Should I finance a motorcycle through the dealer or a bank?


Share |

I am 21 years old and live in the state of California. I currently have no loans for any kind for vehicles or any student loans. Held a full time job for over a year and get around $30,000 a year. I was just wondering on anybody else's 2¢ on how I should do this. I ride all the time just never bought myself...


Banks in Chester, GA



Answer (4):

Save The Planet

Get pre qualified with your own institution. The dealer makes more money by tricking you into paying higher interest. They get a kickback from the finance companies when they get you to sign sales contracts for higher interest rates. You have more power to deal over price when you have your own financing already.

But your credit score seems low. You should have got a credit card by now. You should have at least one. Discover is a good one for people just starting out and they are easier with approvals for people with lower credit scores. Proper credit card management means you pay your credit card off every month in full. You should never carry a balance on a credit card for more than a month or two. Credit cards are not for things you cannot afford. Credit cards are for the convenience of paying them off on pay day. A credit card that has a balance on it for more than a few months actually lowers your credit score instead of improving it.

I think you are going to have to pay higher interest with a credit score of only 600-604. You will be lucky to get financed with that credit score. You should request a copy of your credit report to see what is on it;

annualcreditreport.com

To get your free yearly credit reports from Transunion, Equifax and Experian.

The addresses to write letters to in order to dispute items on your credit report:

Transunion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022

Equifax
PO Box 105314
Atlanta, GA 30348

Experian
PO Box 9701
Allen, TX 75013

Always send letters via certified mail with return receipt and be sure to save a copy and staple all the receipts to the copy of the letter, especially the return receipt card.

Also, here is a great website that offers credit clean-up information from Howard Clark who is a respected financial guru;

http://clarkhoward.com/news/clark-ho...

Here is a government consumer website for complaining about harassment from collection companies. You can also complain about the credit reporting agencies if they fail to fix erroneous information on your credit report. They actually contact the agency and go to work for you;

http://consumerfinance.gov/

DEBS

Walk into the dealer with a pre-qualified loan. If they can give you a better overall price (purchase and interest rate) then go with them. If not use the bank loan. Know the total cost of the bike over the life of the loan from your bank. Try to get the same from the dealer as they play with price and interest rate to offer you a deal. There are websites you can plug in the numbers and it will show you the total cost of the purchase.

Joe

Don't worry, they won't take advantage of you for being a first time buyer so much as they will your lousy credit score. If you can get a loan, and that's a mighty big IF, prepare to pay a king's ransom in interest.

Casey Y

Try your own bank first, especially if you have your paycheck sent by direct deposit. They will likely offer a better rate than the dealership.