sell my 2nd VLX and buy a MC or CC

I'm pretty sure the person I was talking to was the owner...

I'm 0 for 2 with Malibu dealers in my area.