Looking to buy my first pontoon

[1roadking]

I have a 150 without power steering that is hydraulic. I am going to add the power assist because it is hard to turn tight 1 handed and that makes water sports driving a lot more work. I have a bennington 20 gli with tritoon ESP and paid around 33000 for it with trailer and alot of options. I think you could get a 22 tritoon with a 150 for pretty close to the 32000 and have a better riding and handling boat. Just my opinion. The sylvan might be fast, but wont turn like a true performance tritoon.

[rbiederwolf]

I have a 115 hp on a 22ft two tube with the Baystar steering and it steers very well. Over 150 go with the sea star. Definetely needed

[Leisure Kraft]

Hello - this is my first post here. This is an interesting forum with a lot of great info. Glad to have found this place.

I'm looking to buy my first pontoon after looking at well over 150 of them at the Boat Show last weekend. Based on price and bang for the buck, we've decided to go with Sylvan.

Here are the specs -
Sylvan - Mirage 8522 LZ with LE Package Upgrade (22 Foot) - $20,990
Two RPT (Revolutionary Planing Technology) Tubes - $1,100
150HP Mercury Motor - $5,000 (upgraded from the 60hp it comes with)
Triton Drive-On Pontoon Trailer (2 axels) - $2,900

Total estimated pricing with tax will be around $32,000

I've been told with say 4 people in the pontoon I should be able to reach speeds in the low 40's mph range.

Also considering upgrading the stern boarding area with Synthetic Teak Flooring, adding a ski tow bar, and possibly adding SeaStar Hydraulic Steering (wondering how much this is actually needed).

I'm looking for any comments or concerns from the pros here - anything I'm missing or have overlooked. Thanks in advance.

If you're at all close to east Tennessee you might check out Leisure Kraft. You can get it factory direct and cut out the dealer cost. For $33k you could get...

22' Prestige tri-toon with lifting strakes, 150HP Suzuki 4-stroke EFI, trailer, changing room, sundeck, vinyl floor upgrade, hydraulic steering

http://www.leisurekraft.com/index.php?r ... ld_pontoon

With the 150HP+ engines you'd want the hydraulic steering, btw.

[Bryden24shp]

{With the 150HP+ engines you'd want the hydraulic steering, btw.}

Go with power assist on it too. A little more money, but very well worth it. One finger steering!

Leisure Kraft, ever think of a building full windsheild model? I'm promoting one for Manitou, for 2014. I see Playcraft is building them now. Premeir has been doing a good job on the S-Series, until this year, the boat is flat out ugly! Do you mount Suzuki outboards exclusively? How about twin outboards, willing? Just wondering!
Bryan

[ScottE]

Well, after all this, it looks like I won't be getting a pontoon this year. My credit score wasn't high enough to qualify for the standard loan.

The dealer offered to try financing with a high risk loan, but no way was I interested in paying 18% or more in interest.

So it's time to work on increasing my credit score this year, and see where I'm at come next year.

[Bryden24shp]

Did you try USBank? They are pretty flexible. I know a 7 year loan on a new boat is currently 4.25% with good credit. Not sure what they would come back at you with, but it may be way lower than 18%. Worth a try.

[ScottE]

Did you try USBank? They are pretty flexible. I know a 7 year loan on a new boat is currently 4.25% with good credit. Not sure what they would come back at you with, but it may be way lower than 18%. Worth a try.

I doubt is would be worth it. My score is a 638, which is considered a poor score, and I needed at least a 700 to be approved.

[1roadking]

Try some credit unions. I am a FI Director at a large auto dealership and you would be surprised at the buying differences between different lending institutions. 638 is not a horrific score. How much are you putting down?

[ScottE]

Try some credit unions. I am a FI Director at a large auto dealership and you would be surprised at the buying differences between different lending institutions. 638 is not a horrific score. How much are you putting down?

I was planning on putting down 10% - that's the most I come up with without spending months saving for more. I know my credit union would approve it, but I know it would be at a pretty high interest rate. I'm guessing around 13-14% based on the last smaller loan I took with them and paid off.

I think the honest responsible thing to do would be to fix my credit before taking on more debt. I'm going to attempt to raise it to a 700 by this time next year. Not sure if that's possible, but I'm going to try. Pay all bills on time, keep credit card balances at no more than 10-20% of their limits, and try some Goodwill letters to get some companies to remove a couple late payments from their records. I've also got one of a few negative actions dropping off my credit report this coming up December. Using creditkarma.com to try to track my progress from month to month.

[Bamaman]

My company worked closely with Fair Isaac in Atlanta when they originally came up with their credit scoring system.

There are just so many young people that don't pay credit card debt or medical bills--and it's immediately shown in their FICO scores. They don't realize that the future quality of their life is basically ruined for a few hundred bucks, and they're pretty much screwed for 5 years. If they can get credit, the interest rates at captive finance sources, banks and credit unions is based strictly on the FICO score.

F&I managers in car dealerships prey on people with marginal FICO scores. They'll "get you financed" at 18% interest, but the discount rate was maybe 10%--thus pocketing 8% APR profits. Instead of a $500 profit "on front end", the salesman might get you for $1,500 profit--knowing you may be a sucker. Then, they'll get you for commissions on a $1,000 ESP, credit life and disability insurance. They may take a normal $500 profit sale and turn it into a $3,000 profit deal. That's what I mean when I say screwed. (I am fully trained in Finance and Insurance in the auto, heavy truck, tractors and heavy equipment fields.)

What gets me is that my wife hasn't worked in 11 years, but her FICO score is 830 out of 850 points. And, she has very little income. Well, I guess that blows Fair Isaac's credibility. My wife has good Character, but really doesn't have the Capacity to pay. But, she depends on "Big Daddy" to provide the Capacity. She gets credit card offers virtually every day in the mail.

If anyone has a low or middle of the road FICO score, you should be proactive in taking every step possible to improve your score. See Suze Orman, Clark Howard or Elise Glink's web sites for methods to improve your scores. They all three have written books on the subject, some of which are available in the library. The quicker you can get it up is the faster you can save money on loan interest--and get some nice 'toons under you for a fair price.

[1roadking]

There are companies you can hire to clean your credit. They send letters to your creditors every day and if they don't respond the credit agency has to remove it from your credit bureau. These programs are very effective, turning 580 scores into 700 scores in 6 months. Like I said, I am a finance director at a car dealership. I try to help my customers get there scores up and teach them how to keep them there. By the way, you can't mark up rates by 10%. The max is 2.5 at most banks. If somebody doesn't pay there bills on time, they are higher risk and pay higher rates. It is life. The good news is, you can change your behavior and fix your credit!

[dockholiday]

I'm quite surprised that the dealer didn't recommend Hyd steering to you. Just about every motor mfg. says that you should get it if you have a 150hp eng.

Yeah, I was talking to the dealer today and he basically said "oops, yeah I should have mentioned you'll need hydraulic steering".

Sounds like you are a good shopper. Spec it out and run it by the board. even though you may get some conflicting answers as to what you need or what is best it is still better than going with what the salesman suggest. Especially some add on's that may cost more later than at time of purchase.
I have owned 4 boats and all steered well so I never even thought about steering until it became a subject here a good while back. Almost everyone here have made costly mistakes along the way and are more than willing to share that info, so someone else doesn't have to endure the same mistakes.
doc

[dockholiday]

My company worked closely with Fair Isaac in Atlanta when they originally came up with their credit scoring system.

There are just so many young people that don't pay credit card debt or medical bills--and it's immediately shown in their FICO scores. They don't realize that the future quality of their life is basically ruined for a few hundred bucks, and they're pretty much screwed for 5 years. If they can get credit, the interest rates at captive finance sources, banks and credit unions is based strictly on the FICO score.

F&I managers in car dealerships prey on people with marginal FICO scores. They'll "get you financed" at 18% interest, but the discount rate was maybe 10%--thus pocketing 8% APR profits. Instead of a $500 profit "on front end", the salesman might get you for $1,500 profit--knowing you may be a sucker. Then, they'll get you for commissions on a $1,000 ESP, credit life and disability insurance. They may take a normal $500 profit sale and turn it into a $3,000 profit deal. That's what I mean when I say screwed. (I am fully trained in Finance and Insurance in the auto, heavy truck, tractors and heavy equipment fields.)

What gets me is that my wife hasn't worked in 11 years, but her FICO score is 830 out of 850 points. And, she has very little income. Well, I guess that blows Fair Isaac's credibility. My wife has good Character, but really doesn't have the Capacity to pay. But, she depends on "Big Daddy" to provide the Capacity. She gets credit card offers virtually every day in the mail.

If anyone has a low or middle of the road FICO score, you should be proactive in taking every step possible to improve your score. See Suze Orman, Clark Howard or Elise Glink's web sites for methods to improve your scores. They all three have written books on the subject, some of which are available in the library. The quicker you can get it up is the faster you can save money on loan interest--and get some nice 'toons under you for a fair price.

Good post an info
Must have missed the last few posts when I made my previous one
Know what he is talking about his wife and her score. I basically taught my wife how to increase her score and the importance of making prompt payment of our bills. Must have worked cause when we were going through the loan process on the new house her score was 15 points higher than mine. Not sure what I did but mine had dropped a little below 800.
doc

[Bamaman]

The credit world will give you all the money and credit limits that you'll ever use--if you don't need'em.

But, when you need use the credit lines, they'll tighten down the terms or credit lines to where they cannot be used.

A large North Carolina bank quoted me 3.5% APR higher on my last Lexus than my credit union--despite having all my cash accounts. A friend working at that bank told me they preyed on the customers with 625-650 FICO scores--at relatively high interest rates. Despite my having the cash to pay for the car, they didn't want a low risk/low profit deal--running me off forever.

My cousin, the motor home/recreational vehicle salesman, told me yesterday that 700 FICO was as low as they can get financed with normal finance terms/rates. They have other finance sources to send the paper to if they're in the 600's. I assume the marine financing business works the same way.

Fortunately, FICO scores change constantly, and there are steps to take that can quickly payoff. Pay down your credit card debt promptly, never cancel any credit limits/lines and make every installment payment exactly as agreed. Don't borrow any additional money, as having no credit inquiries also raises the FICO scores.

[ScottE]

Pay down your credit card debt promptly, never cancel any credit limits/lines and make every installment payment exactly as agreed. Don't borrow any additional money, as having no credit inquiries also raises the FICO scores.

Yup, this is good advice and exactly what I'm doing. I've been educating myself on how credit works over the last few days. Transunion has me at 638 and Equifax has me at 656. All I can do over the next year is pay my bills on time no matter what, and get my existing credit card debt down to no more than 10%-20% of my credit limits on each card - only have 5 of them, but only one of them has a balance - but it's a big balance - $4300. I've also got a couple negative items that will drop off my credit report by this time next year. Need to get to 700!