Personal question...

[Billua]

Paying for Boat

I told my wife before we got married "I hate car and truck payments and always try to pay cash for them, but I will have a boat payment until the day I die."

I grew up with boating and it is in my DNA. I always say that "A day on the lake adds a day to your life!"



I bought the 2002 new in '02, put like 5K down on it and my payments are like $545/month, for 15 years. I have a very low interest rate but will be paying this off early and will have a break from boat payments for a couple of years before selling the '02 and moving into about a 34 footer...

[GIZMO]

I am a mechanic and wife is a teacher, we have one 4year old son. I sold my first boat when he was born thinking I would need the extra cash. We have all our major finances in order, cars paid for, cheep house, no credit cards, 401k plugging along...
We really missed boating and figured it was unfair to do all these fun things till he came along then get chicken and sit at home. We looked for over a year till the right boat and deal
came along (thanks jetrey). Financed the boat with great credit
and im sure we made the right choice.

[hyphen79]

I will give you a peak into our deal/ situation. First, I live in Nevada, and the ECONOMY is tanking here bad. More so in the Vegas area, but Northern Nevada is bad as well. Some statistics for you. Nevada is #1 in unemployment, #1 for home foreclosures, and to top it off Nevada is #1 for the lowest graduation rate of high school seniors in the nation.

Because of the high number of foreclosures here in Reno one of the first things the banks take are toys that you might have bought using a HELOC (home equity line of credit). My last boat was from a guy who was foreclosing on EVERYTHING. I bought his '05 Larson in '07 for $17k when he paid just under $40k for it a year and half prior. The banks were getting their A$$ kicked so hard on these toys they were willing take almost anything to get them off of their books.

We bought that boat for $17k when the BB value was hovering around the $28k - $30k mark. We just traded this boat in for a new left over '08 20v, and the dealer gave me $16.5 for it.
Could have tried to sell it out right, but that would have taken FOREVER since the economy in Reno SUCKS! Let someone else deal with it.

New boat new problem
I saved $5k to use for a down payment, unfortunately 3/4 of that came from me selling my '06 KTM 525 MXC. Plus, I only owed $14k on my Larson. So, on paper we were putting down roughly $7k for the new boat. The '08 20v was priced at $38k which came out to be $41k after taxes. We needed to finance $36k. No problem my wife and I thought. We walked right down to our bank and were like, "OK bank we would like to barrow this amount for 15 years. Lets do this". BOY WERE WE WRONG!

My wife and I have good credit. I am an IT professional for a local DoD contractor, and my wife is a medical assistant. Our combined income is roughly $124k a year.

Both US Bank and Bank of America said no. It wasn't that we couldn't afford it, or that our credit was bad. They both thought the boat was only worth $32k. Both banks took the NADA price of the boat with out any of the factory options that were on the boat like the tower, or the cruise control. Hell, I tried to explain to them that the trailer was worth something as well.

A month my wife and I went back and forth with our bank(s) for them both to ultimately say no. I was about ready to give up, and our dealer put us into contact with a local credit union. I SH*T you not they ran credit, crunched numbers, and had a check in our hands within 45 minutes. They were SOOO awesome that I refi'ed my new '11 Dodge Ram truck, and my wife's '10 VW jetta with them just to prove a point to US Bank.

I have been a customer / client of US Bank since before they were US Bank. My account has been open since I was 14 (I'm now 32). I got a call from US Bank's regional manager asking me if I still wanted to finance that boat. They just realized that they are loosing $1100 a month in payments from me. I financed both cars and my last boat through them. SUCKAS!!!!

[Billua]

Credit Unions

You cracked the code bro!

I have never financed toys through a bank. I have used USAA or Pentagon Federal for those. Most folks can find availability to one of the well known national credit unions such as these if they check around.

[skippabcool]

This is an interesting thread and one that I have wondered about for a long time but not just about boats. I use to live in an area where there were not many high paying jobs yet people had brand new expensive homes, both spouses drove brand new cars / trucks (not cheap ones), had a camper, four wheelers, and snowmobiles, etc....

I could never figure it out until the economy tanked or when people went to sale stuff they had. They wanted prices for things that were beyond ridiculous. They had financed everything to the hilt and had no equity. I saw this in many of the boats that were for sale when I was looking and now. There was no money down and financed for 20 years + and made minimum payments. They still owe what the original cost was or in that neck of the woods and expect to get that same price.


In reading through this thread it seems that most that responded had a plan to buy new or had a plan and bought used. I worked with a guy that had to have the latest and greatest ford truck. He could only lease them and they were outrageous lease payments. He would then go and bling them out and not make any payments. He would get it repossessed then start over. He had filed bankruptcy twice and yet he still could get loans all the time and easy.

I would have been better off without the boat. My only payment is my house and I am the only one that works. I did not even consider and new boat, besides looking and them and dreaming. I did move from my original budget price of $15,000. But like others have said I wanted something that we could do as a family and have a good time with lots of memories.

[jwanck11]

Single Dad of 2 (11 and 8). I am a Program Manager and thus do not have a never-ending budget. I save like a mad man, but the boat was one thing that I had to have for me and for my kids - and as I have learned - for the friends of kids too! Like Rag said, we have memories that will last a lifetime!!!

I bought used. Could never afford a new boat. Mine was 27K and I financed for 15 years. I had one run of a lucky streak and paid her off last year.

I hope to run our Tige until the kids no longer show an interest. I am crazy happy with our 22i. That will be a long time from now!

[laserfish]

Sweet memories. My daughter and her husband and kids are stationed in Norfolk, but she can't wait to get here for the 4th because of the lake and boat. Both of my kids started early in the boat (infants) and grew up around it. Instead of taking fancy vacations or buying a bigger fancy house, we had a boat. Started with a cheap trihull outboard and slowly moved up. Never bought new, even our Tige. Have no desire to trade again. Love how the boat we have performs. Get the one you want and stick with it. If you use it you will never regret it.

[pdhj1990]

I'm the President of a commercial insurance agency. Needless to say, these past few years have been pretty tough.

Rather than buy a new boat, I purchased an 06 24V last winter. Too free up some cash, I also sold my 72 restored Vette.

Although the Vette was a lot of fun, our family is having a blast wakeboarding, skiing, knee boarding and tubing at Lake Texoma. We also look forward to surfing later this summer.

[Ewok]

My wife and I were DINKS (dual income no kids) and paid off all debt (student loans, cars, credit cards) ate rice and beans and saved a bunch for a 20% down payment for our house in our first 7 years of marriage. My family always had boats and when we started having kids I wanted them to have the same great memories and experiences I had as well. I came into possession of the family boat, fixed it up a bit and used it for several years before I got an offer out of the blue to sell it. I sold it, took that money plus some of our savings and bought a leftover new boat from a dealer. My family had our last boat for 17 years so I'm in for the long haul but I'll have it paid off in 3 years or less.

I've learned from this site that we all come from many different walks of life but we all love being on the water no matter what, if it's new or 15 years young it's worth every penny of family on water time and we are all about helping each other stay on the water. Just people helping people

Oh yeah, I financed with USAA too, very easy to work with

[jrobertson]

Probably one of the most interesting threads I have read. My wife and I have consistantly bought things the same way. We put 30% to 50% down and finance for a long time, find the best deal (leftover, demo ect) and then pay off early. We put $20000 down on my Tundra and financed it for 72 months. We put $15000 down on this boat (just bought 2 months ago....2010 dealer demo boat) and finances it for 15 years. The boat we traded proir to that we put down $15000 and financed 15 years, but had $15000 equity going into the new one. Bottome line for us is we have $200 payments on the truck and the boat and make more whenever we can.

My buddy is just the opposite. He bought a new boat in 2005 no $$ down and financed for 15 years. Just traded the boat for the one I traded in for my RZ2(sales tax credit is the reason). He was forces to come up with $5000 just to get finances because he was so upside down on the trade. He is now financing more on his 2009 Regal 2200 than I am on a 2010 RZ2.

To each their own how they make it work. We all enjoy the boats the same. Like so many here have said. Its all about the memories.

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

I bought two new Tige's. One in 1995 for $18,800. It lasted me 13 years. I bought another in 2007 for $41,000.
I am an engineer and have justified owning a boat (boats) since I was about 21 years old. It's something my family has always had and an epense of life to us.
I will say, I wont buy another new boat, as the used market contains a veritable plethora of fine pre-owned vessels.
Buy a used one.. then tell everyone you bought it new for 50 grand if it makes you feel better.

lol

[bigdaddy_houseboater]

Dang..... I want that vette.

I'm the President of a commercial insurance agency. Needless to say, these past few years have been pretty tough.

Rather than buy a new boat, I purchased an 06 24V last winter. Too free up some cash, I also sold my 72 restored Vette.

Although the Vette was a lot of fun, our family is having a blast wakeboarding, skiing, knee boarding and tubing at Lake Texoma. We also look forward to surfing later this summer.

[chpthril]

Just get into the Marine stereo and ballast biz and you've always got someone else's in the shop

[brose]

It's definitely how you prioritize. Boating is the one thing my entire family can do together, regardless of age. Mom, Dad, young kids, and older kids can all enjoy the day out.. Something for everyone.

I bought used, penciled it in the budget and make monthly payments. One of my favorite family investments!!!

[Fiveflat]

My family (well just me) used to go to the sand dunes with my sandrail all the time. I had a rail and a toyhauler RV.
Sold the rail and a couple other sand toys to buy a 12 year old boat last year since my brothers boat was getting too crowded for everyone.
Now that I own my own, I can't believe what I've been missing! Water is only a 20 minute drive compared to 4 hours to the sand... plus the wife loves it! (She hated the hot sand and she couldn't ride the rail since she has a fused spine)
Now I'm trying to sell my RV (still) so I can unload that payment and get into a new boat