• This topic has 101 replies, 51 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by GW.
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  • How do people finance a new bike?
  • seizednuts
    Free Member

    Looking to buy a new road bike. What little money i got saved im not about to blow on a bike. But i can afford to pay around £60-70 a month.
    I can save for a few months to get a deposit together but feel im gunna miss some lovly bikes. The other problem im faced with if I get a better speced bike the pay back time is so long it just aint worth getting a bike at all.

    So how do you go about getting a bike thats going to last a good few years with out dropping into the silly money depot.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    have you looked at that bike leasing company that started recently – seem to fit what you’re looking for.

    oldgit
    Free Member

    Call me old fashioned…..need I write more?

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    trail_rat
    Free Member

    i generally buy second hand – looking for the bought fancy kit but didnt get used bargains.

    “So how do you go about getting a bike thats going to last a good few years with out dropping into the silly money depot. “

    well a 500 quid road bike will last a good few years ….

    im still rocking a 2005 giant OCR on its second tiagra drive train in that time and i only changed the first as i left it sitting for 8 months while i was touring new zealand.

    it was still capible of a 23min 10 TT last year ….

    martymac
    Full Member

    “the quality remains long after the price is forgotten”-henry royce.
    buy a bike with the right frame and it will last a lifetime, meaning that overall it represents good value.

    binners
    Full Member

    I just pop over to my contact in Columbia, make the appropriate arrangements, then wait for the boat to show up in Liverpool

    I’m fancying a gold-plated titanium full-susser next

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    I bought a new bike in August on a 0% finance thing for 12 months. When thats up I’ll just transfer the balance to a 0% credit card, but it will be paid off in about 20 months in total.

    If free credit is available, you have the means to pay, your not silly with money, and have decent insurance, or can face the fact you might have no bike but still be paying for it, then your daft not to take advantage of it.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Save up, I absolutely hate any kind of credit, even the idea of a mortgage* doesn’t make sense to me****. I’ve always saved up and bought what I could afford, that meant a £275 (reduced from £550 in a sale) carrera as my first propper mtb, which lasted about 4 years of continuous upgrading as and when I had spare money and bargains came up, after that most of it was transfered onto my next frame and the pocess repeated. These days I’m lucky enough to almost always have enough money in the bank to buy whatever I like, but I think that’s a case of chicken and egg, by never accepting credit I’ve never had to wory about being tied into repayments, to use your own argument against you, what if your “gunna miss some lovly bikes” because you’re making repayments on the one you’ve got for the next 3 years?

    *big mortgages anyway. Why** buy a £250,000*** house (split 50k deposit and 200k mortgage) and be saddled with debt for 25 years, when the same repayments would get you the same house mortgage free in 10 years if you’re prepared to live in a 100k house for the first 5 then 175k for 5 years, etc.

    ** prices always go up, got to get as high up the ladder as possible, keep up with the Joneses, but I need 3 spare bedrooms and a double garrage right now, etc, etc, etc.

    *** therefore by default I think the south east is a stupid place

    **** student loans excepted as the repayment is tiny and income assessed

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    “if you’re prepared to live in a 100k house for the first 5 then 175k for 5 years”

    So where did you get your £100k to buy the first house then, I dont have that kind of money under my bed…

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    clearly written by someone whos never tried to buy a house TBH

    i took the half way house – ex council 3 bed for 175k and do not plan to move – let alone every 5 years. ive never been so stressed in all my puff as i was buying my house – wether thats just cause it was a first time house i dont know but i cant imagine getting into a chain…..

    wrecker
    Free Member

    £250K with 4 bedrooms and a double garage?
    Not around here, more like £300K

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    oldgit – Member
    Call me old fashioned…..need I write more?

    ^^This.^^

    oldgit
    Free Member

    How much can you spend seizednuts?

    Avoid ebay, and ask around. My mate bought an older Pinarello with Dura Ace but no wheels for £275 of a clubman.

    roverpig
    Full Member

    FunkyDunk, we’re you able to negotiate a discount on the bike. I’ve always assumed that, if you want to use a 0% credit deal you are going to have to pay full price, but I’ve never checked as I’m old fashioned too 🙂

    I bought a new bike (Trance X2) a few weeks ago from my LBS and was surprised at how easy it was to get a 15% discount on the RRP. If you have to pay full price then that 0% deal starts to look like a pretty horrible interest rate.

    But as I say, I am old fashioned. I’ll make a concession for the house as, so far at least, it has increased in value faster than the interest on the mortgage. But using credit to purchase a depreciating asset (car, bike etc) always seems daft to me.

    Cheers

    Andy

    miguel73
    Free Member

    The thought of saving each month for a year or more is not really fun when you’re desperate for a bike so the M&S 15 months interest free Credit Card is a good option, be strict with it and make sure you pay it off within the 15 months. Ive got mine coming next week which is enabling me to buy a new bike

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    “FunkyDunk, we’re you able to negotiate a discount on the bike”

    No because I would never consider buying a current year model when you can get the previous years equally as good model for 26% less 🙂

    Buying a bike when I wanted to was good for me because 1. I didnt like my old bike. and 2. Things were starting to need replacing on it ie shocks and bearings which would have got pricey in itself.

    So instead of throwing money at an old bike, I now have a shiny ish new bike that I have nearly finished paying for.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I said big mortgages, not somehow living mortgage free straight out of uni! My point was that being tied into a big mortgage doesn’t make sense to me when if you’re prepared not to live in the ideal hosue for the first few years and move up the property ladder rather than viewing it as a high jump then after 10 years you could be morgage free and in the same house as your contemporary who bought it with a huge mortgage at the start and still has 10 years to go.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Buying the latest greatest thing is all well and good, but honestly bikes that are not bang up to the minute, brand spanking new do still work for quite some time…

    If tighter finances are an issue then look at all your options 2nd hand is a good way to get a much better bike than you would be able to afford new (in terms of Spec) but it’s just not so shiney and new, if your heart is set on a new bike then look at previous year models there will be almost bugger all difference functionally between 2010/11 bikes and one sold in 2012 from many of the major manufacturers, so why pay more just for the latest paint job on the same frame?

    Personally I’m not a fan of taking credit on anything that involves me tying myself to some sort of repayments for the next couple of years, simply because of the inherent risk that your income might suffer a bit of a reduction these days (Double dips and all)…

    Basically just Save up. If you want to get a new bike Set a target value and save up to that, Don’t be swayed by the wonderful Deals you seen now because there will still be someting not a million miles different in 3, 6, 12 months time.

    I suggest you ignore what you can “own” right now on the never never, and just stick some money away for a few months then see what can be had for the wedge when you can afford to spend it once and own the bike outright…

    This goes for C2W Schemes now too IMO, they don’t really seem to reduce the cost of owning a bike anything like as much as people seem to think…

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    £250K with 4 bedrooms and a double garage?
    Not around here, more like £300K

    It’s be half a million+ in Wokingham, or £160k in Whitby (which compared to the surrounding towns is quite expensive!) 😛

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    genuine lols …. state of current housing youll still have 10 years to go as well.

    wrecker
    Free Member

    It’s be half a million+ in Wokingham, or £160k in Whitby (which compared to the surrounding towns is quite expensive!)

    I suppose I should feel lucky. I don’t though.

    prezet
    Free Member

    thisisnotaspoon has he head screwed on…

    DezB
    Free Member

    How do people finance a new bike?

    I’ve only ever bought 2nd hand bikes, until Xmas before last when I bought my first new bike ever (unfortunately a road bike).
    I used Chain Reaction’s sale + money off vouchers to get a £2.5K bike for just over £1200. Put it on a credit card and switched that to a interest free card. Paid off over the year with only the 3% switching fee over and above the bike’s cost.

    jonba
    Free Member

    I’m also old fashioned it would seem.

    If you have £60-70 a month spare then you can wait 12 months and buy something then? You will mis some good deal, and maybe even some great deals but there will be others. Every single year you can buy last years bike cheap.

    doubledunter
    Free Member

    Just purchased a new 2012 Stumpjumper half of which was financed by selling two bikes and a Tag watch that hadnt been on my wrist for about two years.. rest I used some savings.. picked it up last wednesday and had a stupid off at GT yesterday, bent my thumb back and snapped the bone..heading up for the full plaster shortly, no biking for a good few weeks 😥

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    *big mortgages anyway. Why** buy a £250,000*** house (split 50k deposit and 200k mortgage) and be saddled with debt for 25 years, when the same repayments would get you the same house mortgage free in 10 years if you’re prepared to live in a 100k house for the first 5 then 175k for 5 years, etc.

    Where is all this equity coming from? You clearly havn’t a clue about buying houses if you think you can make £75k every 5 years. Have you even thought of stamp duty, estate agent fees, legal fees, etc?

    How do I buy a bike – disposable income.

    freeagent
    Free Member

    remind me to steer clear of this place if I ever need mortgage advice!

    As for bike buying, bought an MTB on C2W two years ago, and just signed on the line for another voucher to get a hybrid.

    If I wanted something over 1k (which i hope to do soon) it’d be through selling other stuff on ebay, and buying in the sales…

    bigjim
    Full Member

    I save up, buy in sales, or on c2w scheme. don’t do credit. it is quite satisfying watching your saving grow knowing there is a shiny new bike as a reward for not spending it all on beer.

    ton
    Full Member

    0% credit cards are fantastic if you pay them off in the time limit.
    using someone elses money to buy something you want……..what is not to like?

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Where is all this equity coming from? You clearly havn’t a clue about buying houses if you think you can make £75k every 5 years. Have you even thought of stamp duty, estate agent fees, legal fees, etc?

    Where did a £75k increace in equity come from? I’ve no idea, I think you grabbed that from nowhere.

    Starting point £50k deposit, £1000/month repayments, rates based on HSBC’s lowest fee free product from https://mortgages.hsbc.co.uk/repayment-calculator

    Buyer A buys a £250k house and pays 4% interest, £1001/month for 28 years.

    Buyer B buys a £108k house and pays 4% interest, £1050/month for 5 years, then either repeats the process buying a new house and renting the old one out, or sells that and use the equity as a deposit on a bigger one, or decideds they quite like having £1000 a month extra cash. Either way he’s got £108k(plus any growth or decline) equity to play with. Say they then decide to buy the same house as A for £250k (yes if might/probably will have grown, but judgeing by the continued freefall round here I’m not betting either way, next door was bought for £120k in 2007, next door but 3 just sold for £55k), so they need a £142k mortgage. HSBC would do 4%, 15 years, £1001/month. So they’ve paid off the mortgage on a £250,000 house 8 years before person A.

    Person A on the other hand has £72k(plus any growth or decline) equity after 5 years (Vs B’s £108k).

    So unless house prices go through another bubble and puts A’s house beyond his reach withign 5 years, person B comes out on top paying off his mortgage 8 years early.

    Things not accounted for:
    *Inflation of wages making the repayments comparatively smaller, but we’l assume A and B are able to overpay at similar rates.

    *Stamp duty, fees, etc, lets say B pays £5k the second time, thats 6 months extra on the mortgage, so they’re still 7.5 years ahead.

    *house prices rising, but growing populations and smaller houeholds tent to push up prices at the bottom first, so at least in %age terms B is better off after 5 years, even if A’s house has gained more equity. Similarly, B stands to win if prices continue fall as and flutuations affect him less, another 25% drop leaves him £27k out of pocket, but it would leave A in -ve equity!

    *B could buy an inbetween house for ~£175k for example, pay that off at £100/month and finish the mortgage even sooner than doing it in 2 steps.

    philfive
    Free Member

    i bought mine at 0% over 12 months, paid of in 12 months, simple

    DezB
    Free Member

    If you have £60-70 a month spare then you can wait 12 months and buy something then?

    Not if you’ve just busted your bike eh? 🙄

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    Starting point £50k deposit, £1000/month repayments

    And where does the average first time buyer get their £50k deposit from and pay all the assosciated fees?

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Starting point £50k deposit, £1000/month repayments

    And where does the average first time buyer get their £50k deposit from and pay all the assosciated fees?

    Both ficticious buyers started with the same so you can delete £50k and replace it with £25k, £20k, £10k, £0.00 + a pint of larger and a packet of crisps, as long as the ammount owed is the same and you could still get a mortgage the sums would still be the same. Infact it’d benifit B even further as he’d have a far better loan/value ratio thus gettign better interest rates.

    rootes1
    Full Member

    when I was a Saturday boy at Dave Mellor Cycles… we got trade prices and worked for parts… don’t think i ever saw any cash the whole time I worked there…

    my private paper round and the illegal school tuck shop paid for the other bits…

    dee66
    Free Member

    I bought mine on credit. A bike not a house which was the original topic. 🙄
    2011 model £1350 reduced from £1900, 2012 model is now £2100. Even paid the deposit on a credit card. If I leave it the full 36 months then it all comes to £1700 which is still a saving kind of.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    I’m using a 15mo / 0% M&S credit card and all the while keeping the money that I have spent on it in an interest bearing account. In essence, my wife’s iPad / my new Inbred / her 40th birthday eternity ring are actually paying me interest to have them.

    I’m chipping bits off it at a rate that will clear to debt as the interest free period runs out.

    People who use credit are not idiots. People who don’t understand how credit works or how to take advantage of it ……. need I write more?

    As for buying 3 houses and trading up every 5 years. that’s 3x the agents fees, 3x the solicitors fees, 3x the stamp duty, 3x the removal costs, 3x the effort of redecorating……. I reckon that lot would set you back best part of £10-12,000 all told.

    hilldodger
    Free Member

    similar to me dee66,
    bought 2011 model at Xmas – 1400 down to 950, bash it on the card, pay of quick as poss 😀
    As long as I can see paying it off in a period where the interest is less than the saving it’s a case of see it, want it, card it 😀

    relliott6879
    Free Member

    Gary_MMember

    And where does the average first time buyer get their £50k deposit from and pay all the assosciated fees?

    If he or she is anything like me, by serving 22 years in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. In 7 years from now, I plan to use my lump sum in exactly this manner, my pension to cover my mortgage repayments and – all being well – wages from a new job for income.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    If he or she is anything like me, by serving 22 years in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.

    Tricky if you haven’t got your employer funding your accomodation for the 22 years it takes to save up, though.

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