Buying Questions

[lynyrdsky1]

I've been saving up, but not sure if i have enough to pay in cash to anyone. Is there anyway to find places that sell used boats under 5k that I could finance for under $90 a month?

[Grey Wolf]

You will probably need a cosigner , not to many are going to finance someone as young as you.

[Hot Rod]

If your credit rating is good and you have a job you can finance a new boat for up to 20 years.  So with 5K down you could probably buy a new boat at $90/month from many dealers.   Used boats (and vehicles in general) are often harder to get financed.

You can Google "loan calculator" or "mortgage calculator".    Choose one of the calculators  and you will be able to figure out how much boat you can afford.  You just put in the variables (down payment, monthly payment, interest rate, length of term).

Here is the one I used:

http://www.townemarine.com/calculator.asp?nav=116677&

Cause its where I bought my boat 

[Go Time]

The first thing I would do is go in and talk with your bank. No matter where you go you will very likely need a co-signer, unless you have built a decent credit score already.

Best of luck! And just don't get in a hurry, it'll happen.

[Fishing Rhino]

I think most states require you to be at least 18 years of age to enter into a binding contract for the purchase of any product, or a loan to buy it.

You'd need the signature of a parent or guardian, which would hold them responsible for any default on your part.

[lynyrdsky1]

I think most states require you to be at least 18 years of age to enter into a binding contract for the purchase of any product, or a loan to buy it.

You'd need the signature of a parent or guardian, which would hold them responsible for any default on your part.

Im not doing this right now, I turn 18 pretty soon so i was just trying to plan this out. And yea I would have my parents cosign since i wouldn't have any prior credit history.

[slonezp]

No offense Hot Rod but financing a boat for 20 years is not good advice. The finance charge may eventualy cause someone to be upside down in their boat and would never be able to get their money back out of it.

[Bigs]

Getting a loan on a boat ten years old or older is tough. I have never financed a boat or a car for that matter. But from what I have been told banks are shying away from boat loans in general more then ever now. Paying cash for a boat is always your best bet unless you're buying new. If youre smart you can sell it for more then what you paid and upgrade in a year. Im selling a bass boat for 11,000 bux this weekend that I paid 8800 for in November. And last year I sold a tracker I had for 4 months for a grand more then I paid. Just seek out the very best deals and be the first one there with cash in hand. There are always deals to be had.

[bilgerat]

No offense Hot Rod but financing a boat for 20 years is not good advice. The finance charge may eventualy cause someone to be upside down in their boat and would never be able to get their money back out of it.

Agreed. Financing anything other than a house for 20 years is insanity. Like cars, boats depreciate the minute you pull out of the dealer. Find a good pre owned boat that someone else took the financial hit on. It's a buyers market now in this economy.

[Hot Rod]

No offense Hot Rod but financing a boat for 20 years is not good advice. The finance charge may eventualy cause someone to be upside down in their boat and would never be able to get their money back out of it.

I did not say you "should" finance a boat for that long.  I said you "can". 

[burleytog]

With boat prices like they are, financing for 15-20 years is about the only way some can afford them.

I sure as hell will never do it.

[saint romain]

I'm 20 and I'm getting a boat as well. If you have 5k saved up, don't impulse buy the first thing that comes along. I check LouisianaSportsman.com and I know there is a MississippiSportsman and probably every state (I'm not sure), which have classifieds. Also, the killer deals are on craigslist. Just always be sure to test drive the boat, check the transom and try to negotiate. Most prices are like 5,000$ OBO. I like to wheel and deal, but buying from dealers it usually doesn't work on used boats (i found that out)

[Jig Man]

I've been saving up, but not sure if i have enough to pay in cash to anyone. Is there anyway to find places that sell used boats under 5k that I could finance for under $90 a month?

I used to be in the boat business.  One of my duties as salesmanager was to arrange financing for boats.  If you are an adult there is most likely a bank out there that will give you a loan.  Some will loan as much as 125% of the boat's value so you can pay the sales tax, license, and insurance when getting started.  They will grant those loans for a really long time.

The problem is the interest rate.  The more you need and the longer you need it, the higher the interest rate.  The is where the "upside down" comes into play.  There is a high number of guys out there who have boats for which they are paying and have a boat that is not worth nearly as much as they owe on it.

I'll give you an example.  One of my salesmen was trying to become a professional fisherman and jumped into a brand new boat.  He didn't have good credit so wound up paying a high interest rate.  After a year he wanted out of that boat and buy another one.  (He was getting them from us at cost.)  After he kept talking about the tradeup I had him come into my office and I showed him where he was.  He had made like 13 of his 180 payments and the interest part of the payment was much larger than the principal.  We printed an amoritization schedule so he could see just how things looked.  In order to just have the interest and principal become equal parts of his payment, was going to take 6 more years and 2 months.  At that time he would still be upside down in his boat.

What I hope I am explaining is; talk to banks and credit unions and find out which are willing to give you loans and what the interest rate would be as well as the terms of the loan.  If you go through a dealer they will contact banks all over the US and the interest rates really vary.

Owning a boat is just the first step so take your time and think this thing through.

Good luck.

[hootersdoug]

I would side with most that financing anything more than 10 years is not in your best interest.  I bought my first boat (Made the last payment last year) through my parents who made a deal with me.  They took out the $10K with a home equity loan, I got the 6% interest rate and my folks got to write off the interst on their taxes....win win situation. 

  If I had to do it over, I would probably have started with a cheaper aluminum boat, then upgraded a few times over the same amount of time,  but the deal I got on my 95 Skeeter was worth it to me.  I had someone offer me $8k last year for a boat I paid $10K for.  That makes the cost only $2K for 7 years of use.....pretty good.  Also, don't forget that you need something to pull your boat, and with gas getting near $4 a gallon, driving a truck every day would stink.

I wouldn't sell my boat for 2 main reasons.  One, it has been good to me.  No repair costs except for maint.  Two, it is paid for.  Costs me nothing to own.  I will keep putting $$ away for any unexpected repairs.

   I would try making at least a years worth of payments to a savings account before taking the leap.  That way you know that you can swing it.   There are always a bunch of people willing to take others out as back of boaters.  Just check in with the local clubs.

   Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[South FLA]

Buy a used boat in like new condition, its just about the smartest decision financially you could ever make. As stated before keep searching and saving and you'll be one of the few guys that can say "I am not upside down" or "I own my boat outright."

The fact that you saved $5k before 18 tells me you have fiscal discipline so take it a step- further and see if you can save a bit more and buy a nice USED BOAT!