Having a good credit score is the most important thing in getting a low rate. Credit Unions will always offer the best rates. I got 2.49 on my bike in November, after a three minute call. Made it much easier to negotiate with the dealer when I walked in the door. Dealers don't care if you use cash or finance, they get paid either way.

 

After I was a victim of Idenity Theft I got a new rule "If I cant pay for it I don't need it". Plus you get a great deal when you pay cash. Guess it might be an age thing.....

 

They definately do care, but they won't admit it. They make the majority of their money financing or pushing whatever the in house financing is. If your paying cash or using your own financing they're losing a big chunk of money that they could be getting with a customer using their bank. If you want the best price then negotiate, get it in writing signed by sales manager and then tell them you have your own financing, otherwise they'll try to tack on some of that lost income in what they're willing to negotiate.

 

So....you would have hit the guy in the face over your bad credit? That makes sense. The dealer isn't who sets the APR. The bank tells them what rate at what term an individual "qualifies" for. When someone comes back with that high of a rate, the dealer has 0 impact on the rate. In this guys case his cu beat HD by a lot. Eaglemark reports to all 3 bureaus every month, and gets your info from all three. Most banks and cu's only use one. A lot of folks have actually said their credit rating increased after getting a loan through eaglemark. That is why. As long as you pay your bills, it goes on your credit monthly. Most places only update every 90 days

 

Hold up- I HAVE seen where crooked finance departments try to sucker someone with decent credit into signing onto a higher rate loan than they should have. This is because that loan is worth more kickback. Often a dealer will pull loan terms from several banks right off the bat, then when you shoot the crappiest deal down first they leave the room to "go to bat for you". In actuality they just get a coffee and a smoke and walk back in with the second crappiest deal. Remember- a loan rate is as important to negotiate as price, warranty, etc. It's easy pickings for them because if you're a sucker you're drained at that stage of the game, and now you're in a different room facing a fresh adversary.

 

Agreed. I got less than 3% last year.

 

Harley Davidson Financial gave me 2% on a brand new bike. Went to trade it in on a used bike and they wanted to slam me with 13% so I went to Navy Federal and got 4%.

 

I just went to my dealer to trade in my bike for a used bike. Looking to finance about $8000. He ran my credit of 680 and said they could finance for 10-12% I said I think I'll pass and went to my bank and got 7%

 

You know, I found the finance topic very interesting.
2 dealers told me that even with excellent credit that I would still have to pay 9 or 10 percent.
When I got the best price on my bike from a third dealer, he got me financed through United Bank out of Charleston, WV for 2.9%.
If you have excellent credit and don't like what a dealer tells you, definitely try another.

 

You are right to a point, but one of the instances someone mentioned on here was absurd...claimed a really low apr at their credit unit, but 24.99 at the dealer, come on. Done people do forget that a dealership is a business, retail is not a bad word. We all ride them and think we should get them cheap as possible, but it is the dealer's livelihood. Have I been in bad dealerships? Sure...but not all are. They are all out to make a profit though.