RV Financing

[Mark S]

So my Seneca should allegedly be arriving in 2-3 weeks, so it's time to figure out how to pay for this thing.

RV One is quoting me rates of about 4.49% which seems pretty good after a quick internet search of rates. I am planning on putting about 20-25% down.

How long do most folks finance for? I know I can stretch it out up to 20 years but this RV will be gone long before that. Heck, I may be gone long before that

I am thinking 12 years and making the payments on a 10 year pay off. My concern is I don't want to be upside down when time to sell arrives. I hate paying money to make something go away.

I would appreciate other's thoughts on financing their RVs.

[che57vy]

I know interest rates have risen in the past year, I had a offer thru dealer on mine he was 1 percent higher than the same company i got a quote from myself. I went thru Huntington bank out of Columbus Oh they were the lowest at the time.

[BobinOK]

I think your thinking is on target. The rate you were quoted sounds good and your down payment is in line. I put 50% down on mine when I bought it and had trouble getting a loan. Banks like the 20% range. As far as length of the loan, you can always pay more each month as long as there are no payoff penalties. If you go a shorter loan period and run into trouble, you'd have to refinance to get easier payments. I put a lot down on a 2016 Redhawk and went 12 year financing, which left me with a payment of around 130 bucks a month. I pay at least 3 times that each month to pay it off early but if I get into some financial trouble, I can easily make the regular payment.

Bob

[jcoyle]

Took mine over the full 20 years, as it was the same interest rate no matter what. My loan is open, so no penalty to make prepayments or pay off early. Then after it was set up I called and upped my payments, I doubled them, which took it down to 7 years to pay off. This way if I fall on some harder times I can take my payments back down to the lowest without a refinance.

[jcoyle]

I should add my interest rate is in line with what you are getting quoted. I believe 4.39%

[mike837go]

If you don't want to be underwater on the financing, stay under 5 year term.

You know full well what the resale is like on a 5 year old RV.

Personally, I got a 25 MONTH loan that I paid off in 21, because I was so concerned about owing more than it was worth.

[Crossingover]

I'm about to close on a pristine but barely used 2016 37HJ with 240 month financing. My LTV is 0.38 and my rate is 4.99 with both our credit scores 800+++. It would have been 5.69 had I not bought the rate down with an additional $40K cash infusion to the deal. We will be selling our home within five years and will use some of the proceeds to pay off the Seneca loan. The rest of the proceeds will be used to buy a simpler home with no mortgage. That's the plan anyway.

So I would say you're doing well with your financing. Only thing you might consider doing is to buy your rate down with more cash in the deal.

[jcoyle]

Originally Posted by mike837go

If you don't want to be underwater on the financing, stay under 5 year term.

You know full well what the resale is like on a 5 year old RV.

Personally, I got a 25 MONTH loan that I paid off in 21, because I was so concerned about owing more than it was worth.

Easier said than done on a $260K (Canadian) unit!

[crumgater]

Being a diesel, the Seneca should hold it's value a bit better than many RV's.

Our dealer set us up last month with a 15 year loan at Bank of America at 4% with 20% min down (note, our Seneca is a used 2015 model, so 80% LTV based on NADA values).

Our credit union regularly runs 1% rate cuts for loan transfers, so I'm keeping my eyes open and will transfer when I see the promo.

[javamon]

Originally Posted by jcoyle

Took mine over the full 20 years, as it was the same interest rate no matter what. My loan is open, so no penalty to make prepayments or pay off early. Then after it was set up I called and upped my payments, I doubled them, which took it down to 7 years to pay off. This way if I fall on some harder times I can take my payments back down to the lowest without a refinance.

Fully concur with this approach. I always advise younger home buyers to stay away from a 15 year mortgage. Get a 30 year mortgage and pay it like it's a 15 year. That way if you run into hard times, you can just pay the 30 year note.

[pconroy]

We did Good Sam (thru Bank of the West) on our Class C. It was a lot more work for *me* than I had planned, but in the end, it all went well.

[Tunce the traveler]

Dam, when I put $15K down on the table it was the whole thing!

[Mark S]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

Dam, when I put $15K down on the table it was the whole thing!

Lol. I just sold my old one for $15K. My first pop up cost me $300 and that was tough to spend back then.

I woke up one morning about 2 months ago and realized it was time for us to move on up. I'll find out soon if it was the right decision.

[t18skyguy]

If you guys like to look at different loan scenarios, Dinkytown.net has the best assortment of different loan calculators on the net.