899 finance deals

It's difficult! Your best bet is to work on free first service (that's probably £200, it was on my 848) and work on getting some discount on any accessories u want.

I got the GAP cover for cost and a few other bits on my 848 but it was before the 899 was announced.

 

I've never bought on PCP but from my bike buying experience dealers are more interested in getting you on finance than selling you the bike. I know a chap who sells Jag's and he says there is little profit in the car, the main money is made through commission from the finance company. If you want to buy on PCP I'd try and play them a bit for a discount. Dealers don't want cash buyers anymore.

 

That's what would put me off about signing the dotted line. I'd want to own the bike after paying all that money! How about getting a bank loan?

 

I agree. These sort of deals are to the benefit of the dealer more than the buyer. I don't really understand exactly how they work but you pay a deposit, then monthly payments at a lower rate than a bank loans monthly repayment then at the end you still have a lump to pay, which if you don't have is going to require another loan or give the bike back and end up with nothing!?

 

It's a bit complicated to explain but by giving the bike back you clear the final outstanding amount?. So to get another bike on PCP you have to find another deposit which is usually at least a couple of grand, then start making repayments again for 3 years, albeit at a lower rate then to give the bike back again be left with nothing again and start all over again. Bear in mind the dealer then takes the bike you've given back and sells it making a much larger profit than if it would have been a normal sale or part ex.

 

You are forgetting though, that depending on how lucky you are, you often end up with a much lower Balloon of 'Final Value' than your bike is worth, for example my Balloon is £5k (Important to note that if I put down £1000 more which I was going too, the APR was higher and the final Balloon was £5100, only the monthly payment came down by £30).

I am seeing 3 year old 848's going for more like £6800+ so that's £1800 towards the next bike if you trade in, obviously these things are all relative, I am not saying it's a great finance scheme, purely that it isn't quite as cut and dry as you loosing all your deposit.

Some people (me included) were really lucky when I bought a CBR6 on PCP for £7000 and then the Yen went mad, and the new bikes which were the same where £9500 new, my balloon was really low, something like £3750 and I got a great trade in because of this and went on to standard finance on the Triumph.

I wouldn't buy a MV etc on PCP because of the way they release new models and trash there brand; but something like an 899, as long as you do put in good deposit and are smart, it's not quite as stupid as it may seem.

 

Best you can hope for at the end of the term is some equity in the bike. What's a 3 year old 899 going to be worth at trade price??

 

Are these deals like the leasing deals which are so common in Switzerland?

In these, you pay a lump sum deposit, then monthly payments over a fixed term (normally 3 or 4 years). You are effectively hiring the bike - it's not yours; it belongs to the leasing company. At the end of the contract, you hand the vehicle back - a bit like moving out of your rented lodging. Then you start again (if you like).

The advantages: you never need the money for a new vehicle but get to drive/ride one anyway. You tend to have full warranty most of the time. You don't have to worry about selling the vehicle on, or about its depreciation since that is factored into your monthly payments. You can keep the vehicle at the end of the contract if you pay up the residual value. This, though, may be more than the vehicle is worth, but at least the amount was in the contract to begin with.

Disadvantages: You need constant fully-comp insurance, as it's not your vehicle. None of your customisation, add-on carbon bits etc can be cash realised, unless you unbolt them all when you give the vehicle back. Your mileage is limited. If you've done more at the end of the contract, you'll have to stump up big time for the extra miles. If you've done a lot less, you have still paid for the ones you didn't do, as the depreciation of those miles was factored into your monthly payments.

Some of the interest rates on the leasings are very low, as the manufacturers often do deals to turn over stock.

I bought my Alfa this way. I had no money for the new car, and in 2000 with a booming stock market, if you'd had any cash it would have been better to invest it that buy a vehicle with it. Whatever. At the end of the 4 years, I took out a leasing on the residual value of the Alfa for the next 4 years. After the 8 years, I paid a paltry sum and the car was finally mine, meaning I could move to 3rd Party insurance. Not all ideal, but there really wasn't any other way. I am very happy not to have to pay any monthly payments now. I'm anti debt - limits your freedom.

 

That's what I forgot, I admit that your trade in would be Trade price, but you always have the option to buy it at balloon price, sell private and then put that extra into something else, or even leverage the dealer who as mentioned is desperate to sign up new deals to give much more favorable deals.

 

If I was renting a bike I would have hesitations about tracking it or modifying it, when I modifying I don't mean Rizoma trinkets. I guess its suits some people more than others.

 

These PCP deals sound ok, but to my way of thinking if you have to go down that route you have to ask yourself can I really afford this. So in 3 years time how are you going to save up and clear the outstanding amount, whilst making the monthly payments.
You then have the option of giving the bike back or doing another PCP deal, which is probably what most people do so you never end up owning the bike just basically hiring it for 3 years. At some point you may want to stop riding so eventually you could end up with nothing and spent out a great deal of cash.
These deals are just designed to sell bikes or cars to people who unfortunately only have a small or nil deposit, who otherwise would not dream of buying a new car or bike.

 

For me, yes I plan to pay it off in cash as I pay the maximum into my company shares schemes for the very reason that it will give me money to do just this and I also save separately. Tbh I would have done a standard finance deal but the interest rates were still a fair bit higher and the monthly payments would have been in the £200+

 

Surely,what you're effectively paying is the depreciation(plus a bit) which you would have if you purchased the bike cash?

 

These plans are designed by the people who sell them so there's one thing that's guaranteed, they won't lose out no matter what happens in the next three years. There are many people who take out these plans who can't afford it full stop but they are lured in with low monthly repayments and don't really think fully about what happens when the plan runs out and are hoping for a magic wand to waved in 3 years time. It's one of the reasons that the country is in the state it's in.

 

But I can't afford to pay cash up front, where as I can justify £110 a month with a mortgage to pay, if I had 11k it would go into the mortgage. The bike is my toy and thus has to be in a situation where I can walk away if I get made redundant.

It's never been claimed to be the cheap way, just that it is another option for people.

 

Big M, I totally agree with what you just said. That's exactly why this country is in this mess.

Just be a bit wary Phill748,
This is why most bike owners these days are grey haired people like me, lol.
Kids have left home mortgage almost paid, have a bit of spare cash and we pretend we are still in our twentys. lol.

 

The last thing I want to do is to get into a discussion about whether or not I should be allowed to own a Ducati. I appreciate that it's another scheme that contributes to debt but please be wary of grouping here, people that take PCP are not all poor people that can't afford to have it.

I'm 29 and earn decent money, have a house and don't smoke/do drugs and 3 years ago started investing heavily in my pension and shares and saved £3000 for a deposit on the bike.

I'm sure your not aiming this at me, and I do agree that it isn't a perfect solution. Equally though it is something that some feel is okay for their circumstance.

 

PCP is a good way of owning a new car or bike, I just think if customers continue to go down that route they could potentially end up with nothing when they decide biking is no longer for them.
We have bought cars in the past on the PCP deals, and it worked out expensive in the long run as we never had enough cash to buy them at the end of the finance period, so you end up doing it again.
All I am saying is customers need to be aware of the potential pit falls.
good luck with your purchase Phill 748