Ok honest question

[Rusty the Scoob]

the right way is being responsible with your money and no matter how you slice it owning a motorcycle is not a responsible purchase.

Mine is... paid $3,300 for a pristine 5 year old SV, and it saves me $200 a month in MBTA fees and parking.

[tsanterre]

I have paid cash for my previous 4 bikes and previous 3 cars.

2007 CBR1000RR - new off of dealership floor

2007 Saturn Vue - used off of dealership floor

No, I don't make a-lot of money @ my job.

Yes, I am a D.I.N.K (dual-income-no-kids).

I've just tried hard to be smart with my $$$. The only debt I have is my mortgage.

[Es_617]

2003 Gixxer 600 was my first i financied it and paid it off in a year My second bike was a 05 Gixxer i paid cash for it 5000 at the time and my current bike my 04 636 i also paid cash for it hated the feeling the bank owned my bike not me while financed

[FirstDuc-1098]

my 02 ZX12R financed because they had 0% for 1 year. paid off in 12 payments.
03 HD - cash
07 Ducati - cash
various used bikes always cash

[gadget]

Wow, look at all the folks with shitty credit scores trying to look noble....

[FirstDuc-1098]

758 last I checked

[Chippertheripper]

I don't really know what the point of this is either, but I'll say this: I think $3000 is my cutoff. Anything cheaper than that I'll pay cash for, anything over, I'll likely finance. Even if I have that much cash, I have a hard time parting with it all at once. Id rather only be obligated to 120 a month, so I can feel good about paying double, or whatever I can afford extra.

[toocrazy2yoo]

I bought my C-14 cash. I'm lucky though, bizz was good in DC and some pretty substantial folks in my family remembered us in their wills. I never lived over my head or went too crazy buying "stuff" though. A Navy salary for 6 or 7 years right out of high school (especially back in 1976-1982 or 83) will teach wise spending habits, namely living to do without. Doing without and never loading credit cards or taking anything except 0% financing on cars makes it's own wealth. I saw a lot of "rich" folks that had a lot of "stuff" down in Va., but it was all negative wealth. DC area is a funny place. Lots of high salaries but not a lot of true wealth. Like Pitt said in Fight Club, "People working jobs they hate to buy shit they don't need". We all know peeps like that. The luckiest of us aren't them.

[e30addict]

Cash for the bike. Only thing I still owe money on is the house.

I've financed stuff in the past and I'm sure I will again if I think it's worth it. Especially if the rates are less than what I can make by leaving my money elsewhere.

[Mystic]

Drove down to PA and bought a leftover 06 1krr blue/yellow off the floor couldnt find a good deal around here ...paid 8750 OTD paid Certified bank check as i didnt feel comfortable driving all that way with 9k cash in my pocket even thou it would have felt good ...last few of my cars are same way paid CASH ive noticed when you buy stuff in cash people tend to flex a little more when its in there face

[tsenfw]

Learned my lesson on my current bike. No more financing for toys, next one will also be used but paid for in cash. I have awesome credit but I just feel a toy like a bike can be wrecked so easily or stolen, it'd better to be paid for up front.

As for buying cars, I don't see a problem with loans. If you have the money on hand of course it's better to just pay for it outright. If you don't there's nothing wrong with financing.

[scottieducati]

Straight cash money for the ZRX, one of the very few bikes I've paid cash for... it feels good and is no coincidence that I still own it.

[schleppy]

The only bike I've financed was my SV (and it's the only new bike I've bought). Every other bike since then I've paid for with cash.

[Rusty the Scoob]

As for buying cars, I don't see a problem with loans. If you have the money on hand of course it's better to just pay for it outright.

Unless they offer you 1.99% interest or similar, so that you can (hopefully) make more by putting your money in the stock market instead.

[kato617]

Cash only for toys.

[butcher bergs]

I'm not old enough to get a loan..had to pay cash.

Last I checked there wasn't an age stipulation for loans there, champ.

2011 Speed Triple will be cash unless Triumph offers some great interest rate.

Kenn, two words--> Credit Union.

You want the best rates? Credit Union.

You want the best fixed rates over the duration of the loan? Credit Union.

Lotta the mfg's that offer some crazy-low interest rate is something that's usually offered for the first year or two of the loan then it jumps to some ridiculous number after that. I've looked into it numerous times thru numerous mfg's over the years and found this to be a fairly common occurrance.

Credit Union.

[Bonk!]

I pay cash for everything, with the exception of the mortgage of course. If I can't afford it I don't buy it. I have a savings account which I make "payments" in to and that's what I use for cars or bikes. Of course I drive a 10 year-old Pathfinder, but I have the cash for something new when it dies.

[tonyd]

Bikes always cash. Last car too.

[tonyd]

You have to be 18 to enter in to a legal contract.

[e30addict]

Last I checked there wasn't an age stipulation for loans there, champ.

Most banks I've seen won't contract a minor. Not sure about credit union policies though.

[markbvt]

Credit Union.

--mark

[fjrrider RI]

Cash is king unless you have a cheap line of credit. Why make those ahole banks up to 7 or 10% on a $10,000 bike that would be $700 that could go for mods. Of course if you just got hired for a high paying job and have no cash then finance is the choice or wait a year. Better off with a home improvement loan and take the interest off of your tax's, my bike improves my home a lot!!!!!!!

[butcher bergs]

You have to be 18 to enter in to a legal contract.

Most banks I've seen won't contract a minor. Not sure about credit union policies though.

16 with a co-signer.

EDIT: In the interest of semantics, 16 with an adult co-signer with good credit.

[ThisBitch]

Cash. Always. I've financed 2 cars in my life. Both were when I was younger and couldn't afford to pay cash.

I know that not everyone can afford to pay cash, but when someone finances a bike and can barely afford the payments, you're just asking for trouble. What happens when something goes wrong mechanically? Insurance won't cover that.

[gregp]

I am pretty much a bottom feeder when it comes to my toys, and some folks pay more for an exhaust than I do for an entire bike. I pay cash only, of course, but the most expensive bike I have ever purchased was $2,600 (Triumph Adventurer). I find that by living this way, I can own several bikes, currently including my '96 DR650, my '04 KDX200, and the '99 Ninja 250, covering several aspects of motorcycling, and keeping me happy.
I do not think that I could own only one $10,000 bike and be happy.
Every once in a while, though, I do feel an urge to buy a nice one and keep it for a very long time. Maybe one day I will spring for a new one, but it would most likely be a Gold Wing, or a maybe Vee Strom.