Financing (moved topic) - Montana Owners Club

dsprik · 08-18-2005, 06:57 AM

I am reposting this topic. I posted it when I new to the forum ~ still am I guess ~ but it ended up way out in "right field" under some obscure forum title. Still got several great responses, but I'd like to get it where most people will see it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted - Jul 31 2005 : 11:19:40 PM

I have not been able to find any threads on the in's and out's of financing these beauties. I know that 15 yrs is a standard term, but is there any companies that are better than others, or maybe financial company names are not allowed on these posts? Is there anything I need to watch out for. I want to have all the bases covered next year when I pull off the lot with my new 36xx (changed to 3400RL~8/18) Montana. Or did all you lucky guys pay cash for yours?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Montana_4221 · 08-18-2005, 02:37 PM

We financed ours through my credit union and got a great interest rate.I understand that some dealers offer financing and if credit is good most financial institutions will loan money on just about anything. I think Good Sam and some other RV clubs offer financing too. Not sure about them though. For myself I prefer paying as much down up front and go short term where I pay less interest. And I agree with your thinking ahead. That way you can roll off the lot when your ready

dsprik · 08-18-2005, 03:10 PM

My problem is that my credit is "less than perfect" and we pulled our credit reports from the big three (not INNOVUS, that's another thread!). There are many mistakes that we are trying to correct to raise our FICO (Fair Isaac Company) score. GMAC was one of the worst. We have a car loan and if we have been 4 to 21 days late, they have reported us over the years as "30 Days late". This is NOT what the credit reporting agencies definition of reporting "30 Days" is ~ it is supposed to be "30~60 days late". So I am going to have to contest those months where they did that to raise my score. Also had an account from my son and another from my daughter (one didn't hurt, one did) on MY credit report in my name. If you haven't pulled your credit report yet, you need to.

And, for those of you whose life is just a bowl full of cherries right now, wait until you see this new CRA out there ~ INNOVIS. This will irritate even the most mild mannered person. The only way I even found out about them was when I was on the phone today with GMAC, I asked which CRA they reported to and she said, "all four". FOUR!?! She proceeded to inform me of INNOVIS. I will let you judge this company for yourself, but I am upset!

Montana_4221 · 08-18-2005, 03:32 PM

dsprik,
I can relate We haven't always had good credit. When I started rebuilding I did just what you did,I looked at the reports. Then I started addressing problem areas. It didn't happen overnight but eventually that score started looking better. When I look back I feel really blessed today. I'm always addressed by name at my credit union. They always look out after my interests. It makes me feel alot more secure having people like that on my side.

PS I like your pastors quote and it may apply here " If you are going through Hell don't stop " Good advice

Bill Hill · 08-18-2005, 03:41 PM

We also financed a small balance through our credit union. We'd been saving for the rig and when we went to the show "just to look", realized that we could borrow the balance we needed for just a year and the monthly payments would be less than what we were putting away in savings toward the rig. We took a variable rate because the starting rate was at 3% and the most it could hit at the end of the year was 4.5% As you may suspect, we're already at 4.25% but we're getting close to the end of the year, and my total interest will be less than $200.00. By the way, the selling price of a 2980 has gone up more than that in the time we've had it. So, look around for creative deals.

pud2 · 08-19-2005, 05:50 AM

As anyone ever tried finacning through keystone. They have a deferred payment deal with low interest. If so tell us about it.

Just148 · 08-19-2005, 03:45 PM

Don't use fifty third bank. I paid my unit off within two months because of their bad service towads their costomers.

dsprik · 08-19-2005, 03:50 PM

I have heard other bad things about that bank, Just148. Anyh other suggestions?

sreigle · 08-20-2005, 06:56 AM

There are at least several finance companies that finance RV's for long term. Bank of America Specialty Finance is one. I think Good Sam has some arrangements, also.

Also, if you are buying through a dealer, they will have connections with several banks and/or finance companies, similar to car dealers. You'll want to drive down the interest rate a little since they all seem to get the difference between the interest rate they sell you and the interest rate required by the finance company.

dsprik · 08-20-2005, 08:08 AM

Good point, Steve. I will try the dealer first. I know they are motivated to help you get a loan more than any financial institution.

ronstan · 08-20-2005, 09:00 AM

We have had 5/3rd bank for about 14 years now. They bought out our original bank which was bought out by old Kent. We have not had any problems with the service from them. It might depend on where you are located. I have to deal with my Mom's bank which is bank one Chase now. I don't like the service they give me. They finally got rid of the manager which was good. Just my opinion

dsprik · 08-20-2005, 09:24 AM

I agree, Ron. It has to be a difference in local management.

Montana_2005 · 08-20-2005, 01:16 PM

Steve, I didn't even know Bof A would finance... mebbe I should see what they can do on the balance..
I do know that since we financed the truck and trailer both, the interest and payments are higher on the truck... so we will do what we can to get rid of that first...
I did find out when the bank was hemming and hawing about our 'debt to income' ratio... that a credit card I have not owned for almost 8 years is still showing up on whatever credit report they were using..
Where is the best place to get the credit reports, and then what do you do about fixing any discrepancies?

dsprik · 08-20-2005, 03:04 PM

RangerMelB, I just pulled mine. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com . It is sanctioned by the FTC (www.ftc.gov). I checked. You can pull free credit reports from Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. You must pay for your credit scores, however. And you WILL need them. You will not be able to determine anywhere close to what your score is just by looking at your report. Not bad, though. $5.00, $6.95 and $5.95. Worth it. You may find a wide variance ~ I had a 100 point difference in two different reports. From there it could be frustrating going through and then trying to figure out how to contact people to correct. BE PERSISTENT. Plan on spending a couple hours on this project, minimum PER REPORT. (one of my reports was 28 pages long). If you have a friend that works in a bank or other financial institution that works with credit reports, I would definitley use up any and all favors and ask them to take some time to help you determine what is affecting your credit worthiness and what is not. You may be surprised in some instances.

Then for the part that will test your patience ~ there is a FOURTH credit reporting agency (CRA) now. I was talking to GMAC and asked them which CRA they reported to and they told me, "All four." I was stunned. FOUR!?

This new one is called INNOVIS (www.innovis.com). I have not contacted the FTC yet, but they apparently are NOT participating in this one free credit report per year program that the other three are doing. I thought this was a federal LAW?!? Only eight states get free reports, probably by individual state law that gives Innovis no choice. For everyone else it is $9.50 (except for 3 states who mandate cheaper rates) and I don't believe that includes your credit score for another charge. AND you cannot view or do anything online with them. They require all reports requested by mail only.

Good luck!

P.S. I did find many errors in addresses (one report had me down for NINE different addresses when I only had two. They were all slight variations of one or the other, but this looks really bad to potential lenders as they may think you are a little unstable by doing all this moving around) and reporting from financial institutions. Watch for this ~ A "30 Days" mark is supposed to stand for OVER 30 days late. GMAC was reporting me (it's all done by computer, they said) "30 Days" if I was FOUR days late! That is a NO NO! I had several of these over the years and the GMAC rep was sympathetic and advised me to "dispute" all of them. How many other companies have been doing this?!?

Montana_2005 · 08-21-2005, 03:15 PM

Most likely MANY of them do such things.... As long as they think you aren't watching.. or aren't bright enough to figure out what they did if you DO get a copy of your report....

dsprik · 08-21-2005, 04:57 PM

What bothers me about this is that if a supposedly reputable, major financial corporation like GMAC is sloppy with this, what can we expect from the smaller companies.

On the other hand, the size of GMAC might work against them. Computerizing everything has it's downfalls. Maybe this is just a standard financial practice (Enron) that has been going on for years, and now that consumers can start pulling their credit reports for free, We might start seeing a rash of complaints to the FTC that could start the ball rolling on major reporting changes. All this is just speculation on my part, though.

Still doesn't solve my immediate problem of raising my credit scores before I buy my tv and Monty.

Kathi · 08-21-2005, 05:15 PM

I paid cash for mine. Sold one of my houses and figured that I could still use it as a second residence. Wouldn't even order it till I was in escrow. Don't like payments. Kathi

dsprik · 08-21-2005, 05:41 PM

So... wanna finance me?? Just kidding, Kathi! Payments are just an added worry in retirement, I know. I didn't learn about money manegement ~ parents never taught Cheryl or I. Really hurt us. We tried to reverse that trend with our five children (all out of the house now). Worked with some ~ others still learning (to the exasperation of Mom & Dad). Always, always, ALWAYS pay yourself first! If you can't afford to do that now, you won't be able do it later. It is a mentality, a state of mind ~ not how much money you have coming in. My business mentor said once, "If you can't handle $30,000 a year in income, you won't be able to handle $250,000 a year. You will have the same bad habits and just be broke at a higher level. Sorry... got carried away again. At least this time none of my kids left the room in a huff half way through it!
Dave

Montana_2005 · 08-22-2005, 04:10 AM

"Broke at a higher level".... I like that.. and it is way too true.. I have seen it in too many lives.
To help offset some of the cost of the monty and the truck, as well as to have a bit of a cushion, Kev and I are pulling out his 6 years worth of KPERS and a small deferred comp plan that I had.. We will leave my big chunk in KPERS alone. We figure, better to get out from under as much debt NOW as possible than save for tomorrow.

dsprik · 08-22-2005, 12:14 PM

You will be further ahead by doing that. 4%~5% interest (income) in savings does not offset 8% interest (outgo) being paid on a loan. Sounds like the smart way to go. These are just examples of course.

You may also like: