How to purchase a used Yamaha Boat when the lean holder is Yamaha Corp?

[tgokaydin]

Does anyone know the process to purchase a Yamaha boat when a private seller is currently financed by the Yamaha Corp? In other words, lean holder for the boat is Yamaha Corp. but the seller wants to sell it. Buyers pays to who and in what conditions?
Thanks!
Tug

 

[haknslash]

It’s a PITA process and caused me a few potential private sells. Takes well over a month for everything to circulate and clear. Synchrony is who Yamaha used in the past. I think they have moved to someone else now. Not sure if the process has improved any.

 

[JetBoatingUpstateNY]

I can't answer your question specifically regarding who the buyer should pay and in what condition, but be prepared for a long battle dealing with Yamaha Financial. I bought my boat from a seller who financed his boat through them. Luckily he had the cash to pay his boat off after i signed a purchase agreement with him. It still took 2 months for him to get the lien releases back from Yamaha Financial. He spent many, many hours trying to deal with them. The final trick that worked was to call and specifically ask for the manager of the lien department, and do NOT hang up until you get a hold of this person. hope this helps

 

[Sean R]

Man, two months! I guess I was lucky when I purchased my used boat, the original owner financed thru a credit union. From the day I went to see it to the day I brought it home was 2 weeks.

 

[tgokaydin]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I think in the mean time, a purchase agreement is a very good idea.

 

[Beachbummer]

Purchase agreement/bill of sale and, in my humble suggestion, HOLD some cash until the title is produced. Say $1K or $2K pending the provision of the clear title, and make sure the boat's registration stickers, etc are still good to use the boat while the title shows up.

Financing may be more painful, so you might be able to get a bit of a discount for the trouble (In a normal market, not sure now)

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

On another recent thread, the consensus seem to have two checks. One to send to Yamaha to pay off the loan balance and a second for the seller's equity in the boat.

Jim

 

[johhnyboat]

I can't answer your question specifically regarding who the buyer should pay and in what condition, but be prepared for a long battle dealing with Yamaha Financial. I bought my boat from a seller who financed his boat through them. Luckily he had the cash to pay his boat off after i signed a purchase agreement with him. It still took 2 months for him to get the lien releases back from Yamaha Financial. He spent many, many hours trying to deal with them. The final trick that worked was to call and specifically ask for the manager of the lien department, and do NOT hang up until you get a hold of this person. hope this helps

Second this. I would go directly to the dealer that set this up and have them work as your "agent" of sorts. This is the ONLY way I got the title release and it still took months. The finance person at the dealership was able to get the correct person to issue the lien release. This process took 3.5 months. It's a nightmare.

 

[Sean R]

If you went to a Yamaha dealer would yamaha finance the used boat or could they transfer the loan to you. Its a long shot but If Yamaha can make money they might be more willing to help. I can't see a dealer helping out, unless there making money. One more thing, if there is still YES warranty on the boat a yamaha dealer is going to need to perforn a inspection for the warranty to transfer to you. At least that was what I was told and what I did, to get the warranty in my name.

 

[johhnyboat]

If you went to a Yamaha dealer would yamaha finance the used boat or could they transfer the loan to you. Its a long shot but If Yamaha can make money they might be more willing to help. I can't see a dealer helping out, unless there making money. One more thing, if there is still YES warranty on the boat a yamaha dealer is going to need to perforn a inspection for the warranty to transfer to you. At least that was what I was told and what I did, to get the warranty in my name.

right, good thought. I paid in cash to pay off the loan, but if you are financing through them it may make it easier. FYI, I thought cash would be easier but it wasn't.

 

[Sean R]

When I got the inspection done the dealer was all over me to purchase more YES warranty, maybe that is a way for the dealer to make some cash and go the extra mile for you to get the title. I would rather pay a $1000 for a extended warranty than pay 10% on the boat broker fee.

 

[tgokaydin]

If you went to a Yamaha dealer would yamaha finance the used boat or could they transfer the loan to you. Its a long shot but If Yamaha can make money they might be more willing to help. I can't see a dealer helping out, unless there making money. One more thing, if there is still YES warranty on the boat a yamaha dealer is going to need to perforn a inspection for the warranty to transfer to you. At least that was what I was told and what I did, to get the warranty in my name.

Yes, since the boat is till under warranty, I was able to purchase the YES warranty on my name. However, it is not possible to register the boat and the trailer without the title! We are now waiting for Yamaha to release the title to the old owner and have them sign it back to us! What a pain!

 

[ripler]

When I sold my Yamaha, found the phone number for Yamaha's title department and I had my title in a week. I don't have the number, but I searched the internet to find out it. My original loan was through Synchrony and transferred to Yamaha.

 

[shanes17]

I'm in the process of selling myself, Yamaha Motor is the lien holder.

The buyer is financing about 80 percent of what I owe and then paying cash for the remaining balance. Should the buyer pay Yamaha directly the remaining amount? And when that clears, would it be okay to give them possession of the boat/trailer without waiting for the title as long as we have a bill of sale from the financial institution loaning the 80 percent?

 

[Beachbummer]

As a seller, once you are paid and have a fully signed bill of sale you don't have much to lose from my perspective. It's the seller that may worry you might not pay the lien and/or you might be unable to deliver a clean title to the seller (Since you don't have it on hand).

You want to make sure the funds are good, vs. He pays the lien off with a hot check and takes the boat.

What I did as buyer in your situation, was I paid the lien off with a certified check, we mailed the payment together, signed a bill of sale, and I took the boat, all at that same time. The seller called the bank and confirmed the cashier's check was good before giving me the boat, and I confirmed he mailed it there, so he would release the lien.

The other thing we agreed on is that I held back $1,000 that were due to the buyer only once the title was free and clear and available to me, to ensure the seller had an incentive to pursue the clear title as the lien was cleared.

It happened, as in most situations, that both seller and buyer were decent reasonable people, (or at least he was and I pretended to be, and behaved like it) so in the end it all worked out totally fine.

EDIT: For your protection be sure to specify what warranty you are offering in your bill of sale. I'm not a lawyer but "No warranty from Seller, expressed or implied of any kind is provided. Boat sold as-is." goes a long way if for whatever reason something unhappy happens later.

 

[johhnyboat]

As a seller, once you are paid and have a fully signed bill of sale you don't have much to lose from my perspective. It's the seller that may worry you might not pay the lien and/or you might be unable to deliver a clean title to the seller (Since you don't have it on hand).

You want to make sure the funds are good, vs. He pays the lien off with a hot check and takes the boat.

What I did as buyer in your situation, was I paid the lien off with a certified check, we mailed the payment together, signed a bill of sale, and I took the boat, all at that same time. The seller called the bank and confirmed the cashier's check was good before giving me the boat, and I confirmed he mailed it there, so he would release the lien.

The other thing we agreed on is that I held back $1,000 that were due to the buyer only once the title was free and clear and available to me, to ensure the seller had an incentive to pursue the clear title as the lien was cleared.

It happened, as in most situations, that both seller and buyer were decent reasonable people, (or at least he was and I pretended to be, and behaved like it) so in the end it all worked out totally fine.

EDIT: For your protection be sure to specify what warranty you are offering in your bill of sale. I'm not a lawyer but "No warranty from Seller, expressed or implied of any kind is provided. Boat sold as-is." goes a long way if for whatever reason something unhappy happens later.

In most states you can not legally sell a vessel without the lien release.

 

[Beachbummer]

In most states you can not legally sell a vessel without the lien release.

Thanks for the insight, Can you provide more detail as to what is the underlying consequence?

I suspect most all sales for used boats that being financed by the seller happen without the lean release, with the loan being paid off as part of the sale process. I suspect trying to hide the lien or sell the boat without releasing it is a problem, but I think that most sales with an existing lien just share its existence and indicate how it will be satisfied. The other aspect is, where illegal, what are the consequences of such act? Would seem a civil matter, and if everyone is paid, what would authorities due with no harmed person anyway?

 

[shanes17]

As a seller, once you are paid and have a fully signed bill of sale you don't have much to lose from my perspective. It's the seller that may worry you might not pay the lien and/or you might be unable to deliver a clean title to the seller (Since you don't have it on hand).

You want to make sure the funds are good, vs. He pays the lien off with a hot check and takes the boat.

What I did as buyer in your situation, was I paid the lien off with a certified check, we mailed the payment together, signed a bill of sale, and I took the boat, all at that same time. The seller called the bank and confirmed the cashier's check was good before giving me the boat, and I confirmed he mailed it there, so he would release the lien.

The other thing we agreed on is that I held back $1,000 that were due to the buyer only once the title was free and clear and available to me, to ensure the seller had an incentive to pursue the clear title as the lien was cleared.

It happened, as in most situations, that both seller and buyer were decent reasonable people, (or at least he was and I pretended to be, and behaved like it) so in the end it all worked out totally fine.

EDIT: For your protection be sure to specify what warranty you are offering in your bill of sale. I'm not a lawyer but "No warranty from Seller, expressed or implied of any kind is provided. Boat sold as-is." goes a long way if for whatever reason something unhappy happens later.

Thank you, this is in Missouri.

I figured to wait until it shows on Yamahas end a balance of $0 before handing over the keys.

Thinking about asking them to show proof of insurance maybe to? That way there is no chance of me being liable for anything while the buyer enjoys the boat while we wait on Yamaha to release the lien which appears to take a good month or so.

 

[johhnyboat]

I didn't check into the consequences, but did find out when I tried to register my boat in Maryland that a sale can not go through without a lien. I think going trough a licensed dealership probably solves this as they can facilitate the release. I have also heard that if both the buyer and seller go to the bank where the lien is held then the bank can act as the agent to make sure the lien is released directly to them.

 

[tgokaydin]

Does anyone know the process to purchase a Yamaha boat when a private seller is currently financed by the Yamaha Corp? In other words, lean holder for the boat is Yamaha Corp. but the seller wants to sell it. Buyers pays to who and in what conditions?
Thanks!
Tug

Here is an update regarding my purchase of a 2021, AR210 with a "Bill of Sale" from a private party.
* I made a cashiers check for the remaining balance owed by the seller to Yamaha Finance. We mailed the check via UPS on September 1st 2021.
* On October 6th Yamaha Finance sent the over payment amount to the seller
* After 50 calendar days (October 20th) ,there is no trace of any Title Information from Yamaha Finance!

Are there other people like me waiting the title from Yamaha this long?
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Tug