Picking up new Boat tomorrow!

I've spent all summer looking for the right boat and finally placed an order with MB Sports about 5 weeks ago. I'll be driving down to the factory and picking it up (2010 MB TWB) in the morning! Too bad it's starting to get cold....

next challenge is getting it safely stored in my garage :-)

-Phil

Awesome man. post lots of pics

Love that boat, post pics when you can.

One of my favorites too Let's see some pics!!!

I know you are excited. I just picked up my 2010 TWB a couple months ago. You are going to love it!

Unfortunately, I just finished polishing up the tower last night for it's long winter nap here in VA.

Nice thing is that it fits in the garage with no problem so no worries about the snow whenever it comes!!

You'll love it. Those things throw amazing wakes. What color scheme did you go with?

Congratulations, you will not be disappointed. Post up some pics when you get it. Can't wait to see it. I have heard great things about that wake.

Congrats! You are going to love that boat, I know I do.

Sweet, I haven't been in or around one of those yet bet people seem to love them.

You ordered it straight from MB and are taking delivery from them at the factory? No dealer involved?

@Hate N Pain: Yeah, I am fortunate to have been able to go to several factory boat tours in the central valley (MB Sports, Malibu, Centurion, & Calabria). All of the above mentioned boats are great, however, I feel the build quality of the MB was a notch above. Mike was also very patient with me in answering all my questions. Working directly with the factory was an added bonus as no pushy sales guy!

I'll post some build photos and final product this evening.

-Phil

Here is one from the factory:

Wow, I bet the local MB dealer is going to love this thread/news.

Congrats on the new boat though.

Sorry...the previous pic was pretty small

Looks sharp.

IF your ordering directly from the factory and not going thru a dealer (assumig you are in a dealers terrotiry) that is toal BS on MB's part.

My guess is, if he's posting it on here, this isn't some big, secret deal. Furthermore, it sounds like we have a guy who did his homework and went to several manufacturers and toured their facilities. So if you are a manufacturer and you have a live one on the line, you have to say, "no, I won't take your money; I want you to go drive x hours away and place this through one of my reps?"

^^^^ Yes,

You say we have a dealer in that area that will handle the transaction. Call the dealer that second, and start the process.

What if the dealer can't afford to buy any boats?

Good point Alan. The Manufacturer should still try and process it through the dealership so they are getting some sort of profit from it. The manufacturer's should be trying their best to help their dealers through these tough times.

What if MB is also applying a significant sale "credit/Rebate" to the local dealer for future purchases?

(Message edited by alans on October 29, 2009)

Congrats. MB makes a top notch boat. The TWB throws out a monster wake. You wont be disappointed.

Alan, that sounds good I guess. I am just hoping they are helping the people who represent them on the local level. If a certain dealer is having that tough of a time that may be the only option to help the dealer and still sell a boat.

Even if a dealer cant' buy any boats ,they can still custom order them.

Credits/Rebates are good, but dont' put $$$ in the dealers pocket at the time of sale ( no trade in's) . In this economy delaers need $$$, not IOU's ( aka credits or rebates), lol.

A non sponsored rider ordering a boat direct from a manufacturer that has a dealer network in place is sketchy at best.

Jesus. He toured the factory and bought a boat. So f'ing what.

People hate on ANYTHING just to hate on WW.

Good for you man - boat looks awesome.

Thats why I asked...No offense to pip but it's total BS! You take from the people that have been buying and selling your boats for YOU! No way man its crap. I say all this under the assumption that the dealer network didn't get anything from the sale.

Don't you think that its crap that manufacturers have to buy back the boats when a dealer goes under?
Not arguing, just a counter point.

The only reason I was able to buy from the factory is because there was no local dealers in business in my area (San Diego). Trust me, Mike directed me to other dealers before he would agree to deal directly with me.

-Phil

Tough times for all. But I agree with Hate. You have to take care of your dealers in these tough times too. And its BS if MB is selling direct in a territory that has a dealer.
We toured the MC plant in Tennessee last December and they worked out some pretty good incentives, but they still required the deal to go through the local dealer.
We ended up with a Malibu this year and we chatted alot with the Regional Rep, but when it was all said and done the deal still went through the local dealer.
If nothing else I am a firm believer that you spend your money inside your local economy,this helps feed the sales guys and helps them to put food on their table.
I guess you can't blame a guy for looking for the best deal possible.

I don't think anyone is hating on him for doing it but hating on a manufacturer that maybe went around his dealer. Our manufacturers will bring clients to us often have everything worked out first. Maybe thats what happened lets just hope. If not that will piss of the dealer and good luck getting any help with the boat. I know I would not help just coming from a manufacturer / dealer relationship. I love the look of MB cant believe they are not here in Florida.

Guys, he said there was no dealer rep in that area.

PIP, so it looks like the closest dealer is 250-300 miles away. I know that isn't exactly in your area but you still should have had to buy the boat through them or they should be getting some credit for something. Why didn't they just make you buy from them? Who is going to do warranty work on the boat? I realize you can probably take the boat to a PCM dealer for the engine but what about everything else?

250 miles, no way. I would habe told MB to f off

besides, they should warranty the work anyway. warranty isnt through a dealer, its through the MFG.

Kevin, who do you think does the warranty work? In general the MFG doesn't do it. The dealer does it and the MFG reimburses them for the work at a discounted rate from normal shop time.

If MB wants to sell direct they should just get rid of their dealers all together.

(Message edited by polarbill on October 29, 2009)

omfg drama
boat looks amazing please dont hesitate to post because of the flame.

No one is flaming him. Good for him that he got the boat he wanted. I am flaming MB, if and only if the closest dealer wasn't given a shot to sell the boat.

I agree it's on mb not pip. The boat is sweet it's what he wanted. I would not have been brave enough to buy a boat that the closest dealer is that far away. Please send more pictures. Hopefully mb will do the right thing.

Great looking boat Pip...congrats. I love that color scheme. Tell me you stopped at a lake in that area to ride before you put it away. Post more pics when you get a chance...maybe of the wake too.

@ Alan, the manufacturers don't have to buy the boats back the flooring bank ends up with them if the dealer goes out of business.

No one is ripping pip at all.

Brett, why give the local dealer money for a sale they had nothing to do with, besides, if he did buy the boat for them, what will he get for spending the extra money at the dealership? He wont be making the 4 hr drive for winterization, oil changes, or anything else you would use a dealer for, only warranty work.

Because that is how dealer networks work.

But the network isnt large enough.

Oh, and I am not a firm believer in the cut out the middle man theory. I understand all of the benefits of dealers, warranty, etc, but in this case, there is no advantage of buying through a dealer.

Hopefully MB sold the boat for the same price as a dealer would then. If they are selling it for way less than a dealer can sell a boat for that is just asking for trouble.

Hate N Pain. No, the Manufacturer is on the hook. I know from experience.

I also know that MB pays considerably more than regular labor rate for their warranty work, not less.

Brett,
In principle, I agree with you but the nearest dealer to him is in Visalia Ca....a 5 hr drive. Probably the correct thing to do would have been to take the order and make Pip do the paperwork at the dealer as well as the formal pickup and delivery of the boat. I then would have made them prep the boat for delivery. But with that being said, MB is a small manufacturer and like everyone is probably struggling to survive. If I had a customer up in my area doing a tour of my factory as well as all of my other competitors, and he said "great, sell me one now", no way in hell am I going to send him an hour down the road to do the deal. Like Kevin M said, he may just as well have said F%$% U I will go to centurion or malibu or Calabria. Hopefully they took care of that dealer somehow but back to the original topic, lets congratulate PIP for personally trying to stimulate the U.S. economy!

What the hell is wrong with some of you people? Would you deal with a dealer 5 hours away from you?? Not many people are going to buy a boat from a dealer that far away. MB had an opportunity to get a deal from someone who otherwise probably wouldnt had bought their boat. They didnt take a sale away from anybody. That buyer clearly wasnt in anybody's territory. Just be happy for the guy, and get off MB's back.

this thread is insane. Pip, hope to see you on mbboatowners.

Just another thread in which someone tries to post something cool and people have to turn it into B.S.

Pip - Sharp looking boat. I bet next summer cant get here fast enough. I have never been on an MB, but I hear great things.

Congrats Pip. she looks awesome.

I want to know who they told you would take care of any warranty issues.
You said "The only reason I was able to buy from the factory is because there was no local dealers in business in my area (San Diego). Trust me, Mike directed me to other dealers before he would agree to deal directly with me." So he tried to get you to go through a dealer and you would not? IF this is true and I am not 100% sure it is> I am still trying to figure it all out. That is BS on MB as well AS you. Is the MB factory closer to you. The more I read it the more I don't like it. really sounds like MB is screwing the dealer over. I am all for going on the factory tour and all. Make the deal there whatever but the dealer needs to "sell" the boat. Get a credit on his boat count and get paid. I sure hope your taking it back to the factory for warranty work.

If he has to drive 5 hrs to a dealer to get factory work done, he might as well drive the additional 30+ minutes and go directly to the manufacturer.

kko13, no disrespect meant here but what's the big deal? This just seems like a 1 off deal given the circumstances ....btw I do understand the importance of a dealer since we just lost two here in the area and I supported them - service and accessories - when they were here.

done with this thread

Pip, congrats on the boat.

Why would anyone turn down warranty work if it is more than their regular labor rate?

Jesus - bunch of ******** haters in here.

Hate, MB does buy the boats back when a dealer goes under. I know this for fact.

Here is another fact - NO ONE KNOWS HOW THE DEAL WENT DOWN!!!

This is all a bunch of hate based on pure conjecture.

congrats!

He said that there wasn't a dealer in his area, everyone chill out, jesus. Congrats on the boat

Like was mentioned earlier, the nearest dealer was 250 miles away and I refused to travel that far for maintenance and any (hope not) warranty work. I did my homework and spent 3.5 months researching and test driving many different boats from almost all manufactures. Service was very important to me as I'm not the most mechanically inclined person. I really loved the MB brand, however I was leaning towards my 2nd choice who had a dealer in my area. The only thing stopping me from buying an MB was distance to a shop who could service my boat. Mike and I talked about several options and came to an agreement. I paid the same price as I would have at a dealer so you can stop hating on MB. MB did what any sane person would do in his situation and that is to work out a deal for my special circumstance and make a sale. I'm not sure how the dealer/factory relationship works, however I know Mike is a stand-up guy and will do the right thing if a violation took place.

I have a place that will service my boat in my area and any major warranty work will be done at the factory.

Hope this helps clear up some questions! It's too late to take pictures tonight, however I'll try and snap some tomorrow.

-Phil

Congrats!! You will love it. Great color combo. too.

After a full summer with our TWB, it's still like going out on a brand new boat every time. Add 400-500lbs. to the bow and you are set. My dad just took ours to storage for the winter. Very, sad.....

Brennan is right, 500 in the bow makes for a perfect setup.

Sounds to me that MB handled the situation properly. I'm glad Pip cleared the situation up before the "support all dealers at all costs" crowd grabbed their pitchforks and started burning all things MB.

Good looking boat, PIp! Congrats! I want to ride behind it!

Congrats on the purchase pip. Please show us some pics as we are boataphiles.

to you and others....please don't let the flamers prevent you from posting stuff like this on this board. It's amazing that something cool like that always gets twisted around to where threads deviate from it's original intent.

It's a sad thing about this board where 50% of all threads get jacked with flaming banter. It's like there are a dozen or so a$$es that sit around all day on their computer just waiting for new threads to pop up so that they can get their .02 in.

Don't get me wrong, I love this board, and have been enjoying it for many years now, but it seems like it has evolved into more of a pissing match between people rather than a good source of information. For good info, I look to the brand specific boards rather than this one where there are people that are actually interested in the boats and boarding rather than trolling.

Oh wait...crap....I guess I just added to this unrelated hijacking banter....sorry

hey pip nice boat, just had a question where are MB's being made these days? are they still in the merced/atwater area, or did they close down that factory like all the other boat MFG's did? its sad to hear about all the factories closing around there.

that's the same factory as always in the pics. Hopefully it starts crankin out TWB's soon. That boat is really a home run, I encourage anyone to ride it anytime you get a chance.

+1 for what Brandon says....

There is a lot of good info on here....

but many people seem to use the boards to see who can piss the farthest.

Not to chime in to loud, but

309 miles to local dealer
394 miles to Factory...

Nice looking boat...
Glad to see you supporting the boating industry...

Thats a sharp looking boat, i love the graphics and color scheme. congrats

@Ian (OI) Then MB must floor the boats which isn't uncommmon for manufacturer's to do. I can see why MB did what they did I just hope it doesn't become practice for them or any manufacturer.

Thanks for the compliments guys....I had a hell of a time getting this into my garage. My garage is 6'11", however I had to almost completely deflate the tires to get the rear of the boat inside. The arm of the tower when resting on the pad is higher than I expected. I'm working with Mike and the trailer manufacture to see if the trailer torsion axles are too high. This boat is suppose to fit into a garage that is 6'6" so something isn't right (perhaps a twisted torsion axle?). I took the boat out for a quick spin and I couldn't be happier. Here are some pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/danelle.prentice/MBSportsTWB2010?pli=1&gsessionid=MtLx8sUzR9IONKRw4 9hBmg#

is that the ipod jack next to the driver.. .please tell me it is. I hated the ipod jack in the glove compartment. LOOKS GREAT!!!

now get back out there and sleep in the garage tonight. if theres room.

Love it!! Man that tower folds low.

Hate N Pain, no MB did not floor any boats for the dealers, that I know of. GE would goes after the builder if the dealer goes belly up. Not saying they have to buy them back a full price, but they have to buy them back. At least that is what MB and some other manufacturers end up doing. Maybe MB only does it to protect the dealer network from a bank blowing out the boats at $.60 on the dollar.

A man buys the boat of a lifetime and want to share his excitement and good fortune with the WakeWorld brotherhood and his post gets hijacked. The haters could always start their own thread and let a brother enjoy his high. Hey, it's a free county, but, unlike the TV, I can't change this channel when I want to witness the man's new ride. AND IT IS SWEET! Congrats!

Pip on my older x star I have to lower the tongue all the way down because the highest point is in front of the wind shield I also know know x2 people have to raise the tongue to drop the back of the trailer because they have a similar issue that you have. Did you try once it is off your truck lifting the tongue all the way up which would drop the back of the boat. Not sure how good that works on a tandem axle trailer but might be worth a try. Is this your first boat.

@tampawake: I tried your suggestion of adjusting the tongue , however even in the highest position I was too tall by about 2.5". Could be because of the tandem trailer or the that the Jack doesn't crank high enough. This is my second boat, although my first inboard :-)

I spoke with the trailer company yesterday and sent them pictures and measurements. Hopefully we will figure this out as I don't want to go through that trouble often.

@Alan: Yes, that is the new ipod interface cable. This new one also charges your iPod/iPhone.

I think I need to break out the spring suit!!

(Message edited by pip9ball on October 31, 2009)

Nice looking boat Pip, congrats on the new toy.
I like to support my local dealer when possible, but our previous dealer NEVER had parts in stock, about the only thing they MIGHT have was an impeller, other than that, NO DICE! I even called one time to buy a safety lanyard, none, no complete assembly either.
So, was this dealer worthy of my business just because they were the appointed dealer in my geographic area? The MC dealer in our area has two locations, almost always has a bunch of boats in stock, full service in both locations, they have made a commitment to support their customers.
I think the boating industry and dealers are going to change very quickly, it's going to be tough for any dealer or manufacturer to hold "spec" inventory, loser will probably be us, the consumer because it will be tough to demo boats.
I know the comparsion between car dealers and boat dealers will get thrown up here, but I don't think it really relates because of the very small volume of boats sold. My bottom line, what does the dealer add to the equation of selling or servicing of a boat? Will the dealer work with the factory to get a boat that is EXACTLY how one wants? If you have to order a boat and wait for it, what is the dealer bringing to the table?
Will the dealer put your boat first in line Memorial day weekend when it's broken down??

I'm not hating on the dealers, because I know there are some great dealers out there, I'm just asking some "rhetorical" questions that most dealers have already been pondering.

Pip, take a bike (hanging) hook, sink it into a stud in the ceiling, attach a rope from the hook to the tower to get the tower off the new vinyl. Nice pics!

(Message edited by lionel on October 31, 2009)

@lionel: Yep, already in the works!

-Phil

PIP.... sorry I did not read your post sooner about not getting in the garage......

Open the rear hatch. Lay the rear part of the tower down on the divider rails. Then close the hatch back on the tower. Got a TWB in my 5'9" garage like that without deflating the tires.