Finacing Questions

[itch]

Hello all. My buddie and I are ready to pull the trigger on a 03 wakesetter but we want to make sure we are getting the best percentage on our loan. Can anyone direct me to maybe some finace company to make this dream come true?

Thanks

ITCH

Edited August 4, 2005 by itch

[Alibuma]

If you go through a dealer they make a point or two but the thing about a dealer is that they will help you get finance with little or no down. Also, they may make a little bit, but they can help negotiate the best rates. Even if you are buying a boat from a private sale, some dealers may be willing to work with you on the financing.

[sheeprides]

Open a bank account with a local credit union (most only require a $100 deposit). Once you are a member you will most likely qualify for better interest rates than a conventional bank - good credit provided.

[chathamsolutions]

If you own a home a credit line is the best. Tax deductible as well.

I had a deal all set up through E-trade. Took it to my dealer and they beat it. Alibuma brings up some good points.

[mlange]

DEFINITELY shop around. I was amazed at how much the rates varied - even among the "mainstream" big-time banks when I went through this a couple of months ago.

The Credit Union option is one that is definitely worth looking into.

Mike

[Romi]

If you own a home a credit line is the best.  Tax deductible as well. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree... that is how we did it. But since we are selling our house it will be gone and the boat is paid for.

[Lakenut]

I third the credit union idea. We have financed all of our cars through our local credit union and they have beat everyone else by .25-.50%. Plus you might be able to get a good deal on an extended warranty through them. For a while our union was doing the same ext. warranty (autos) that dealers would do. the dealers warranty required a $100 per visit deductible. The credit union had a 1 time $100 deductable that was paid up front.

However, do shop arround for the best rate. Our credit union was not so great on boat loans at the time we bought our boat. We went with our other local bank for 1.5% less than our credit union would do.

In any case don't overextend yourself. I know I might piss some people off by saying this but don't finance more than a couple of years. At local boat shows creditors are offering 10 year and 15 year financing and it is just plain stupid! If you figure say 75 hrs per season times 15 years your boat would have 1125 hrs on it when you paid it off. Doesn't make much sense, but then again intrest-only mortgages are pretty popular right now also.

[Malibudude]

If you own a home a credit line is the best.  Tax deductible as well. 

Except you'll want to be careful leveraging your house with another party incase of the loan goes default. Just make sure you protect your biggest investment.

[sheeprides]

Plus you might be able to get a good deal on an extended warranty through them.

DO NOT buy an extended warranty from a bank or insurance company. Buy the warranty at the dealer where you intend to have service work performed. If warranty work is ever refused, you want the dealer in your corner vs. the warranty provider. They won't help you if you bought it somewhere else to save a couple of hundred dollars. Bring on the heartache.

Edited August 4, 2005 by sheeprides

[mlange]

Regarding financing it via a home line of credit...

I think that's a great way to go if you are either...

1. Planning on keeping you house longer than it will take to pay off the portion of loan used to buy the boat.

or

2. Don't care about losing the equity in the house if you have to sell the house before the boat is paid for.

Mike

[m&m]

pay off the house and keep the boat loan seperate. mike

[D-GOOSE]

pay off the house and keep the boat loan seperate. mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have to agree. check around town with many different banks. Plus the dealer option sounds like a good try.

[SpeakerSox.com]

pay off the house and keep the boat loan seperate. mike

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have to agree. check around town with many different banks. Plus the dealer option sounds like a good try.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do your homework but do not let your credit be run by everyone. Too many credit inquires are not a good thing.

[Shanesj]

If you own a home a credit line is the best.  Tax deductible as well. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Except you'll want to be careful leveraging your house with another party incase of the loan goes default. Just make sure you protect your biggest investment.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I second not leveraging your house for a toy.

[Shanesj]

Plus you might be able to get a good deal on an extended warranty through them.

DO NOT buy an extended warranty from a bank or insurance company. Buy the warranty at the dealer where you intend to have service work performed. If warranty work is ever refused, you want the dealer in your corner vs. the warranty provider. They won't help you if you bought it somewhere else to save a couple of hundred dollars. Bring on the heartache.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its not where you buy the extended service agreement that matters, it is the people you need to deal with in case of a problem that you want to be concerned with. That is the biggest reason to never buy an extended service agreement online, who do you call when you have a problem, where if you buy from the dealer or the bank you have someone to go back and talk to you about your problem. The delaership or bank in turn will call their service contract rep (me) to try and handle to problem with the service contract compnay.

[sheeprides]

The delaership or bank in turn will call their service contract rep (me) to try and handle to problem with the service contract compnay.

Okay, not to argue (because it sounds like warranty sales is your business - and in a round about way, it's mine too.) but here's a "for-instance":

You buy an extended warranty from your insurance company and all is good. You've saved a couple of hundred dollars and you have the warm and fuzzy feeling of thinking you are protected against the unthinkable.

Time passes and the unthinkable happens. Let's just say it's a transmission problem. You take the boat to the dealer and ask them to fix it. Mechanics work by "book hours". The manufacturer's "book" says it should take 5.75 hours to fix your transmission problem. Now it's time to pay the bill, less your deductible of course. The dealer bills you / your warranty company for the 5.75 hours it took to fix the tranny but your warranty provider's "book" says that your particular transmission problem should have only taken 3.25 hours to fix. Who's paying the difference of 2.5 hours? You are, my friend.

Had you purchased a warranty from the dealer, it's their warranty provider paying their shop rates. No questions asked. And, I might add, most likely you won't be coming out of pocket yourself THEN waiting to get reimbursed by the warranty company. Therefore, I would continue to buy my warranties from the dealer.