User Tag List

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 29
  1. #1
    Site Sponsor FirstAscent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    196
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Financing a custom order?

    Hi everyone, new here but am seriously looking at ordering a 381M but have some questions I’m hoping some of you may be able to help with.

    I’m trying to avoid multiple credit pulls whenever possible, and I’m told a factory build could take 8-12 weeks but I also need to have financing approved before a dealer will order it.

    I don’t want to get approved for financing, then 8-12 weeks later have another credit pull once the trailer actually arrives and we finalize everything.

    I’ve called some banks and they’ve said their approvals are only good for 45-60 days. A couple dealers have told me they could get me approved and their banks would be able to use the initial approval and not run my credit again when it arrives, but I also don’t know if they are just trying to get me to order it and not being honest.

    Any thoughts from those if you who have done factory builds?

    Also, my credit scores should be around 700, maybe 710 or so which I know isn’t the greatest but also not bad. However I know it’s more strict than auto loans. Any of you get approved (with a low rate!) with around a 700?

    I have not done anything yet, just still in my planning stages. Thanks everyone!

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor sande005's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    White Bear Lake, MN
    Posts
    1,483
    Mentioned
    21 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Find a better dealer. For two different brands, at two different dealers, all they required from me was a small amount of "earnest" money ($200 at one, $500 at the other) to place an order at the factory. Both signed in writing at the time that the money was 100% refundable if I did not accept delivery.
    They then notified me a couple of weeks later as to what the VIN was to be, so I could get my financing lined up. On the day of, they worked directly with the bank to confirm bank's name was on the title, collected any additional down payment directly from me, and had the bank transfer the funds. Easy. No different than buying a car at a dealer. Sure, there was an initial push during the first sales meetings to get me to use their financing, but they had no issue with me lining up my own. No need for multiple credit checks.
    2017 Imagine 2670MK
    2012 F-150 SCrew, Eco, 4x4 6.5 box
    Max. Tow, HD Payload, Airbags, ProPride hitch
    (Previous: Jayco 26.5RLS Fifth, Revolution Pinbox)

  3. #3
    Site Sponsor FirstAscent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    196
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by sande005 View Post
    Find a better dealer. For two different brands, at two different dealers, all they required from me was a small amount of "earnest" money ($200 at one, $500 at the other) to place an order at the factory. Both signed in writing at the time that the money was 100% refundable if I did not accept delivery.
    They then notified me a couple of weeks later as to what the VIN was to be, so I could get my financing lined up. On the day of, they worked directly with the bank to confirm bank's name was on the title, collected any additional down payment directly from me, and had the bank transfer the funds. Easy. No different than buying a car at a dealer. Sure, there was an initial push during the first sales meetings to get me to use their financing, but they had no issue with me lining up my own. No need for multiple credit checks.
    Thank you! That's good to know! Yeah I've now had 2 custom factory builds for cars and it was super easy. My current truck (on order now) the dealer didn't even ask for a down payment, we discussed options, agreed on pricing, and they ordered it. Super easy.

    I've talked to two dealers prior to today and they both said I had to put 10% down and get approved on financing before I could order.

    Once you had the VIN were you able to get fully approved through whatever lender you went with since you had the exact VIN, or was it a pre-approval and they held the approval "open" until it was delivered?

    Lastly I know it can vary a lot but how long for you did it take to get delivery after they provided the VIN?

  4. #4
    Site Sponsor Jerryr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    2,822
    Mentioned
    30 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    An additional hard pull credit history usually only deceases score 3-5 points.
    Jerry & Linda
    Emma & Abby our Mini Golden Doodles & JR our Amazon Parrot
    2017 Reflection 337RLS, Build Date 01/2017, Titan Disk Brakes, Goodyear G614s 235/85/16 G Rated tires
    2022 F-450 King Ranch Ultimate, 4,868 lb Payload, Bedrug Bedliner, Andersen Ultimate II Aluminum 5th wheel hitch
    http://visitedstatesmap.com/image/FLGANCSCsm.jpg

  5. #5
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Bend, OR and Palm Springs, CA
    Posts
    3,043
    Mentioned
    27 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I've ordered three new Grand Design RV's. My dealer asked for 10% down on the most recent one. I think it was about the same on the others but I don't recall. There was no mention of financing prior to ordering. We pay cash for ours but still, the dealer never asked about money prior to ordering. We did, of course, agree on the price before ordering. We ordered our last two 5th wheels with full body paint and that might be why the dealer asked for 10% down rather than $500.

    BTW, we also ordered a truck at the same time. Dealer asked for $500 down. And again, no talk about money other than agreeing on purchase price. I've also ordered cars from the factory. In all cases, nobody ever mentioned financing approval beforehand.
    Last edited by bertschb; 02-11-2020 at 01:39 PM.
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor FirstAscent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    196
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    @Jerryr - True, I know it's not a big hit on credit but my credit also isn't crazy high, it's around 700's and I understand RV loans etc aren't quite as easy as cars so I want to avoid any chance of dipping below any lenders specific requirements. I got approved on my Jag about 18 months ago with slightly lower scores from my credit union and was approved at their lowest rates. But then again, it was an auto loan not an RV haha. I wish I could go through my credit union (NFCU) as they've really treated me well, but their RV loans are almost double of what is available out there. The new truck I'll still finance through them though.
    @bertschb - Yeah that kind of makes sense, I'll be doing full body paint as well so maybe that changes things a bit. To be fair, I'm ok putting a down payment down if price is agreed upon and in writing. But sounds like I can at least negotiate getting my financing later on, I prefer to get my own financing. Pick a specific lender, hopefully get approved, and just one credit pull. Not 20-30 or whatever dealers do these days, you never know how many they'll send credit apps to. I'm still researching who I want to try to finance through too. So far I've noticed most I've talked to all pull Experian which is actually my strongest score, so that is helpful.

    I definitely can't pay cash for mine but some day good for you for being able to do that though, that's awesome!

  7. #7
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Bend, OR and Palm Springs, CA
    Posts
    3,043
    Mentioned
    27 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by FirstAscent View Post
    ...I definitely can't pay cash for mine but some day good for you for being able to do that though, that's awesome!
    Hah! I wasn't able to pay cash for anything when I was young. I have a lot of interests and like doing new things all the time so I financed everything (cars, boats, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, airplanes, ATV's, dive trips, RV's, etc, etc, etc). It made no financial sense at the time but it allowed my family to experience things they never would have been able to do had I waited until I could pay cash for all the toys. Now I can pay cash for everything but the family is grown and I'm much more of a tightwad now (relatively speaking). Go figure...
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  8. #8
    Site Sponsor FirstAscent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    196
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by bertschb View Post
    Hah! I wasn't able to pay cash for anything when I was young. I have a lot of interests and like doing new things all the time so I financed everything (cars, boats, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, airplanes, ATV's, dive trips, RV's, etc, etc, etc). It made no financial sense at the time but it allowed my family to experience things they never would have been able to do had I waited until I could pay cash for all the toys. Now I can pay cash for everything but the family is grown and I'm much more of a tightwad now (relatively speaking). Go figure...
    Yup! I totally get it, typically it takes time to get to that point in your life! I'm similar though, very active and always doing new things but mostly motorcycles (I used to race sport bikes for a few years), cars, trucks etc. So not quite as extensive of a list as you haha. But I'm fully comfortable with the finance payments for the toys I've had and have and will continue to enjoy these activities as much as possible while I'm still younger and can fully enjoy them

    I see you're in Bend (partially) I absolutely love Bend, I climb there a bunch. I'm out in Portland however. I have a 2020 Silverado 3500 SRW on order, I've never been much of a Ford fan but will say the Tremor pkg is pretty sweet!

  9. #9
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Wherever...
    Posts
    9,016
    Mentioned
    187 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Find another dealer. Letters of credit from lenders are only good for either 30 or 60 days, depending on the lender. It takes the factory longer than that to take the order, build the unit, and get it to your dealer. For the 2020 Solitude we ordered (waiting for us at our dealer now), I wrote the dealer a check for $2,000 when I placed the order. Then, within the 60 day window (for our lender), I did the credit application. The dealer already has the check waiting for the 27th when we walk in to do the paperwork. (We only financed about 1/2 the price of the Solitude by choice.)

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  10. #10
    Site Sponsor FirstAscent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    196
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Well things are progressing quite well, making some progress with the first dealer I spoke to. The sales guy isn't the most knowledgeable but making better progress with the sales manager. If I want to place a factory order with them I would only need a down payment. They are still saying 10% is required by GD, whether that's true or not I dunno. I am doing the full paint option so maybe they are more strict with that? But they never mentioned anything about financing, just the 10% down and they'll place the order.

    They gave me a high price initially, I kindly said thanks for being responsive and helpful but it was way too high. They came back with a number that ends up being 29% off out the door (minus registration). Super happy with the number.

    I had asked the sales guy to get me an exact trailer weight off of any 381M's they had in stock at any of their locations, I was curious as to how that matched up with the posted numbers on GD's website since obviously each unit will be different depending on options. Took me 5 minutes to get him to understand that each trailer doesn't weigh exactly 14,700 lbs that the GD website lists haha. Oh well. I said I wouldn't finalize it until he got me those numbers. Shouldn't be very difficult, so we'll see.

    I'll be playing up at Whistler until Monday anyways so I've got time. I'm in no rush.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.