About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

[dmtalon]

Fairly certain I'm going to purchase a new Q5i tomorrow... Been around boats on and off throughout my life however I've never owned one. I've had possession of a Seadoo for a month or so (took my brothers on vacation) but realize that's a different animal.

I'm very mechanically inclined, and am not worried about learning the technical bits and or maintenance 'stuff'. My question revolves around what I should look out for with a brand new Tahoe.

When I go pick it up, what specific things do I need to check for and/or look out for?

Any tips/information would be greatly appreciated, and I'm sure if I do end up purchasing this thing tomorrow you'll see more of me

TIA

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Firsts off make sure it is a boat that will last you awhile and for your specific needs. Like wake boarding or tubing etc. I opted for the Q7 just because of the room and the bigger engine with more horsepower. I know at times I would be pulling tubes and wake boarding with the kids ...not to mention the wife likes to ski. The Q7 also has nicer upgrades to the boat like stainless coup holders, etc. The fit and finish is better. I looked at the Q5 and wasn't really impressed, however it is a good boat none the less. If I were you I would have the dealer install a hour never on the spark plugs...the boat does not come with one from the factory and it would be good to track your hours because you will have a 20 hr servicing. I have to add mine soon as I did not know this when I purchased my boat. Welcome to iBoats by the way!


Rob

 

[dmtalon]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Firsts off make sure it is a boat that will last you awhile and for your specific needs. Like wake boarding or tubing etc. I opted for the Q7 just because of the room and the bigger engine with more horsepower. I know at times I would be pulling tubes and wake boarding with the kids ...not to mention the wife likes to ski. The Q7 also has nicer upgrades to the boat like stainless coup holders, etc. The fit and finish is better. I looked at the Q5 and wasn't really impressed, however it is a good boat none the less. If I were you I would have the dealer install a hour never on the spark plugs...the boat does not come with one from the factory and it would be good to track your hours because you will have a 20 hr servicing. I have to add mine soon as I did not know this when I purchased my boat. Welcome to iBoats by the way!
Rob

Thanks for the tip on the hour meter. I'll just pick up one of those little induction meters for lawn mowers (I've put them on dirt bikes b4). That surprises me it doesn't have an hour meter :-/

One thing, the boat I'm looking at has the 4.3 MPI (220hp) which is what your Q7 is listed at in your signature, I believe the power should be ok for my needs. This for me is an entry boat. If I like it and we continue to boat and as my 2yo son gets older I'll upgrade as needed.

Thanks for the input/welcome!

 

[whitey224]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

I would look it over real good for scratches nicks or any imperfections on the boat in and out. Just because it is a brand new boat does not mean it is perfect but if you can find any problems before you buy it you wont have to take it back to get it fixed. Also take the boat out with the dealer. Take some time to make sure everything works and you don't have any questions about the boat. If possible talk to there mechanic also for any winterizing or maintenance tips. I just bought a 2011 Q7i and it had a tear in one of the seats, the trim gauge wasn't set right and the depth finder also did not work right. All problems have been taken care of but it is just a reminder that nothing is perfect. Other than that I would make them throw in some free stuff, life jackets, fenders or something. Good luck

 

[dmtalon]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

I would look it over real good for scratches nicks or any imperfections on the boat in and out. Just because it is a brand new boat does not mean it is perfect but if you can find any problems before you buy it you wont have to take it back to get it fixed. Also take the boat out with the dealer. Take some time to make sure everything works and you don't have any questions about the boat. If possible talk to there mechanic also for any winterizing or maintenance tips. I just bought a 2011 Q7i and it had a tear in one of the seats, the trim gauge wasn't set right and the depth finder also did not work right. All problems have been taken care of but it is just a reminder that nothing is perfect. Other than that I would make them throw in some free stuff, life jackets, fenders or something. Good luck

The boat I want is still in the plastic shrink wrap so I'm hoping it'll be pretty clean but anything can happen at any time. I will certainly look out for obvious issues.

Unfortunately, I am in a time crunch on this as we are headed out (with said boat if purchased) the day after we buy it. Obviously not ideal, but they will be prepping (running/muffing/checking it tomorrow). I am a tad bit worried about towing it away right away w/o running it locally. But I did it to myself by sitting on my hands too long.

As for "Freebies" he's quite adamant about the price being fixed and some research shows that on current model years that seems to be the case for these. But I was hoping I could get him to throw in a few things like bumpers/flag/throwing float.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[spdracr39]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Thanks for the tip on the hour meter. I'll just pick up one of those little induction meters for lawn mowers (I've put them on dirt bikes b4). That surprises me it doesn't have an hour meter :-/

One thing, the boat I'm looking at has the 4.3 MPI (220hp) which is what your Q7 is listed at in your signature, I believe the power should be ok for my needs. This for me is an entry boat. If I like it and we continue to boat and as my 2yo son gets older I'll upgrade as needed.

Thanks for the input/welcome!

If you have any thoughts about upsizing buy the bigger boat now. It will save you money in the long run because the new boat will lose at least 30% of its value as soon as you pull off the lot. Get the warranty !!!

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

dmtalon,

The advise of the other members is what I would do as well. Get the hour meter for sure. I used it during the break in process and it was so easy to keep track of the hours. I have 32 hours on it since March 2012; it was a mild winter this year usually the ice does not leave the lakes till the end of April. Check for imperfections. With a new boat you will always find something that is not perfect. I bought a left over 2011 Tahoe and it has been great. Just had it out yesterday pulling three tubes with 5 teenagers on them along and then they went wake boarding and kneeboarding. If you have the cash get someone to make you a custom cover for the boat that is waterproof. Get the Bimini top as well.

 

[dmtalon]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Well the deal is done, I'm a new owner of a 2012 Q5i... I completely forgot the hour meter <sigh> I did get a tube and skis and rope though! Plan is to leave tomorrow after lunch drive ~10h to Virginia and the first time she goes in the water is really far from home. Not the smartest way to do things but you only live once right

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

dmtalon,

Good for you. You can always put the hour meter in later. You are right...you only live one..

 

[spdracr39]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Congrats on the new boat looks great !!

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Congrats!!! AS for the hour meter make sure it is the type that goes on the spark plug that way it is an accurate read of the hours. The old hour meters would run when the key was turned on. My dealer has a small black one(forgot the brand) and they just zip tie it to the motor. The sooner you get it the sooner you can track the hours. The dealer can find out your hours by connecting to their computer.

Oh and one more thing...I ALWAYS tighten/loosen the drain plug when I remove/add the transom straps...that will save you an embarrassing mistake.

 

[BiggerDee]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Congratulations! If you love yours half as much as I love mine, you will be in good shape!!

As a recommendation, I would look into the threads here on Smart-Tabs, and would recommend that you install them as soon as possible. They will give you MUCH more enjoyment from your boat, for about $100 and 30 minutes of your time. They should be standard equipment on any boat!

 

[dmtalon]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Congratulations! If you love yours half as much as I love mine, you will be in good shape!!

As a recommendation, I would look into the threads here on Smart-Tabs, and would recommend that you install them as soon as possible. They will give you MUCH more enjoyment from your boat, for about $100 and 30 minutes of your time. They should be standard equipment on any boat!

I did see them talked about here... Is there a specific brand/model that fits the Q5i well? I assume it's a fairly straight forward install?

Second,

Had my boat in the water all last week, (for the first time). And notice I have an intermittent oil-pressure gauge problem. One minute its fine, next the gauge is "off" (no pressure). It will randomly come and go. Obviously the first time it happened it scared the crap out of me. But everything seems fine. No warning buzzer and it would be dead by now if the gauge was right

Is this a common issue? I need to look and see if its a loose wire either at the gauge or sensor I guess.

BTW, the boat did great. We were in it every day last week (Monday - Friday) off the Piankatank River / Chesapeake Bay. Thursday we went to Gwynn's Island and hung out on the beach. (Nobody there). Wednesday (4th) we skied for about 2-2.5 hours and then swam off the back of it (6 of us) for another 45m or so. Had a blast and the boat did great.

Easy to get skiers up. We had 3 previous skiers, and one new skier (first time 15yo girl). And I got to ski off the back of my new boat

Here's its first launch.

Sitting down at the family Pier

And back home this morning (got back at 4am), parked it after we got up today!

 

[grendelsniper]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

congrats on the new tahoe, you will have years of fun. Did you get the v6 190 or 220hp or v8?

 

[spdracr39]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Probably loose wire on the sender or the back of the gauge. If the oil pressure was really dropping to zero you would get an alarm and the engine would shut down. The computer sensor is separate from the gauge sender.

 

[dmtalon]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

congrats on the new tahoe, you will have years of fun. Did you get the v6 190 or 220hp or v8?

I went with the 220 mainly because of FI over Carb. Just less 'futzing' in my experience.

 

[black cherry tahoe]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

i just bought a 2011 Q5I leftover, same problem. sending unit was bad. dealer fixed it. scared me too.

 

[supercrewser]

Re: About to Buy a 2012 Q5i

Congrats to you on the boat, I have 2010 Q5 i and like it very much, but I do wish it were bigger ,but with that said It does have fishing capabilities so it works out for me.