Tips for Financing Your New Motorcycle
Applying for loans can be a bit confusing. We here at Ball Equipment want to make financing your new motorcycle as easy as possible so we’ve made our applications easily accessible! You can go here to apply with us, or visit our dealerships in Richmond and Sandusky, Michigan. However, to ensure you get the financing possible we’ve put together this helpful guide to make sure you get a great loan.
Budget
Whether you decide to save up for your motorcycle or finance it, it’s going to take a little time and preparation. First things first, you’ll want to get your finances in order. You can start by budgeting your monthly income and seeing what’s left over after your normal expenses. These include bills like rent and utilities, but also include a little monthly spending money and emergency savings. Once you’ve got this number you’ve got a good idea of what you can afford toward monthly loan payments.
Credit Score
Now that you’ve got a budget set you’ll want to check your credit score. If it’s not great there are still good loans available to you, but they might come with a few stipulations. If you have the time we encourage you to try and recover your score till it’s around 700. You can do this buy paying bills on time, keeping credit card balances low, and paying off old debts. You can also check your credit score for free once a year at any of these credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Down Payment
If you want really good loan rates we advise saving up for a down payment. Generally speaking, about 20 percent of a motorcycle’s sticker price is expected to be placed down. However, the better your payment the better your loan will be. A great way to save up is to set up an automatic transfer on your bank account that will put the funds into a savings account. We also advise setting savings goals to keep track of how much money you have, and how much you expect to have, by a given date.
Applying
It’s important that you apply for loans with multiple lenders to compare rates. There are a ton of lenders out there, from financial institutions to dealerships and even online lenders. However, before you go filling out applications remember that each submission will temporarily lower your credit for around 30 days. To avoid hurting your score or loan approval don’t submit more than 5 or 6 loan applications. Once you’ve received your offers remember to look closely at the loan’s APR, or interest, as well as the length of its term.
Now that you’ve got the ins and outs of financing down, you can come down to our dealership and take a look at our huge inventory of motorcycles! We proudly serve the city of Detroit, Michigan, and have a wide variety of makes and models. Our experienced sales staff will not only help you pick out the perfect motorcycle for you, but they’ll make sure you leave the lot completely satisfied with your purchase.