4.99% Good Times Credit - A good deal? BF okay?
#21
11-04-2004, 07:49 PM
#22
11-04-2004, 09:02 PM
#23
11-05-2004, 09:53 PM
4.99% Good Times Credit - A good deal? BF okay?
For what it's worth I talked to the sales people about the financing deal at the Kawi dealer today and here is what I was told. There appears to be little in flaws pretty straight forward for the most part accept if you miss a payment even if it's the first month and you are a day late on a payment the payments from then through when it is payed off goes to 17% and never goes down. If you never miss a payment in 5 years it would be 3.9% then go to 5.9% after 2 years but there is a 0 tolerance grace period :/ With that having been said I picked up me a new BF 750 today using the no down payment 6 months. I waited until today when the local Suzuki dealer called me and told me he finally didn't have a king quad until today. So after going over there and riding it and being really disappointed with the lack of low end torque along with a few other unexpected bugs from the long awaited KQ. So far pleased!!!
#24
11-05-2004, 11:02 PM
Pro Rider
Sound advice there. "Hey, watch this........"
Sound advice there. "Hey, watch this........"
4.99% Good Times Credit - A good deal? BF okay?
Basically, the manufacturer sponsored financing is a gimmic to lure you in to buy a quad. The financing is promoted as an easy and affordable way to get into an ATV. The ONLY way that these deals make sense is if you either make a large down payment or make a large enough monthly payment to completely pay off the quad before the 2, 3 or 5 year cutoff of the low interest rate.
The numbers just don't lie - Finance a top of the line 4x4 for three years - even at 0% interest - and you are going to have to pay $200 per month to pay it off. Even at 5 years and no interest, you'll still have to shell out $120 per month. Check the fine print of these loan agreements. What you'll find is that in addition to a higher interest rate penality if you are a day or two late on even one payment, you'll see a clause that states that if you have any unpaid balance at all after the low interest "introductory" period is over that you will owe the higher rate interest on the entire amount financed. That means that all those first payments that you made at the "low" interest rate are actually charged to you at the high 17% to 21% rate. I think someone else pointed this out - you are not getting a low interest rate financing deal, they are mearly deferring most of the interest until a later time.
The bottom line with this type of financing is that if you do not complely pay off your quad within the original low interest period, then you are screwed. If your payment is late in the mail, then you are screwed. If you think you 've gotten a good deal with no down payment and payments of $39 a month, or $49 a month or even $69 a month, you better start looking for a bank or credit union refinance real quick, otherwise in a couple of years you'll find yourself more upside down then if you tried to pop a wheelie on a steep, rocky hillclimb.
I hate these financing 'deals' as for the most part they are not only misleading but they could really ruin someone's credit. 17 to 21% interest rates in today's world are rates only reserved for people with poor credit ratings. Anyone with halfway decent credit can get a loan in the single digits from a bank or credit union.
Jaybee
The numbers just don't lie - Finance a top of the line 4x4 for three years - even at 0% interest - and you are going to have to pay $200 per month to pay it off. Even at 5 years and no interest, you'll still have to shell out $120 per month. Check the fine print of these loan agreements. What you'll find is that in addition to a higher interest rate penality if you are a day or two late on even one payment, you'll see a clause that states that if you have any unpaid balance at all after the low interest "introductory" period is over that you will owe the higher rate interest on the entire amount financed. That means that all those first payments that you made at the "low" interest rate are actually charged to you at the high 17% to 21% rate. I think someone else pointed this out - you are not getting a low interest rate financing deal, they are mearly deferring most of the interest until a later time.
The bottom line with this type of financing is that if you do not complely pay off your quad within the original low interest period, then you are screwed. If your payment is late in the mail, then you are screwed. If you think you 've gotten a good deal with no down payment and payments of $39 a month, or $49 a month or even $69 a month, you better start looking for a bank or credit union refinance real quick, otherwise in a couple of years you'll find yourself more upside down then if you tried to pop a wheelie on a steep, rocky hillclimb.
I hate these financing 'deals' as for the most part they are not only misleading but they could really ruin someone's credit. 17 to 21% interest rates in today's world are rates only reserved for people with poor credit ratings. Anyone with halfway decent credit can get a loan in the single digits from a bank or credit union.
Jaybee
#25
11-06-2004, 08:47 AM
4.99% Good Times Credit - A good deal? BF okay?
Originally posted by: jaybeecon55
Basically, the manufacturer sponsored financing is a gimmic to lure you in to buy a quad. The financing is promoted as an easy and affordable way to get into an ATV. The ONLY way that these deals make sense is if you either make a large down payment or make a large enough monthly payment to completely pay off the quad before the 2, 3 or 5 year cutoff of the low interest rate.The numbers just don't lie - Finance a top of the line 4x4 for three years - even at 0% interest - and you are going to have to pay $200 per month to pay it off. Even at 5 years and no interest, you'll still have to shell out $120 per month. Check the fine print of these loan agreements. What you'll find is that in addition to a higher interest rate penality if you are a day or two late on even one payment, you'll see a clause that states that if you have any unpaid balance at all after the low interest "introductory" period is over that you will owe the higher rate interest on the entire amount financed. That means that all those first payments that you made at the "low" interest rate are actually charged to you at the high 17% to 21% rate. I think someone else pointed this out - you are not getting a low interest rate financing deal, they are mearly deferring most of the interest until a later time.The bottom line with this type of financing is that if you do not complely pay off your quad within the original low interest period, then you are screwed. If your payment is late in the mail, then you are screwed. If you think you 've gotten a good deal with no down payment and payments of $39 a month, or $49 a month or even $69 a month, you better start looking for a bank or credit union refinance real quick, otherwise in a couple of years you'll find yourself more upside down then if you tried to pop a wheelie on a steep, rocky hillclimb.I hate these financing 'deals' as for the most part they are not only misleading but they could really ruin someone's credit. 17 to 21% interest rates in today's world are rates only reserved for people with poor credit ratings. Anyone with halfway decent credit can get a loan in the single digits from a bank or credit union.Jaybee
Basically, the manufacturer sponsored financing is a gimmic to lure you in to buy a quad. The financing is promoted as an easy and affordable way to get into an ATV. The ONLY way that these deals make sense is if you either make a large down payment or make a large enough monthly payment to completely pay off the quad before the 2, 3 or 5 year cutoff of the low interest rate.The numbers just don't lie - Finance a top of the line 4x4 for three years - even at 0% interest - and you are going to have to pay $200 per month to pay it off. Even at 5 years and no interest, you'll still have to shell out $120 per month. Check the fine print of these loan agreements. What you'll find is that in addition to a higher interest rate penality if you are a day or two late on even one payment, you'll see a clause that states that if you have any unpaid balance at all after the low interest "introductory" period is over that you will owe the higher rate interest on the entire amount financed. That means that all those first payments that you made at the "low" interest rate are actually charged to you at the high 17% to 21% rate. I think someone else pointed this out - you are not getting a low interest rate financing deal, they are mearly deferring most of the interest until a later time.The bottom line with this type of financing is that if you do not complely pay off your quad within the original low interest period, then you are screwed. If your payment is late in the mail, then you are screwed. If you think you 've gotten a good deal with no down payment and payments of $39 a month, or $49 a month or even $69 a month, you better start looking for a bank or credit union refinance real quick, otherwise in a couple of years you'll find yourself more upside down then if you tried to pop a wheelie on a steep, rocky hillclimb.I hate these financing 'deals' as for the most part they are not only misleading but they could really ruin someone's credit. 17 to 21% interest rates in today's world are rates only reserved for people with poor credit ratings. Anyone with halfway decent credit can get a loan in the single digits from a bank or credit union.Jaybee
#26
11-06-2004, 09:13 AM
4.99% Good Times Credit - A good deal? BF okay?
Hey I used Kawasaki financing......bought a zx12r and my prarie on it.....and never had a problem. If you READ the agreement ahead of time you know the rules they aren't lying it right there in print. If you use a reputable dealer ....like mine he tells you right off the bat what the real deal is........ If it wasn't for these plans many of us couldn't affford these quads or bikes..... I know I couldn't
Here's what I do though Kawasaki For the past couple years without fail offer 0% deals for 6 months in the fall and 12months in the spring / early winter......I buy it using that plan ....then transfer to another 0% offer before the term is up.... I am not sure about you but I get credit card offers daily......many of them are 0% when transfering a balance.... make sure use one with a transfer fee waived and it cost you nothing extra. I have both my bikes this way and a third bike on just credit cards this way.....it never cost me a cent ..........the key is you cannot default even once , but its worth it in the end....oh yeah bought my lawn tractor this way too
Here's what I do though Kawasaki For the past couple years without fail offer 0% deals for 6 months in the fall and 12months in the spring / early winter......I buy it using that plan ....then transfer to another 0% offer before the term is up.... I am not sure about you but I get credit card offers daily......many of them are 0% when transfering a balance.... make sure use one with a transfer fee waived and it cost you nothing extra. I have both my bikes this way and a third bike on just credit cards this way.....it never cost me a cent ..........the key is you cannot default even once , but its worth it in the end....oh yeah bought my lawn tractor this way too
#27
11-06-2004, 11:10 AM
Pro Rider
Sound advice there. "Hey, watch this........"
Sound advice there. "Hey, watch this........"
4.99% Good Times Credit - A good deal? BF okay?
Honestlyinsane - That's a great way to use the system to your advantage. As long as you coninue to get those 0% free transfer offers you'll never pay a dime in interest for your quad. At a minimum you're saving yourself $500 and it's probably more than that. Even though you are still financing your quad, as far as Kawasaki credit is concerned, you have already paid off your financing to them in full - this gets you out of the dealer financing trap.
My main beef against these financing plans is not that they are fraudlent - as pointed out all the details are there in print - but that they are misleading. The ads promote low interest and low payments as a means to own a quad. Only in carefully reading the fine print can you discover that it is impossible to pay for your quad under the heavily promoted plan. Sadly, many people do not really read the fine print, or do not completely understand the implications of balloon interest. Many of these same people may not have the income or credit history to be able to roll their dealer financing over into a 'real' fixed loan or 0% interest credit card.
Like I said before, numbers don't lie: If you finance $7,000 for a quad at 5% for five years with a regular bank loan, you'll wind up paying a total of just over $900 in interest. If you stick with the 4.99% Kawi plan for the same five year period, you will pay a minimum of $4,400 above and beyond the cost of your quad. In reality, the Kawi financing will cost you even more if you get sucked into low principal payments during the first few years. Not exactly a good deal, especially for someone struggling to get that quad in the first place.
The ONLY way to justify these dealer financing 'deals' is to have the money or financing alternatives available to completely pay off the dealer loan.
Jaybee (I'll jump off my soapbox now, these financing 'deals' just really get me P.O'd)
My main beef against these financing plans is not that they are fraudlent - as pointed out all the details are there in print - but that they are misleading. The ads promote low interest and low payments as a means to own a quad. Only in carefully reading the fine print can you discover that it is impossible to pay for your quad under the heavily promoted plan. Sadly, many people do not really read the fine print, or do not completely understand the implications of balloon interest. Many of these same people may not have the income or credit history to be able to roll their dealer financing over into a 'real' fixed loan or 0% interest credit card.
Like I said before, numbers don't lie: If you finance $7,000 for a quad at 5% for five years with a regular bank loan, you'll wind up paying a total of just over $900 in interest. If you stick with the 4.99% Kawi plan for the same five year period, you will pay a minimum of $4,400 above and beyond the cost of your quad. In reality, the Kawi financing will cost you even more if you get sucked into low principal payments during the first few years. Not exactly a good deal, especially for someone struggling to get that quad in the first place.
The ONLY way to justify these dealer financing 'deals' is to have the money or financing alternatives available to completely pay off the dealer loan.
Jaybee (I'll jump off my soapbox now, these financing 'deals' just really get me P.O'd)
#28
11-06-2004, 09:21 PM
#29
11-23-2004, 09:24 AM
4.99% Good Times Credit - A good deal? BF okay?
hey, I just paid my good times credit card off in full before the first payment was due, but the new bank took 2 days too long to get the payment there. Kawasaki charged me $35 for that and jumped the APR to 17.8 on the new $35 ballance. I called them up and said I was buying his and hers bikes, I paid off the his and went to get the hers when I saw you charged me a $35 buck late fee. If you don't take it off there, I will pay it and never buy another Kawasaki as long as I live. They agreed to remove the $35 charge.
#30
11-23-2004, 09:56 AM
