I look at things a little differently, I guess.
We ask ourselves, "What discount should I get?" or "What should my payment be?" Good questions to ask.
We have a fun budget for things we are going to do. This included typical vacations without RVs before. It now includes the MH and the associated trips we take with it. So, our payment with all the other added vacation expenses should not exceed our leisure budget.
Having said that, when considering financing, just ask yourself if it fits into your budget and how much interest you are willing to pay.
The interest-money question is the only difference than the cash-money RV scenario. Someone who pays cash is out the full amount right now. If I gave them a no-interest option with no penalties, no fees. etc... to pay over time, they would probably jump on that.
So, how much interest do you want to pay?
If those numbers fit, you should be good.
It would help if you had enough down payment to ensure you would never owe more than it is worth. If not, that's asking for trouble.
A lot of people say only pay cash which is hard to do. If two persons bought the exact same MH, for let's say $150,000, the cash buyer pays 150K. If financed, by the time that same MH is paid off you might pay $200K. (hopefully not that bad of a bank deal)
Is that MH worth $200K to you? That is the biggest question you should answer once you say you can afford it.
We could have bought a $40,000 MH with cash. We chose to put that down on a brand new one and pay interest. By the time our $111K MH is paid for, we will pay no more than $24K in interest. Not to mention it should be worth somewhat more than a $40K used MH would be if liquidated some time down the line.
The bank loves us. We love our MH. Everybody is happy.
Would the memories have been the same? Who knows, but there is some piece of mind that comes with buying new.
Our brand new MH could blow an engine tomorrow. Could happen, but it is under warranty for 5/60. That's less likely to happen than the $40,000-cash used MH blowing something serious.
Some people just don't like paying the bank, and I get that.
I don't care who the money goes to. I just figure out how much $$$ is it worth to us and go from there. I would never stretch our budget for a toy. It should fit into your: "I'm throwing this amount away on fun" budget.
Some people pay cash and then can't afford to put gas in it? I have seen cases on the forums where someone paid cash on a used MH and then had to raid their retirement fund to replace a blown engine on a DP? Ouch.
It is all the price we pay to enjoy this lifestyle.
