Main Showroom — 1680 Industrial Blvd, Lake Havasu City, AZ

Sell Your Boat in Lake Havasu City — The Right Way

No upfront fees. No storage charges. No runaround. 40 years of on-time payment, every time — under the Messmer family name.

✓ No brokerage fees to list ✓ On-time payment, every time ✓ We handle every showing & all paperwork ✓ In-person buyers, not scrollers
Get a Free Valuation → 📞 (928) 453-8833
40+Years in Havasu
$0Upfront Fees to List
90Day Consignment Window
✓On-Time Payment Every Time

What We Hear Every Week

The Real Reasons People Call Us

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“Craigslist was a scam parade”

Fake cashier’s checks, overpayment scams, and strangers in your driveway at night. Private-party boat sales are a magnet for fraud. We verify buyers and handle the transaction so you never have to meet a stranger with a $50,000 boat between you.

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“I have no idea what it’s worth”

NADA is a loan-collateral tool — it doesn’t know what Havasu buyers are paying this season. We pull actual comps from the Havasu market: make, model, year, hours, condition, trailer. You set the price; we make sure you set it from real data.

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“It’s been listed for months”

A boat that sits is a boat that costs — storage, insurance, loan payments adding up every month. Most boats that stall online have a pricing or photo problem. We tell you which it is and fix it instead of letting the listing rot.

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“I still have a loan on it”

One of the most common situations we handle. Bring the payoff statement; we coordinate the lender payoff at closing. You don’t pay off the loan before listing. The buyer doesn’t navigate a lien-encumbered title. We’ve done this thousands of times.

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“The Arizona title process is confusing”

Arizona boats go through Game and Fish — not MVD. The trailer title goes through MVD. Two tracks, one sale. We handle both, plus out-of-state titles, lost titles, trust-held vessels, and lien releases. All before the buyer is at the closing table.

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“I need to sell fast”

Medical, divorce, upgrade, downsizing — whatever the reason, urgency and underselling go together. We price fast-moving listings in the Havasu foot-traffic corridor where buyers are already standing. You get speed without giving the boat away.

Selling Your Boat

10 Questions Every Boat Seller Asks

We list your boat on consignment at our Main Showroom on Industrial Boulevard, where it sits in front of the largest concentration of serious boat buyers in Lake Havasu City. You bring it in, we walk it with you, agree on a price, sign a simple consignment agreement, and we handle the rest — photography, online listings, walk-in buyers, test drives, paperwork, and the final transfer. You get a single point of contact through the whole process and a check when it sells. After more than 40 years in this town under the Messmer family, we’ve sold thousands of boats this exact way. No runaround, all prices posted, on-time payment every time.
Our standard consignment window is 90 days, and most boats priced realistically move well inside that window — Havasu is the busiest freshwater boating market in the Southwest, and our Main Showroom sits in the foot-traffic corridor. Boats that linger usually do so for one of two reasons: the asking price is above what the current market is paying, or the season is working against the category (a deck boat in October will move slower than the same boat in March). When that happens we’ll have a straight conversation with you about a price adjustment rather than letting the listing stall. The 90-day window is a planning number, not a promise — but it’s the number we plan around.
We charge no brokerage fees to list your boat — no upfront fees, no monthly storage charges during the standard consignment window, no surprise deductions at closing. We are a spread-based brokerage: we agree on the dollar amount you take home, and we earn our money on the difference between that number and the final sold price. You know your number going in, and that’s the number you receive when the boat sells. Note: government fees — title transfer, registration, and any applicable state taxes — are set by law and are the buyer’s responsibility, not ours. Out-of-state buyers may not owe Arizona sales tax on their purchase.
We start with current market data — what comparable boats are actively listed for, what they’ve recently sold for in the Havasu market specifically, and where your boat falls on the condition and equipment spectrum. Hours, engine condition, trailer, electronics, upholstery, and cosmetic state all move the number. After more than 40 years brokering boats in this town, we know what a given make and model actually trades for here versus what the same boat trades for in San Diego or Phoenix — and the Havasu market is its own animal. We’ll show you the comps and walk you through the reasoning. Final number is yours to set; our job is to make sure you set it from real data.
Clean, mechanically sound, and accurately represented. We don’t require showroom-perfect — used boats are used boats — but we do require honest disclosure. If something doesn’t work, we say so. If there’s cosmetic wear, we photograph it. The boats that sell fastest are genuinely ready to go on the water: current registration, fresh service, clean upholstery, batteries that hold a charge, and a working trailer. If yours needs minor work first, we can usually point you to the right shop in town. If it needs major work, we’ll have a straight conversation about whether to fix it or price it as-is.
No. Plenty of our consignors are out-of-state owners who use their boats in Havasu seasonally and want to sell without flying back to manage showings. Once the boat is on our lot and the consignment agreement is signed, we handle every walk-up, every phone call, every test drive, and every offer. We update you when there’s serious interest and don’t waste your time with tire-kickers. When an offer comes in that’s worth a decision, we walk you through it by phone or email — wherever you are.
At minimum we need the title in your name (or a clear lien release if it’s been paid off), current Arizona Game & Fish registration if applicable, and a valid government ID. If the boat has a trailer, the trailer title (through MVD, separately from the boat) comes with it. If there’s an active loan balance, we coordinate the payoff with your lender so the title transfers cleanly to the buyer at closing. We’ve handled Arizona, California, Nevada, and out-of-state titles thousands of times. Complex situations — lost title, trust ownership, estate transfers — we work through before the boat goes on the lot, not after a buyer is waiting. Note: estate and trust title situations may require independent legal counsel; we facilitate the MVD and AZGFD paperwork and coordinate with your representatives.
On-time payment, every time — that’s the standard we’ve held for more than 40 years. Typically within 10 days from the buyer’s lender funding and us receiving our funds. Cash deals often settle faster. Once the funds clear and the title transfer is complete, your check is cut and either mailed or available for pickup. If there’s a lien on the boat, we coordinate payoff to your lender first; the balance comes to you. No surprises, no holds.
Yes — this is one of the most common situations we handle. Bring your current payoff statement from the lender along with the rest of your paperwork, and we coordinate the payoff at closing. The buyer’s funds go first to clearing your lien (which releases the title), and the remainder comes to you. You don’t pay the loan off before listing, you don’t come up with cash at closing, and the buyer doesn’t navigate a lien-encumbered title. We’ve handled Arizona lenders, California lenders, marine-specific lenders, and credit unions. The mechanics are routine on our end.
Three reasons. First, exposure — our Main Showroom puts your boat in front of qualified, in-person buyers who came to Lake Havasu City specifically to look at boats, not scrollers who might or might not show up. Second, security — you’re not handing your address to strangers, taking calls at all hours, or meeting people you’ve never spoken to in your driveway with a high-dollar boat between you. Third, paperwork and money — title transfers, lien payoffs, bills of sale, sales tax, registration handoff, and verifying buyer funds are all things that go wrong in private-party sales. We handle every piece. The trade-off is the spread we make on the deal; what you get back is the boat actually sold, money actually in your account, and your weekends back.

Lake Havasu City Boat Market

Why Havasu Is the Right Place to Sell

Lake Havasu City sits on one of the most active freshwater boating corridors in the American Southwest. The Colorado River, Lake Havasu, and the surrounding waterways draw boaters from Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and beyond — all year round, not just in summer. That means boat buyers are actively walking our lot every week of the calendar.

Seasonal timing matters. The Havasu snowbird market — buyers arriving from colder states between October and April — represents the highest concentration of motivated, cash-ready buyers in the region. Listing in late summer or early fall means your boat has traction before that wave arrives. Spring listings benefit from local buyers preparing for the summer season. Boats listed in the dead of summer or mid-winter without a price strategy tend to sit longer than necessary.

Arizona boat title transfers go through the Arizona Game & Fish Department, not the Motor Vehicle Division — a distinction that trips up sellers and buyers alike when navigating a private-party transaction. If your boat has a trailer, that title routes through MVD separately. We have managed this dual-track process thousands of times. If you have an out-of-state registration, we work through the transfer requirements so the buyer gets a clean Arizona title regardless of where the boat originated.

The Boat Broker has been at 1680 Industrial Blvd in Lake Havasu City since 1986. The Main Showroom is the anchor of our three-lot operation and the location with the highest walk-in foot traffic for buyers specifically looking for boats, pontoons, and watercraft. Licensed by the Arizona Game & Fish Department. Authorized Barletta Boats and Bentley Pontoons dealer.

Ready to Sell? Let’s Talk.

Bring your boat by the Main Showroom or call us today. We’ll walk it with you, pull the comps, and give you a straight answer — no pressure, no runaround.

Get a Free Valuation → 📞 Call (928) 453-8833 Our Locations