Getting pre-approved for coach financing

[3882DOUG]

Two dealers are telling me there is no process for getting pre-approved for a loan. Seems like it would make some sense so as not to waste my time or a salesman's time looking at coaches I can't buy.
I don't anticipate any problems getting the loan amount I need but think it would let the salesman know I am a serious buyer and would certainly help if a coach from a private party shows up. Anyone know of RV financing companies that do a preapproval process?

[Passin_Thru]

Get preapproved at both and get your own loan at a Credit Union. You then buy with their credit and you have 3 days to buy the loan from them using the CRU which will save you up to 5%.

[dobbler98]

Be aware if you are buying a used one banks won't lend on anything older than 10 years.

[mowermech]

3882DOUG wrote:
Will a credit union issua a
loan if you have no other accounts with them?

Usually, yes. BUT, most credit unions will only loan money to members, so, you will probably have to open an account (become a member of the Credit Union), and that may cost $25 or so. That money will go into your savings account and stay there as long as you are a member. When you close the account and cancel your membership, you will get it back, along with whatever interest has accrued.

[Bruce_Brown]

crasster wrote:
For RV loans I don't think there is better than local credit unions. Going through dealers usually result in much higher interest.

Yet I have never seen a credit union come even close to what we or the dealer could do.

Just another example of always do your own research BEFORE you go shopping. Know what YOU can do, then see what the dealer has to offer.

[3882DOUG]

Will a credit union issua a
loan if you have no other accounts with them?

[TheVoiceNinja]

Good timing!

We're in the market for our first Class A Diesel pusher motorhome and also thought that the logical route was to get pre-approval. We started with SE Financial, who says on the website that they usually provide 24 hour responses.

I sent in the information over 8 days ago and noted the make, model, and details for the rig we're most interested in, but also noted that we're looking for pre-approval and rates/limits/terms as part of our rig selection process. They even have a direction in the instructions to enter a representative motorhome if you don't have a specific one picked out yet.

I got an email from them yesterday asking me if I could provide a VIN. I said that I *could* get a VIN, but that we are still in the selection process and just wanted a pre-approval as part of our decision making. The VIN likely wouldn't be for the coach we actually end up purchasing. I haven't heard back.

I get that they need to make sure the coach isn't a losing financial proposition before sending you any money or approving the final contract, but it's really no different than a mortgage company pre-approving the terms and limits, but still requiring a appraisal to verify the inherent collateral in a home before the final paperwork is executed.

It's very frustrating that they make it so hard to get an estimate prior to making a purchase decision...

[mowermech]

When we bought our coach, the dealer asked if we wanted them to arrange the financing. We said "No, we will be going through XYZ Credit Union."
the dealer said "OH, OK, that's who we would have used as well, but if you already have an account there, we are good to go!"

[crasster]

For RV loans I don't think there is better than local credit unions. Going through dealers usually result in much higher interest.

[westernrvparkow]

Bruce Brown wrote:

midnightsadie wrote:
find your own loan company,the dealer gets a huge chunk if you borrow threw them.and you,ll get a lower rate.

Maybe, maybe not.

Many times dealers can buy money cheaper than we can - it is up to them if they want to pass on the rate or a portion of the rate. Don't take their rate offer as cast in stone, and don't be afraid to negotiate that part of the sale too.

We had always arranged our our financing in the past, when we bought our last one the dealer was 1 point less than any other place we could find. Obviously we went with the dealer.

A good friend of mind is the finance manager at a local car dealership, he *always* gets us great rates. My last truck was at 1.67 percent through a local bank. Believe me, the banks have sales on money and want good customers too. In the cases where they pass the rate through they get paid an origination fee, so they get something out of it regardless.

This is close to the way it actually works. Dealers and the lenders they use no longer allow the rate to be marked up customer by customer. There have been many lawsuits where dealers and lenders have been accused of marking rates up on the basis of race, gender, age etc. These lawsuits were either lost or settled by those dealers and lenders. While there may be a few independent dealers that finance customers themselves, and maybe a few high risk lenders who still allow rate markup, most dealers are limited to either making an origination fee or having the flexibility to mark up rate a percentage point at most. The bigger profit center for dealers' finance offices is selling things like extended warranties, paint, fabric and tire protection packages, security systems etc. Dealers must be competitive with all those other options, so they will most always be in the ballgame, rate wise. The exceptions would be if you have a Credit Union or a Bank who will finance you even though you appear credit unworthy to other lenders or you are using different collateral (i.e. a home equity loan to buy the RV).

[Bruce_Brown]

midnightsadie wrote:
find your own loan company,the dealer gets a huge chunk if you borrow threw them.and you,ll get a lower rate.

Maybe, maybe not.

Many times dealers can buy money cheaper than we can - it is up to them if they want to pass on the rate or a portion of the rate. Don't take their rate offer as cast in stone, and don't be afraid to negotiate that part of the sale too.

We had always arranged our our financing in the past, when we bought our last one the dealer was 1 point less than any other place we could find. Obviously we went with the dealer.

A good friend of mind is the finance manager at a local car dealership, he *always* gets us great rates. My last truck was at 1.67 percent through a local bank. Believe me, the banks have sales on money and want good customers too. In the cases where they pass the rate through they get paid an origination fee, so they get something out of it regardless.

[DSDP_Don]

In this day and age, loans get done in a matter of minutes. If you know you'll qualify, no need to worry. I've bought a lot of things over the years and the dealer will generally have the best interest rates if you have good credit. If you doubt it, get the rates from your bank and credit union and be prepared to challenge the dealer's rate. The dealer will always match or do better.

[midnightsadie]

find your own loan company,the dealer gets a huge chunk if you borrow threw them.and you,ll get a lower rate.

[doxiemom11]

We financed thru our credit union. The only thing they can really do ahead of time is run your credit to see what your score is. After that they need the rv details to check values before determining what amount they can loan you.

We found financing with the credit union very easy.

[westernrvparkow]

One reason for banks not to pre-approve is that the collateral is undetermined. They might loan you $500,000 or more on a new Prevost, but no where near that much on a new popup trailer. There are many moving parts on an RV loan. Term, monthly payment, age of unit, type of RV, down payment etc. Until you nail all of those down, you really don't have a loan to pre-approve.