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I like the rule in the article above about financing things that immediatly lose value. I bought a boat last fall, financed it, put $600 into it, used it 5-6 times, and sold it for $1250 more than I bought it for. That loan didn't bother me.
My camper loan doesn't bother me either, since the interest is low (5.49%) and tax deductible, we have such great family memories which we would have missed out on if we'd waited until we had the $17k saved up.
My 07 450 Honda was a demo bike that a local guy had used for Loretta’s and t the dealership wanted $5300.
Honda was also having a 3.6% promotion with zero down. So I bought that bike with a loan and paid it off within a year when I had extra cash.
Last year I bought a 2008 450 for $5600, and paid cash just because I had it the money. (Glad I did it this way as I blew my ACL out that next Sunday racing, but at least this year I had a brand new bike all ready to go) If I did not have the funds, and my finance rate was not over 8%, then I would finance, but those monthly payments make it hard to ever get ahead in the first place.
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There are obviously some common sense methods to follow, but if you can get in with a good credit union and get a (very) reasonable rate, financing a new 8-9 THOUSAND dollar motorcycle isn't your doom or demise.
When you're in your 20s and just out of college, trying to get established, who is going to have 10K in the bank? Not many. Just have a plan in place. Make sure your payments are big enough that you won't be upside down when you plan to sell it.
At this point my son has only had one new bike and we have paid cash for good used stuff from the folks we race with.
Last year at the end of the season I was able to sell the 07 YZ144 for 2K and found an 07 RMZ250F with low hours a friend was selling for the same 2K.
I have gone into a little debt over the racing but mostly I try to keep it cash.
When it looked like I wasn't going to be able to afford it I got a job at the races to help pay.
Now the truck that hauls all this stuff around is a different story.....lol.
The average person celebrates a $200/mo raise with a $300/mo car payment.
Overspending is what has put our country in the position it is today.
Live within your means. If you can't pay cash, you can't afford it.
/End Soapbox.
option 1: save up over several months and pay 6K cash for bike sometime down the road
option 2: find good deal on bike/sell old bike/finance payments on new bike and ride said bike
I went with option 2 and have a ton of fun riding the bike, I happen to love riding. Anything else not make sense?
My street bike I will have to finance though. I just don't have 15k lying around. AFTER my truck is paid off. I have no credit card debt. It gets paid off every week. If I use it on Monday I pay it on Friday and never pay interest on a credit card. Another tip is to make sure all of your loans are simple interest with no penalty for early pay off.
The only new vehicle or toy I've ever bought was a 02 Suzuki 50cc quad, and that was only because they didn't exist on the used market. Otherwise, someone else can take the initial depreciation, I couldn't care less about being the first to own something.
Pit Row
Can't do that without taking out a loan at some point and paying it off per loan terms.
I bought a used 100 for one of my kids early this spring, and bought myself a new KLX250 a month ago for running around the trails after them and the odd little dual sport get-away. Did both on our 3.5% credit line. I put a lot of stuff thru that thing...
Glad to hear there are lots of "cash only" people out there. Kind of restores my faith in Americans...
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