boat financing

boatman37

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May 14, 2015
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anyone here have any experience with lightstream? its part of suntrust. they are about 5.5-7.5%. that is the best i have found. most are over 9%. essex,and goodsam are about 9.5%. not far off of my credit union.

thanks
 

batman99

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Sep 13, 2012
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393
How about home equity credit line? My home equity credit line is at 2%.
 

thumpar

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Jun 21, 2007
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Those seem pretty high. I got 4% but it would have been 3% if the boat wasn't over 10 years old.
 

boatman37

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hmmmm. may have to look at a different credit union. the lady i spoke with had no idea about boat loans. even on new boats she said it was over 9%. don't want HELOC. i re-fied a few years ago at about 2.5% or so. my goal is to pay that off ASAP. don't want any more tacked onto that.

keep the ideas coming. still looking hard at lightstream though. haven't found anything under 9% anywhere else
 

bruceb58

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 5, 2006
Messages
30,454
Yes, dumb to use your house for purchasing a boat. Never jeopardize your home to purchase a luxury item that depreciates like a boat. In fact, don't finance luxury items in the first place!
 
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roffey

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Nov 22, 2012
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I agree, I waited for years to buy my boat. I wanted to wait until I could afford to go boating any time I wanted. To see my boat in the driveway with an empty tank of gas on a sunny day would kill me. I fill it up every time so it sits with a full tank and all I have to do is turn the key and go.
 

boatman37

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thanks for the advice but not much of a choice. i either get a boat this summer or i likely will never be able to (long story). or at least not for another 10 years or so. by then i will be too old to enjoy it
 

roffey

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I was not being critical and apologise if it sounded that way. In my case I had a house to pay off with kids in school, bla bla bla, the story goes on, LOL. For sure buy your boat now and enjoy it. If you have kids your building memories and fun on the water in the summer time, does it get any better.
 

thumpar

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I was not being critical and apologise if it sounded that way. In my case I had a house to pay off with kids in school, bla bla bla, the story goes on, LOL. For sure buy your boat now and enjoy it. If you have kids your building memories and fun on the water in the summer time, does it get any better.
Nope!!
 

Bamaman1

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4-4.5% is a normal interest on boats at credit unions. They have a higher than normal incidence of problem loans, and losses are relatively high on repossessions. And long term financing on boats (and RV's) add to the problem. Unfortunately, all us good paying customers have to pay for the sins of others.

If you have good credit (FICO) and the C/U won't come down to something reasonable, go join another credit union with better rates.
 

thumpar

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4-4.5% is a normal interest on boats at credit unions. They have a higher than normal incidence of problem loans, and losses are relatively high on repossessions. And long term financing on boats (and RV's) add to the problem. Unfortunately, all us good paying customers have to pay for the sins of others.

If you have good credit (FICO) and the C/U won't come down to something reasonable, go join another credit union with better rates.
Maybe it depends on the area. I could get 2.99% on a new boat.
 

boatman37

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called the CU again. ran my credit and my score is about 730-740. not great but not bad. i called today and didn't give them my name or anything so they had no idea who i was. on a 15 year old boat interest is 13.5%. on a 2013 it is 12.5%. on a brand new one it is 11.5%. and the longest they will go is 72 months. time to look elsewhere
 

bruceb58

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Why would you want to go longer than 72 months? I wouldn't even go that far.
 

thumpar

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called the CU again. ran my credit and my score is about 730-740. not great but not bad. i called today and didn't give them my name or anything so they had no idea who i was. on a 15 year old boat interest is 13.5%. on a 2013 it is 12.5%. on a brand new one it is 11.5%. and the longest they will go is 72 months. time to look elsewhere
That is crazy. Where do you live? 2.99% is common for a boat or RV around here. Your credit is pretty good.
 

boatman37

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looked at a different CU and it advertises about 4%. must just be mine not wanting to get involved with boats?
 

WIMUSKY

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called the CU again. ran my credit and my score is about 730-740. not great but not bad. i called today and didn't give them my name or anything so they had no idea who i was. on a 15 year old boat interest is 13.5%. on a 2013 it is 12.5%. on a brand new one it is 11.5%. and the longest they will go is 72 months. time to look elsewhere


The reason the rates are so high is because you gave them no info about yourself. They errored on the high side. Call them back and give them all the info they need and see what numbers they come back with. Then you'll have an accurate rate. It's like asking how much your car is worth on a trade-in w/o the dealer seeing it. They would give you a low value......

When you called and didn't tell them who you were, I'm assuming you gave them your credit score, they may have still errored on the high side because anyone can call and give them any score they feel like......
 
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boatman37

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May 14, 2015
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i didn't give them anything when i called. but i did get approved through lightstream at 5.4%
 
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