Never. When I say never, I mean the thought would not even cross my mind. I refused to finance, lease, or borrow for my bachelors degree, let alone a bike.

Bottom line: if I don't have the money to buy something, I don't buy it. The few notable exceptions being, in my opinion, higher education, a mortgage, and health expenses.

There is a reason companies offer incentives like this, and trust me, it's not to help you out. More often than not, they make far more money on a financing deal then on an all-cash sale.

But this is all reflective of my overall financial views. Like someone said earlier, the poor pay interest and rich collect it.

??? That is EXACTLy why we are in this housing crisis. All those people financed WAYYYYY too much house expecting a "windfall" in property values. Woops! That is called counting your chickens before they hatch.

I might do it for a really great deal if I had at least half the money in cash, could get 0% or very close, and was VERY certain I could get the rest of the money in less than 6mo. I would have to have the kind of discretionary income that I knew I could get the money very quickly. I say that, but probably wouldn't. If I was looking at a $7k bike and had $3k in cash to blow, I would probably just get a $3k bike. I get pretty excited looking at $1500 bikes. :lol:

If you can't afford it, don't buy it

Bad idea. Save your money and pay cash.

You know you could have just provided your opinion on the subject rather than saying my advice is bad. That kind of personal attacks is what drives many people away from this forum.

How about just stating your personal opinion in the future and not critique others?

This thread got off track a bit. The original question is do people finance bikes. The answer is yes.

Bad question to ask here because of the usual barrage of blah, blah blah. I'd say it is personal and if you feel it is ok then it's ok and it really doesn't matter what everyone thinks. I haven't done it, but I do know the only way I was able to afford my higher end bike was sell a few motorcycles and pay cash otherwise I would not have had the bike. I have taken out small loans over the years for things I couldn't afford at the time, but did it and never regretted any of my purchases and I have turned out just fine. The fun factor and memories greatly outweighed the sensible or financial return factors. People take out loans for all kinds of personal things like vacations, Christmas, home improvement and things that are a lot more silly than a bike. Your money, your credit, your decision and if you're comfortable with it go for it, but don't advertise it. ;)

I'd finance everything.. at 0%. Usually only applies to new accounts. Why give away all the whole amount when you can keep most of it for now?

On the other hand, paying more than the bike is worth because of interest is pretty dumb.

Edit: Also, on the things I finance, I could pay for in cash, but I don't. As someone said earlier the only exceptions to financing things you can't afford now should be things like mortgages, health expenses, and other things that are essentials... like a car that gets you to and from that place where you make money.

.... my 2 cents.

_I am saving up for my dream bike right now (Not very far along). I had the realization a few months back that if I ignored frames, components, wheels etc. that are on CL or at the LBS and just keep putting away the money, then by the time I have enough cash to jump on a new bike there will be new tech, better frames and nicer wheels when I have the money. At that point my bike will be a snapshot of the best tech I feel is awesome (right now can't honestly justify anything over 105 / rival anyway... likely to be that way even later), and I will have it built... exactly the way I want it with no debt or guilt or [____]... I think having to hand over the money makes you really question yourself on if you "Need" the bike enough to drop the paper. CC and debit cards make it too easy... even when you have the cash somewhere else.

Oh yeah, I don't finance. I paid cash and haggled my bike... LBS owner thought it was entertaining till I pulled out an envelope with $3k, then he was listening very closely (cc machines etc have hefty fees that can quickly cut into profit margins)... he particularly likes the cash.

Yes, people finance bikes. People buy bikes and bike stuff all the time on credit, using credit cards or financing through the bike shop.
I wouldn't do it though. What I would do if I wanted a high end bike and just didn't have the cash on hand to get it is put a deposit on said bike with whatever cash I had available, get to selling stuff I no longer have use for on ebay and in classified ads to get the cash and then walk into the lbs to pay off the bike.

I made the mistake of financing my last vehicle and frankly would never do it again.

How about not giving out bad advice that could screw someone over financially?

I don't care how you choose to rationalize it, what you recommended and the reasons you gave behind it were misinformed and should not be followed. That's not just my opinion either. Don't get all butt hurt just because someone called out your advice for what it was - poor advice.

And if you think someone pointing out that your advice was bad is a personal attack, you are a bit oversensitive. You have no idea what a personal attack really is.

Also, on those no interest offers, there are often "catches" (duh, of course there are). When I financed a laptop, I had to make payments every month or else I would trigger the interest, and if I failed to pay the full amount by the end of the promotional term, I would be charged interest on the original principal, not the remaining principal. Ain't that some chit?

Everything you said is your PERSONAL opinion. I'm only going to say you seem to be a very closed minded individual who sees your view as the only one people should listen to. It's a waste of my time to say anything more

I have financed several bicycle purchases.

BUT - and this is a big BUT - in all cases I had the cash on hand to make the purchase. I simply took advantage of the 0-percent financing opportunity. My money sat in investment accounts growing while I slowly paid off the bicycles. I have also used this approach to purchase computers and a couple of TVs.

Perhaps we could analyze this for a neutral perspective...? From one viewpoint Propofol feels that though experience of his own and the advice for highly educated financial advisers that are not sponsored, the advice you gave could cause an individual to enter into a financial agreement that would put him at a higher risk of personal debt overload. Perhaps he has a personal experience that was painful or extremely stressful and is upset that you would give that advice casually.

From StanSeven's perspective... there are accurate facts and less biased opinions on this forum... the 41... ... ... I got nothing else.

Also as posted above, it really is a personal decision and people use loans all the time to buy things like cars, vacations, etc. It's important to recognize the risks and the costs, which also has been stated.

I just did a calculation and the interest on a one year 6% loan for a $5,000 bike is $160. So the question is whether it's worth $160 to have a bike now as opposed to waiting as long as a year to save for it. If it gets you out to ride longer and/or faster, it's probably worth it. But if the debt makes you nervous, then it's probably not wise.

Actually, your posts in this thread were a waste of time from the beginning.

It's my PERSONAL opinion that your opinion on this subject is weak and anyone who listens to you would be taking a shortcut to financial ruin. And instead of defending yourself and making an attempt to justify your position you take the easy way out by complaining that you're being personally attacked and running away from the discussion. Yes, that's the way to convince people that you're right.

You want to take out loans to pay for luxury items you can't afford, go ahead - that's your right. However, you won't find a single financial planner who will say this is a good idea. The risk of hetting underwater on a loan that you didn't really need to take in the first place is too great. And it doesn't matter how low the interest rate is.

what you should do, go take out a personal loan. let's say $3k. take that cash to Vegas and go double or nothing. you're either getting a REALLY sweet bike... or hitching a ride back home. win-win if you ask me.

Completely different scenarios. Most people need a car to commute to work, use for work, etc. And then most of these people aren't taking out loans to buy Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

Education: this is not a luxury item, it's investing in a career.

Vacations: stupid thing to finance. Why dig a financial hole for yourself on an essentially non tangible item? There are plenty of cheap vacations one can take.

Completely irrelevant. You may only be paying $160 in interest but you still owe $5160 for something that you didn't really need and couldn't afford in the first place.

Maybe someone doesn't need a $5000 bicycle or a nice vacation but they want them. Shouldn't they decide how to spend their own money?

At the basest level there's nothing wrong with it (yes, credit cards are essentially the same as financing). The problem is that a lot of people pay for non-essential things with loans and credit cards with the expectation that their projected income will sustain the monthly payments. What the don't expect is that things go wrong (they lose their job, get hit with other expenses like medical bills, etc.) and suddenly they find they can't even make the minimum monthly payment on their credit card. So what happens? More interest and late fees pile up and they default on their loan.

It's this kind of speculative mentality that got this country into the economic mess it's in today.

I use credit cards myself for almost everything, mainly because I accrue airline and hotel points, but I pay them off in full every month and never buy anything I don't already have the cash for.

Do whatever you feel comfortable with. To those people saying "OMG A LOAN FOR A BIKE? NEVERRRRR." Chill out and consider that not everyone is in your situation and you don't know anyone else's. If deals like no interest/same as cash for 12 months come up, why not take them and keep your cash for other investments? I make enough money to buy any bike I want with cash, but sometimes I "finance" them anyway and pay them off when I feel more comfortable letting go of the cash. No interest = no harm. Get over yourselves.

Absolutely, I totally agree. Except, when you take out a loan to pay for these things, IT'S NOT THEIR OWN MONEY. It's the bank's. Get it now?

yes, they should decide how to spend their own money. the problem is, you're suggesting that it's ok to spend money they don't yet have on something that's not a necessity. that's your opinion, and you're certainly entitled to it, but it's my opinion (and that of others) that it's a terrible decision to finance a bike.

Of course, but when we're talking about credit we're talking about spending the bank's money.

For most people, I'm sure it would be fine if this is your only debt and your debt to income ratio is great and all that. If you have a $10k credit card balance, a mortgage that is a bit of a stretch, a $800/mo car payment, and no savings, this could be a disaster. I try to make major purchase decisions with the what-if-I-get-laid-off factor.

I agree with all the general advice about only financing education, business, and a primary.

The only thing that I would add is that I decided a long time ago that as much as I love computers, I would absolutely never finance a computer. I figured that about six months after I had financed my first computer, I'd be homeless - living in a car with a trunk full of party paid for computers. :)

The same thing is true for bikes.

To misquote Dirty Harry: "A man's got to know his addictions."

What I'm suggesting is people should weigh the impact of their decisions first. To many people, financing a bike makes perfect sense. If it gets them out riding when they otherwise wouldn't, that's a good thing and likely worth the financing cost.

Just so you understand, not only did I not finance my latest bike but I got $150 from American Express to purcahse it then I paid the bill off

Ahhhhhh...but they aren't spending their own money. They are spending someone elses money that they borrowed. Money that must be repaid with interest. Your plan is based on optimistic future assumptions like a big tax return, a bonus at work, future promotions... The road to financial ruin is paved with such plans.

Don't get all offended. Do what you want, but if we are trying to give out real, useful advice...telling people to bet on that big raise is nonsense and simply bad advice.