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huntdooly's avatar
huntdooly
Explorer II
Nov 07, 2018

Lenders that don't require recent comparable purchase?

We have excellent credit...in the mid 800s. RV dealers have said that they could get financing for us, but we are now interested in a private party rig and have called a few online lenders who have all said that we need to have a comparable purchase in the past 4 years.

We don't have that history, as we buy our cars and keep them as long as they keep running well and are comfortable for us. We don't like to get in debt as a rule. Our house is paid for and both cars as well, so we don't have any debt to speak of.

It seems that being debt-free is a liability when it comes to getting a loan for an RV.

Does anyone know of lenders who are flexible with this sort of thing and will lend for private party purchases?

Thanks for any help you can give.

56 Replies

  • rr2254545 wrote:
    huntdooly wrote:
    westernrvparkowner wrote:
    First, you don't have a credit score in the mid 800s. The absolute maximum FICO score is 850, and that is unobtainable. Second, if you have no debt and no recent credit references your score will reflect that fact and will be lower than people who have a recent history of paying their credit obligations. Have no history for a long time and you will become what lenders call a "ghost". They have no way to determine if you have no credit history because you are extremely conservative or if it is because you have been in prison for the last 25 years. While it may be financially prudent for you to avoid debt it is not necessarily a good sign to a lender.
    Your best options will be to either make a substantial down payment, thus lowering the risk for the lender or obtaining a loan where you have some financial history such as your local bank or credit union. Be aware lenders have additional criteria they consider besides credit score. Things like job stability, income and residency stability are also factors in getting a loan approved. Good Luck.


    Our credit score is 841 to be exact. I was told by a lender that the highest score that one can have is 900. We do have a credit history in that we use credit cards for our grocery purchases, etc., which we pay in full every month, so we do have a credit history, but no comparable purchases.

    I would bet the ranch the max credit score is 850 - try Bank of the West - they jumped all over us - we have about the same credit score and financial picture that your have


    What do you mean, "they jumped all over us?" Jumped all over you in a positive way and you got the loan?
  • huntdooly wrote:
    westernrvparkowner wrote:
    First, you don't have a credit score in the mid 800s. The absolute maximum FICO score is 850, and that is unobtainable. Second, if you have no debt and no recent credit references your score will reflect that fact and will be lower than people who have a recent history of paying their credit obligations. Have no history for a long time and you will become what lenders call a "ghost". They have no way to determine if you have no credit history because you are extremely conservative or if it is because you have been in prison for the last 25 years. While it may be financially prudent for you to avoid debt it is not necessarily a good sign to a lender.
    Your best options will be to either make a substantial down payment, thus lowering the risk for the lender or obtaining a loan where you have some financial history such as your local bank or credit union. Be aware lenders have additional criteria they consider besides credit score. Things like job stability, income and residency stability are also factors in getting a loan approved. Good Luck.


    Our credit score is 841 to be exact. I was told by a lender that the highest score that one can have is 900. We do have a credit history in that we use credit cards for our grocery purchases, etc., which we pay in full every month, so we do have a credit history, but no comparable purchases.
    Your lender was mistaken. You can check the websites of all three major credit bureaus TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. They will all confirm the highest possible score is 850. I am not sure who or what your 841 score is referencing, but it is not a score from the industry's accepted credit scores.
    My background before RV parks was banking. Going beyond simple credit scoring, the fact you suddenly want to borrow a large sum of money for a recreational item will raise a red flag. It is going against your personal history. That alone may be enough for a lender to decline your application.
  • westernrvparkowner wrote:
    First, you don't have a credit score in the mid 800s. The absolute maximum FICO score is 850, and that is unobtainable.

    A standard base FICO score only goes to 850, but since the subject is vehicle loans, that FICO score (FICO 9 Auto) goes to 900. I think here are now about 15 different FICO scores used by different industry's that rate your credit based on different factors. What they use to give you a store credit is not the same score as used by a mortgage lender and isn't the same as used by a credit card company which is different from what a auto loan is based on.

    An RV can be a standard FICO 8 or 9, and can be one of the many specialty scores from auto to mortgage depending on the lenders requirement.
  • huntdooly wrote:
    westernrvparkowner wrote:
    First, you don't have a credit score in the mid 800s. The absolute maximum FICO score is 850, and that is unobtainable. Second, if you have no debt and no recent credit references your score will reflect that fact and will be lower than people who have a recent history of paying their credit obligations. Have no history for a long time and you will become what lenders call a "ghost". They have no way to determine if you have no credit history because you are extremely conservative or if it is because you have been in prison for the last 25 years. While it may be financially prudent for you to avoid debt it is not necessarily a good sign to a lender.
    Your best options will be to either make a substantial down payment, thus lowering the risk for the lender or obtaining a loan where you have some financial history such as your local bank or credit union. Be aware lenders have additional criteria they consider besides credit score. Things like job stability, income and residency stability are also factors in getting a loan approved. Good Luck.


    Our credit score is 841 to be exact. I was told by a lender that the highest score that one can have is 900. We do have a credit history in that we use credit cards for our grocery purchases, etc., which we pay in full every month, so we do have a credit history, but no comparable purchases.

    I would bet the ranch the max credit score is 850 - try Bank of the West - they jumped all over us - we have about the same credit score and financial picture that your have
  • westernrvparkowner wrote:
    First, you don't have a credit score in the mid 800s. The absolute maximum FICO score is 850, and that is unobtainable. Second, if you have no debt and no recent credit references your score will reflect that fact and will be lower than people who have a recent history of paying their credit obligations. Have no history for a long time and you will become what lenders call a "ghost". They have no way to determine if you have no credit history because you are extremely conservative or if it is because you have been in prison for the last 25 years. While it may be financially prudent for you to avoid debt it is not necessarily a good sign to a lender.
    Your best options will be to either make a substantial down payment, thus lowering the risk for the lender or obtaining a loan where you have some financial history such as your local bank or credit union. Be aware lenders have additional criteria they consider besides credit score. Things like job stability, income and residency stability are also factors in getting a loan approved. Good Luck.


    Our credit score is 841 to be exact. I was told by a lender that the highest score that one can have is 900. We do have a credit history in that we use credit cards for our grocery purchases, etc., which we pay in full every month, so we do have a credit history, but no comparable purchases.
  • First, you don't have a credit score in the mid 800s. The absolute maximum FICO score is 850, and that is unobtainable. Second, if you have no debt and no recent credit references your score will reflect that fact and will be lower than people who have a recent history of paying their credit obligations. Have no history for a long time and you will become what lenders call a "ghost". They have no way to determine if you have no credit history because you are extremely conservative or if it is because you have been in prison for the last 25 years. While it may be financially prudent for you to avoid debt it is not necessarily a good sign to a lender.
    Your best options will be to either make a substantial down payment, thus lowering the risk for the lender or obtaining a loan where you have some financial history such as your local bank or credit union. Be aware lenders have additional criteria they consider besides credit score. Things like job stability, income and residency stability are also factors in getting a loan approved. Good Luck.