Money Money Money

[G]

Aaah yes, the big £. Here's my musings on the subject, including some bitter experience

So you've set your heart on bike X. There are a few things which you should check before heading down to Big Bob's Bike Emporium...

1.1 Insurance
Shop around for quotes. If you're young, be aware that insurance could be *a lot* and you're going to need to factor this in to the final figure for your bike.

1.2 Gear
If it's your first bike, you need to buy a helmet. Gloves. Jacket. Boots. Trousers. And more. You can spread this out over time to some extent, and it's worth shopping around as prices vary hugely. But basically, factor in £1000 for clothing, and other things you'll want like locks, luggage, a shiny tax disc holder...


2 How to pay
If you're buying from a dealer (particularly if its a new bike) they'll love you forever if you take out their finance. But this is dodgy ground... it can sometimes be a good deal but IMO it's generally a bad thing.
I took out Black Horse Finance on my first bike (went in, shiny things, got carried away, sign here madam and it's yours) and the APR was 18%. Ouch.
9 months down the line when I wanted to part exchange it for another bike I had to pay the finance off - it's essential that the bike's not got anything outstanding on it when you sell - and found that I'd paid about £450 of the actual amount off. Not amused.


2.1 Personal Loan
Shop around and these can be got for about 7% APR and you dont have the issue of the HPI register when you sell the bike, as the loan isn't secured against it. Just spend a day on the net checking out all the various options, most sites have calculators that let you work out monthly payments over different time periods and amounts - quite handy. This is probably the option most people go for when buying a half decent bike.


2.2 Credit Card
Also possible. Same as Personal Loan applies here, though the interest is generally higher.


2.3 Which to choose
With the 3 above options, it basically comes down to shopping around, doing the sums and working out what's best for you. When you're working out how much to borrow, remember to add in the insurance, the gear, and maybe a bit 'in hand' for whatever might crop up.

Obviously, there are also the 'save up' and the 'daddy bought it for me' options as well as numerous other ways to obtain funds. And none of the above options apply if you're 17... life's tough innit

SO... you've done your sums, everything checks out, the loan's in or the parents have handed over the cash. Insurance is accounted for, and you've priced up the gear you need. Down to the bike shop then...