Ok, so I'll preface this by saying I'm a dumb college kid, however, I don't have gobs of credit card debt, etc. I do have some hefty student loans that aren't due until I have a full time job.
I'm looking at ways to build my credit. Its not that its bad - I have a single credit card from my bank with a limit that was just upped to 1k and a stupid mall store credit card. I have *heard* that taking out a loan and paying it off (even if its quickly) is a good way to make your credit rating jump. I don't have an impending need to do this other than I have a lot of friends who have financed cars etc and now have great credit.
Since I"m probably going to be upgrading this summer I was thinking this was a good opportunity. Has anyone financed a bike before? Have any experiences to share? Any advice? Am I totally dumb?
i was once stupid and newbie.. if you finance through the dealer.. they will get you a good deal but the loan they give you is a 'personal loan' and hence the interest rate is kinda higher than usual, i got 14.99% for 48mo. Seriously if I went through my bank i could have gotten a lot lower than that.
Shop around.. but be aware most places consider bikes as a personal loan and not a automotive loan.
I suppose it depends on how badly you want to get raped and become "part of the system".
Would you like the red pill or the blue pill? :)
Personally, I don't play the credit game. Don't know what my credit score is, don't care.
Try your bank first.Since you have established a credit line with them, they will be more inclined to lend you money with collateral(bike).Plus they can monitor your account to make sure you pay your loan.Not that you would skip out on them.
Quote from: GeeP on May 27, 2008, 10:02:50 PM
I suppose it depends on how badly you want to get raped and become "part of the system".
Would you like the red pill or the blue pill? :)
Personally, I don't play the credit game. Don't know what my credit score is, don't care.
You apparently haven't bought a house lately. Any credit score below a certain number and guess what, your payment goes up. Although I don't like to be part of this whole system we have, to get a decent place I have to play the game.
I would hold off on buying a house anyway, the market is just going to sink a little more.
As far as a bike, one general rule: don't finance your toys unless you can pay them off right that instant.
well not many of us are wealthy terry :icon_rolleyes: :laugh:
well d'uhhhh
Quote from: spcterry on May 27, 2008, 10:50:27 PM
I would hold off on buying a house anyway, the market is just going to sink a little more.
As far as a bike, one general rule: don't finance your toys unless you can pay them off right that instant.
Quote from: mjn12 on May 27, 2008, 09:41:33 PM
Ok, so I'll preface this by saying I'm a dumb college kid, however, I don't have gobs of credit card debt, etc. I do have some hefty student loans that aren't due until I have a full time job.
I'm looking at ways to build my credit. Its not that its bad - I have a single credit card from my bank with a limit that was just upped to 1k and a stupid mall store credit card. I have *heard* that taking out a loan and paying it off (even if its quickly) is a good way to make your credit rating jump. I don't have an impending need to do this other than I have a lot of friends who have financed cars etc and now have great credit.
Since I"m probably going to be upgrading this summer I was thinking this was a good opportunity. Has anyone financed a bike before? Have any experiences to share? Any advice? Am I totally dumb?
What the hell does a college student need credit, or a good credit rating for ?
Forget doing that man. Focus on your books, buy whatever you want/need with CA$H, and forget about credit until you are out and working, like 5 years later.
Read ^ that again, there is abosultely no reason for you to finance anything other than your education (if you have to) right now.
Save the money you would have made payments with, and purchase whatever after all the money is stacked.
You'll be ahead of your game, less stress, and you can watch your kids cars/bikes get repossessed.
**** my 2 cents, but they're MINE, all MINE ****
Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on May 28, 2008, 12:10:15 AM
well not many of us are wealthy terry :icon_rolleyes: :laugh:
Is there something wrong with being wealthy ? I mean, so wrong that you should finance yourself into a hole and then complain about it ? ;)
If you can live without it (credit) then don't get on the merry-go-round but if you must, take your time and shop around - don't overlook the bleedin' obvious and stoll into your local high street bank branch(s).
A good general rule is stay away from people advertising in the newspapers/mags/internet etc if they make it all sound so simple and if you have to go for plastic, do the deal and then slice the card.
Having good credit is overrated. It just means you have bought a bunch of crap that you couldn't afford and payed it off on time. ;)
Having said that...that's ok, as long as you don't overdo it. To each his own. I personally believe that Mr. ohgood is right on the money, though.
My advice is to find a Credit Union. You won't find a lower interest rate than a good credit union would offer. It used to be that only certian professions had credit unions and you had to work at a certain place (Teachers, Government/Military, etc) to become a member. But now lots of them accept members from the puplic. For example...I work for the Federal Aviation Administration, so we had an FAA Credit Union. In the beginning, you had to work for the FAA or certain other government entities to be a member. In the past couple off years, though, they have expanded and let the general public become members. All they require is that you at least open a savings account and maintain a whopping $5 balance.
Right now my Credit Union is offering Motorcycle rates as low as 5.74%. Of course part of that IS based on credit score, but since you say your credit isn't 'bad', you can still probably get a decent rate. Much better than you could get from a regular bank. Good luck!
Credit 100% Directly effects your insurance premiums! Sounds lame ehh.. but its true. You can have 2 DUI's and have lower insurance rates than someone w/ a low credit score.
Credit is looked at for WAY more than just the abillity to accrue debt. Most employers will even pull your credit, insurance co. check it and determine your rate based on it, even the utility co's, car rental co's and many more... Doesnt seem fair, but thats how they roll O0
So CREDIT IS VERY IMPORTAINT!
Like mentioned above, I would only go with your personal bank or a credit union. and the best way to build your credit is a term loan, Like a motorcycle loan. You must pay it to term though, meaning DONT pay it off fast, that makes it worse, not better :thumb:
Depends on the price of the bike and how it's financed.
Our dirtbkes are on a honda card because of the low price of them, they'll be paid off in a couple more months, never pay the minimum amount and it does not hurt to pay off on a schedule that is shorter than the term as long as it's not some sudden lump sum payment and you establish a history of paying more than just the regular amount. They were on a 24 month same as cash deal so I have been paying them at $180 month to pay that account off before intrest begins accruing on the principal owed.
My wifes bike is financed through American Honda Motors it is an auto loan. Paying an extra 20 dollars a month we should have it payed off in 46 instead of 60 months. In doing that extra every month it applies to the principal our monthly statement for her bike is about 1/2 of what the payment should be because we are ahead on payments for the princpal which also reduces the monthly interest payment. These things look good on a credit report if it is a consistent scheduled payment.
Same thing goes with house payments It doesn't matter if it's only 10 dollars extra pay that extra 10 dollars because everything above your scheduled payment applies towards the principal amount.
As a recent college grad I can tell you that student loans hurt your credit score tremendously! Doesn't matter how much or little! As soon as a creditor sees student loan on your application you are almost guaranteed to be turned down!
I ran into this problem while buying my bike! I have a great credit score, but at the time the only things I had on my current history was a house payment and student loans. HSBC (Bank of choice for Suzuki) did not want to give me a loan because they saw the student loans. I had to prove to them that after I paid the payments on all my loans I still had over 60% of my income coming back to me on top of putting almost 50% down on the bike!
Why did I go through this hassle for them? Because my bank was going to charge me 12% where as HSBC charged me 6.9%.
My monthly bike and insurance payments combined are less than it would cost me to put gas in my car for two weeks!
Student loand reallly, no issue for us my wife has 80k in loans and her credit score is better than mine.
My credit score is near perfect... after I jumped through their hoops and proved to them that I had the income to cover everything they approved me for $15,000! NO WAY IN HADES DO I SPEND THAT MUCH ON A BIKE AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE!!!
My Student Loans are only $30,000. I guess they realize that since it's a Federal Student Loan, then it gives the government the authority to garnish tax refunds, wages, etc... if I don't pay them! and since this is a "Toy" then they assumed this would be the last one on the list to get paid.
Doesn't make a lot of sense to me either, that with a near perfect score that something like that would be such a big headache, but it was!
Motorcycles and boats are luxury items or playtoys. The lending guidelines for them are much stricter than for automobiles. Usually anyone who can get factory financed on a bike will have good credit.
Yeah we got pre approved for enough to buy my goldwing when we bought my wifes bike last year, she almost didn't get that pretty blue f4i
I paid cash for my bikes and my credit is crappy.My insurance is low on my bikes but stupid high on my cars.I use two different companies.It comes out cheaper that way.
Quote from: bettingpython on May 28, 2008, 11:27:17 AM
Usually anyone who can get factory financed on a bike will have good credit.
I would have to put some emphasis on "usually" I have seen some people here at work with bellow a 600 and on SSI get a new Gixer with a Suzuki card :o
Scary...
Suzuki card is probably like a honda card. Its Gemoney as the lender I bet, Its a high limit revolving charge account not an auto loan I don't consider the card financing to be real factory finance, as such those cards don't require full coverage insurance :o I know someone who bought their bike on one of those cards then totalled it 2 weeks later. He is still paying for a pile of busted parts in his garage.
HSBC does not require full coverage on anything less than $10,000. I still carry full coverage on it anyway, because I don't want to keep paying for it should something happen like your acquaintance is having to do.
Quote from: bettingpython on May 28, 2008, 12:19:14 PM
Suzuki card is probably like a honda card. Its Gemoney as the lender I bet, Its a high limit revolving charge account not an auto loan I don't consider the card financing to be real factory finance, as such those cards don't require full coverage insurance :o I know someone who bought their bike on one of those cards then totalled it 2 weeks later. He is still paying for a pile of busted parts in his garage.
:laugh: I know many who have bought, got liability and smashed it up within minuets of pulling off the lot. and I mean Minuets... one guy had 2.5 miles on his 08 GSXR750 when we brought it back on the rollback in 2 pieces :cookoo: now that he has it all back and running w/o interest its about a $16K bike, after he is done paying it off it will be about $22K ???
Crazy
Quote from: ohgood on May 28, 2008, 03:32:22 AM
Quote from: yamahonkawazuki on May 28, 2008, 12:10:15 AM
well not many of us are wealthy terry :icon_rolleyes: :laugh:
Is there something wrong with being wealthy ? I mean, so wrong that you should finance yourself into a hole and then complain about it ? ;)
where idd i say that there was something wrong with being wealthy. BUT if one NEEDED a bike for transportation, and not as a toy, i could see financing it. however eventually one will need a credit rating, if anyting to rent an apt even. and i wasnt complaining about anything. btw :nono: ;)
OK, reality check, short of living in a big city with some sort of mass transit authority one would be rather irresponsible to rely on a motorcycle as sole transit if they are in financial situation that neccesitates financing said transportation.
lol sounding like you got your degree already :laugh: but yeah, im just stating a possible reason for financing a bike. but to OP if you must finance. dont to teh dealership/brand card deal, get a bank loan
I relied on a bike for 7years year round as my transportation, one of them I had to take out a loan to get, motor crapped on my 400 and I couldn't get to and from work I bought a decent old gs750 paid of my loan then I had room to breathe and could spend a dollar or two fixng my 400. Wound up with a spare bike for when issues arose and a bike broke down.
I wouldn't finance a new bike in that situation.
P.S. riding in sleet and snow on a naked bike freakin sucks.
YES IT DOES :mad: :mad: :mad:
Haha, not trying to troll and start a war here, I know people have some very strong opinions on financing things.
Being able to afford the bike really isn't the issue. I could wait until the summers over and definately pay for a new fz6 out of pocket without flinching. I'm working a co-op for the next seven months that pays maybe 20% less than my full time job will when I finish my degree this time next year so I've got a little play money.
Also I don't rely on the bike transportation, but I'll be running home a few times (300 mi each way) over the summer and that could definately save me some major gas money (plus 100x more fun). I've just been told good credit opens a lot of doors and this might be an easy way to build it. It seems like a lot of voodoo goes into determining your credit score.
+1 on snow and sleet, I'll never forget the hour ride i did while it was snowing and I was definately under dressed.
I'm definately not taking the financing decision lightly and I want to do some more research, sounds like bank loans are the way to go though.
I am currently financing my '04 F model. My credit was horrible due to hospital bills ( Don't ever get sick) so a friend co-signed for me to get the bike. It is financed through HSBC which is the way to go if we would have went with the Suzuki line of credit it is actually a credit card and the intrest fluctuates. The bike had 5,000 miles on it and was in pristine condition base price was 3,000. It may not be the way to go for you but Murphy's law always applies to me so I got the full- extened warranty (life of loan), Maintainance plan ( I don't gotta touch the bike for life of loan they do all servicing), gap insurance (first bike didn't want to wreck it and pay for a pile of junk), disability insurance ( I have a heart problem so extra protection), low jack, and all of my gear jacket, pants and helmet. I put down 2,000 and my minimum payment is $127 a month which I will take to heart and start paying an extra amount each month to help on principle! Thinking back now I don't think I would have gotten the maintainance plan it was $800 but since I was new to bikes and didn't realize how easy the 500 is to keep up. And from what a lot of people say that low jack which was $700 is useless it keeps the insurance down and does have a gaurantee.
In the end the 3,000 dollar bike will cost over five. But, I needed a way to start working on the credit. And as of now it costs less monthly than my car that is paid off because of gas and insurance rates! This is my experience I hope this helps!
Mary S.
Mary S.
ahhhh yes hospital bills. i remember that, when i was in the first of april, racked up almost 10k, theyve forgiven all but 1200 of it. and could go even lower if i can figure that part out :thumb: :oops:
Hope you got your medical issues figured out. Was worried about you for awhile!
mary S.
ima tryin, still one more ( at least doc visit left) jus gotta find a doc first lols. anyhoo [/threadjack]
maybe late reply but... DON'T DO IT!!! it's a trap! 8) srsly.
save some cash and buy a 96+ instead. A new bike is not worth it (imo)
agreed, let someone else take teh depreciation hit
Try your bank or credit union.
failing that try www.lendingtree.com
Don't use dealer financing.
Everyone has ther own way to get their bike that specificaly meets their needs. Whith that said, if I was to purchase a new bikethenI would go through a credit union for financing due to their rates generally being cheaper and the profits doesn't go to a banking organization or through the dealer if thay have agood deal like when GMAC gave me a 0% loan for 5 yrs. :) Based on your cost of living and your income ratio you might want to save up for a down payment and look at gap insurance as well (do a cost analysis.) I don't know many people that can purchase many big ticketed items with cash, most people will ahve to make these purchases through loans, you just have to be smart about the debt that you incur. You might even want to discuss this with a loan officer at the credit union.
---- Best of luck JIM :) "slowely crawling out of Debt"
Late reply, but
Lendingclub.com
If your credit is 640+ then you have a good shot at getting in...I got $4000 personal loan at less than 8% for 36 months.. 4g's was direct-deposited >:D
Oh yeah like the other poster said GET GAP INSURANCE
Quote from: GeeP on May 27, 2008, 10:02:50 PM
I suppose it depends on how badly you want to get raped and become "part of the system".
Would you like the red pill or the blue pill? :)
Personally, I don't play the credit game. Don't know what my credit score is, don't care.
Hear Hear GeeP...
I always say that if you can't afford to pay, it isn't time to play.
Now that being said, keep in mind of a couple things
-can you afford to have full insurance on the bike? if you finance a vehicle, some insurance companies require that you get FULL insurance.
-If you crash and total the bike, will you be in financial hardships?
-If some @$$hole steals the bike, will you be in financial hardships?
-If something MINOR happens in your life, will you still be able to afford the payments?
-etc...
PLEASE think hard on this topic. I'd hate to see another "I HAVE TO SELL MY BIKE BECAUSE...." or "I HAVE THIS HUGE DEBT BECAUSE..." thread.