New trailer / finance / title question

[TL7]

This is a bit complicated, but I don't think it should be. A few weeks ago I bought a new aluminum trailer, from a 3rd party manufacturer. Turns out the 3rd party manufacturer has a "partnership" with my dealer, so all sales in the area go through the dealer. Fine, no problem. I buy the trailer, pay the full price to my dealer, no financing. Done deal. I have the new trailer and it rocks.

Dealer asks what I'm going to do with my old Boatmate single axle. Told them I was planning on going the Craigslist route or similar, and they offered me 1K for it. Perfect, let's do it. Handshake, agreement, we're good to go.

Here is when it gets interesting. Since the original (Boatmate) trailer was sold and financed with the boat as a package (2010), I cannot sell it without a clear title. Dealer suggested we do a collateral swap; basically swapping the new trailer for the old trailer on the loan. Whatever, as long as the end result is the same as status quo and I get my 1K, I'm ok with it. A few weeks pass, and I contact the rep at my dealer. Below is the email I get.

"THE SUPERVISOR AT U.S. BANK WONT ALLOW A SUB OF COLLATERAL, THEY WANT YOU TO DO A COMPLETE REFINANCE ON THE RIG WITH THE NEW TRAILER. THEY WONT ALLOW US TO DO THE PAPERWORK SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO DIRECT TO U.S. BANK TO DO THE RE FI. I AM HAVING xxxx BRING THE TRAILER HERE AND WILL CALL WHEN WE RECEIVE

SORRY TO ALWAYS BE THE BEARER OR BAD NEWS"

So now I'm totally confused. At this point, what are my options? I've yet to get paperwork from dealer to title the new trailer. I definitely don't want to refinance the entire thing, as I've been paying on it for over a year now and I just paid cash for a new trailer. I can see the bank's point of view, as they want to make sure if I default they get back exactly what they "loaned" me money for, even though the new trailer is worth more.

Any bankers out there want to explain this a little better to me? I'm in Texas if that matters. At this point, I'd just assume keep the original trailer, title the new one, and leave it be. It'd be nice to somehow get the title and sell the old trailer, but I don't want to do something stupid in the long run. Or anything illegal or "shady".

Thoughts?

[ian ashton]

You can likely refi with a term the same as what you have remaining, thus keeping your payoff the same. Rates might even be better now than they were when you previously financed as well.

[mmandley]

The problem lies in the Bank doesnt say this amount is the boat and this amount is the trailer. They see it as one amount.

All you should have to do is say look i owe X amount on this debt. Refinance it as a Boat only deal and the boat should still cover the value of the trailer. The bank can then be happy with X amount on the boat and now your trailer will be out of the picture.

Other wise your going to be stuck with 2 trailers till you pay the loan off.

[Razzman]

That's what's nice about California, the vessel and trailer are seperate entities and can be sold seperately. The bank would be none the wiser as they have no seperate record per se of the trailer.

[E4NASH]

That's what's nice about California, the vessel and trailer are seperate entities and can be sold seperately. The bank would be none the wiser as they have no seperate record per se of the trailer.

Same here in TN...

[zabooda]

For those with separate entities, do you finance the boat and trailer seperately? All boats and trailers have seperate titles so it is how the loan is written up. You will need to refinance or hold onto the trailer. They will probably refinance the new trailer and the boat so you would end up with cash when you sell your old trailer. Try a competitor bank and see if they can get you a better loan rate to refi with them and switch out the trailer at that time.

Let us know how this one works out.

[kaneboats]

Trailers aren't even titled in FL. I sold the trailer right out from under my last financed boat (for $100 because it was a rusty piece of chit). I replaced it with a much better one I paid $1100 for. I suppose if the boat ever got repo-ed I would have filed a theft claim and they would have filed a fraud claim.

[zabooda]

Then that works. Do you have titles on expensive trailers or camp trailers? I would think it would be hard to get a loan on a trailer if there was no title as it could be sold at any time. I remeber that in Florida a lot of people store their boats in marinas and never get a trailer. I saw some nice boats in Destin last weekend.

[mmandley]

In Oregon the trailer is titled to the boat. The trailer does have its on registration, as well as the boat as its own registration. I think this is weird because even though i pay seperate registration on them they share the same title lol.

[Razzman]

In Oregon the trailer is titled to the boat. The trailer does have its on registration, as well as the boat as its own registration. I think this is weird because even though i pay seperate registration on them they share the same title lol.

Now that is strange.

[NCSUmoomba]

Wow, that is a sticky situation. It is a shame that all the states don't do it the same. It would make the most logical sense to title them separately. What would happen if you didn't buy a trailer.

The don't title trailers in Georgia as well, which is where I bought my boat. When I tried to register my trailer in North Carolina, they would not do it because there was no title and I could not prove that I legally owned it. The guy at the DMV here said, that because Georgia is like that, if you see a trailer you like, you can pretty much take it and the burden of proof that it is not your is on the person you took it from.

I had to "find" (wink-wink) the document trail from when the trailer was bought new to it being sold to me, and I was the third owner, just to get a title in NC so I could get it registered with the DMV.

It sounds like they do title trailers there in Texas, but your rig came as a "package". 20-20 hindsight and all that, I guess the dealer should have made a separate bill of sale for the trailer, as if you bought it separately, and maybe then it could have been titled separately. The dealer should have known this when you bought the boat. Is there anyway the dealer could "generate" a bill of sale that you could take to the DMV and appy for a title for the boat trailer separately? Then you would stillhave to deal with the bank, and I am not sure how that would go.

Good luck.

[schuylski]

Agree with advice above- trailer registration is a pain. It sounds like if you don't want to refi, keep the second trailer. Maybe someone at the bank will understand trailers and be able to work with you - your next payments get applied to the trailer only so you can pay that part off and clear its title and the boat is all that's left???? I don't know if that even makes sense.

I'm still working on getting my trailer registered. Boat is registered in another state, where it is garaged and "principally used". But trailer is considered a vehicle that has to be registered where I live? And it needs a separate value, which I did get, but it just seems so complicated when I feel it should be easy.

[mmandley]

Now that is strange.

Yup when i bought the boat i paid registration for both.

Boat registration is every 2 years.

Trailer registration is every 4 year.

[kaneboats]

When I bought a boat a few years back from North Carolina it had no title-- boats are registered with the DMV but not titled. The trailer had a title-- which I did not need in FL because trailers are not titled. Who decides this crap?

I'm all for smaller government but couldn't we all just follow a uniform system for this crap? Now, the title iin FL is electronic so you can't have it in a folder at home. You have to request it before you sell.