RV Financing / Zero Down Options?

[josheaton]

Does anyone have any experience with RV Financing? I know that RV.net does do financing through GoodSam, but we may be interested in zero down options. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations specifically with zero down financing?

We really wanted to arrange financing prior to going to the dealer for purposes of negotiation. We've done a significant amount of research and are pretty confident we've found the floorpan and manufacturer that we will be purchasing.

Thanks in advance

[josheaton]

time2roll wrote:
Just because you get a 15 or 20 year 100 percent loan does not mean you cannot pay it off in three years.
And if times get tough you can still drop back to minimum pay.
Nothing wrong with cash or full finance IMO.

Bingo, this is exactly what we're thinking.

[wbwood]

donn0128 wrote:
Remember, RVs are a huge depreciating asset. With zero down and decent monthly payments your likely going to be up side down for a really really long time. Unless your plans vall for keeping it for at least 10 years, its not such a good financial decision IMHO.

You are correct about the depreciating value.... but you are going to lose money no matter how much you put down. Let's say you put down $20k on a $100k RV. And you decide to sell it in 2 years. The value of that RV is now probably $80k (or maybe less). If you say great, I'm breaking even because I put $20k down. But are you? You already prepaid the depreciation on it. You aren't getting it back. The only difference is the difference in interest on $20k in a two year period. While there is a difference, is it that big of a difference? The only issue I see is that if you put the money down, then you don't have to come up with the money to break even, where as you would if you did $0 down. Of course the longer you keep that RV and make those payments, then the bigger the difference in that interest. You get to a point where it is almost financially better to hold on to the RV until you can break even, if you plan on RVing in some sort of fashion. But that will be years down the road when your balance catches up to what the rig is worth. They eventually stop depreciating as much as they did in the beginning and start to slow down. Don't know when that point is.

But people need to do what they feel is right for them and not worry about what the rest of think.

[pconroy328]

farmer's daughter wrote:
I'm a single 63 yr.old teacher.

Thank you.

Thank you for being a teacher and I'm sorry we parents didn't say 'Thank you for all you do for our kids' enough.

[Thom02099]

Walaby wrote:
In my opinion, it's not up to us how someone else spends their money. The advice about going to a credit union is great advice. As NYCGrrl said, how one spends their discretionary income, is totally up to them.

Mike

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS ! ! ! ! ^^^^^^^^^^^^

The OP was asking a specific question, and should get specific answers relative to said question. Going off on a tangent doesn't answer the question or provide a service to the OP.

I agree with checking Credit Unions. I also would suggest, as some others did, Essex AKA Bank of the West. OP could actually probably go in to a Bank of the West if one is nearby and talk directly with them. I have my loan with them, and they've been good to work with.

Now, I'm going to go slightly off on a tangent, but it's to address a point specifically brought up by the OP.

One thing for the OP. You mentioned excellent credit at 750+. Make sure you're looking at the correct FICO score, and always ask whomever you decide to use for financing, what report and version of FICO that they use. Most consumers get the FICO 8 bank rate score, such as from Discover, Bank of America, CitiBank, etc. This score tends to be higher than other scores, notably FICO 4, which is frequently used for auto loans and mortgages. There can be large discrepancies. If you haven't already, get all of the FICO scores from their website, and look at the secondary scores that are available. Going in to the financial game with all the tools you can muster, puts you at the advantage.

[timmac]

josheaton wrote:
Does anyone have any experience with RV Financing? I know that RV.net does do financing through GoodSam, but we may be interested in zero down options. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations specifically with zero down financing?


Thanks in advance

Just my 2 cents but zero down on any RV/Boat purchase is not wise, you will be upside down for a long long time, also the more you put down the lower your monthly payments and sometimes lower interest on the loan.

[Walaby]

In my opinion, it's not up to us how someone else spends their money. The advice about going to a credit union is great advice. As NYCGrrl said, how one spends their discretionary income, is totally up to them.

Mike

[time2roll]

Just because you get a 15 or 20 year 100 percent loan does not mean you cannot pay it off in three years.
And if times get tough you can still drop back to minimum pay.
Nothing wrong with cash or full finance IMO.

[BizmarksMom]

shelbyfv wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:

NYCgrrl wrote:
I don't find the "buy an RV since your time w/ kiddos is limited" thunk compelling since tent camping was and still remains available and all wind up with the same afterglow.

Still if an RV is what someone else wants to spend their discretionary funds on yeah well it's not my pocketbook/business.

Once you have spent a cold, wet, weekend in a tent during a thunder storm, and then moved up to a hard shell camper (or pop-up), you will not be going back to a tent.

My buddies and I biked our way around the country on vacations for several years, sleeping in tents because that was the only option. Nothing worse then riding in rain during the day in the mountains and then having to pitch a tent. No afterglow - just cold and wet.

Yep. I do at least one week long bicycle tour each year. Even worse is getting up in the rain and packing a wet tent.

Been there, done that while backpacking. It was one of my big motivators to get the trailer as soon as I could afford it.

[farmer_s_daught]

My situation is quite different from yours; I'm a single 63 yr.old teacher. After having breast cancer 3 yrs ago, I decided to 'go for it' and purchased a trlr--had never camped with one, nor did I know anyone close who had one. I researched a lot and bought one. I'm so happy I did.
Now, back in the day, I had 6 kids in 8 years, and I did tent camping. I had 3 tents, a big van, 3 coolers and 7 sleeping bags. It looked like we were going on the Oregon Trail. I was a single mom and that's what I could afford. It was great experience for all of us. Remember, soon enough your older kids will be doing sports or getting after-school jobs and won't be available to go camping. So go for it! You will build wonderful memories and there's nothing better than that!

[farmer_s_daught]

Call a credit union; join if you have to. They will bend over backwards to beat the RV dealer's interest rate. I bought my first trlr 2 years ago, no money down. The dealership's finance guy was actually mad at me, because I told him I wasn't going to fill out their credit approval form--I said, "Don't bother sending it through; I've already got financing." He said, "I can do better than your interest rate." He offered a lower one, and I told him I wanted to call my C.U. They said, "we can go lower, and we will match/or beat whatever he offers." Then the finance guy wasn't happy. I said, "What to you care; you're not paying for this trailer?" Credit unions are amazing!

[NYCgrrl]

GoPackGo wrote:

shelbyfv wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:

NYCgrrl wrote:
I don't find the "buy an RV since your time w/ kiddos is limited" thunk compelling since tent camping was and still remains available and all wind up with the same afterglow.

Still if an RV is what someone else wants to spend their discretionary funds on yeah well it's not my pocketbook/business.

Once you have spent a cold, wet, weekend in a tent during a thunder storm, and then moved up to a hard shell camper (or pop-up), you will not be going back to a tent.

My buddies and I biked our way around the country on vacations for several years, sleeping in tents because that was the only option. Nothing worse then riding in rain during the day in the mountains and then having to pitch a tent. No afterglow - just cold and wet.

Yep. I do at least one week long bicycle tour each year. Even worse is getting up in the rain and packing a wet tent.

My bike was a BMW R90S.

I started cycling and camping pre the mountain bike time.
Peugeot and Atilia racing bikes made for speed and paved roads worked well for our camping gear. Doubt either weighed more than 10 lbs.
Now using Novara and Tern bikes for a different use indeed.

[NYCgrrl]

GoPackGo wrote:

NYCgrrl wrote:
I don't find the "buy an RV since your time w/ kiddos is limited" thunk compelling since tent camping was and still remains available and all wind up with the same afterglow.

Still if an RV is what someone else wants to spend their discretionary funds on yeah well it's not my pocketbook/business.

Once you have spent a cold, wet, weekend in a tent during a thunder storm, and then moved up to a hard shell camper (or pop-up), you will not be going back to a tent.

My buddies and I biked our way around the country on vacations for several years, sleeping in tents because that was the only option. Nothing worse then riding in rain during the day in the mountains and then having to pitch a tent. No afterglow - just cold and wet.

Still not compelled to change my mind:).
Spent a short summer trip (4 or 5 nights) camping on the CT shore during an unexpected hurricane to tropical storm watch. We got lucky; it was a tropical storm.

The tent leaked massively because I ordered the wrong sized/model rain fly.

The man lost the car keys in the morass of the tent's interior at 3:00 AM in the morn and it took about an hour for him to find it.

Whilst sitting in the relative shelter of the car in our drenched to the skin clothing, the man said it was time to go home. For once in my life, I agreed with nooooooooo counter argument. Did point out that it made little sense to bring dripping wet camp gear and clothing home so we decided to dry as much as possible at the local laundromat.

Arrived at the laundromat at opening time and we're greeted by a host of fellow campers who got there before us. Fortunately, there were still dryers available.

Went to the local Denny's for breakfast and dinna care WHAT we looked like. A bit more humanoid, stopped at a local supermarket and were trapped between delivering making tractor trailers for an hour or so.

Drove back to the campground eventually and found a world of Hades for tenters and RVers alike. Made us realise we were all in it together and we stayed for our remaining reservation.

In all my years of bike camping it never rained so that it was memorable; prolly lucky:).

[Gdetrailer]

SpeakEasy wrote:

shelbyfv wrote:
I'll admit that I'm in the "do w/o a toy until you can afford it" camp. However, someone brought up a compelling argument for enjoying an RV with kids who will be moving on in a very few years. There is something to that, though many have made those family memories with a tent or an inexpensive pop up. And of course if folks are truly concerned about their kids, they will be saving all they can to help pay for their college.

That was me talking about enjoying the RV with my kids.

It's so easy to judge others. Here are some facts in response to your suggestions. The RV that I borrowed money to get was an "inexpensive popup." To get even something "inexpensive" we had to borrow some money before the kids were gone. In regard to helping pay for college, I worked things out so that both my kids were able to get undergrad degrees debt free.

-Speak

Back in the 60's my Mom and Dad managed to fit 8 of us (2 adults and 6 kids) into a station wagon with a tent and drove to Florida and back.. It didn't kill us..

Early 70's Dad bought a F100 truck and put a shell top on the back, made a simple table and a couple of "bunks".. Yep, went to Florida and back in it (6 kids in the back of the truck to boot).. It didn't kill us.

Mid 70's Dad found a used 60's slide in (TC) for a couple of hundred dollars and we used that until 1982 when Dad found a newer slide in for $500..

in the late 80's Dad retired and with money he got from a death of a distant cousin he finally bought a NEW 5vr.. No, none of us kids got the chance to camp in this one, it was so My Dad and Mom could snow bird in Florida..

My point is camping does not require huge chunks of money, it does not require buying NEW campers and yet the kids will still have a blast..

Myself, bought a used 20ft TT for $1800, spent some money and time fixing it up from water damage then used it for 4 yrs and sold it..

The one I have now which I also bought used but for $700.. Sure, I had to fix them but I was able to do it without the need to finance a depreciating asset..

Many folks seem to pass over used units, not sure why but it isn't all that hard to fix them for the most part unless they have been severely neglected (and then you can get them dirt cheap).

Used popups are cheap and plentiful, 20-30 yr old TTs are cheap and plentiful.. and not to mention affordable without a loan.

[GoPackGo]

shelbyfv wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:

NYCgrrl wrote:
I don't find the "buy an RV since your time w/ kiddos is limited" thunk compelling since tent camping was and still remains available and all wind up with the same afterglow.

Still if an RV is what someone else wants to spend their discretionary funds on yeah well it's not my pocketbook/business.

Once you have spent a cold, wet, weekend in a tent during a thunder storm, and then moved up to a hard shell camper (or pop-up), you will not be going back to a tent.

My buddies and I biked our way around the country on vacations for several years, sleeping in tents because that was the only option. Nothing worse then riding in rain during the day in the mountains and then having to pitch a tent. No afterglow - just cold and wet.

Yep. I do at least one week long bicycle tour each year. Even worse is getting up in the rain and packing a wet tent.

My bike was a BMW R90S.