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Harley Davidson Financing

At the end of the day, not one company does it all well for everyone.

Your bank or CU might be reluctant to share the whys and why nots since, they can't share their lending criteria (and it's not easy to explain) and they don't want to steer you to another finance company that may give you a better loan. I suggested the bank you deal with since, you already have a known financial relationship. It's a good start but, there are other companies eagar for your business so, it's worth shopping around.

A prior post mentioned the finance manager at the dealership worked hard to find the best deal and it worked out great. Like everything, some are better at this than others.

I'm sure there are several very satisfied customers at HD Finance that got a great deal. Better than any bank or CU could offer at the time.

Then of course, there are others that didn't qualify for the promo offer and ended up with whatever was offerred.
 
I bought my '08 XL1200 from a Local HD Dealership & I think I got a great deal on the bike and a pretty decent trade in value for my old bike. Although it took a bit of haggling I walked away feeling good about 6.99% for 5 years.
 
I found the Harley Financing to the the worst customer service I have ever delt with. They were basically just rude. I changed mine over to my bank and also ended up with a better rate.
 
hobnecky said:
I bought my '08 XL1200 from a Local HD Dealership & I think I got a great deal on the bike and a pretty decent trade in value for my old bike. Although it took a bit of haggling I walked away feeling good about 6.99% for 5 years.
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Now that is a great deal & I'm amazed at the low rate. Your credit must be pretty flawless - good for you. Even w/my awesome credit rating - HD would only offer 10 or 11% (can't exactly remember) so I went w/my CU for 1/2 of HD's rate.
 
Interesting story about HD financing.

When I got my bike I wanted it that day. We have A+ credit so I knew it would be no problem. When I went in the office to sign the papers I was told the rate was 9.9%. I said "you cant be serious". The minion told me that was the best rate available including credit unions in the area. I thought for a second and said "oh, ok no problem". This was Saturday...

Monday I call a local credit union I wasnt even a member of and she called me back 30 minutes later with approval and a rate of 5.25%. I re-financed immediately.

Needless to say, I made ONE payment to HD Finance...the entire amount. I will never arrange financing at a dealership again.
 
I encourage everyone in the "purchasing" position in the current environment to realize that they are in the "driver's seat" so to speak. H-D finance is a simple lending body authorized to issue lines of credit based upon invested collateral (and since the middle of 2009, Warren Buffet's investments). The profit margin initially rests with the dealership (who does receive compensation) and your repaid interest (H-D Financial).

That being said, H-D credit is offering plans which allow for 7-year repayment. When coupled with no prepayment penalty, and for the disciplined consumer, this can present some pretty interesting investment options.

We decided to utilize the H-D financing in order to maintain some successful investments (and of course will not maintain this line of credit for the full 7-year term). This is allowing us to make lower payments, while investing more into our interest-generating accounts. That earned interest will compile and be contributed to a pay-off within 3-years. In some circumstances, your personal financial situation may dictate a more favorable route.

To simply discount H-D finance as a "bad choice" is like throwing out every single gallon of milk because one was spoiled last week. This is an extremely dynamic market, and financing is an extremely personal choice.

(I've been in the lending, financial, and bulk transactions markets for more than 10 years).
 
JDPEagle said:
I encourage everyone in the "purchasing" position in the current environment to realize that they are in the "driver's seat" so to speak. H-D finance is a simple lending body authorized to issue lines of credit based upon invested collateral (and since the middle of 2009, Warren Buffet's investments). The profit margin initially rests with the dealership (who does receive compensation) and your repaid interest (H-D Financial).

That being said, H-D credit is offering plans which allow for 7-year repayment. When coupled with no prepayment penalty, and for the disciplined consumer, this can present some pretty interesting investment options.

We decided to utilize the H-D financing in order to maintain some successful investments (and of course will not maintain this line of credit for the full 7-year term). This is allowing us to make lower payments, while investing more into our interest-generating accounts. That earned interest will compile and be contributed to a pay-off within 3-years. In some circumstances, your personal financial situation may dictate a more favorable route.

To simply discount H-D finance as a "bad choice" is like throwing out every single gallon of milk because one was spoiled last week. This is an extremely dynamic market, and financing is an extremely personal choice.

(I've been in the lending, financial, and bulk transactions markets for more than 10 years).
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You are a lot more knowledgable than I am about this stuff.

That being said...on my particular day, involving my particular transaction, HD Finance was a "Bad Choice". Thats all I'm saying.
 
doc_63 said:
You are a lot more knowledgable than I am about this stuff.

That being said...on my particular day, involving my particular transaction, HD Finance was a "Bad Choice". Thats all I'm saying.
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I completely understand that. I would say that 8 times out of 10, a particular financing program (or lender) is a "bad" choice for a given individual. It's just good for everyone to understand that the "good and bad" really lie within an individual's circumstance, and not able to be generally categorized. At least H-D's rates seem to (now) be falling a little more in line with the market... but rates aren't the entire story... :)

The important thing is to get that gleaming scoot in your garage, and to not have the sickening remorse feeling in the pit of your stomach because of a financing plan you weren't comfortable with!
 
As a side note... please please please think long and carefully before making a luxury purchase (I.E. a Harley-Davidson) using home equity.

I'm not going to bore everyone with the details of this here... but if anyone wants further information, feel free to PM me, or contact your mortgage or financial advisor.

Just my $.02 (less taxes and fees) :D

Good points being made here.
 
If you cant wait out the time to save up, and repair your credit, it might be in your best interest to take a higher % loan, make good on it for a year, and refinance to a lower rate
Making good on your loan will speed up the recovery of your credit
 
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