That's great

Well I'd say that cover's the boat then :evilb:

WAY to many financial variables to give advice.

Have a good job? Will that job still be there 3 yrs. from now.

Own a home? How much equity? As stated, HELOC rates are way lower than boat loans without the hassles.

Other investments? I could see not wanting to come off an investment if you can get a 3% loan elsewhere.

How much do you put in your 401K?

How much other debt do you have?

I HATE having any debt, but depending on the situation it's not all bad.

Key bank just pre approved me for 85k on a 2000 go fast. No money down 20 yrs if I want 5.49 rate.

What is book value? Have you done business with them in the past? A bunch of different factors when making boat loans.

You're fun at parties.

I was also approved through Key, 80% NADA + options + trailer, 0 down, up to 20 years, but we are in the low 4% range (rates have gone up since I was shopping this summer)

I was a first time customer, but from what it sounded like if you had a strong credit history and proper income it was no problem. They made no distinctions on "performance" boats, and did not require a survey.

That is a good sign for our sport if the banks start playing ball again.

If your not going to do a home equity which is the best way with interest on your taxes. Then the credit union is the only way to go. Local bank around me where I have my personal and business accounts wanted close to 9%. I went to the credit union and I am under 3% with no money down. Go to the credit union get pre-approved for a dollar amount, then go find your boat. You will have to get it surveyed (inspection and value declaration). I can't remember the proper term. But the approved surveyor not some random boat guy will value the boat and that is what the credit union will use for value. They do not use NADA or KBB. The surveyor will set the value on the entire package boat and trailer. Getting the loan was the simplest part. Dealing with boats that did not pass compression/leakdown, hull survey was the most difficult and frustrating part.Tell him to go big and have fun.

This is not true with all banks. We just sold our Velocity and ended up with a decent amount of cash after payoff. We decided to take care of some higher interest things like a credit card and some other things. That basically left us with zero down (at the time of purchase. We didn't really plan on buying right away. We had planned on gathering a down payment first but the right deal presented itself). Anyway KeyBank gave us a zero down loan for a 2001 boat. It was pretty much no hassle loan. I do know We probably didn't get the best rate thru KeyBank because of the zero down (we have an 820 credit score).... Essex is offering a better rate with 15% down... So it all depends on what you want to do. But long story short, you can finance boats older than 10 years and you can do as little as zero down....