financing a sparkly boat

so i may have a chance at getting into a new 2015 sparkly glass boat (not a ranger) for a sweet deal. My question for those of you that own expensive rangers/skeeters/warriors/etc. How do you finance them? Obviously it’s dependent on your income as far as what you afford for monthly payment, down payment, and trade in. I’m more so pondering how many months to finance it for and how much the boat is worth compared to what I owe on it in about 5 years or so. Any advice from your past experience with financing these sparkly expensive boats would be appreciated. I know what I can afford and know that I can get a loan for that amount, just not sure about depreciation and if it’s worth it now, or if I should wait a few more years until I can afford another $100 a month.

Every deal that I finance here at SBC, this exact question is a hot topic…With that being said, I always tell people to set up a budget if you don’t have one already set up. How long can you make it on your savings if life throws you a curve ball, such as job loss?
Set the new boat payment up that is under the budget and when life is moving along just pay your budget amount, the extra money will go on the principle balance and you will be building equity in the boat as the boat depreciates. IF life throws you a curve ball (yes you can sell) or you can scale back down to minimum payments. If amortized on a longer term, such as 10, 12, or even 15 years. Most people are buying boats on a longer terms and paying extra as life allows, gaining equity, and paying off the loans faster.
Most banks do not have pre pay penalties, so if you pay the loan off early you will not be penalized, in addition most banks do allow extra money to be applied to principle balance vs. towards future payments.

If you have questions feel free to email or give me a call.
[email protected] or 763-450-0400

Super old thread but wanted to bump this with todays prices in mind. How long are people financing in todays world.

I do like Cal’s input of financing longer and paying extra.

Particularly interested in ranger, Venus and yarcraft

Average “toy”(boat, camper, RV) loan is 15 years. That being said, “toys” aren’t appreciating assets, so I would disagree that you are building equity in any of them. Yes you pay off additional principal, but even though you saw some used boats appreciate this past 18 months or so, that won’t be the norm. They will drop in value the minute they leave the dealer, so I would keep that in mind when you plan out your purchase. And yes, I know the entire argument of “no price on fun and experience”.
Good luck with your purchase!

If you are looking used it might be a good idea to try and line up your financing early. Used boats typically start selling fast in early March. With the boat building crisis good used boats are getting hard to find. I would expect my Lund will sell as soon as I can get it out of my back yard where it’s wrapped and stored.

There isn’t much haggling over price going on either. If you look at a boat you like you better be willing to scratch a down payment out for the seller to hold it for you.

You can go to Muskiefirst and Walleye Central to get a good idea of cost and availability for used boats.

Good luck, buying boats is fun!!

I went through a credit union when I bought mine. I financed it for 10 years to keep the payments down if I had to. It’s always easy to make double payments or pay more if your income allows

Thanks for all the input!