Apparently HSBC is out and there is a new company Sheffield who is running a promotion until November 30th for 1.99% APR for the life of the finance.

I'm thinking about trading my 2007 for the 2008 at ars powersports because my reduced rate when I bought it was 8% for two years this coming February it jumps to 18% so I'm between that or a private bank loan. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I'm 21 so I'm kind of new to all this loan stuff and apr rates and what not I just want to make sure I'm making the right decision because I think if I stick with my current hsbc account I'm going to end up paying a ridiculous amount in the long run vs. this 1.99% which would keep me at a relatively low balance until I'm out of college and can pay it off in full.

 

May wanna make sure that its offered for used bikes... It may be a 2010 special promotion for bikes

 

and I am sure that if you skip/miss/late one payment then its goign to be more like 39% for the REST OF YOUR LIFE!!!!

HSBC's new thing on there cards is to open the card @ a low # and then send a letter letting you know its going up and that if you dont like it can the card and pay it off...chase's new thing is to move the payment dates all over the month so you will be late...

 

Well what I'm doing is trading in my 07 for an 08 and I've never missed a payment and never will so I'm good on that. The thing is I'm with HSBC right now and they gave me 7.95% for two years so in february my two years is up and it goes to 17.8%.

Now what I want to do is trade in my bike get the 08 and I will owe more money probably end up at like 12,000 or so but itll be at 1.99% apr with Sheffield financing who now took over for HSBC for suzuki and the 1.99% never goes up its there till you pay the bike off.

So the question really is, is it worth it to take out a private loan through the bank for my current balance at their apr or should I get the new bike have a higher balance by a few thousand but 1.99% apr. Keep in mind I'm in college I can only make minimum monthly's right nwo but once I'm out I will bank enough to pay it off in probably 2 years. I'm thinking the higher balance at lower apr will actually end up costing me less money in the future but I'm not sure.

 

and yes its any new gsxr ars motorsports sells and 08 600 right now for 8,200 otd and i asked specifically about financing for it and he said yes it applies as long as i do it before november 30th

 

Woah... slow down. First, rotating debt is a very ugly game and never ends up in your favor in the long run. That being said, the debt you currently owe has to be your first priority before you start piling up additional debt. How much do you currently owe on your current bike at the soon to be astronomical APR? I agree you need to get that debt paid off or rolled over ASAP as it is going to kill you at 17.8%. However, that may not be quite as easy to roll over as you may think.

Are you sure that when you trade your current bike in for the 08 model you can roll your existing debt with HSBC over to the new finance company? If so, are you sure you can handle the additional debt, even at the lower interest rate? Also, are you positive the new interest rate is only 1.99% for the duration of the loan, and if so, how long is that duration and what are your minimum monthly payments? If it is a two year loan and the monthly payments are $800, it doesn't matter how low the interest rate is as the game will be to get you to miss one payment, so they can then blast you with late fees, penalties, and increased interest rates.

If you feel confident that you know all the answers to these questions and they are all in your favor, then you still have to ask yourself if there isn't a better way to get out from under your soon to be astronomical interest debt without adding additional principle. In other words, you are a starving college student that can barely afford minimum payments in your own words. So why do you think it is a good idea to trade the '07 you still don't own for an '08 and burry yourself in that much more debt? I am guessing you have student loans and such too, right?

Finally, one last word of caution. I found myself in a very similar situation right out of college. I "knew" I was going to make a ton of money with my degree, so I went out and bought a brand new toy at a high interest rate because I was going to pay it off so quickly it wasn't going to matter. Well, the money doesn't always start flowing right off the bat like you think it should, and looking back on it, I would have been MUCH better off if I had delayed my purchase another year. In any case, don't think the money you can reasonably expect to earn after college is a sure thing. There is a possibility it will take a year or two or three after you are out of college to really start earning anything substantial, and even longer than that if you are burried in student loan and toy debt.

 

The real answer here is to obtain a loan from a credit union or your bank or whatever to pay off the soon to be 17.8% interest debt. Then you should pay off your current bike, meaning whatever loan you get to cover the HSBC debt. Then, when you have paid off your current bike, you should start thinking about trading up to a new model year, and even then only if you have credit card debt, student loan debt, etc. under control. Of course, that is the least appealing answer as it means no new bike and lots of hard work to pay for the one you already have, right?

That is the real danger with debt. You get to play with something now that you still have to pay for later. So you get sick of playing with the thing and are ready for the next thing before you are done paying for the first thing. If you move on before you catch up in payments, like you want to do with the bike trade, you soon find yourself burried under a mountain of debt with nothing to show for it. How happy are you going to be two or three years from now still paying off that '07 bike you barely even remember?

 

First off wow an educated response on TR thank you dkutin, i expected 8 squid jokes maybe a mom joke.

So heres the deal I have no student loans, no credit cards, my credit is very good, never missed a payment ever in my life. I have florida prepaid and hopefully soon I'll have bright futures back so I will be fine with school payments. The reason why I need this bike is for transportation its not a toy and when I'm trading in I'm actually downgrading from 750 to 600 I hate the way the 08s look compared to the 07s its strictly a financial move.

As far as rolling over the debt I just talked to a dealership that said yes Sheffield will roll over the debt from HSBC I'm not positive though because half the dealerships I go to they'll tell you theres a free blowjob with every hayabusa purchase if it gets you to sign on the dotted line.

This is a very good question and I'm definately going to have to look into this thank you for bringing that up. I'm almost positive it will be low minimum monthly bc when I bought my 07 I put $0 down and has minimum monthly of $79.

 

So as far as the credit union thing I thought of that first and that was my original plan, but I asked my mom who has been an accountant her whole life and she told me fix it up and go trade it in if you can get 2% apr because your definately not getting that at the bank even if i cosign.

Trust me dude I've been through so much with this bike I don't want to sell it at all, the day I have to hand the keys over I'm gonna be very sad.

 

<---------Opened up a big ole can of chapter seven on alot of credit companies...worked out in my favor...