Finance in the UK

[Kowalski]

Hello all, this is my first post:

I passed my test last Thursday(27th Sept) Been looking into getting a street triple but I wasnt very happy with the APR offered by my nearest dealer following my enquiry. Here's what I received

"Hi thanks for your enquiry re the Street triple. This machine has beeen
recieved very well and as a result if you placed an order now you would not
see a white or black one untill January. A roullette green one would not
arrive untill March!!!
As for finance a £1000 deposit would leave you with £4349 to pay. Over 36
months this would be £151.22. APR 16.7."

16.7%!

seems like madness to me. Is this normal?

[gaptooth grin]

16.9 is beyond the pale,its down right immoral,i currently pay no interest beyond 6 ,but then to get these kind of rates , you pretty much have to prove that you dont need to buy money anyway,cause thats all we are doing, is buying money,but hey if it gets you in the wind,so much for the better,but if i were you id , put every spare dime i could in to it and pay it of earlier ,that way you can knock down , your over all finance costs ,,,good luck and good riding !

[Jon.sb]

It's interesting to note that while my local dealer was doing 0% on Daytona 675's they were not offering the same for the Street so I guess it comes down to the dealer network looking for ways to encourage you to buy when bikes aren't moving and right now they have no need to work hard to sell Strips.

My suggestion is to be very wary. You may get a deal that looks good at first but has penalties associated with early payment which means they have you by the short and curlies even if your finacial situation improves a little one year down the road.

Jon

[Upstart]

Get a personal loan from a bank or building society you should be able to get a fairly good rate of 7% if you shop around, i got my loan with sainsburys.Northern Rock were quite competitive but not sure now after all there troubles.

[spiki-spikester]

Try Alliance & Leicester. Usually they offer the best rates & dealers don't bother even trying to compete.

They used to offer 5.9%, but due to the credit crunch it has gone up to about 6.7%. In the current market you probably won't beat that.

If you buy a bike or car magazine, they often have a flyer advertising the latest rate in them. I think they advertise in the back of mags like Bike, etc, too.

good luck

[Diego]

I have no experience with financing purchases in the UK, but if it's anything like here, the dealer may act as agent for a number of lending companies. It's to their financial benefit to write a contract at a high APR if they have a customer who can't get a better line of credit elsewhere. However, they probably also represent other financiers who can do better. Tell them 16.7% is too high and see if they will take your application for another lender.

Meanwhile, be shopping for credit elsewhere... through your own bank or credit union (if you have one) or even other lenders you've already dealt with. In the time it took me to type this, I see some of our UK members have posted some good suggestions for possible sources.

One of my credit card companies just offered me a vehicle loan at a reasonable rate, which may help in negotiation once I receive the notice from Triumph that the bike has actually shipped. However, based on my credit record and previous experience with GE Money Bank (whom my dealer uses), I expect I'll get a slightly better rate through my dealer anyway.

That's assuming I decide to finance part of it at all. As gaptooth says, it's easier to buy money if you can prove you don't need it. I've been scrounging and liquidating to have enough available to pay cash, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll do it for the whole price. Sometimes it's better to have a bit of secured debt at a low APR and keep cash in reserve, so you don't have to put unexpected expenses on a high-rate credit card later. As Jon recommends, I avoid contracts with pre-payment penalties, so if I eventually do decide to pay off the note early, it's not so painful.

[Kowalski]

Thanks for the replies.

I had no idea whatsoever what was a decent rate, for some reason never thought to check what rate id have to pay on a loan. Which is exactly the same thing...................

I've since found out that I could get 6.3 - 6.9% APR on a personal loan. I'm all set to put my order in now, gonna try get one in black when the new 2008 plate's come out. February isnt it?

once again thanks. i'm all exited now:

[andymott]

New plate will be 1st March, but the way orders go for the striple you might just have to wait until then anyway...

Most dealers have 0% offers on at varying times, and mine offered to call me when one came up on the S3 I wanted. This obviously requires major patience, which I didn't have (I was also supposed to wait until March for my bike, but just couldn't and got it 6 months early!).

If you can wait (and trust your dealer to inform you), see if they will call you when a 0% offer comes along. If not, get your best rate and order the bike. Either way good luck and enjoy it when it comes

[Straniero]

Tesco Finance 6.6% .... every little helps ...

http://www.tescofinance.com/personal...oans/index.jsp

Compare Our Loan Rate With Other Lenders


LenderAPR Typical60 monthly payments ofTotal amount to be repaidSavings over 60 monthsTesco Loan6.6%£146.37£8,782.20-Northern Rock7.4%£149.18£8,846.40£64.20Nationwide Building Society7.9%£150.74£9,044.40£262.20Abbey7.9%£150.74 £9,044.40£262.20
Intelligent Finance7.4%£151.04£9,062.40£280.20First Direct11.9%£164.32£9,859.20£1,077.00


Based on a £7,500 loan over 5 years without loan payment protection. Rates correct as at 1st August 2007. Source www.moneyfacts.co.uk 6.6% APR Typical