Where is the best financing?

My dealer (Chessie in Elkton, MD) is quoting me 5.99% for a new boat. Is this a good rate? Chevy Chase bank (my local bank) is a few points higher. Is there another place I should check that would be able to beat the 5.99%? I also would want one that doesn't load the interest up front or give any penalty for paying off the loan early.

Thanks!

I've been searching myself and haven't found rates lower than that (actually I was quoted 6.49% as the lowest rate). I'll be watching the replies.
As someone who is not very familar with this whole process, I can offer one piece of advice I discovered. Be careful of applying for too many finance companies. Multiple applications can affect your credit rating.

Try this one. http://www.boatfinance.com/dsp_rates.cfm

if you own your house, look at taking out a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) to consolidate debt. Through the bank i work at, if your crdit is good you're looking at 3.75% to 4%, usually prime plus zero or even prime minus .25 in some cases. However, it's an adjustable rate of course but i don't think you're goona see rates shoot up by 2+ percentage points anytime soon. If they do in the next year or so, just refi somewhere else if the rate gets too high. my 2cents anyway.

boatfinance.com has 6.5% for 25 - 40K and 5.75% for 40 - 75K. My boat will be right on the border there.

At least its nice to be confirmed that i'm not getting killed with a really high rate. I had read that some car dealers will push up the rate and keep the difference for themselves so became a little wary there too.

I haven't been in my own place long enough to get a home equity loan. I'd also prefer not to mess around with my place at all. A little too risky for me...

Bank of the West my rate is 6.25%

Something to keep in mind:

I had a car that I got a better finance rate through the bank than the dealer. The difference was maybee 1%, so I thought it was better to just use my bank.

A year latter the engine had a problem, and the dealer refused to fix it under warranty. I hired a lawyer, and prceeded to fight them on it.

Now the fun part, if I had procured the financing trhough the dealer, regardless if the dealer had actually done the financing or not, I could have stopped making payments on the car after sending the letter of revocation (revoking acceptanceof the goods sold). The dealer then could not report my as being in default on the loan, as I legaly did not own the vehicle anymore.

Since I procured the financing through my own channels, it was considered a cash purchase, and the dealer has no strings attached to the financing. If I had stopped making payments my bank could report the loan as a default, and ruin my credit.

I was required to keep making payments on a car that had no engine, and the dealer did not have any punishment for not accepting the revocation letter, since they had 100% of their money.

In the end, I filed a lawsuite against the mfg and the dealer, and they settled with me for a fair amount in mediation, but the lesson learned is:

When buying a major item, always have it financed through the entity selling it to you.

If paying cash, I would even think about putting the cash into an account, and financing it for 12 months, just to be sure the thing won't have any major problems before giving them 100% of the money.

Good points robert, I had never thought of it that way.

Robert,

I am not sure thats true. The dealer is just the middle man between (lets say) you and Bank of America. I don't think they would be responsible. Do you have some way of proving what you said?

I got 5.75% from Bank of America last month. They are advertising 5.99%, with no fees and they take care of all the titleing for free if you purchase from an individual, as their best but lowered it b/c of good credit. Key Bank was a little lower 5.65%, but they had about $400 in fees that made it a wash with BofA.

I just financed through USAA at 5.85% for a new boat. My dealer referred me to BofA and there rate was 6.25%. 5.99 sounds very competitive.

HI ALL,
I AM A LOAN OFFICER WHO WORKS IN CALIFORNIA ONLY DOING HOME LOANS. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE EMAIL ME AT SIMONS333BOX@HOTMAIL.COM WE DO ALL TYPES OF LOANS HELOCS,SECONDS, AND PMI REMOVAL. LET ME KNOW THANKS

If you have a local boat show, check there. We got our boat through the boat show and they had a credit union doing all the loans. We got 4.9%.

eboatloans.com has their current rates at 5.5% for anything financed between $25,000-$74,000...

check your local credit union. last Aug i got a 5 year note on my 9 yr old Impala SS at 3.65%. nobody else was even close.

Do not refinance your home equity to purchase a boat or pay off your credit cards. Since credit card debt is unsecured they cannot come after your home or any other possesions. Home equity is secured, meaning the bank can and will foreclose on you house if you don't make payments. I'm not advocating skipping payments but understanding the penalties is important.

If for any reason you need to walk away, as Robert (ag4ever) suggested, better to have the leverage. As for pre-payment penalties, most loans don't have them, just be sure to ask.

Just got Bank of West at 5.5%

key bank had 4.9 for 15 years a few months back if u did direct deposit & opened a 50.00 checking account - no fees.

Home Equity loans are great for consolidating debt. In many cases an individual can get a lower interest rate, lower overall monthly debt and deduct the interest.

Hello everyone.
I'm a mortgage broker in Florida. If anyone is interested in taking out a heloc (home equity line of credit) or a cash-out refinance to purchase a new boat I would be glad to help.
E-mail me at cinder1995@hotmail.com.
Thanks

I don't have paperwork to prove what I posted, but I could not do it either since I secured the loan myself.

I am not a lawyer, but I am just restating what my lawyer told me during the battle. She is Board Certified in Consmuer Law. I trust what she said, and she also said it works for furniture, etc... Before envoking that right, I would check with an attorney first though, as credit damage is hard to fix.

Also that law may be different in each state. luckily, Texas is pro consumer.

I also agree that Home equity loans can be good if used properly, but I feel it makes it too easy for people to think they can supplement their income with it, and get in big trouble.