Topic: Motorcycle financing...

[nickjtc]

Cash is king my friend.

I would beg to differ, in my limited experience. For the reasons already mentioned, but also because the salesman would rather make ten deals that are financed, making maximum profits, than one where he has to drop trou'.

[tsflstb]

I'd think using a low-interest credit card promotion as a short-term loan would be the way to go if you can't pay cash.  Even if you have the cash, if they offer a 2.99% rate, keep your cash in a higher-yield money market account and come out ahead.

The big turd in the financing punchbowl is insurance.  I'm pretty sure financing a bike through a bank or dealership requires you have full coverage.  If you ever need some excitement in your day, call around for quotes on a new GSXR 1000, R1 or the like.  Talk about high risk...I've heard of people paying about 1/3 the value of those $10,000 bikes in 1 year of insurance premiums.

[edbikerii]

Yeah, there goes another reason not to buy anything you can't actually afford.  You've got to insure other people's money, so you'll be paying more.  It is only fair, after all, considering how quickly those sportbikes end up wrecked, especially when ridden by the personality type who would finance a sportbike in the first place.

The big turd in the financing punchbowl is insurance.  I'm pretty sure financing a bike through a bank or dealership requires you have full coverage.  If you ever need some excitement in your day, call around for quotes on a new GSXR 1000, R1 or the like.  Talk about high risk...I've heard of people paying about 1/3 the value of those $10,000 bikes in 1 year of insurance premiums.

[BobbyR]

I'd think using a low-interest credit card promotion as a short-term loan would be the way to go if you can't pay cash.  Even if you have the cash, if they offer a 2.99% rate, keep your cash in a higher-yield money market account and come out ahead.

The big turd in the financing punchbowl is insurance.  I'm pretty sure financing a bike through a bank or dealership requires you have full coverage.  If you ever need some excitement in your day, call around for quotes on a new GSXR 1000, R1 or the like.  Talk about high risk...I've heard of people paying about 1/3 the value of those $10,000 bikes in 1 year of insurance premiums.

You are correct about leveraging your money using that 2.99% rate. It takes discipline just like gambling, they are betting you will not pay off in time. That minimum payment is very enticing and that is all they want. Like casinos they understand human nature. You can hack the system. I had a loan on a new SUV, flipped it to 0% CC and essentially flipped it from CC to CC and paid the truck off bascically in cash over a 3 year period. I knew the system, I worked it and I walked away with a mega FICO score. It took disclipline.