Boat financing

I ran across a used boat that I am looking into that I would need to finance. Who have you guys used for financing a used boat?

Affinity Plus

Depending on the age of the boat, credit unions will have the best rates. Most credit unions/banks will not finance boats older than 10 years. I have had great luck with Wings Financial Credit Union

I bank through Wings and have my boat loan through them but I bought new. I was originally looking for a used boat but every time I found a used boat I wanted I would call up the bank and they would say they could only offer me half of what the asking price was for a loan. Banks go off of NADA guide for value which is not reflective of real world cost. After this happened 3-4 times I realized I wouldn’t get a loan for a used boat and so decided to buy new. Hope you have better results than I did but I suspect many banks operate the same.

Bell State Bank was awesome to work with when I bought my used Lund a few years back. As Crappie said, you might have trouble on the valuation with a lot of traditional or conservative lenders even with good credit.

Don’t finance Toys. Used boats don’t depreciate much at all in a year or two or three. Buy a boat,, save 3 years, buy a bigger boat,, save 3 years,, buy a bigger boat…..etc..

walleyebuster5 wrote:

Don’t finance Toys. Used boats don’t depreciate much at all in a year or two or three. Buy a boat,, save 3 years, buy a bigger boat,, save 3 years,, buy a bigger boat…..etc..

The not financing toys is a motto I usually stick by. Used Riverpros for that price don’t come up very often. Financing them can be a pain since there is not a Nada value on them.

Ahhh screw it! Go get it!

Who’s RP is it? If you don’t mind me asking.

Aaron wrote:

Affinity Plus

Ditto. I’m a long time Affinity plus customer, and absolutely love them. I now live about 90 miles from the nearest location, and I still choose to do all of my banking with them. Great rates. I think the only thing they couldn’t beat was my auto loan rate but they weren’t off by much. I believe it was only a .25% difference.

I got a great financing deal the other day when I was at Cabelas.

Did you know that if you finance a boat for 25 years the monthly payments are only like $300?

The good news is that I will most definitely not be hamstringing myself financially for years to come because that’s a pretty affordable monthly payment! I don’t have a truck yet to pull the damn thing, but I figure I can get one of those for another $500/month.

The best part is that once I get the truck my net worth is going to be through the roof. A boat worth $45k and a truck worth $50k. I’m moving up!

Just a thought….. how long before leasing is an option for a boat? We are very fortunate to make a good living, but there is no way is he// I’m dishing out 50K+ for a boat, it’s just not worth it to me. I know many people do and I’m certainly not bashing them, in fact it sometimes makes me wish I wasn’t so cheap My guess is the boat dealers would love to lease(rent) one of the more expensive boats. thoughts?

philtickelson wrote:

Did you know that if you finance a boat for 25 years the monthly payments are only like $300?

I believe that is a 6.35% interest rate which isn’t all that great. I believe at credit unions you can get between 3-4% however I am not sure if you can have a 25 year recreational toy loan there.

Not sure, but as grandpa always said, if you can’t buy it in cash, you can’t afford it, but I guess he was just old school

Not sure, but as grandpa always said, if you can’t buy it in cash, you can’t afford it, but I guess he was just old school
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I would consider myself somewhat cheap and my grandpa would say the same but in todays world of new cars/trucks/boats/fish houses costing easily north of 30k what is a guy supposed to do? do you know how long it would take me to save up 30k in cash!? I agree that signing your name to a long term loan on a toy makes me cringe a bit but tomorrow is not a guarantee and fishing is my favorite hobby. Id rather pay a few grand extra in interest so I can fish for the next 7 years in a boat than sit on the sidelines.

Now a cabelas financed loan…..that’s crazy!!!

No way I’d finance anything, except a house, more than 5 years. If I can’t afford it then so be it. I know toys should not be financed. I still financed but only 4yrs on a 10k loan for used. And I felt bad doing it because it ate into the family goal of being debt free.

I did finance a used boat through Wings. $10k over 4yrs on a $12k used boat. I can sell that boat today, six years later, for $12k. That said, it was a struggle to get them to finance the purchase because they followed NADA. They finally caved after I told them how frustrating the process was and was going to look elsewhere.

I’ve been a member of Wings for 40+ years. My mom opened the account for me when I was 3yrs old. Back when it was Northwest Airlines CU.

Wings used to always get my vehicle loan business. They could not match the dealer financing for me last year. I think they have gone down hill since becoming Wings and I’m surprised they were suggested.

crappie55369 wrote:

I would consider myself somewhat cheap and my grandpa would say the same but in todays world of new cars/trucks/boats/fish houses costing easily north of 30k what is a guy supposed to do?

Agreed. The wife and I are pretty thrifty, and we both make good money, but in this day and age, paying cash for some of the bigger things is pretty difficult. There is a difference between living paycheck-to-paycheck and financing a toy and living comfortably and financing a toy. I live comfortably, have a great home, and am smartly saving/investing for the future, yet I still don’t have $50K+ to drop on a boat. Financing isn’t an evil thing if you’re smart about it.

(sorry to derail)

crappie55369 wrote:

but tomorrow is not a guarantee

Amen to that!

Yes, to buy new would take a long time to save up for a boat like that but that’s why you start with a smaller boat and work your way up.

One of the biggest lies of the fishing industry (and our current heavy consumer culture) is that you need this boat with this feature or else you can’t do this or that or can’t catch this or that fish.

News flash….YOU DON’T. If it floats and moves you can always find somewhere you can fish in it and catch fish.

I have seen guys in tin cans outfish the prettiest, fanciest, glitteriest, fishing machines on the water. Remember the fisherman and his knowledge of the water control the boat, fish don’t just jump in nice fancy boats because they are pretty

For me it was using a OLD 14′ aluminum with an old 5hp for a few years (which I still have and love). Then buying a early 90’s fish and ski Forester for $1200 all well saving and watching for my “dream boat” for a few years to find the right one. A dream boat in my cash price range under 7k.

I ended up with a 1997 Warrior V177 which I bought in the fall for $6800 cash. A boat I knew would get me into almost all waters big and small. Yes I have to fix things on it sometimes but I feel that is part of the manly part of owning a boat. Going from a basic boat and as your knowledge of fishing and knowledge of maintaining your boat advance you move up. Then you slowly save up for more things like a nice new trolling motor and new graphs (still working on this) and from their I feel I can efficiently fish almost any waters.

Seems like the right way to do it, but its discipline, not easy, and not really all that fun to wait

I have loan through Wings for used boat. Interest is 2.99%.

crappie55369 wrote:

do you know how long it would take me to save up 30k in cash!?

About the exact same time it would take you to pay off the boat that you finance :), without having any debt. That’s the thing,, patience doesn’t really exist anymore. I want it now thinking.

Bob Bowman over at wings. Give me a call tonight and I can get you his number.

I will answer your question how you wanted it, without someone bashing your life decisions. Wings has been great and I have had many good experiences with loans through them on anything from trucks, ATV’s and boats. Only hiccup has already been mentioned, they follow NADA and if you’re looking at a riverpro, it may be hit or miss. You might actually BENEFIT from wings since it is not on NADA…Wings will finance boats and toys at 2.49-2.99%.

Lets just do the math here…You buy a used boat with ZERO down for $12,000 and 2.49% for 5 years. Pop that into your loan calculator and you will have a monthly payment of around $215. Now add up all monthly payments for 5 years and you will be around $12,900. You paid an extra $900 than if you were to wait 5 years and pay cash for it…That is $180/year…or ONE MONTH of your precious satellite TV and internet…Not to mention a higher credit score if you keep up on the payments. Turns out there ARE benefits of loans…just don’t go out and finance everything you “own”.

Lets just do the math here…You buy a used boat with ZERO down for $12,000 and 2.49% for 5 years. Pop that into your loan calculator and you will have a monthly payment of around $215. Now add up all monthly payments for 5 years and you will be around $12,900. You paid an extra $900 than if you were to wait 5 years and pay cash for it…That is $180/year…or ONE MONTH of your precious satellite TV and internet…Not to mention a higher credit score if you keep up on the payments. Turns out there ARE benefits of loans…just don’t go out and finance everything you “own”.
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thank you very much eagle! the fact is financing isn’t all bad and there are benefits. giving the bank a few hundred dollars so I can enjoy a boat is worth it IMO. Like someone mentioned – yeah I can save up for 5 years and buy the boat in cash, or I could die next year and have 5k in a bank account…I am a patient man – that’s how I tolerate all of you

to the person that mentioned Wings has gone downhill, I would have to agree a bit. Ive had an account with them for over 20 years as my stepmom worked for the airlines back when it was Northwest. I still bank with them, and they still treat me well but I have some friends that bank with Affinity and they seem to be offering more to the customer currently.

to the original poster Wings has good rates but I had a hard time getting a boat loan. I do know that the few friends I have with affinity have gotten loans that other banks wouldn’t give out so if you have any trouble with your preferred institution maybe check them out.

One more RP to worry about in Monti winter shore fishing

Hope everything works out, need pics if happens and good luck

nhamm wrote:

One more RP to worry about in Monti winter shore fishing

Hope everything works out, need pics if happens and good luck

You won’t have to worry about that Nick I stay away from all the waders up there in the winter. The boat that was for sale sold but was still offered to me before it heads down south but I decided to pass. A little birdie told me about another one that will be available in August which will give me some time to get financing squared away and a buyer lined up for my current boat.

Crappie and others,

Lest anyone misconstrue my previous post, I do think Wings is great. I think the slide has more to do with the entire industry. They are still a magnitude better than any commercial bank I’ve seen and I’m still a very happy member.

That said, both of our current vehicle loans were not through Wings because we found better rates (<2%) elsewhere. My wife and I keep great credit scores and have been longtime members but they were not willing to compete.

404 ERROR wrote:

Not to mention a higher credit score if you keep up on the payments. Turns out there ARE benefits of loans…just don’t go out and finance everything you “own”.

As a point of order, paying off a loan does not automatically equate to a higher credit score. In the witch’s brew that is credit scoring, and the highly subjective world of evaluating credit applications, a loan for a toy may or may not be viewed favorably at any time down the road.

I’ve worked with several banks on training for retail lending. Credit score is important, but lenders have smartened up a lot since the Great Recession and score alone is now just a starting point for many lenders.

Do what you want/need to do, but don’t do it because of some hoped-for ancillary benefit.

Grouse

when i did financial relief counseling at a non profit, pretty much every person that came in that was about to lose everything had recreational vehicle loans. not many had rates lower than 5%. I was taken back by it.

that said, i know alot of people that have them and manage fine.

you only live once right? but the level of stress i’ve seen people “live” with to make it happen is downright scary.

I’m not a never finance guy but a dude up above me said “whats a guy to do!!!??”

i own an older prov, a 15 yr old pickup truck, a 10 year old minivan, a tractor, and a few other rec vehicles all paid with cash. I don’t make a ton and my wife stays at home. theres plenty a guy can do.

as to the original question? i agree, my brother lives in minneapolis and uses wings for everything. Credit unions typically have the best rates.

“I’m not a never finance guy but a dude up above me said “whats a guy to do!!!??”

i own an older prov, a 15 yr old pickup truck, a 10 year old minivan, a tractor, and a few other rec vehicles all paid with cash. I don’t make a ton and my wife stays at home. theres plenty a guy can do.”

yeah I feel ya. I bought a new boat mainly because I couldn’t get financing for a used one. I drive around in a 20 year old car with 244000 miles on it that has two different colored doors I paid $500 bucks for. The boat is my only expensive purchase – all the rest of lifes little “necessities” are pretty basic and cheap (except the wifes car). The moment any of these items starts to cause me any stress or infringes on my families basic needs they are gone. Which might happen sooner than later since my company was bought out a few months ago… Ive had a few people in the past post really negative things toward myself and others for choosing to borrow money and that’s where i get defensive cause its a choice we all make for ourselves and really no one elses business to judge how others manage their finances.

Hey Dbright good luck with the boat and send us some pics if you get it!

most people i worked with financed everything and was why they came into such issue. we didn’t do debt consolidation because most of the wiggle room created just becomes filled up with more financing.

yeah, getting loans on used equipment is harder than it should be. i get the dollars and sense of it, but i wish banks would rewards people for making better choices.

Grouse, you’re right. It is not a solid basis of argument to say your credit score will rise significantly, if any at all. I guess I was stating that a toy loan usually does not affect your standings dramatically enough to consider it a negative.

I have also seen bad things come of toy loans with some people. I guess my view on loans are a little different. When/if I take a loan, I make darn sure I could at least cover 75% of the loan cost if/when something would happen. Some people take out loans when their bank account is drained and see it as a viable option to get on the water, I do not agree with that.