Boat Financing Possibilities

tonystoy

My history...used to own a 2007 280EC. Had to sell it 3 years ago due to getting a divorce. I have missed it ever since and looking at getting back into boating now. I love this forum and am hoping to get some good info from you guys about this.
I will be looking at financing a boat in the years of 2006-2008. The Rinker 320 is a possibility, but so are the Se* Ra* 300, Four Winns 318 and Chapparal 310. I’m curious to know what loan companies are out there that will finance a boat that is 11-13 years old. 
Thanks in advance for your help

Handymans342

There are plenty of companies that will finance boats up to 20 years old. US bank is one. But don't buy a boat. Its like getting married again. Dont do it!!  Consider another cheaper hobby. Seriously

LaRea

Try US Bank.  The web site mentions 48-month loans, but they do longer terms including 15-year loans for larger boats.  

rasbury

Handy, thought you'd be busy hanging out in the RV forums! Good to see you lurking a bit and hope all is well....

tonystoy

Handy, that is funny! Marriage will never happen for me again! But you know the saying “the two best days of owning a boat is the day you buy it and the day you sell it”… That is not true for me. It is something about being on the water that I love.

skennelly

State farm

Handymans342

tonystoy said:

Handy, that is funny! Marriage will never happen for me again! But you know the saying “the two best days of owning a boat is the day you buy it and the day you sell it”… That is not true for me. It is something about being on the water that I love.

Get a kayak or a paddle board

Handymans342

rasbury said:

Handy, thought you'd be busy hanging out in the RV forums! Good to see you lurking a bit and hope all is well....

Heading to the RV tonight. For the long weekend where I wont have to do nothing!!!! LOL

Cableguy Greg

My boat loan is through M&T Bank out of Buffalo. I got the loan through a broker on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 

reneechris14

I also have M&T bank and CT does not title boats so somethings states are harder then others. 

trip_n

we used our local credit union

Willhound

Maybe a little different in the US, but in Canada just about any financial institution (chartered bank, credit union, finance company) will let out a "toy" loan for R'v's, boats, snowmobiles etc. if your credit rating is good enough. But my point was going to be that a lot of people use a personal line of credit, either secured or not, because the rates are usually a lot better and re-payment terms are wide open rather than fixed like a mortgage.

boatman37

We financed our first boat through Lightstream (a division of SunTrust). They only go to 7 years and is a 'good faith' loan, meaning no collateral. You receive the boat title and payments are automatically withdrawn from your account. I applied and had the funds the next day.

We financed our current boat through Essex Credit (Bank of the West). Pretty smooth transaction but was held up due to seller issues and trying to schedule the surveyor but Essex was great to deal with. I got 15 years on our 2006 at about 7% but plan to pay it off in under 5.

Of all places I called 6.5 to 7% was the norm. I called about 4 or 5 credit unions and they were either over 10% or would not do boat loans.

diggin2day1

shawnmjr said:

trip_n said:

we used our local credit union

X2 on local credit union 

X3 on local credit union. 

Dream_Inn

I'll agree on local credit union as well.  & welcome to the forum!  Definitely a great bunch of people on here (even Handy )

tonystoy

Thanks for all of your comments so far guys! I looked up some rates online for a few local credit unions...they are in the 5.5-6.5% range, which I think is pretty good.?. I’ll be making some phone calls to them this week. I’ve never joined a credit union, do you have to be a member or are there certain fees?

Handymans342

I work for a credit union. You get a loan you are automatically a member and no fees

bella-vita

Used my credit union,they made me document the boat not a big deal 

tonystoy

So I started making calls to credit unions. Not too much luck. The ones that I can join either have loan terms no longer than 4 years (I was hoping for 7-10) or really high interest rates (7-8%). Should I be expecting that high of a rate? When I bought my 280, my rate was high 4’s or low 5’s. 
State Farm would not take a loan out for a boat older than 10 years.

04FV270riverrat

My credit union wouldn’t go longer than 5 years on my 04. We had 2 home loans and 2 vehicle loans and we bank there. I had to go through the broker and wound up with MB Financial I believe.

Stodge

There are a number of credit unions around here that don't have membership restrictions and have normally offered 3.99% for boat loans new and used.  Not sure if there is a location requirement but maybe look at LakeTrust CU and Michigan First CU.  When we bought the 342, we used LakeTrust and got a 10 year term.  Michigan First was doing used boat re-fi at 3.99% with flexible terms a few years ago.  

skennelly

Hmmm I did a state farm loan on my 2002...at the time it was 14 years old.  But it was only a 2 year loan.

Handymans342

My credit union is currently 5.75 for 144 months. I do not see an age restriction for the boat. 

boatman37

I called 4 or 5 local credit unions when we bought our Crownline a few months ago and most would not do boat loans or if they did it was about 12% interest and 5 year max term. But the places that would loan reasonably were all around 6-7%. That was the lowest rates I could find and I called about 20 places

tonystoy

So @jbschmalz23 gave me the info of a loan broker. She seemed to be very knowledgeable and has access to over 20 national lenders. It seems as though the best rates are still 6.25-6.75% right now. But she said that I could have a term of up to 15 years with no pre payment penalty. Now all I have to do is find a boat!?!? That’s the hard part 🤪

Handymans342

All interest rates on all loans have gone up over the last year or so

rasbury

Yep, rates are going up...they have to with the economy we have right now...so when it crashes they can bring back the 0% to get it going again. I think your finding the same rates we did when we bought our 4 years ago....went through a broker also with no luck at the conventional banks. Boats will start coming out of the woodwork I'm sure....I'd guess most listings dropped off for winter as you can't sell a boat in storage.....just be patient and wait for the right deal and boat. Heck, go back and look at my thread on my boat exploit purchase...the more boats you look at the more you will learn. You sound kind of like me then- limited boating knowledge. Enough to get me in trouble. And while I did expect to have to fix some stuff, I probably could have made a better deal knowing what I know today.

DanD2

tonystoy said:

So @jbschmalz23 gave me the info of a loan broker. She seemed to be very knowledgeable and has access to over 20 national lenders. It seems as though the best rates are still 6.25-6.75% right now. But she said that I could have a term of up to 15 years with no pre payment penalty. Now all I have to do is find a boat!?!? That’s the hard part 🤪

Was going to tell you to find a boat broker or local marina. They usually have a pool of banks that they use. If you get close to the 100K mark, most will want you to put down 20% and will need a survey. As an FYI....most Credit Unions do not have 15-20 year terms for boats, you have to use a bank instead.

Handymans342

Here is a no brainer. Dont buy a boat and save a lot of money unless you are rich like @raybo3 and can afford major repairs and an ex wife. Bahahahahahahaha

trip_n

that sounds like the @handymans342=when i signed up

Handymans342

Thanks trip. See you sooner