Yes, it is true.
It is a long story how I got to this point, but here is sort of some rambling thoughts about how I ended up not buying a Tige. I first bought a Tige in 2001 from Boats of Nevada after the 9/11 bombings and the boat market sucked so I got a great deal on my 2002 21V. I knew very little about inboards, but knew it would be better for skiing and thought if I ever got into this new sport of wakeboarding, that it would be good for that too. I never even heard of surfing at that point. I really didn't check other brands out much except to know that MC, Malibu and CC were way more and I did not have that much money in the budget.
The boat was awesome and the ski got abandoned the first time I wakeboarded. Boat values were increasing and I was able to sell that boat for very little loss. I knew a bigger boat was in order and the 24V had nothing but good reviews and I had become well acquainted with the dealer and after I sold the old boat, he said he had 3 new ones already ordered, and I picked the red one.
The 2005 was the best boat ever. Lots of good times and it was very reliable. But I figured it was time to search for something new. When that boat sold, I knew that I would look around and see what was out there from other brands. My heart was still with Tige. I initiated conversations with Jason at Wasatch Marine and he has been a great guy every step of the way. I told him that I would be looking around and he was patient with me. The economy then crashed and awesome deals just started falling out of the woodworks. A quick search of Boattraderonline showed that boat prices were no where near what they were a year ago.
Mastercraft seems to be the company that has the most excess new inventory out there. There are still a lot of new 07 boats out there. That has put intense pressure on the prices and they are really competitive with Tige. Tiges improvements in recent years have come at a price...literally. An RZ4 and MC X-45 are very close to the same ball park in price if you are in an area where MC sales are sluggish.
There was a perfect 2006 X-45 online at the dealer in Salt Lake City. They were priced higher than others I had seen, but the color was what I am after, so I called them and learned that the previous owner traded it in for an X-80 and there had been a faulty gasket so the engine got burned up. So the boat had a brand new engine. The same owner had replaced the tower to a 2007 tower after he drove the tower into the bank drive through. The dealer then upgraded the stickers to 2009 graphics. They initially were still out of price range for me and seemed reluctant to move down. So I continued to look. I found a 2007 in Southern California that was in the right price range and was about to pull the trigger on it, when the Salt Lake guys called back and said 'why don't you want to buy this boat? Is it the price?' I had already told them my maximum budget. He said 'If we go down to X dollars, will you buy the boat?' I gulped and said yes. He talked to the manager and the rest is history. He called back and said that the manager must like me. We had once gone on a houseboat trip to Lake Powell for a few days with some mutual friends.
A big thanks to the guys at Tige who worked hard to make sure I had ample opportunity to explore getting another Tige. Tony, the regional rep was terrific to talk to. Jason at Wasatch Marine was even cool after I told him I bought the X-45. He chastised me, as expected, but promised to be there for me when this boat does not meet my expectations. Very classy. I will for sure be there if this boat bites.
I will get more pics as time goes on. But for fear of getting the TTIWWP, here is the one I have.
It is a long story how I got to this point, but here is sort of some rambling thoughts about how I ended up not buying a Tige. I first bought a Tige in 2001 from Boats of Nevada after the 9/11 bombings and the boat market sucked so I got a great deal on my 2002 21V. I knew very little about inboards, but knew it would be better for skiing and thought if I ever got into this new sport of wakeboarding, that it would be good for that too. I never even heard of surfing at that point. I really didn't check other brands out much except to know that MC, Malibu and CC were way more and I did not have that much money in the budget.
The boat was awesome and the ski got abandoned the first time I wakeboarded. Boat values were increasing and I was able to sell that boat for very little loss. I knew a bigger boat was in order and the 24V had nothing but good reviews and I had become well acquainted with the dealer and after I sold the old boat, he said he had 3 new ones already ordered, and I picked the red one.
The 2005 was the best boat ever. Lots of good times and it was very reliable. But I figured it was time to search for something new. When that boat sold, I knew that I would look around and see what was out there from other brands. My heart was still with Tige. I initiated conversations with Jason at Wasatch Marine and he has been a great guy every step of the way. I told him that I would be looking around and he was patient with me. The economy then crashed and awesome deals just started falling out of the woodworks. A quick search of Boattraderonline showed that boat prices were no where near what they were a year ago.
Mastercraft seems to be the company that has the most excess new inventory out there. There are still a lot of new 07 boats out there. That has put intense pressure on the prices and they are really competitive with Tige. Tiges improvements in recent years have come at a price...literally. An RZ4 and MC X-45 are very close to the same ball park in price if you are in an area where MC sales are sluggish.
There was a perfect 2006 X-45 online at the dealer in Salt Lake City. They were priced higher than others I had seen, but the color was what I am after, so I called them and learned that the previous owner traded it in for an X-80 and there had been a faulty gasket so the engine got burned up. So the boat had a brand new engine. The same owner had replaced the tower to a 2007 tower after he drove the tower into the bank drive through. The dealer then upgraded the stickers to 2009 graphics. They initially were still out of price range for me and seemed reluctant to move down. So I continued to look. I found a 2007 in Southern California that was in the right price range and was about to pull the trigger on it, when the Salt Lake guys called back and said 'why don't you want to buy this boat? Is it the price?' I had already told them my maximum budget. He said 'If we go down to X dollars, will you buy the boat?' I gulped and said yes. He talked to the manager and the rest is history. He called back and said that the manager must like me. We had once gone on a houseboat trip to Lake Powell for a few days with some mutual friends.
A big thanks to the guys at Tige who worked hard to make sure I had ample opportunity to explore getting another Tige. Tony, the regional rep was terrific to talk to. Jason at Wasatch Marine was even cool after I told him I bought the X-45. He chastised me, as expected, but promised to be there for me when this boat does not meet my expectations. Very classy. I will for sure be there if this boat bites.
I will get more pics as time goes on. But for fear of getting the TTIWWP, here is the one I have.
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