New boat buyer questions!

[Silkstringz]

Hey fellas. Looking at purchasing my first "NEW" bass boat and have a few questions. Normally, I would never consider financing a boat for 10 years, but with some manufactures warranty's extended to 10 years, you would have warranty coverage for the life of the loan. Sounds tempting. The last dealer I spoke with did "in house" financing with a required 10% down.

1. Is this standard practice to finance through whoever the dealer uses, or do most get pre-approved through a third party before hand. What was your interest rate?

2. What is a normal term length on a bass boat? 10 years seems like forever to me?

3. What was required for a down payment? 5%,10% or more?

Any input would be helpful. Thanks.

[Tarheel14]

You can check into your own financing. It wouldn't hurt to compare rates
Usually over a certain amount of money they go longer terms such as 10 yrs. Make sure there is no pre payment penalty for early payoff.

[OsageJoe]

1. Many dealers use reputable lenders. We use 2 of the best.
2. Up to 15 years. You can always pay more per month, but not less.
3. Depending on credit and the individual sometimes 0 or little money down. 10% is common.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

Joe McBride - Sport Boats USA

[basscla]

BBC members pay cash

[coolwhip]

I did 3.99 for 8 years I think.....adding additional 200 extra a payment to pay off early. I went with credit union and no money down.

[Table Rock 1]

Cash is king..

[clearlake outdoors]

20 year loan is standard on new boats now.I paid cash for my present boat.

[Fishysam]

I financed through my local bank. They got the best rates and made it easy, took a check to the dealer got told the features and drive off. They could do 20 years but I went with 10 to have better rates. I believe 10% down is prefererd but not required. My blown up 17 year old boat was good for 15% anyway.

[Stein]

No loans on toys.

That said I did finance a new car for the first time in 10 years for my wife. Subaru was offering 0% for 63 months with no discount on the purchase price if I paid in full so I did it. Will set up automatic draft when the first payment comes and ignore it.

[Rodney P]

WOW 20 years on a boat loan!?!? Bend over and spell RUN. Too many things can happen in 20 years if you need to finance that long you cannot afford the boat IMO.

[Landar]

Become a member of a good credit union if you need to finance.

[5-Dinks]

Depending on the difference in rates between a 10 and 20 year loan, if a good deal, get the 20 year loan and pay it off in 10. This keeps your payments low and manageable if you ever get in a bind but pay above whatever you can otherwise to pay off early.

I did this on my boat. Got a 12 year note and paid it off in 5 or 6 years. I don't remember what the interest rates were back then nor the difference between the two.

[Transom]

Last year I got 3.99 for 7 with 10% down. Credit union.

[The Bass Junkie]

WOW 20 years on a boat loan!?!? Bend over and spell RUN. Too many things can happen in 20 years if you need to finance that long you cannot afford the boat IMO.

its not necessarily "need" to finance that long... it has to do with the ups and downs of the economy. Boats/RV default rates skyrocket in any down period. A longer finance period creates a lower minimum payment thus decreasing the number of defaults as the minimum payment on a 15/20 is much lower than a 5/10. It is the exact same reason most of the solar loans i write are 20 years..the warranty is 25, and the minimum payment insulates us in downturns.. Most of my 20 years notes are paid in full in less than 7... We charge over double the interest rates for loans under 10 years..which no one ever takes those since we have no early payoff penalty..

We bought a new to us cruiser last year..the interest rate was cheapest if we took the 15 year.. I should have it paid off by august (1 year).. the note was for 35, i paid a significant amount down. Just because a term is long doesn't mean its bad.

[catdude28]

I would be more concerned about having engine warranty for the life of the loan, not the hull itself. Not much will go wrong with the boat, but these high tech engines are very expensive to fix if something goes wrong with them, especially if it is catastrophic. It could be tough still having a loan payment and an out of pocket major engine repair. Certain times of the year you can get an engine promo giving you a longer than ordinary factory warranty, to five years often. I also know that five years to pay off a loan would be a stretch for many.

[tmoney]

I recommend looking outside a dealer. The rates have been better in my experience. Reclending is a board sponsor here, and I highly recommend checking them out in the Boat Loans section. I got 4.84% for 15 years. No specific down payment required, but I did 20% to keep the rate down on a brand new boat, and so I can protect myself from completely losing my ass when I end up trading or selling in a few years. It's definitely not an investment, but I consider it to be similar to leasing a car, which I also do. I like the ability to easily get the newest and best if possible. Just my opinion.

[Hunter689 / Get Outdoors]

I recommend looking outside a dealer. The rates have been better in my experience. Reclending is a board sponsor here, and I highly recommend checking them out in the Boat Loans section. I got 4.84% for 15 years. No specific down payment required, but I did 20% to keep the rate down on a brand new boat, and so I can protect myself from completely losing my ass when I end up trading or selling in a few years. It's definitely not an investment, but I consider it to be similar to leasing a car, which I also do. I like the ability to easily get the newest and best if possible. Just my opinion.

I agree, give Ken at Reclending a call and he can help you with pretty much all the questions you are asking about financing a boat.

[Short Strike]

Just ordered a new boat. Most dealers I found offered about 5-6% interest for 10-15 years. Lucky my credit union offered 1.99% for 8 years. Shop around for lenders!

[B_Thompson]

I bought a new one in June. I used REC Lending for my last boat but used State Farm Bank for my new one. Approved in less than an hour, signed my name twice and got a check for purchase agreement price. Just shy of 3% rate for 10 years.

[Zoomworms]

Check out Arkansas Federal Credit Union, very easy to deal with.