0% Finance

jay12

has anyone used it to buy a bike?
how long does it take to fill up the application?
how long do you wait for the decision?
and is it any good?

basically this seems like an option if i would want to buy a 2010 orange crush because they sell really quickly. it looks likea good idea IMO

joed05

first, you need to be over 18 (not saying that your not though )
1:Yes, my new Glory
2: About 10 minutes
3: another few minutes
$: HELL YES!!! £90 a month for a couple of years for the Glory, i cant complain =]
also, you will need either £100 or a 10% deposit, depending on the bike shop

jay12

it will be on my dad. i'm only 14.
thanks for the info. sunset mtb let you pay a maximum of £800 deposit so i'll pay around £600 and pay about £50 a month for 10 months. or something like that :roll:
thanks again

Anonymous

finance is only ever a good idea if you are going to keep the thing you are financing for longer than the finance takes to pay.

i get through bikes too quickly to consider it but with a hefty deposit, it makes the whole thing look very affordable.

nferrar

If you cna't afford to pay it all upfront (or wait until you can) then either do it on credit card and switch the balance to another 0% card straight after or do it on 0% finance. The credit card option can be a bit cheaper as you can usually get a discount on the bike but balance transfer fees are around 3% so it's not a huge saving - you're also not forced to pay it back each month so you can end up not making a dent in it 9 months later. I'm planning 0% finance for my next bike...

Anonymous

Credit card is not a good way to go. Virtually guaranteed to get you into trouble.

bomberesque

I agree. credit is a big hole. It's designed that way. 14 is no age to start digging yourself into it, even if it is your dad who's guaranteeing it.

save some money then buy what you can afford. Borrow some money from your Dad if necessary (better to owe him money than the banks)

credit cards are evil. And not in a good way.

fcumok

I always get mine on a 0% credit card and never have any trouble. However wouldn't like the idea of getting any credit if I was 14.

182_blue

Remember there's no such thing as 0% finance generally, ask them what a cash price would be to see how much the 0% is costing you, or if there selling at full rrp see how much the bike is online at other Retailers

Nik_B

My two pence...Don't spend what you don't have!

I once bought a very posh laptop with my credit card, couldn't really afford it and didn't even have the money to up my house insurance to cover contents. Sods law dictated that I got broke into and my laptop amongst other things stolen. For a year I was paying for something I didn't have. These days I refuse to borrow money for anything other than my mortgage.

To the op just get a bike you can afford and enjoy it. There are so many things that could happen to turn a dream purchase in to a potential nightmare. Breakages, lack of funds to maintain it or buy all the kit you need and of course theft.

Also at 14 years old you're probably going to carry on growing so you might find you've outgrown your bike but still have to keep up the payments.

pte1643

Have bought a motorbike on 0% before.

Was pretty much hassle free, and took only a few minutes.

It's already been said, but the only real "Catch" is that you'll most likely end up paying the full RRP, and will probably (definitely) get a better price elsewhere.

Only thing I would say though is don't pay a bigger deposit than they are after... It's 0%, so putting more down DOESN'T make a huge difference to your monthly repayments. You're better off keeping the money in your own acount and earning some interest on it.

The (Motor) bike shop wanted £200 deposit, so I offered to pay £2000, but he worked it out in front of me and the extra £1800 only made a difference of £20 a month.

Anonymous

182_blue wrote:

Remember there's no such thing as 0% finance generally, ask them what a cash price would be to see how much the 0% is costing you, or if there selling at full rrp see how much the bike is online at other Retailers

This is also nonsense.
Plenty of shops offer 0% finance, with no hidden strings attatched. It just helps them shift bikes.

bomberesque

but nothing is for free. the financing has to be paid for somehow. Either through a fee paid by the shop to the financing company or through the lost interest on the money itself, if the bikeshop carries the financing internally. Either way, there's always a cost and so the shop should always be able to let a bike out the door cheaper for cash than on credit. whether they choose to make that offer or not, well that's something else, but it's a pretty competitive market out there.

The other way is a very cynical one, that is the financing company take the financing for free because they bet on the fact that a proportion of repayers will miss payments and so start to incur penalty interest rates. I don't know for sure if anyone does this, but I could imagine the model... after all it's quite close to the Credit card (or charge card) model). Anyway, you don't want to end up in that situation.....

nferrar

I disagree - most shops that do 0% finance state that any discount offers don't apply as they're basically using that extra bit of margin to offset the finance cost, same reason why most sale bikes aren't offered with 0% as they're already being sold with a minimal margin. There maybe the odd exception ofc.

meesterbond

Legally you can't offer an item at different prices for cash / credit... The Consumer Credit Act is pretty strict on that... that said, due to the fact that someone, somewhere is paying the interest on the loan, your ability to negotiate a good deal if using credit is severely compromised.

Cash is king, as the cliche goes, and that's never been more true. Save your readies, and be prepare to negotiate on price / freebies or walk away...

jay12

hmmmmm :? this got me thinking. but i want a orange crush, let me ephasise that ORANGE CRUSH they go out of the shops so quicly so when i have the money it's likely that they have alll gone. but i am opting for a 15" frame size which there are some left later next year. i'm not sure how much my dad could borrow me so it depends on that really. but i really want and in a way need a new bike.
but i have decided and will wait till i have the money. thanks for the info guys. but i just wonder if you could reserve a bike :?

dynamis_dk

Most get round it by limiting any discount they are able to give, I kniow for a fact if you walk into stif.co.uk in leeds you can get a better price for stuff in paid outright then they will ever give you for financed deals.

Personally i get along fine with 0% finanace deals. Easy to setup and simple way to spread payment. Only really starts to be nasty if you miss payments or take on too many 0% at once.

The nasty ones are 0% for 12 months, then pay - steer clear of those. If you don't pay before the 12 month deadline they sometime default to stupid rates like 36 months @ 29% apr... ouch!!

KonaKurt

Call me old fashioned and blessed with common sense, but I was always brought up to understand the value of money. In other words, if you cannot buy something with cash upfront, then you cannot afford it.

For that matter, if you cannot comfortably afford something after you have paid your living expenses FIRST, then don't buy it and go without. I have never understood youngsters who spend a small fortune on a £2000 bike, buy it using HP or credit, and then get themselves slowly into increasing debt, and all for something they don't really need or intend to use properly.

Same applies to cars and 'boy racer custom jobs'. It's all about vanity in front of their 'mates' if you ask me, but that's a different rant altogether.

If you are lucky enough to have cash to spare, and know what you want and why you want it, then good luck and have fun

KK.