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Need some advice from those of you who have been down the road of new/newer boat purchases. So heres my situation. I am 26, have a very decent paying job for a 26yr old, I rent a nice home, pay all my bills/rent the day the bill comes and I am always on time with payments. No roomates, etc... so everything I pay is on my own. No more truck payments etc... Pretty much I dont do much financing, everything I have bought in the past was cash, except for my last truck which i bought new. I am comfortable with my finances and money in the bank etc... however in the next 1-2 yearsIll have to bite the bullet and be engaged and start looking to purhcase a home.
So onto the boat. I need to upgrade from my current direct drive. I want a more wakeboarding specific boat. I currently am out on the boat 3-4days a week. My season starts in mid april and up til mid october (obviously wet suits for some of this time). I have enough money when I sell my curent boat that I could buy in cash a 25k boat, however then I am back back to minimal money in the bank, so god forbid I lose my job, get hurt, major boat repair etc Im screwed, so I would rather not pay out in full, instead put down 12-15k and finance the remainder. I know the large majority of you are against financing toys, and I use to be the same way. Id buy a new dirtbike all cash, but then have to cut back everywhere else to build up money again and pray nothing catastrophic happened in the mean time. Normally it works out well, however I do not like the feeling of not having a safe amount of money in the bank.
So I have a few older vdrive wake boats in the 20-24k range, that in all reality i would probably only enjoy for 1 year and then want to sell next season and upgrade yet again, or I have a pretty good deal on a new Axis A22 for 50k. I have no desire to have one of these 12year loans, but I do like the low payment of them. My dealer recommends getting a 12yr loan to keep the payments low during the winter and during the summer while my buddies are throwing in a few dollars for payments and Im using the boat a lot he says make large monthly payments with the additional money going towards the principal balance and pay off the boat in 6-7years... Though i know myself, 2 things normaly happen I get sick of things after 3-4 years and I either a) want something new or b) got bored of it and move onto another hobby.
Saving for a downpayment for a house is a must, (what I pay for rent and renting in general is just throwing away money). Purchaseing an engagement ring will certainly happen in the next year or 2 also. A baby is no where in either of our plans for the next 6+ years but with women you never know what goes through their heads worst case 4years til a baby is on board. Though in being resposible all of these "what ifs" come into my mind in order to better plan.
My gut says get the mediocre 20-24k wake boat that needs some work, put down 12-15k and finance the rest on a 4year loan and pay it off in 2. Though I also know going the cheap route isnt always the best and maybe getting a new 50k boat financing for 12 and paying off in 5-6years is better.
My biggest concern is having to sell the boat in case of a hurry, due to injury, loss of job etc... If i have some $800 payment and a baby pops up, or an injury puts me out of work etc... The boat will need to sell so I never want to be in the hole and have to take a hit. If its some cheap $200-300payment, it wont kill me if I have to float the boat payment for a few months until it sells.
Sorry for the long post, but normally I would go to my girlfriends father, however with him passing away a few years ago, large financinal decisions are a learning experience, so any advice is appreciated.
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