Curious if any of you have ever ordered a new boat? If so, what can a man expect as far as down payments requirements prior to accepting the boat. Are all dealerships similar or do some have different requirements? Trying to hash out all detail prior to walking in blind. Been dreaming of doing this since I was knee hog to a grass hopper... Thank you in advance for your wisdom and suggestions.

Typically dealerships require a 10% down payment. You may want to check with your local credit union, if you're thinking about not putting any money down, but the thing with credit unions you'll more than likely have a shorter term than what most dealerships will offer. I hope this helps. Congrats in advance!!

Actually its the lenders that want 10% down but if your credit and debt/income ration is stout enough you can get approved with zero down.

You are correct sir...dealership are just that, they typically have a number of different lenders they deal with...thanks for clearing that up!

My dealer asked for 15% down and proof of either loan approval or cash balance. LOL

Ordered units are always a bit different. The down payment required by the dealer is more a guarantee that you will be back to finish the purchase when the boat is done. Depending on the dealer and what you are ordering, it MAY BE non-refundable. The down payment required by the lender is for a different reason. The lender down would not be paid until the deal is finished. Money in all counts the same in the deal. If you put in 10% to order, it would be the same 10% if that is the lender requirement.
Let us know if we can help.
Thank you,
Ken
(517) 930-2721 Cell if after hours

My dealer asked for $300 only to order. Thought that was light for a custom ordered boat.

My dealer is asking $5k for a custom ordered $80k boat.

5k on a eighty thousand dollar boat is fair there is a lot of things that can happen from the order date to delivery if you paid nothing down it would be easy to walk away when the boat you ordered came in.

agreed, just commenting

I'm the sales manager for Big D Marine in Huntsville, generally on custom ordering a boat we ask for a 10% deposit since it is a special ordered boat and if for some reason a customer has to back out we may have to change some features or do some sort of changing to the boat when it came in. You wouldn't believe the amount of issues that customer experience from the time a boat is ordered to the time it arrives at the store.