forgive my ignorance. but what is sub prime?

 

Subprime lending (near-prime, non-prime, or second-chance lending) in finance means making loans that are in the riskiest category of consumer loans and are typically sold in a market from prime loans. The standards for determining risk categories refer to the size of the loan, "traditional" or "nontraditional" structure of the loan, borrower credit rating, ratio of borrower debt to income or assets, ratio of loan to value or collateral, documentation provided on those loans which do not meet Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac underwriting guidelines for prime mortgages (are "non-conforming"). Although there is no single, standard definition, in the United States subprime loans are usually classified as those where the borrower has a FICO score below 640. Subprime lending encompasses a variety of credit types, including mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. The term was popularized by the media during the "credit crunch" of 2007.
Copied from Wikipedia!!

 

Just save up the double payment amount and pay cash latter.

 

The Financing doesnt just involve the amount you plan on putting down, although it plays a role. You must also ensure as mentioned before, that you don't have alot of revolving debt. They also consider your debt/ income ratio. If either of these two things are too high, it'll be harder to find financing anywhere. With that said, i have rarely heard of Harley Financing turning anyone down. It all falls onto what interest rate are you willing to accept. Keep in mind that if you make payments on time, after a year or so, you could always refinance with another lender and most likely get a lower interest rate. Tough times = Tough Choices. Wish you the best of luck.

 

How did your credit go from 690 to under 600?

 

I think some one called my name? Just don't tell them where you work, the rates may be higher!

 

don't understand the crazy high rates people are being quoted through HFS. They beat what my banks and Credit union offered. Don't remember the exact number but it was in the low 6's.

 

a little to personal. lets just say it was about 20% my fault and 80% the banks. they basically said that a couple loans that were current. were closed and due NOW!

 

I have great credit rating, and put down 1/4 of the total in 08. Got mine financed for 5% but I hear it's jumped quite a bit since then.

 

7k is an excellent down payment. HDFS usually require a 10% down payment but you can get 0% down if your score is good and you have tier 1 credit. The low rate from HDFS is 7.49%. I have seen some dealers offer lower rates but it is usually a promotion
of some kind where you need more down or are buying an unpopular model or supplemental financing is involved.