This is a tape entitled, "How to Purchase an RV." Now let's assume that we've agreed on a price for the camper. That's very, very important that you're happy with the price and the dealership's happy with the price. We've got to keep the lights on and, of course, there's a lot of cost of running a dealership, but remember, it's not about us, it's about you. So, once we've come to the right price, and you're happy with that, now let's talk about options. Number 1, you can pay cash, like we talked about earlier, or you can actually finance it. When you finance it, banks are different. Customers are different. There's different beacon scores, there's different longevity on the job, how long you've lived in the community, your past history. All of those are very, very important. So what we're going to do at that point in time is fill out a credit app and get all this pertinent information so we can get it to our lenders. Most lenders in the RV industry require 10% down; so use round numbers. If it's a $10,000 camper, then the dealer is going to expect you to put at least $1000 down which is 10%. But all of this is based on you, your credit history, and how well you've taken care of your other bills and debts. Now, after you've come up with the down payment, there's different fees that different dealerships have; pay very close attention to those. Don't assume that you're getting anything for free. My grand daddy told me a long time ago, "You don't work for free, you don't play for free, everything has a cost." So if a dealer "throws in" something, it's coming from somewhere. Something called something; make sure you get the best price while you're there. Once you've done that, then we're looking at term of contract. The RV industry is a little different, it's based on blocks of money; so it may be $10,000 as one interest rate, $10,000 to $25,000 is another interest rate, $25,000 to $50,000 is another interest rate and you get the gist of what I'm trying to say. The best thing to do is to sit down with your sales person or their business manager, sometimes called a finance manager, and find out what's the best monthly payment for you. How long is term of contract? Again, it is based on bulk of money. $10,000, you may be able to go to this many years, maybe 10 or 12; this many years may be, you know, if it's a $30,000 coach, you may be able to get 144 months, more than that, you may be able to get 180 months, and even now, some of the industries banks are going to 240 months. 20 year mortgage on your motor coach. Sit down, talk about that. Work with generics. Don't try to pinpoint down, "what's my interest rate going to be?" because we really don't know that until the bank calls us back and says, "This is what this young couple qualifies for." You know what your comfort zone is, so come up with a range. "I want my payment to be somewhere in between $200 and $250." That way, we get a better idea of how the bank is going to come back and respond. The important thing is, don't sign anything until you're comfortable with it.
