Malibu/Axis vs. Centurion your experiences please

[Wakejunky 0]

Hello,

New to the forum, been researching the Centurion brand as a possible new boat. I've heard great things here and on TheMalibuCrew and i just wanted to get some direct feedback. I Purchased a new in 2014 Axis A22 and to say the least it was a horrific experience. Experience with the Dealer as well as manufacturer has pushed us in search of a brand with some integrity, we will never consider them again. We are just curious if all boat brands are heading in the same direction. 

Ive recognized so many names here that I've seen on TMC and Would love to hear about your experiences coming from Malibu/Axis or any other brand, at both the dealer and manufacturer levels. If you would rather not publicly discuss it please private message me.  

Thanks,

Doug

Edited December 3, 2018 by Wakejunky

[InfinitySurf 302]

All brands are gonna have some issues, these are hand built boats and there is the human error factor. So the key is how the manufacture and dealer handles them. The right dealer is gonna be the key, they can make/break the boat you choose and IMO, Fineline/Centurion is top-notch. I started off with a bad dealer (mainly cause the boat was not bought from them as it was purchased out of State and is not necessarily the best choice someone can make) but was able to turn that around due to the support of the manufacture

For me, Fineline has been awesome and stepped up any time there was any warranty issue and went above and beyond, on my 2014 there has been nothing major and nothing that as kept me off the water.

I am not into bashing other brands, all the new brands are doing a good job putting out great boats, some seem to be better at QC and I have heard that Malibu has gone downhill in that dept....but again much of that is dealer related since they are supposed to do the final checks. If possible, demo as much as you can and chose the boat you love...with the dealer who you feel is going to support you and be there for you. Good luck on the search!

[BoardCo 110]

One of the best things I could recommend is to jump on the Official Centurion / Supreme Owner's group on Facebook. There are A LOT of former Malibu owners on the page and they can give you a direct comparison on what they have experienced when they switched brands.

 

[wheels 151]

What centurion boat are you looking at?

[Wakejunky 0]

We're looking at an RI237 possibly and Fi23. Leaning towards 237.

[wheels 151]

I came from a 15 Malibu lsv and now have a 17 ri237. I could not be happier with the ri. I have found the ri to check every box for my needs and leaves nothing to be desired. Either the ri or fi I believe will blow you away. 

[gravity12 83]

Wakejunky. You are in cda correct? Have seen the new Centurions due to no dealers around but was not impressed at all with axis i have seen and the malibus have really lost the high end fit and finish i remember. I love my 2006 centurion amd if i could i would not hesitate to buy one of the new ones. 

[NW Vettes 11]

23 hours ago, gravity12 said:

Wakejunky. You are in cda correct? Have seen the new Centurions due to no dealers around but was not impressed at all with axis i have seen and the malibus have really lost the high end fit and finish i remember. I love my 2006 centurion amd if i could i would not hesitate to buy one of the new ones. 

I have a Supreme S238 on CDA at black rock marina and upgrading to Fi23 this winter. We have a friend with black and white Ri257 on CDA that is unreal to surf behind. 

[Wakejunky 0]

No cda here. I have family that would love for me to move their, but that's not gonna happen for awhile. Sounds like I need to find a different user name. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for all the input, keep it coming. I know there are more converts out there. 

How willing are dealers to do warranty work when the need arrives? I had to pull teeth and hair prior. Something about the low reimbursement and it was a price point boat, but I'm sure they knew that getting into the game. Have heard Nautique's  reimbursement is excellent and they bend over backwards to fix every little issue. How's centurion's?

Just a little background Info that has brought me to this point: My Axis spent a combined 270 days at the dealer in just the first two years. It was completely unacceptable. The more they worked on it the worse it got. I just don't want to repeat the experience. Coming from the automotive industry QC was a complete joke. Is their a boat company that is on par with Toyota's QC?

Edited December 5, 2018 by Wakejunky

[gravity12 83]

9 hours ago, NW Vettes said:

I have a Supreme S238 on CDA at black rock marina and upgrading to Fi23 this winter. We have a friend with black and white Ri257 on CDA that is unreal to surf behind. 

What dealer are you getting Centurion through? I'm in spokane also. 

Edited December 5, 2018 by gravity12

[BoardCo 110]

11 hours ago, Wakejunky said:

No cda here. I have family that would love for me to move their, but that's not gonna happen for awhile. Sounds like I need to find a different user name. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for all the input, keep it coming. I know there are more converts out there. 

How willing are dealers to do warranty work when the need arrives? I had to pull teeth and hair prior. Something about the low reimbursement and it was a price point boat, but I'm sure they knew that getting into the game. Have heard Nautique's  reimbursement is excellent and they bend over backwards to fix every little issue. How's centurion's?

Just a little background Info that has brought me to this point: My Axis spent a combined 270 days at the dealer in just the first two years. It was completely unacceptable. The more they worked on it the worse it got. I just don't want to repeat the experience. Coming from the automotive industry QC was a complete joke. Is their a boat company that is on par with Toyota's QC?

Warranty and service vary from dealer to dealer, but generally most Centurion dealers are top notch from my experience. There are exceptions for sure, but generally speaking they do a superior job to what you get from your average Malibu dealership.

As far as QC goes, nobody is on par with Toyota in the marine industry and honestly, they can't be. The technology and engineering that Toyota can afford, along with production capacity will draw out patterns for issues that can be addressed more easily. It's the benefit of building hundreds of thousands of vehicles vs. hundreds of boats.

With that said, the QC that goes into Centurion, Supreme and Nautique is the best in the business. There is a reason a Centurion boat has a 8-10 day build time and a Malibu is 4-5. There are multiple steps in the process that Correct Craft does that are either minimalized by other manufacturers or omitted entirely. This accounts for a lot of issues that customers are seeing with boats that are being built by companies that are more accountable to their shareholders than their customers.

[Gdmatson 25]

On 12/3/2018 at 10:14 PM, wheels said:

I came from a 15 Malibu lsv and now have a 17 ri237. I could not be happier with the ri. I have found the ri to check every box for my needs and leaves nothing to be desired. Either the ri or fi I believe will blow you away. 

Came from the same boat as Wheels to a 18 Ri237. Same result, I couldn’t be happier with the decision! Good luck finding a new boat.

[carguy79ta 67]

I came from an 15 A22, in all fairness it was an awesome boat, , did load it with 4k ballast. Also the dealer was great. And the 2 pairs of revs410 speakers .  Buuttt..I wanted more.  Researched the big boats and the ri257 is the heaviest combo of dry wt. + stock ballast. Add 1000 lead and the wave is unparalleled. I figure with a crew of 5, we gross 16000, using Bosshog's scale ticket for boat and fuel. @BoardCo, can you clear something up for me?  I am under the impression, that Fineline upped the transom and both rear lockers by 200 lbs. (I have a 17 Ri257) If so that would be 6150 of stock ballast. Is this true? I just want to make sure my bragging rights are accurate.

[h20king 794]

No ballast has not changed that I'm aware of. Total ballast is still listed as 5550 and the boat weight is listed as 6150

[carguy79ta 67]

26 minutes ago, h20king said:

No ballast has not changed that I'm aware of. Total ballast is still listed as 5550 and the boat weight is listed as 6150

@Darkside said that Fineline sent him larger bags after he took delivery of his '17 257.

My wt calcs..

Boat plus full fuel  7800 per bosshogg.

Ballast with larger(?) bags  6150

Crew, Gear, anchors toolset, etc 1000

Lead 1000

Total 16000 or so

[h20king 794]

Sure you can put in larger sacks and up your ballast but they are not coming that way from the factory. 2019 catalog and centurion website list ballast as 5500 lbs. 6150 is dry weight.add 92 gallons of fuel at 6.3lbs per gallon and then load in some gear and boat weight goes up substantially. We tow with a 1 ton truck but went with the electric trailer breaks on or fi25 because of total weight. 

[carguy79ta 67]

9 hours ago, h20king said:

Sure you can put in larger sacks and up your ballast but they are not coming that way from the factory. 2019 catalog and centurion website list ballast as 5500 lbs. 6150 is dry weight.add 92 gallons of fuel at 6.3lbs per gallon and then load in some gear and boat weight goes up substantially. We tow with a 1 ton truck but went with the electric trailer breaks on or fi25 because of total weight. 

I understand what the website says, but @Darkside and others said, was that the factory shipped out bigger bags after they had already taken possession of their boat because Fineline figured the boat needed more weight. I am assuming I already have the larger sacs since my 17 arrived a couple months after Darside's did.

[h20king 794]

6 hours ago, carguy79ta said:

I understand what the website says, but @Darkside and others said, was that the factory shipped out bigger bags after they had already taken possession of their boat because Fineline figured the boat needed more weight. I am assuming I already have the larger sacs since my 17 arrived a couple months after Darside's did.

Yes I would assume you have larger sacks that take you to the 5550 lb mark. If larger sacks were sent form the factory  it would be to  get the boat to current levels not beyond or all the new boats would come with larger capacity sacks