Interest rates

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Peter.....a different coach is not in my future. Unfortunately when I have something like a coach or plane and consider getting a different one my brain cannot get past the question of whether the improvements are worth the dollars spent. So far the answer is "no." (See my comment below to Tom relative to making the first purchase.)

Truk.....your logic is unassailable. However if logic was used by Prevost owners there would be no Prevost owners.

[Darl-Wilson]

I have been doing some rate checking and it seems that our sponsor, Gulf Coast Funding, has the best rate I've encountered so far. I just called GCF and they extend a special rate to our group which is .25% less than their posted rate. Rates quoted by Karen (she and her father own this company) 1999 and older, loan for over 100k, excellent credit, is 6.5% fixed for 15 years. For most newer Prevost coaches the rate is the same but amortized for 20 years. I didn't ask about any other fees but I assume they don't have any or at least a very small document preparation fee. That could be negotiable. In the scheme of things this doesn't seem too bad. Despite what you might see advertised, conforming real estate loans for 30 years, fully amortized fixed rate is about 6.5%. Since a home is generally considered an appreciating asset and a RV depreciates, often rapidly, 6.5% seems fair. In addition a RE loan has several costs and fees associated with it where an RV is relatively fee-free.

I agree with the theory of not financing or leveraging a depreciating asset but if a coach is already financed or the only way of acquiring the Prevost is by financing it, does it not make sense to get the lowest rate possible? There is also the tax advantage if the coach is declared as a 2nd home.

Here is something to consider; the payment difference between a 7% 20 yr fixed loan for $200,000 and the same loan at 6.5% = $59.45 per month X 240 months = $14,268. Now that will pay for diesel for a trip or two!

[Ray Davis]

I used Gulf Coast on purchasing my Marathon. They were great to work with. I had everything arranged in advance, and when I pulled the trigger, they wired the money to the seller the next morning.

Couldn't have been easier. Although my rate (with I thought excellent credit), turned out to at their posted rate (at the time), but at 19 years.

Ray