Well I went down to my local Harley dealer and sat on all the bikes. Ended up loving the Street Bob best. Picked one in Blue Denim, cause they had no Black Denim. Anyway... I ran the credit app. and was turned down. I was going to put $2K down and finance the rest. The bank wouldnt go for it.

Now Im pretty sure the problem is this. I have no credit to speak of. I had two credit cards ten years ago. Paid them off and closed them and paid cash for everything ever since. Apparently in this day and age thats the wrong way to do things. So NOW I have two credit cards coming in the mail. I plan on doing what I did ten years ago. Purchase small things all month and pay off the balance. One in a while carry a small balance over so they can make SOME money on me and pay it off again. But I dont know what to do cause the salesman said credit score alone is not enough. I have a good job I have been at nearly two years. I make very good money for where I live. If I walk in there in six months with a 700++ credit score that wont get me a loan by itself either. I would like to pay cash for the bike but I just cant. I have expenses and kids like everyone else. I was always told that if you work, and have a good credit score that you can get a loan when you need it. According to the salesman I wont be able to get a loan in six months based on credit card payments alone. I have no one who can co-sign. My only living relative is my brother and he is up to his eyeballs in debt.

So this post boils down to that fact that Im just depressed now. I want a Harley more than anything. If I KNEW I needed a long and great credit rating I would have got on it years ago. I didnt know. I was raised to think you paid cash for things and credit is more trouble than its worth. Is there anything I can do? Sorry for the long post here, but I thought maybe I could get some insight from some of the great people on here on how they got their bikes.

Thanks again.

Hogluva

 

I'll PM you or call me at the store after 9am Jeff

 

Get a copy of your credit report and see whats on it that is giving you a lowscore.

 

I dunno ... my credit sucks due to a nasty divorce and four years of paycuts (all in early 2002), but they were going to give me a loan this past Summer at 14% APR. My brother's credit is even worse and even HE got a load at 18% APR, two years back. So I dunno ... I'd try a dealer who uses EagleMark (HD's credit co.). They'll finance anyone with a couple grand down and a job.

 

Ive taught my sons,,,,,, save towards what you want and wait,,, if in a year you still want it, and have lots of cash,,, talk,, if not save another year..
this" gotta have it now,, sign the paper" mentality is what fugged this country up..
not easy gettin loans these days because of the so many defaults, housing crunch etc

 

Well, to start with, the salesman is blowing smoke up your ****.

Secondly, getting credit cards is NOT the way to go. You don't have to DO that.

I would go to your local credit union, tell them the situation, and join the CU. The problem is that you have ZERO credit score. That in and of itself is a WONDERFUL thing. But it comes with a few strings attached.........

You are dealing with a finance company that refuses to get off it's butt and do some research about you. They operate on FICO scores alone, and if there is no FICO score, they're lost. The Credit Union will actually sit in front of you, ask you questions, and if the situation is exactly as you say it is, they'll finance the bike for you without a problem.

I would suggest that you do some research at www.daveramsey.com and READ what is there for you. I haven't had a credit score for 20+ years now, and I can assure you that I am NOT going to have one for the remainder of my life. But I can guarantee you that if I wanted to finance a house or a bike, it would be no problem. You just have to understand how the industry operates. Don't fret over it, just go somewhere that you can actually sit and talk to the loan officer. It'll happen just fine.

 

Talk to your own bank or credit union. HD finance may have tightened their own belt afterrecents losses.

 

If you have a 700+ credit score and 6 months current payment history you should have no problem getting a loan. I know it sucks but you have to keep your credit current. Pay cash is fine but keep the credit history current. You do not have to carry a balance and let the card company make money. Just make all your monthly gas and grocery purchases on a card and pay the balance every month to avoid interest charges. This establishes a payment history, which is what you need. Never carry more than 35% of available credit on the card as this knocks your credit score down. IE if you have a card with a 1,000 limit never charge more than 350.00 on it in a month. Do some research on FICO scores so you know what increases it and what decreases it and only do the things that increase your score. The only debt my wife and I have is a mortgage on the house. We pay cash for everything else. But often times we will put a major purchase on a card and then pay the balance before interest is accrued.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Im getting a crash course in credit here. LOL!

I cant join the local credit union. Where I live here in Florida the only CU around says you have to be a city employee, have an immediate family member or spouse who is a member, OR be a teacher or employee of a private or public school. So Im out of that loop. Lucky me.

Thanks for all the advice thus far. At least Im learning something from all of this.

 

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