New Larson build quality

[TomB985]

Hey everyone,

I've been seriously thinking about buying a 2011 LX 850 with the 4.3L MerCruiser V6 engine. Seems like a great deal, as I can get the boat for just under $20,000 which beats nearly every other new boat in the same class for value.

Now I realize the LX series aren't Larson's premium quality boats, and thus I don't expect it to be as nice as some of the competition. But when I spoke with another boat dealer and told him why his boats were too expensive he told me that "even if you don't buy a boat from us, do yourself a favor and don't buy a Larson." He referred to the bankruptcy and new ownership cutting corners in their boat construction.

Is there any substance to this? The bankruptcy with Genmar has me nervous whether or not the company will be there in five years to support the warranty, and now I'm hearing that they aren't built as well as they used to!

 

[z0lt3c]

Re: New Larson build quality

I've got a 2010 1850LX 4.3 V6 and I've looked at the new 2011 LX 850s and, for what it's worth, the build quality looks identical to me. Prior to my 2010 I had a 1992 Larson All American ... it held up pretty well for a 20 year old boat. You still see alot of older Larsons all over my lake as well.

I think the availability of the warranty is a serious concern, but in all the years I've owned the old Larson, few (if any) of my issues were with the hull. I put alot more value in the Mercruiser warranty ... and it seems GM is gonna stick around now too.

My general feeling is that you get what you pay for. I didn't see much difference in quality between a 20K larson and a 20K bayliner. I would have loved to buy a Mariah, which I think is the best value of them all, but no local dealers made servicing one difficult. The rest of the premium brands were well out of my price range.

I have been very happy w/ the 1850LX so far -- the 4.3 V6 is alot of fun. It also seems that the relative popularity of Larson boats keeps their resale value pretty high, which makes it somewhat affordable to flip into a new boat every few years.

Good luck...

Hey everyone,

I've been seriously thinking about buying a 2011 LX 850 with the 4.3L MerCruiser V6 engine. Seems like a great deal, as I can get the boat for just under $20,000 which beats nearly every other new boat in the same class for value.

Now I realize the LX series aren't Larson's premium quality boats, and thus I don't expect it to be as nice as some of the competition. But when I spoke with another boat dealer and told him why his boats were too expensive he told me that "even if you don't buy a boat from us, do yourself a favor and don't buy a Larson." He referred to the bankruptcy and new ownership cutting corners in their boat construction.

Is there any substance to this? The bankruptcy with Genmar has me nervous whether or not the company will be there in five years to support the warranty, and now I'm hearing that they aren't built as well as they used to!

 

[ronthomas]

Re: New Larson build quality

I am also considering a new 2011 LX 850 with a 4.3 L MerCruiser V6. Will this boat pull a 100 pound person out of the water without a lot of drag? We currently have a 1985 ski boat with a 135 Mercury outboard.

Does anyone know what year Larson began using the VEC technology for building hulls? I am wondering if this was before or after the June 09 bankruptcy.

How much did you negotiate on the price? The dealer I visited quoted me $22,300 and includes the bow and cockpit covers and a bimini top.

 

[dhook]

Re: New Larson build quality

I am also considering a new 2011 LX 850 with a 4.3 L MerCruiser V6. Will this boat pull a 100 pound person out of the water without a lot of drag? We currently have a 1985 ski boat with a 135 Mercury outboard.

Does anyone know what year Larson began using the VEC technology for building hulls? I am wondering if this was before or after the June 09 bankruptcy.

How much did you negotiate on the price? The dealer I visited quoted me $22,300 and includes the bow and cockpit covers and a bimini top.

My 05 180 SEI 4.3 vec hull pulls my big ***** around the lake all day (240 lbs). My son and his friend (Over 300 lbs) on a tube all day just as fast as they can take. I love my larson 4.3. Great Fuel economy and still will reach 40 MPH with a full boat of 6. I have never had any concerns with the hull and don't expect any. It's a great boat, a great value, and I highly recommend it.

 

[z0lt3c]

Re: New Larson build quality

I am also considering a new 2011 LX 850 with a 4.3 L MerCruiser V6. Will this boat pull a 100 pound person out of the water without a lot of drag? We currently have a 1985 ski boat with a 135 Mercury outboard.

The 4.3 will whip you right out of the water, no problem. My biggest concern is time to plane and planing speed due to all the rear end weight. I find it to take some time to plane and the planing speed is quite high. I will be running trim tabs this year in hopes of improving these characteristics

Does anyone know what year Larson began using the VEC technology for building hulls? I am wondering if this was before or after the June 09 bankruptcy.

The VEC hulls started well before the 2009 bankruptcy and sale.

How much did you negotiate on the price? The dealer I visited quoted me $22,300 and includes the bow and cockpit covers and a bimini top.

My 2010 1850LX was $23,291 - that included the bimini top, bow and cockpit snap covers, a few other smaller options and the trailer. If your price includes the trailer, it's pretty damn good. The boat by itself is listed at $21,663 on my invoice.

 

[jkust]

Re: New Larson build quality

A couple of thoughts here, regardless of what brand you buy, I'd seriously consider the MPI version over the carb. I am assuming the package you are discussing is a carb. Not necessarily for the HP but just for the usability of MPI. If your already into it for 20k, I'd at least ask around and consider the upgrade assuming it is an available option. My next thought is to go and look at a premium brand bowriders used for the same price as your proposed new Larson. I'm not talking Sea Ray here but higher. The build quality and accessory quality depending on the brand (maybe even a Larson Senza) will be striking. A similar sized boat that cost 1/3 more new but used a couple seasons is worth a look. Depending on your state, you may not pay any sales tax on private party, used boats versus new and of course the depreciation will help as well. I did the run around a few years back comparing new and used and new, premium boats were a lot more money and mid range, new boats were just too mid range for my taste and so used premium solved my needs. Ultimately I paid the price of a new midrange boat for a nearly new premium boat just past its break in hours which was handy as well. I didn't pay tax on the boat, only the trailer and got over $2,000 of wake boards/bindings, tubes, a dozen high end life jackets plus 6 orange ones, ski ropes, fenders, and all sorts of other stuff. Just my take on jumping in and spending a bunch of $. The used value proposition is very high.

 

[fossill]

Re: New Larson build quality

Larson started to cheap out in the '09 model year with their entry line and really went down hill in '10 as far a material quality when I compare them up my '08 model. Too bad.
Oh and by the way, if you want to pep that 180 up, put on a 19 pitch Hi5 prop.
It will leap out of the water when you open it up.

 

[GrandLakeBoater]

Re: New Larson build quality

I agree with jkust above about the MPI engine. It's definitely worth some extra to get it over the carb. The MPI will give you more power and better fuel economy for the same size engine and with gasoline hitting $3.70+ a gallon the MPI will pay for itself over time if you run it much. Also, the MPI responsiveness is almost instantaneous, you hit the throttle and there is no lag, just blasts you down the lake. I have a 5.0MPI on a 23' LXI and it will run 48 mph on the prop I have. I really like my LXI overall, I bought it used last fall for $16K and feel I got a good deal on it with a nice Larson trailer.

 

[jkust]

Re: New Larson build quality

I agree with jkust above about the MPI engine. It's definitely worth some extra to get it over the carb. The MPI will give you more power and better fuel economy for the same size engine and with gasoline hitting $3.70+ a gallon the MPI will pay for itself over time if you run it much. Also, the MPI responsiveness is almost instantaneous, you hit the throttle and there is no lag, just blasts you down the lake. I have a 5.0MPI on a 23' LXI and it will run 48 mph on the prop I have. I really like my LXI overall, I bought it used last fall for $16K and feel I got a good deal on it with a nice Larson trailer.

Throttle response is neat but what really, really annoys me about my 4.3 carb is that when I launch the boat, and there are 20 boats trying to launch and retrieve, I have to sit there old school style and warm the engine up like I did way back in highschool with my 1970's Cutlass Supremes. If you don't warm it up for a few minutes, it will die when you put it in gear. The nature of carbs is just a pain. I look at it now and say, would you rather have the extra 3k in the bank sitting there or have put it into the MPI option. At first maybe the bank seems like the better option, but after several years of dealing with a carb, you really wish you had mpi. If I ever get a different boat it won't be because I want to uprgrade to a more premium boat because there generally isn't one out there in my size but to upgrade to MPI. Where throttle response is concerned, honestly, if you don't have it you won't know what you are missing but for the above you most certainly will. Amazingly snowmobiles still have carbs as well and I have one of each fuel injected and carb bought at the same time and I will never own another carb sled either because the EFI is so fantastically much better than the carb. To be ok with my boat and stay ignorant I have to stay out of other people that have MPI and also the MPI V8 option or I will likely make a beeline for the classifieds.

 

[bnicov]

Re: New Larson build quality

If your carb is tuned correctly and is working properly, it only takes about 30seconds to a minute to warm it up sufficiently to put it in gear without fear of stalling. Nothing wrong with a carb, it's easier to work on than an MPI. Also, is a Volvo Penta power package available, no offence but the SX drive is far superior to a Alpha drive Merc.