Interest rates

If I can get a 3% loan for a $40,000 TT and earn 8%+ investing my savings, why would I use my savings to buy the TT rather than finance?

thomasmnile wrote:

TomG2 wrote:
Since the OP did not ask how to spend his money, I am not going to preach how I spend mine.

SAY IT BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :C

Amen! Either you have an answer for the OP or keep your yap closed.

OP - I suggest arranging your own financing - get the best rate you can. Maybe even join a credit union. Then, when you go to the dealer ask what their rate is. If it is higher than yours, ask him to beat it.

mileshuff wrote:

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
If you are going to borrow, and I agree with posters above that it is best not, please at least get a short term loan. They may push a loan with 10+ year terms but you will be upside down forever and pay a substantial amount in interest even at a lower rate.

In most cases you can pay more per month than the minimum. The term only sets the minimum you must pay each month. IOW's, if I can get a 2% 15 year loan or a 2% 5 year loan, I'll take the 15 and pay what I choose to each month.

That's true but a dealer will also try to negotiate using payments rather than price. That would be one argument for using a second party, probably credit union. You also need to make sure you budget the payment based on a shorter period of amortiation.

The best rates I found back in June 2016 were around 3.9% which was for 6-8 years.

I'm shocked at some of the replies to this post as these people are all ignorant to the OP's situation.

What would they say to a couple who has worked long and hard to build a very secure retirement package for themselves and just finished putting their youngest child through college. After many years, they are no longer paying $1500 - $2000 per month in tuition, room, and board. Should they start saving until they can pay cash for a new RV in 15 years or so, or would it be OK for them to take on a $500 per month RV payment and treat themselves to a new RV now?

Gdetrailer wrote:

danimal53 wrote:
nothing wrong with a 10+ year loan when you can pay extra/early without penalty. your minimum payment is obviously going to be lower, which would help if there were a job loss, unexpected expense, etc. can always pay more to reduce that 10 years (and total interest)

money is very cheap right now, and saying "don't ever finance" isn't always the best/wisest decision for everyone

There in lies the "problem".. There is no such thing as "cheap money", it costs you SOMETHING whether it is interest or your TIME and typically it is BOTH.

You go to "work" and put YOUR TIME into a 8hr, 10hr, 16hr work day, the company doesn't pay you to sit around.. No they expect you to work.

Nobody has ever gotten rich by borrowing money, sure you can get a loan to start a business but keep in mind better than 90% of all upstart businesses which borrow money to start up WILL fail within the first year..

The MOST "successful" businesses tend to not borrow money to startup and they are the ones that often turn out to make it past the first year of operation..

Spending your hard earned money WISELY is the best way, that means not borrrowing more than what you can pay off in a reasonable time at an interest rate which is as low as possible..

You and anyone else are more than welcome to hand a banker lots o money.. After all the bank Presidents deserve their multi-million mansions plus retreats homes plus expensive sports cars..

yes there is such thing as cheap money. i didn't say free money, of course it costs you something. and like you said, your time is worth something as well. so if you want to save up for a number of years to pay with all cash, fine, but those number of years might be valuable time to some people. theres always a trade off. you aren't earning much by saving money with low interest rates, and it doesn't cost you much in financing with low interest rates. with inflation, a fixed interest rate today gets cheaper in real terms the further out you finance.

not a "get rich quick" scheme or anything, and i totally agree you should live within your means. I'm not recommending to borrow 100k for a tricked out badass-mobile. But borrowing money is not evil, and done wisely, will not ruin you.

anyway, to the OP, i shopped around a few places for interest rates (a couple banks and RV finance companies) and still found the rate from the dealer's bank was the best for me. Doesn't cost you anything to get quotes from a few places, just a little effort to do your homework.

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
If you are going to borrow, and I agree with posters above that it is best not, please at least get a short term loan. They may push a loan with 10+ year terms but you will be upside down forever and pay a substantial amount in interest even at a lower rate.

In most cases you can pay more per month than the minimum. The term only sets the minimum you must pay each month. IOW's, if I can get a 2% 15 year loan or a 2% 5 year loan, I'll take the 15 and pay what I choose to each month.

I didn't have to look it up, but I did. Sanctimonious; Self-righteousness (also called sanctimoniousness, sententiousness, and holier-than-thou attitudes) is a feeling or display of (usually smug) moral superiority ...

Sound like some of the posts on here? The OP wanted to know what interest rates were common. He/she may be evaluating whether to pay cash or borrow. None of my business which they choose.

danimal53 wrote:
nothing wrong with a 10+ year loan when you can pay extra/early without penalty. your minimum payment is obviously going to be lower, which would help if there were a job loss, unexpected expense, etc. can always pay more to reduce that 10 years (and total interest)

money is very cheap right now, and saying "don't ever finance" isn't always the best/wisest decision for everyone

There in lies the "problem".. There is no such thing as "cheap money", it costs you SOMETHING whether it is interest or your TIME and typically it is BOTH.

You go to "work" and put YOUR TIME into a 8hr, 10hr, 16hr work day, the company doesn't pay you to sit around.. No they expect you to work.

Nobody has ever gotten rich by borrowing money, sure you can get a loan to start a business but keep in mind better than 90% of all upstart businesses which borrow money to start up WILL fail within the first year..

The MOST "successful" businesses tend to not borrow money to startup and they are the ones that often turn out to make it past the first year of operation..

Spending your hard earned money WISELY is the best way, that means not borrrowing more than what you can pay off in a reasonable time at an interest rate which is as low as possible..

You and anyone else are more than welcome to hand a banker lots o money.. After all the bank Presidents deserve their multi-million mansions plus retreats homes plus expensive sports cars..

nothing wrong with a 10+ year loan when you can pay extra/early without penalty. your minimum payment is obviously going to be lower, which would help if there were a job loss, unexpected expense, etc. can always pay more to reduce that 10 years (and total interest)

money is very cheap right now, and saying "don't ever finance" isn't always the best/wisest decision for everyone

Granted each of us have our own comfort zone when it comes to spending money. But everyone is just one stroke of bad luck from potential disaster.

This bothers some while others could care less.

To the OP’s question, barrow the least amount for the lowest total cost.