Opinions wanted on this Echelon

[bstphen24]

Sold the '89 Nautique, so it is time to upgrade! My wife and I will be going to look at the 1993 Malibu Echelon next week. The boat has 290 hours and they are asking $11.9k. Just looking for some opinions on it and see what you guys think it is worth.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108734916713311178088/201403221993MalibuEchelon?authkey=Gv1sRgCJrBo_KIw9aZTw#

[rodltg2]

Worth less

[wtrskior]

looks mint from the photos.

 

They are good boats, do not ski much different than the response. Walk through bow is nice.

 

If it weren't so clean looking I'd Seriously question the actual hours.

 

The Computron is suspect even if its working. Most opt for analog gauges which that boat appears to have.

 

For anyone familiar: Are Engine hours stored on the computron.?

 

Asking price is a bit high for me but its easy to spend big $$$ on a used boat.

[bstphen24]

@rodltg2‌ what do you think it is worth? 10- 10.5?

[Bulldog]

9500 - 10000 Is a good price.

[bigtallweed]

I have the same motor in 94 Malibu Euro F3. It has run great 13 years with no problems. Lots of power for my 2350 boat. Transmissions are great too.

[bstphen24]

@bigtallweed what kind of top end speed do you get? We do some footing and run at between 4-5 thousand feet elevation.

[wtrskior]

For the heavier guys long line footing you'll want more power. I think they are about 260hp. Good hull for footing though.

 

I agree 10k is a good price.

[bigtallweed]

@bstphen24‌ . I slalom at 34 and rarely run the boat wide open but I believe about 46 mph and very close to sea level. The Euro has a 86 inch beam so lighter as well.

[rq0013]

Last spring I sold a 97 closed bow echelon with over 500hrs in 2 days for $13000

[bstphen24]

Our heaviest footer is about 190 and doesn't long line. The two of us that long line , as of now, are about 170. The specs from themalibucrew site says the lx weighs 2650 plus the tower, so another 100lbs or so. Probably still faster than my buddies 205 so that is a bonus. Thanks for the info and anymore would be greatly appreciated. Really hoping the pictures are a good representation of the boat.

[oldjeep]

I'd use this one as a comparison. More hours but looks to be in nicer shape for 10K

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?topic=Search&category=Comp_Boat&postid=25655

 

[bstphen24]

@rq0013‌ where are you located? I feel this boat has a fairly good asking price based on others like it out here west. Plus the tower, which is a bonus to me, and the dual axle trailer with folding tongue. If the boat is as nice as it appears, my initial thought was $10.5k would be a pretty good deal. Other Echelon lx's around here are asking $13k without the tower and folding tongue options. I need the folding tongue and removable platform in order to get it in the garage.

[rq0013]

WI. This boat had perfect pass digital pro, hot shower, heater, 315hp black scorpion option motor. bimini, boom, spare prop. No tower. I would say thats a good price for the yr vs hrs.

[6balls]

Just cuz asking is $11.9K doesn't mean that's the sale price. I bought my '00 SN 196 in 2010 for $17K even with an asking price of $19.8K. If it's the boat you want and in your range, don't lose it over $500 or $1K...that turns out to be nearly meaningless over many years of use. I told the seller in my case my budget was $15K (which was the range I was looking at)....so by going to $17K it was the absolute max for me and I completely understood if that was not ok. Next thing you know I have a boat. Throw the seller an offer you think is reasonable but be prepared that it may not happen. If you really want it you may need to meet in the middle.

There are lots of used boats and the seller is only selling this one...if you don't get it there will be others for you but the seller has one. With that if you can stomach passing on the boat you are in the driver's seat.

[bstphen24]

@6balls‌ those are my exact thoughts. Looking to spend no more than 13-14k, but not in a huge hurry to buy. I believe more boats are going to hit the market as the weather gets better. This one just so happens to meet almost all of my requirements and the wife's too. I just wanted to get a feel for the price from other who have bought and sold boats before.

[Wish]

Purchased my first new to me boat from a guy that traveled for a living. He would find boat dealers in the areas he would travel to (especially late fall and winter) and hand the salesmen his business card with an offer number written on the back. Cash offer and usually better then $2000 less then asking. He'd tell the sales rep to just call him when they were ready to sell. No haggling. Every year he had a different inboard on his lift in FL. And every year he would sell it for 500-1000 more then he paid. There is always a better deal and always another boat. Echelons were great boats. Have skied and driven many hours behind 2 of them each summer in MN. Best of luck to you and your search.

[LZywicki1]

Looked at a Echelon a couple of weeks ago for a fellow Baller up here in Mickigan and this boat and trailer look to be in better shape by a long shot and for close to the same price. Used boat prices are crazy just like new.

 

 

[GAJ0004]

I have only slalomed behind one once. It had a nice flat soft wake.

[andjules]

Good looking boat, for sure.

 

I'll just point out that you can sometimes find a 98-or-newer Sportster LX in this price range.

Depending on your usage/needs, it can be more attractive: a little lighter (slightly nicer slalom wake), walkover bow (which means closed-bow style, roomier observer seat), simpler/less-problematic electronics, and usually a 310 Indmar, which I think is a bit nicer engine than the Mercury. And 5+ years newer, often at-or-close-to the same price point. Of course, i) it's a tad narrower (less storage), ii) if you value the walk-through more than the wide observer seat, it's obviously the wrong choice, and lastly iii) when you need a folding tongue, I get that it can be the dealmaker/dealbreaker.

[foxriverat]

You can use this search engine to get some comparisons 10 or 1000 miles from your area http://www.searchtempest.com/

[6balls]

Good thought on the sportser lx @andjules‌

Something like this...a 2000 model with 150 hrs. Much newer boat, hours like a promo and asking $13K. I'd go with it over that echelon.

 

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=39028

 

@bstphen24 in the pics of the echelon in question I wonder about faded gel coat, and there is a significant wear on starboard armrest of the rear seating area. Wonder what that means for the rest of the upholstery. Also found a '94 echelon asking 9900 with 655 hrs no tower/bimini for a comparator.

[wtrskior]

I agree on the value in a sportster. I owned one. Great boats! Better performance as well but the walk through bow is great for families. Echelon will be a better wake and open water boat.

[bstphen24]

The step over bow just won't cut it with the wife, and I don't care for it either. Faded gel is somewhat of a concern for me too on any boat. But the '89 I sold was badly faded and I restored it by going thru the wet sanding process and had great success. Walk thru open bow, better than average ski wake, and under 23' on the trailer are our biggest factors.

[DW]

@bstphen24: The Echelon is a great boat, Malibu used basically the same SV23 hull from '93 onward on the Response LX with minor mods over the years. The LXi is a wider version of the SV23 hull.

 

On item to note on the engine side, there was a significant bump in power in 1996 as GM introduced the Vortec cylinder heads on the small block V8 which is used by all the marinizers. The hp levels went from 265 to 310 so a noticeable change. This provided a basic 2-3 mph increase in top speed from ~45 mph to ~48 mph on average. The holeshot was also better. These era boats were all in the 2300-2600 lb range and on 90" wide hulls so they didn't need the 350 hp of today's 3000# / 93" wide boats. The Mercruiser is considered a top level marinizer and provides a high quality product. With all that, a heavy footer or a short course setup can be an issue with the 265 hp level boats.