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Did you finance your bike?

Mr. White

Mr. White

Active member
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Location
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Moto(s)
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If you did, who is your lender (bank, credit union, etc.) and what's your interest rate? Are there any lenders that specialize in motorcycle loans?

Thanks!
 
Yes.. I worked for 6 weeks.. saved $600 and purchased my motorcycle outright. :laughing

Don't just think about the purchase price.. think about what it costs for insurance and tires and maintence.. it's not cheap..

Tires will run you about $300 a set.. Insurance will be another ~$150 a month for full coverage.. A service? ~$500.. (after 1500 miles) it adds up fast..
 
Ironbutt said:
Yes.. I worked for 6 weeks.. saved $600 and purchased my motorcycle outright. :laughing

Don't just think about the purchase price.. think about what it costs for insurance and tires and maintence.. it's not cheap..

Tires will run you about $300 a set.. Insurance will be another ~$150 a month for full coverage.. A service? ~$500.. (after 1500 miles) it adds up fast..
Click to expand...

Thanks. I payed cash for my SV, but I'm thinking about buying a new bike and financing it. I'm well aware of the other costs involved in owning a motorcycle. $150/month for insurance? That's what I pay in 6 months.
 
first off, don't go to a m/c dealer to find out your credit score...

go to your bank/credit union to find out your credit score and history.....see if the banks like you at all...

look at the manufacturer website and see if there are special promotions in which we'll get back to later...

if you got good credit, your interest rate should be lower...if you got mediocre, your interest will be higher...if you are a special risk, forget about financing a bike and find other ways to fix your credit history cuz you're gonna pay some outrageous interest fees...

manufacturers offer "low interest for 36 months" or "$99 for 36 months" which seems attractive if you can pay it off within 36 months but if not, you are screwed cuz the interest rates will jump dramatically....

do the math on any $99 a month promotion and most of the time it doesn't even come close to pay off a bike and sometimes the first month be $99 but in the months to follow you will see the payment demands from the manufacturer lender increase...

that's how japanese m/c dealers lure you in and sucker you to sign the dotted line..

these are the tricks a japanese m/c dealer will fuck you over with with a smile and not always tell you the full details...

credit unions are usually fixed ...may be a bit higher interest but you won't be surprised like a japanese m/c dealership would...

european manufacturers often offer straightforward financings without the games you will encounter from a japanese dealership but you gotta wait when a good rate is available and if you got the proper credit score to get it....

patience is key...know your own credit score before walking into a dealer...check the websites to see the promotions and if you qualify but know the details and look for any catches cuz there always are some.....look over the paperwork and if it seems questionable, don't sign...have them explain the full details....
 
secure a CC or loan with a very low fixed apr. Then buy the bike and haggle the price since they are going to finance you. Transfer the bike's cost to the CC or loan and enjoy the low fixed apr.

Or get a loan from a bank and go to the dealer with cash. Haggle the price and move the debt to the new CC or loan.

I did this for my last bike and got a nice fixed 2.99% from penfed.com
 
V4 said:
first off, don't go to a m/c dealer to find out your credit score...

go to your bank/credit union to find out your credit score and history.....see if the banks like you at all...

look at the manufacturer website and see if there are special promotions in which we'll get back to later...

if you got good credit, your interest rate should be lower...if you got mediocre, your interest will be higher...if you are a special risk, forget about financing a bike and find other ways to fix your credit history cuz you're gonna pay some outrageous interest fees...

manufacturers offer "low interest for 36 months" or "$99 for 36 months" which seems attractive if you can pay it off within 36 months but if not, you are screwed cuz the interest rates will jump dramatically....

do the math on any $99 a month promotion and most of the time it doesn't even come close to pay off a bike and sometimes the first month be $99 but in the months to follow you will see the payment demands from the manufacturer lender increase...

that's how japanese m/c dealers lure you in and sucker you to sign the dotted line..

these are the tricks a japanese m/c dealer will fuck you over with with a smile and not always tell you the full details...

credit unions are usually fixed ...may be a bit higher interest but you won't be surprised like a japanese m/c dealership would...

european manufacturers often offer straightforward financings without the games you will encounter from a japanese dealership but you gotta wait when a good rate is available and if you got the proper credit score to get it....

patience is key...know your own credit score before walking into a dealer...check the websites to see the promotions and if you qualify but know the details and look for any catches cuz there always are some.....look over the paperwork and if it seems questionable, don't sign...have them explain the full details....
Click to expand...

Thanks. I bought a condo at the end of '09, so I know my credit score already.

I'm not going for any funky variable rate loan. I want a standard fixed rate loan. I'm more curious about who people use as a lender and what interest rates they're paying.

I've never financed a bike and have only financed a car once back in '04. It was through the car manufacturer (VW) when they were having a crazy .09% 5 year promo.
 
Dealers will very often give you a lower price if you are financing. With the Buell I was prepared to pay cash but they gave me a lower OTD price with the loan so I financed it and then paid it off immediately.

Very often the dealer gets incentives from the loan company they work with. When I bought my wife's RX-8, I paid $1000 less (got the price down below $21k) because I financed through their company. I then went to my credit union and got a lower interest rate.
 
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car loans are better than m/c loans...

what bike are you looking at..?
 
oh...

great bike...nevermind what i said about the japanese dealers...

have fun and enjoy...:cool
 
Mr. White said:
Thanks. I payed cash for my SV, but I'm thinking about buying a new bike and financing it. I'm well aware of the other costs involved in owning a motorcycle. $150/month for insurance? That's what I pay in 6 months.
Click to expand...

Well.. if you already know.. why do you ask? :)

Rephrase the question.. "I want to buy a new motorcycle; will y'all validate my buying experience so I feel better about spending 15k on a motorcycle?" :p
 
Mr. White said:
Street Triple R. I rode it on Saturday and fell in love...:ride
Click to expand...

LOL

Yeah same boat. I'm getting 6.5% for three years through Tech CU. I have the cash, but I'd rather have the cash, you know? At 6.5% the cost of borrowing is nearly trivial.
 
V4 said:
..european manufacturers often offer straightforward financings without the games you will encounter from a japanese dealership but you gotta wait when a good rate is available and if you got the proper credit score to get it....
Click to expand...

Yeah. First and foremost, know your FICO score and what the cutoffs are for tier1, tier 2, etc. Sometimes dealers offer really competitive, fixed rate financing. So long as you play by the rules (no defaulting) its a great deal. Go in and talk to them about it. See what they are offering.

A side benefit of the recession were banks now follow stricter lending guidelines and alot of those subprime traps/tricks are gone now.

Also, a credit union is an excellent venue for financing. If you don't belong to one, join one (affiliation or employer sponsored). They literally beg you to take out a loan and the terms are really good.

I've financed two bikes from dealerships so far, and both have been uneventful.
 
No, and I wouldn't. I can't imagine paying enough money for a toy that I had to finance it.
Allow me to dismount my high-and-mighty horse so that you may now mock me for renting an apartment as opposed to owning a home :)
 
reidconti said:
No, and I wouldn't. I can't imagine paying enough money for a toy that I had to finance it.
Allow me to dismount my high-and-mighty horse so that you may now mock me for renting an apartment as opposed to owning a home :)
Click to expand...

Though my bike is more than a toy, I agree.
 
reidconti said:
No, and I wouldn't. I can't imagine paying enough money for a toy that I had to finance it.
Allow me to dismount my high-and-mighty horse so that you may now mock me for renting an apartment as opposed to owning a home :)
Click to expand...

:thumbup

this..

but if you gotta finance remember this:

behind that friendly smile of a m/c salesperson or finance manager, he or she goes home at the end of the day and punches a kitten in the face while it's sleeping...

best defense to know when at any dealership...
 
Aluisious said:
LOL

Yeah same boat. I'm getting 6.5% for three years through Tech CU. I have the cash, but I'd rather have the cash, you know? At 6.5% the cost of borrowing is nearly trivial.
Click to expand...

:thumbup I'm thinking the same way. I typically don't like to borrow money, but at this point I would rather spend someone elses $$ and keep mine in the bank.
 
6.5% on a bike? Ouch. I've financed with 'promotional' 0% and 1.9% rates (and paid them off before the rates jumped), that's about my limit.
 
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