Does any wheelbuilder offer 0% finance?

Maxxypriest

I'm thinking of possibly going down the handbuilt route but not looking to shell out a decent amount all at once

Does anyone know if any decent wheelbuilder offers 0% finance to be able to spread the load over say 12 months?

This would also help hide the cost from the Treasurer in doors

Ta

Scott

ugo.santalucia

Access to credit is what allowed big retailers to become huge and small retailers to be squeezed. It's Walmart, it's Tesco, it's what you should stand against if you are looking for an artisan made product. I doubt any wheel builder would have enough cash flow to survive offering credit, let alone 0% credit.

Maxxypriest

Thanks Ugo

Maybe I'm looking for the best of both worlds and something may need to give

Cheers

mattmaximus

Get a new credit card on 0% and use a wheel builder who takes cards / accepts PayPal.

jumbosausage

Flexible friend?

cycleclinic

Persoanlly I am against credit and hire purchase just because if you do not have the cash up front you can't really afford to buy it. The exception is of course houses but they tend to appreicate with time wheels do not. I do not even run my business on finance it runs on the cash it generates and it is quite healthy because of that.

Credit cards were invented for those that want credit easily. 0% finance means you don't even own the wheels until they are paid for.

majormantra

^^this.

Putting yourself in debt (because that's what credit is) for a luxury item like handbuilt wheels does not make sense.

veronese68

I agree with the above couple of posts. If you are paying on credit because you can't pay up front, and then you damage a rim you may then be struggling to pay for the repair.

rolf_f

thecycleclinic wrote:

The exception is of course houses but they tend to appreicate with time wheels do not.

And besides, the cost of buying, even with a mortgage, is still cheaper in the long run than renting.

Houses aside, if I couldn't afford to buy something outright, I wouldn't buy it. The pleasure of buying some bling should never last less time than it takes to pay it off.

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Access to credit is what allowed big retailers to become huge and small retailers to be squeezed. It's Walmart, it's Tesco, it's what you should stand against if you are looking for an artisan made product.

And this sums it up perfectly. Otherwise we end up with the likes of Ugo and Cycleclinic selling us stuff for less than it costs them to buy the parts, as the supermarkets do (and which is why I never go in them), and that is never a good thing in the long term.

ugo.santalucia

Rolf F wrote:

And this sums it up perfectly. Otherwise we end up with the likes of Ugo and Cycleclinic selling us stuff for less than it costs them to buy the parts, as the supermarkets do (and which is why I never go in them), and that is never a good thing in the long term.

They have a strange business model... they sell you milk and cheese and frozen crap for less than they buy it for, but then they overcharge you if you want broccoli of green beans or anything vaguely healthy. The price of fresh vegetables is simply ludicrous. There should be a law in place to prevent excessive competition and promote fair pricing, as the result is obesity and diabetes... so you buy your crap cheap, but then you pay 10 fold for the NHS.
Problem is, even the NHS makes up GDP, so as a paradox a nation of obese and ill people is technically wealthier than one that is healthier...

We are on a good path, if extinction is the plan...

Off topic?

wishitwasallflat

I agree in principle with all that's been said above - but - I currently ride a £1000 bike which I bought on interest free credit from Specialized. There is no way I could have bought that bike outright and (yes I appreciate it may show weakness and lack of resolve on my part) there is equally no way I could have saved up £1000 pounds in the year I paid it off.

So I agree with the above but not in every circumstance! Difficult position for me but maybe the bike to me was a basic necessity - for me bling wheels are not and never would be. When I needed new wheels or parts I have paid for all of them and kept within a price range I could (kind of) afford (using credit cards sometimes though to spread the burden). I think this makes me:

a) confused or
b) a hypocrite!

ugo.santalucia

wishitwasallflat wrote:

So I agree with the above but not in every circumstance! Difficult position for me but maybe the bike to me was a basic necessity - for me bling wheels are not and never would be. When I needed new wheels or parts I have paid for all of them and kept within a price range I could (kind of) afford (using credit cards sometimes though to spread the burden). I think this makes me:

a) confused or
b) a hypocrite!

I think the point that is being made is that you cannot ask an artisan to become a retailer with an incorporated financial institution... as he would stop building wheels, buy them cheap from the far east, sticker them and sell them to you at zero finance... it's called... it's called Planet X, I think...

littledove44

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

And this sums it up perfectly. Otherwise we end up with the likes of Ugo and Cycleclinic selling us stuff for less than it costs them to buy the parts, as the supermarkets do (and which is why I never go in them), and that is never a good thing in the long term.

They have a strange business model... they sell you milk and cheese and frozen crap for less than they buy it for, but then they overcharge you if you want broccoli of green beans or anything vaguely healthy. The price of fresh vegetables is simply ludicrous. There should be a law in place to prevent excessive competition and promote fair pricing, as the result is obesity and diabetes... so you buy your crap cheap, but then you pay 10 fold for the NHS.
Problem is, even the NHS makes up GDP, so as a paradox a nation of obese and ill people is technically wealthier than one that is healthier...

We are on a good path, if extinction is the plan...

Off topic?

Just a smidge.

paulbox

Lol, there is one hell of a lot of sanctimonious people on this forum… :P

ugo.santalucia

PaulBox wrote:

Lol, there is one hell of a lot of sanctimonious people on this forum… :P

You are right... thankfully there are still some who question whether a monopoly/oligopoly world and personal debt out of control are a good thing. Higher moral ground? I think so... and with good reasons!

charlie_potatoes

ugo.santalucia wrote:

They have a strange business model... they sell you milk and cheese and frozen crap for less than they buy it for, but then they overcharge you if you want broccoli of green beans or anything vaguely healthy. The price of fresh vegetables is simply ludicrous.

Isn't milk vaguely healthy?
I always think that the healthier food is the least expensive. Many people cannot be bothered with the added preparation so end up eating rubbish and becoming obese.

oneiroi

wishitwasallflat wrote:

I agree in principle with all that's been said above - but - I currently ride a £1000 bike which I bought on interest free credit from Specialized. There is no way I could have bought that bike outright and (yes I appreciate it may show weakness and lack of resolve on my part) there is equally no way I could have saved up £1000 pounds in the year I paid it off.

So I agree with the above but not in every circumstance! Difficult position for me but maybe the bike to me was a basic necessity - for me bling wheels are not and never would be. When I needed new wheels or parts I have paid for all of them and kept within a price range I could (kind of) afford (using credit cards sometimes though to spread the burden). I think this makes me:

a) confused or
b) a hypocrite!

Neither. Cashflow is incredibly important. Finance is a way of modifying income such that expenses better match cashflow, enabling you to save/benefit in the long run. It is also why individual small business owners are less likely to offer 0% financing - to offer it either means paying a company to finance it for them, or compromising their cashflow (and taking on credit risk) as they will need to pay their costs without having received income. That effect diminishes with increasing size - it's cheaper for a big business to offer financing than a smaller one, and it is down to cashflow (and big business effectively getting free funding from smaller ones owing to their payment schedules).

wishitwasallflat

Milk (like most natural things) is very good for what it evolved for - raising baby cows till they can eat and digest grass - never been sure why humans drink it myself.

wishitwasallflat

oneiroi wrote:

wishitwasallflat wrote:

I agree in principle with all that's been said above - but - I currently ride a £1000 bike which I bought on interest free credit from Specialized. There is no way I could have bought that bike outright and (yes I appreciate it may show weakness and lack of resolve on my part) there is equally no way I could have saved up £1000 pounds in the year I paid it off.

So I agree with the above but not in every circumstance! Difficult position for me but maybe the bike to me was a basic necessity - for me bling wheels are not and never would be. When I needed new wheels or parts I have paid for all of them and kept within a price range I could (kind of) afford (using credit cards sometimes though to spread the burden). I think this makes me:

a) confused or
b) a hypocrite!

Neither. Cashflow is incredibly important. Finance is a way of modifying income such that expenses better match cashflow, enabling you to save/benefit in the long run. It is also why individual small business owners are less likely to offer 0% financing - to offer it either means paying a company to finance it for them, or compromising their cashflow (and taking on credit risk) as they will need to pay their costs without having received income. That effect diminishes with increasing size - it's cheaper for a big business to offer financing than a smaller one, and it is down to cashflow (and big business effectively getting free funding from smaller ones owing to their payment schedules).

Nice - I feel better now that resolved my conflicted conscience.

oneiroi

wishitwasallflat wrote:

oneiroi wrote:

wishitwasallflat wrote:

I agree in principle with all that's been said above - but - I currently ride a £1000 bike which I bought on interest free credit from Specialized. There is no way I could have bought that bike outright and (yes I appreciate it may show weakness and lack of resolve on my part) there is equally no way I could have saved up £1000 pounds in the year I paid it off.

So I agree with the above but not in every circumstance! Difficult position for me but maybe the bike to me was a basic necessity - for me bling wheels are not and never would be. When I needed new wheels or parts I have paid for all of them and kept within a price range I could (kind of) afford (using credit cards sometimes though to spread the burden). I think this makes me:

a) confused or
b) a hypocrite!

Neither. Cashflow is incredibly important. Finance is a way of modifying income such that expenses better match cashflow, enabling you to save/benefit in the long run. It is also why individual small business owners are less likely to offer 0% financing - to offer it either means paying a company to finance it for them, or compromising their cashflow (and taking on credit risk) as they will need to pay their costs without having received income. That effect diminishes with increasing size - it's cheaper for a big business to offer financing than a smaller one, and it is down to cashflow (and big business effectively getting free funding from smaller ones owing to their payment schedules).

Nice - I feel better now that resolved my conflicted conscience.

HTH. 8)

I hope we're both being a little tongue in cheek

drlodge

Getting back on topic a smidge...a set of handbuilt wheels is going to cost around £300, its not a fortune. Save up the £300 then get those handbuilt wheels. Simples.

Maxxypriest

Jeezo - I leave this thread for a day or so and look what happens!

What I was looking for was a decent set of handbuilts (rather than your off the shelf Mavics etc) and was trying to hide the expense from the missus

I could afford to buy outright but squandering a decent amount of cash (I thought they'd be more than £300 as I'm trying to get better than my Elites) isn't a conversation that I was looking to have as I already seemingly spend too much on my hobby already

Now I've been educated on the reasons why, I'll secretly squirrel away some spare cash over the next few months then but them outright

Cheers all

veronese68

Maxxypriest wrote:

Jeezo - I leave this thread for a day or so and look what happens!

What I was looking for was a decent set of handbuilts (rather than your off the shelf Mavics etc) and was trying to hide the expense from the missus

I could afford to buy outright but squandering a decent amount of cash (I thought they'd be more than £300 as I'm trying to get better than my Elites) isn't a conversation that I was looking to have as I already seemingly spend too much on my hobby already

Now I've been educated on the reasons why, I'll secretly squirrel away some spare cash over the next few months then but them outright

Cheers all

Good lord, if that's the case definitey go with squirreling away cash for a bit. Any sort of finance agreement could leave a paper trail and make chances of being found out significanly higher and also making it look more expensive. In this case cash is very definitely king.

So I'm told, I've never contemplated hiding purchases :oops:

Anonymous

I used to often have something on 0% when I was younger (one thing at a time).
You do not notice the monthly payments too much and I thought it got you a good credit rating which might come in handy for the future.

Use credit, but use it wisely I say.

My main bikes still got about a year to go. I have had two great years on it so far and I have owned it the whole time......Its my bike!

ugo.santalucia

Carbonator wrote:

My main bikes still got about a year to go.

DId it come with a use by date?
Gotta check my 1980 Sannino... maybe the warning is hidden behind the Columbus sticker...

robbo2011

Maxxypriest wrote:

What I was looking for was a decent set of handbuilts (rather than your off the shelf Mavics etc) and was trying to hide the expense from the missus

If you are running Elites already, my advice would be use them until they are knackered as a set of handbuilts isn't really going to make any different in terms of performance compared with the Elites. You'd be wasting your money, Elites are perfectly good wheels.

rolf_f

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Carbonator wrote:

My main bikes still got about a year to go.

DId it come with a use by date?
Gotta check my 1980 Sannino... maybe the warning is hidden behind the Columbus sticker...

I love the bottles of mineral water that say things like "The waters of Armstrong spring are as pure as the rainwater that fed the aquifer 5000 years ago. Best before 6th June 2014"..........

wannabecyclist

Staying off topic I brought my bike on 0% simply because it meant I could leave the 2k in my ISA gaining 3% interest (oh those glorious days), so getting me a bit more interest. Yes o% is bad if you will struggle to pay it back like all these people who try to keep up with the Jones', doesn't mean everyone using that route is struggling though. However I agree it is bad for a small but highly skilled business like wheelbuilders not working for a chain LBS.

veronese68

On that theme, I've finished paying for my bike on the Cyclesheme. Time to buy another?

Dodger747

Some absolute drivel posted in this thread... :roll: