socalgirl1 said:okay, once again, i do not need any advice on whether or not to BUY; we are buying this motorhome. i'm not a new member; i've been a member for several years. this is a USED motorhome; we're paying $60k for it, but it is only 5 years old and sold new for $150k. we take our rv out ALL THE TIME, so it is not a depreciating asset for us. we keep our motorhomes a very long time; our existing motorhome is 22 years old! so please do not reply to this post if you are going to lecture on whether or not to buy; i simply wanted opinions on whether to get a loan or use our equity line.
thank you,

I am curious more about the coach? I would certainly assume its a diesel with at least one slide at that price?

We recently sold a 2001 Monaco Dynasty single slide, full body paint, Cummins 330hp with 31K miles for 40K.

drodge said:You guys are real pieces of work. It's no wonder people think Fat Wallet has become an uninviting place. If you "Don't get it", then don't buy an RV. If you don't think it's worth it to you to buy an RV, don't buy one. If you aren't comfortable taking out a loan, don't buy one. The poster asked a legit question and has been insulted and made to feel inadequate instead. It must be nice to be able to afford to pay for everything in cash and walk around feeling superior to everyone else. For the rest of us, financing things in an option. Personally, I am a very happy RV owner and think it's been a great purchase. Oh, and I financed it, which I still believe was the best option for me at the time.

Blah blah blah.. every good financial adviser I've talked to would not make a blanket statement that this is OK without knowing the detailed financial's behind everything. Go ahead and call Dave Ramsey and ask if this is a good purchase, and refuse to disclose your financial's, job situation, etc. He would immediately turn it down and say it's a bad idea.

Nice to be able to afford everything in cash? What do you think I inherited what I got?? I earned it. I never got a dime for my first car, never inherited any money, I work for it and make sound financial decisions (ok as best as I can, we all make mistakes). I get good advice when I can and try to listen to good advice. How do you think those of us that DO pay cash for things do it? Do you think it's just because we're high income earners? No.. we're not payment slave's, we save first then buy things.

EDIT: I just noticed you're from NoVA.. that says a LOT and now it makes perfect sense from what you're saying. That area is FILLED with payment slave's, and people living beyond their means. I imagine you're one of them.. or at least obviously brainwashed by them. Hey if someone is willing to issue the credit we MUST be able to truly afford it right?? hahaha

Id actually love an RV; well I think I love the idea of one more than anything... but jeez, you could take a 7k vacation every year instead.

delzy said:polaris said:patch96 said:Debt should only be used to acquire appreciating assets.

Huh, the decision to finance a large purchase should be driven by cost.

Using your logic, if I were to make a large purchase I should liquidate my Penfed 6.25% APY CDs and pay cash instead of tapping a 2.2% home equity line.Actually, that would be quite prudent because the 4% could be considered insurance not to lose your house - should something unpredictable happen to your income. I'd certainly rather throw the RV keys to my banker than my home keys - and the coach keys.

That makes little sense. If he loses his job, he'll still have the CDs which he can then cash to pay off the HELOC. He'll also have an extra $2000 per year from the 4% spread. Since he isn't defaulting yet, he can sell the asset he buys since it doesn't have a lien which may provide enough cash to get him through the tough times. In the example above it makes no sense to cash the CDs to make the purchase, because the only advantage is 'peace of mind'.

If you have offsetting assets and debt, you're not broke. Gosh, how many times have we heard Michael Jackson was on the verge of BK? Then he dies and his estate is estimated at $1/2 billion. Yes, he owes $450 million in loans or some ridiculous figure, but he has almost a $billion in assets. He was hardly broke or anywhere close to BK. His heirs will be very wealthy. It's amazing to me how people will look at only on side of the accounting ledger and freak out about the 'debt' side.

ilikebtmoney said:

Blah blah blah.. every good financial adviser I've talked to would not make a blanket statement that this is OK without knowing the detailed financial's behind everything. Go ahead and call Dave Ramsey and ask if this is a good purchase, and refuse to disclose your financial's, job situation, etc. He would immediately turn it down and say it's a bad idea.

I'm not the holier-than-thou A-hole who is making generalizations. I didn't say he could afford it or not, and that's not what they asked. I hve no idea if can afford it, and I don't care. He asked about financing options. If you are opposed to financing an RV, why did you feel a need to click on the link?

Nice to be able to afford everything in cash? What do you think I inherited what I got?? I earned it. I never got a dime for my first car, never inherited any money, I work for it and make sound financial decisions (ok as best as I can, we all make mistakes). I get good advice when I can and try to listen to good advice. How do you think those of us that DO pay cash for things do it? Do you think it's just because we're high income earners? No.. we're not payment slave's, we save first then buy things.

To use your words: Blah, blah, blah. No one here ever asked about your finances, nor do we care. I didn't get any financial help from my parents either, I earned mine as well. Does that make me better or worse than someone else? I think not.


EDIT: I just noticed you're from NoVA.. that says a LOT and now it makes perfect sense from what you're saying. That area is FILLED with payment slave's, and people living beyond their means. I imagine you're one of them.. or at least obviously brainwashed by them. Hey if someone is willing to issue the credit we MUST be able to truly afford it right?? hahaha

Again, Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle. You claim that I make assumptions about your income and spending, yet you seem to know a lot about mine based on where I live. Nice mature points you make. I stand my the point that very few poeple have added anything worthwhile for the poster. Instead, they call him a redneck, insult people who buy RV's, and make assumptions about his spending habits and income.

drodge said:You guys are real pieces of work. It's no wonder people think Fat Wallet has become an uninviting place. If you "Don't get it", then don't buy an RV. If you don't think it's worth it to you to buy an RV, don't buy one. If you aren't comfortable taking out a loan, don't buy one. The poster asked a legit question and has been insulted and made to feel inadequate instead. It must be nice to be able to afford to pay for everything in cash and walk around feeling superior to everyone else. For the rest of us, financing things in an option. Personally, I am a very happy RV owner and think it's been a great purchase. Oh, and I financed it, which I still believe was the best option for me at the time.

I LOVE MY FWF friends!!!!!!! Finally other people who think like me who aren't over 75.

Solipsist said:socalgirl1 said:delzy,
i appreciate your opinion, but we are very seasoned rv'ers and currently have a 1986 motorhome that we have owned for 9 years after purchasing it from my parents who owned it since it was new. we use our existing motorhome a minimum of 1-2 times a month - we definitely get our use out of it! i'm simply asking which way it would be best to finance, not whether or not to buy it.The OP has made it pretty clear that the topic is not whether or not to buy this thing.

Many of you have ignored that & shared your off topic opinions anyway.

Please try to put that behind us now, and stay on the topic of financing as we move forward from here.

Thanks! I think the overwhelming majority has answered her question: The best way to finance it is to save while using the one OP's already got. Do we need to bite our tongues every time someone comes for moral support regarding a potentially unsound financial decision. It's almost comical how drodge says we made her feel inadequate. Strike that, it is comical. The only reason she should feel inadequate is because she hasn't accepted our advice as valid. I sometimes wonder why people come to a site called FatWallet to get advice on how best to make one skinny.

WalStMonky said:delzy said:polaris said:patch96 said:Debt should only be used to acquire appreciating assets.

Huh, the decision to finance a large purchase should be driven by cost.

Using your logic, if I were to make a large purchase I should liquidate my Penfed 6.25% APY CDs and pay cash instead of tapping a 2.2% home equity line.Actually, that would be quite prudent because the 4% could be considered insurance not to lose your house - should something unpredictable happen to your income. I'd certainly rather throw the RV keys to my banker than my home keys - and the coach keys.

That makes little sense. If he loses his job, he'll still have the CDs which he can then cash to pay off the HELOC. He'll also have an extra $2000 per year from the 4% spread. Since he isn't defaulting yet, he can sell the asset he buys since it doesn't have a lien which may provide enough cash to get him through the tough times. In the example above it makes no sense to cash the CDs to make the purchase, because the only advantage is 'peace of mind'.

Thanks WSM. I have no idea why some people regurgitate the "Never finance a depreciating asset" drivel even when the numbers make sense. If the numbers dictate that you can come out ahead by sitting on 6.25% CDs and taking out a 3.99% car loan or doing a 0% BT, why not do it?

delzy said: I think the overwhelming majority has answered her question: The best way to finance it is to save while using the one OP's already got. Do we need to bite our tongues every time someone comes for moral support regarding a potentially unsound financial decision. It's almost comical how drodge says we made her feel inadequate. Strike that, it is comical. The only reason she should feel inadequate is because she hasn't accepted our advice as valid. I sometimes wonder why people come to a site called FatWallet to get advice on how best to make one skinny.

I'm just sick and tired of hearing the same old crap every time someone asks a question here. Obviously if you have the means to pay cash then go ahead. I think it's safe to say the old guard here are much better off financially than most people and are probably more likely to have that choice. Most people do not. No matter what "luxury" is mentioned here, the usual group of bullies will pipe in and say that it's not needed and they should put the money away in the bank and live without it. Whether or not the purchase is really "worth it" is completely subjective. The poster made it very clear that the total cost of ownership is worth it to them, and that's all that matters.

The question at hand is which method of financing is better. Unfortunately, this isn't purely mathmatics in this case. The RV loan has set costs based on the interest rate, loan term, and purchase price. With the HELOC, there are a lot of variables. The poster needs to look at the risks associated with possible interest rate increases, tying up the equity in the house, placing the home in danger by using it as collateral, etc. and make a personal decision as to whether or not that risk is acceptable to them in exchange for getting a potential cost savings. Most financially savy people would say that it isn't worth the risk. However, only the poster can make that decision.

Some people would tell her to take the equity line, go to Vegas, put it all on black, and take a chance on getting the RV for free. Obviously most people would say that's idiotic, but it's an option. It's clear that the most people here think the best course of action is to save up and pay cash for the new unit. That's not the poster's choice, however. Another thing to consider here is the maint. costs of keeping a 22 year old RV running. I bought a 4 year old model almost 5 years ago and have put in very little money in repairs. Had I bought an older one, I could easily have sunk in thousands in repair costs. The smallest items in an RV can be very expensive to replace, and that's certainly a consideration.

Solipsist said:socalgirl1 said:delzy,
i appreciate your opinion, but we are very seasoned rv'ers and currently have a 1986 motorhome that we have owned for 9 years after purchasing it from my parents who owned it since it was new. we use our existing motorhome a minimum of 1-2 times a month - we definitely get our use out of it! i'm simply asking which way it would be best to finance, not whether or not to buy it.The OP has made it pretty clear that the topic is not whether or not to buy this thing.

Many of you have ignored that & shared your off topic opinions anyway.

Please try to put that behind us now, and stay on the topic of financing as we move forward from here.

Thanks!

You must be new here.