I think I went a little overboard...

Avatar for mjaye2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
I think I went a little overboard...
7
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 10:59am

ds19 came home last night with a paper showing payments, total $, etc. on a boat. A BOAT! He actually thinks he can afford to buy one. More to the point, he actually thinks someone will lend him the money!! He apparently went to a credit union of some sort to check it out. I'm thinking, no way--they will want a parent to co-sign. The child has no real credit history as of yet. Anyway, while he was talking about it last night, I just blew my top. Here he is, living at home, working full time, has a couple of small bills he is required to pay and thinks he can afford a stupid boat. Well. Yeah. Actually, he probably can, considering, I am still basically supporting the child. I've been so frustrated the last several months (since he got kicked out of school for low grades). I want him to live in the *real* world, just so he knows what it's like, but cannot bring myself to make him move out. Not right now. He says he's planning to go back to school come fall, and I want him to be able to concentrate on making a go of it this time. But if he has a ton of bills, that's not going to happen. I went over several "points" about the pain of owning a boat, the expenses that come with it, above and beyond the payments, etc. I told him he would have to take over *all* his bills on top of making boat payments, that I would no longer pay for anything (except college). He got all bowed up, and then I got all bowed up and it went downhill from there. I said I had hoped I had raised him smarter than that, that after all these years of seeing me struggle with bills every month, that I hoped he would be smart enough to start now saving for the unforseen future. What happens if he breaks a leg, or wrecks his truck? What if he can't work for some reason? If he has nothing saved, he will lose everything. And I was d*mn sure not going to make his payments if something happened to him, etc. etc. etc. I told him I thought this was about the stupidest thing I'd ever heard of.~~~sigh~~~it was really ugly. (Writing it here, it doesn't sound all that bad, but believe me, between the things I said and my tone of voice, it was bad.)

I will need to apologize to my son tonight for my tone of voice and for the "delivery style" of my little tirade. However, I will tell him, that the end result remains the same. I'll tell him that I *still* think it is a very unresponsible thing to do at this stage, but it is his money, his life, and if he thinks he can do it, then so be it. However, I will not bail him out of a financial crisis. And he *will* be responsible for *all* his bills.

A boat. A stupid boat.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-21-2005
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 11:37am

Overboard? Is that a pun???

We've all been there with saying too much - you're human after all. Isn't it amazing how their minds work? He'll find out soon enough...

(and he'll also remember that you were right)

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 6:34pm

LOL Pay_it_4ward!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-29-2004
Thu, 04-06-2006 - 4:46pm


Delurking. The other costs with a boat include insurance (boat and additional hit on car insurance that comes with the trailer and towing), gas, storage, maintenance, licenses, and docking/landing fees. Also, don't forget additional expense of related gear (ropes/skis/life vests, etc. . . ). Figure two hours running a typical ski boat will burn through $40-80 in gas, plus the extra gas needed to tow the boat.

Now look at the depreciation. Have him ask the seller for a written guaranteed buy back price to repurchase the boat this time next year if circumstances were to require him to sell (assuming good condition allowing only for normal wear and tear). The depreciation hit will be significant. If they won't give a written guarantee -- what does that tell him? Ask him to look at the prices for 1 and 2 year old boats of the same type -- you can get a decent idea for values on ebay.

Avatar for mjaye2002
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 1:48pm

Glad you de-lurked! I did hit on a lot of those items related to a boat, ie. the boat insurance, life vests, ski stuff. But did you mean that car insurance will go up also if you insure a boat? I mean, on the car itself. As in, say, insurance on car is $500 and you add boat insurance for $100. Will the car insurance then go up also? If I'm understanding that right, I didn't know that! eek! I even talked about interest on the note, BUT, what I *didn't* think of was the depreciation and how to figure that, especially with the length of time on the note. Actaully, I thought about it, but couldn't figure out a way to make him think about it. Good idea! Especially since he was going to finance the thing for like 6 years!! Ack. Believe me, I will remember that one in the future.

As an update, apparently *now* he and his dad are buying one together. (My thought is his Dad is buying it and ds19 will have use of it! LOL) At least it will be his *dad's* neck on the line if something happens and not mine! His dad will be responsible for most all the associated costs, fees, etc. and ds19 won't ruin his credit rating with any loan defaults before he even *gets* a credit rating! LOL (I started to say his dad wouldn't let him drown in debt, but I figure one pun in a post is plenty!)

Avatar for mjaye2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 1:50pm
LOL pay! I really wasn't thinking about it when I wrote that title. It wasn't until after I posted, I realized what I had written! So, yeah, however unintential it was, it's still a pun!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2005
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 2:04pm

Generally speaking, no, your auto insurance won't go up if you have a boat--at least in KS where I am an insurance agent.

Since it has a loan on it you'll have to have liability and physical damage insurance for the boat, which is relatively inexpensive. Liability for the trailer stems from the towing vehicle so the only reason you would need to insure the trailer is for physical damage (to repair the trailer if you are at fault in an accident).

Just my offering for today.
Good luck!
Dani

Avatar for mjaye2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 04-07-2006 - 2:15pm
Thanks, Dani. I probably just mis-read his post, but thanks for clearing that up for me!