18 months interest free credit?

jim Brock

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 25, 2015
21
5
Derby
Having looked around at various websites & noting that many do interest free credit it made me wonder how does this work ? I suppose I know the answer but I am just throwing this out there to you guys.

If I wanted a bike for £2k (actually I do & I want 2 bikes) I was thinking paying it all up front makes no sense at all so why not pay just the minimum & spread the payments over 18 months but in reality how does that really work for the seller? Surely they would be months away from making any profit which would be hard going for any business unless there was a huge mark up which in reality there must be otherwise I cant see how it can be viable to the seller. Or is the interest loaded into the bike at the front end of the deal. What have I missed ?

Most finance deals have a percentage in there which is the profit for the lender financing the deal but where's the profit at 0% ? Surely it's loaded into the cost of the bike.

As I want 2 bikes & don't need credit what sort of discounts could I be looking at ? ( I want two bikes & the two I have see would be the best part of £5k which is a hell of a lot of money (almost ridiculous really) for two bike to be used 10 times a year (but hopefully may lead to trips abroad & full blown biking holidays) but I am also well aware thy could end up in the garage gathering dust)

I have a figure in mind but I was just wondering where you guys would pitch for 2 bikes & no finance required on a possible outlay of £5k.
 

Cornish Pete

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 27, 2015
23
1
83
West Devon
Having looked around at various websites & noting that many do interest free credit it made me wonder how does this work ? I suppose I know the answer but I am just throwing this out there to you guys.

If I wanted a bike for £2k (actually I do & I want 2 bikes) I was thinking paying it all up front makes no sense at all so why not pay just the minimum & spread the payments over 18 months but in reality how does that really work for the seller? Surely they would be months away from making any profit which would be hard going for any business unless there was a huge mark up which in reality there must be otherwise I cant see how it can be viable to the seller. Or is the interest loaded into the bike at the front end of the deal. What have I missed ?

Most finance deals have a percentage in there which is the profit for the lender financing the deal but where's the profit at 0% ? Surely it's loaded into the cost of the bike.

As I want 2 bikes & don't need credit what sort of discounts could I be looking at ? ( I want two bikes & the two I have see would be the best part of £5k which is a hell of a lot of money (almost ridiculous really) for two bike to be used 10 times a year (but hopefully may lead to trips abroad & full blown biking holidays) but I am also well aware thy could end up in the garage gathering dust)

I have a figure in mind but I was just wondering where you guys would pitch for 2 bikes & no finance required on a possible outlay of £5k.
I just got 10% off two £1000 bikes without too much trouble in fact I was offered the same deal by two dealers. If you dont ask you dont get.

Peter
 

SteveRuss

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2015
566
265
57
Bristol, Uk
Credit is credit. I suspect you still have to go through the same credit checking procedure with an external loan company. It's just that you don't pay interest. You're still borrowing money from an external lender.

There are plenty of dealers on here that will explain but I suspect that's the meat and potatoes of it.
 
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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,312
I have a figure in mind but I was just wondering where you guys would pitch for 2 bikes & no finance required on a possible outlay of £5k.
Two bikes doesn't necessarily help - from the dealer's point of view two bikes sold too cheaply is twice as bad as one.

It will depend on what you are buying, if it's desirable models the dealer is less likely to discount them to you if he thinks another buyer will pay closer to full price.

It's not the best time to buy from the customer's point of view.

Better weather and lighter nights drive traffic to bike retailers, which makes them a bit more bullish.

Then there's the vexatious question of supply.

Be wary of a dealer who offers you a great deal on bikes to be ordered.

Three months later you have no bikes and even less chance of getting something by the end of the season.

That is a waste of your time and the dealer's, but some do it.
 

JohnCade

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 16, 2014
1,486
736
Money is very cheap now and we are heading for disinflation for a time at least - and possibly outright deflation - which would be a disaster incidentally. In both cases all debts increase so the finance company makes money at zero interest rates.
 

jim Brock

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 25, 2015
21
5
Derby
Thanks for the replies. I have asked the question to 50 cycles about discounts for 2 bikes totaling £4800 without finance & had no response as of yet.
 

SteveRuss

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2015
566
265
57
Bristol, Uk
Thanks for the replies. I have asked the question to 50 cycles about discounts for 2 bikes totaling £4800 without finance & had no response as of yet.
As a Kalkhoff owner and 50cycles customer, i'd be interested on how this email request pans out if that okay with you..?
 

jim Brock

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 25, 2015
21
5
Derby
As a Kalkhoff owner and 50cycles customer, i'd be interested on how this email request pans out if that okay with you..?

OK with me but it wouldn't make public any deals done. Anyway, as of yet there hasn't been any reply so I am looking at other bikes (Rotwild has just come into my radar!!)

Have you got anything you would like to share ?
 

SteveRuss

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2015
566
265
57
Bristol, Uk
OK with me but it wouldn't make public any deals done. Anyway, as of yet there hasn't been any reply so I am looking at other bikes (Rotwild has just come into my radar!!)

Have you got anything you would like to share ?
Yeah sorry. I didn't make myself that clear. I'm not interested in the financial dealings there,but rather with your experience with them as a company I suppose.

As far as sharing my experience? I bought my bike used and inherited the warranty. They swapped that in over in an hour or so on the phone and there were no stresses there.

My battery showed signs of capacity issues about two weeks ago or so (that's what their plug in machine reported). It had had only 30 full cycles. Two days later I collected my new battery. Good show.

Love the bike. I still however think that 50 cycles are in their infancy in some respects but are also very supportive when things go wrong so far. I've never had much luck with their email service though.

For what it's worth, I asked about their servicing costs and they said they are free for the first two years (as long as you don't take the **** obviously). I haven't seen this on paper but that's what the chap said in the Bristol shop. Nice guys...
 

jim Brock

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 25, 2015
21
5
Derby
That's good to know Steve. I have a branch only 15 miles from me & out of all the bikes they do catch my eye (I think it's the 612wh battery that got me interested initially) but we'll see.
 

SteveRuss

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2015
566
265
57
Bristol, Uk
That's good to know Steve. I have a branch only 15 miles from me & out of all the bikes they do catch my eye (I think it's the 612wh battery that got me interested initially) but we'll see.
I'm still getting my head around all the different Pedelec offerings out there, and there are obviously more affordable options, but the Kalkhoff's seem so solid and relatively technically impressive that I find it hard to find any specific point to criticise.

I've brushed over this in previous posts however in my experience, a 40 mile ride on full power, with our Bristol hills, leaves you with enough battery to get home. As my legs have strengthened, i've started to run flat roads in ECO mode (1/2 ECO and 1/2 Full power) and get around 70-80 miles or more on that battery. It's pretty amazing.

Do ride as many bikes as you can though... There's some good and bad stuff out there..
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
You've sort of shot yourself in the foot by broadcasting to the world. Many dealers will give you some sort of discount, but they don't like to publish it because that would then become the starting price for the next customer to start his negotiations. Many of them read this forum, so they know what you're up to. You'll probably get a much better deal if you keep it to yourself.
 

SteveRuss

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2015
566
265
57
Bristol, Uk
You've sort of shot yourself in the foot by broadcasting to the world. Many dealers will give you some sort of discount, but they don't like to publish it because that would then become the starting price for the next customer to start his negotiations. Many of them read this forum, so they know what you're up to. You'll probably get a much better deal if you keep it to yourself.
Liked but it's still a fair inquiry... ;)

Also. 50Cycles don't seem to have a presence on here for one reason or another (more fool them..)..
 
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jim Brock

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 25, 2015
21
5
Derby
You've sort of shot yourself in the foot by broadcasting to the world. Many dealers will give you some sort of discount, but they don't like to publish it because that would then become the starting price for the next customer to start his negotiations. Many of them read this forum, so they know what you're up to. You'll probably get a much better deal if you keep it to yourself.
I did say that I wouldn't post any monies involved in an earlier thread & my intuition tells me that 50 cycles (and others) may watching with interest where this one goes but there is no way I am paying full price when 0% over 18 months is available & I don't want the finance especially for 2 bikes that will cost the best part of £4 to £5k.

May all be irrelevant now as I think I have found just what I am after.
 

jim Brock

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 25, 2015
21
5
Derby
I can't. I've used my only bullet ;)

Oh go on then,,,,,,,,,

Found another supplier that does the Impulse2 / 612W combo but not a Kalkhoff - prices look good & I will be down there on Wednesday afternoon to open negotiations.
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
2,592
1,747
70
West Wales
I did say that I wouldn't post any monies involved in an earlier thread & my intuition tells me that 50 cycles (and others) may watching with interest where this one goes but there is no way I am paying full price when 0% over 18 months is available & I don't want the finance especially for 2 bikes that will cost the best part of £4 to £5k.

May all be irrelevant now as I think I have found just what I am after.
I think you're mis-understanding the finance deal. The dealer gets paid by the finance company, I suspect there may be a small charge on the dealer. (That may be your only wiggle room). The finance company then sells the debt to a bank or larger finance house. Now this is where it gets surreal. That bank puts the debt on it's books as an asset, so allowing it to lend (create) money to others at the official ratio of 10:1.In other words if you borrow £100 they can create £1000. And for each tranche of money it lends they put it on their books as an asset............ad infinitum.
Why do you think the country/government/Greece/the world is in the ** it's in? The official rate/allowance is 10:1 but most banks are in it to 30,40,50 or more to 1.
Now you know how banks can apparently make a loss and still pay humungeous bonus's.
Sorry guys, bit of a hobby horse of mine.:(
 

jim Brock

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 25, 2015
21
5
Derby
Quite agree on the bank thing Benjahmin. At one time banks could only lend on cash deposits from savers but now they just create money at will & the ponzi scheme which is out of control just seems to keep going.

Going back to the 18 month interest free part, I have found a website that perfectly demonstrates my point. Damian Harris would give me 10% off an ebike & a Haibike SDURO Hardseven SL @£1849 now becomes £1664 with the 10% save code that they are offering which is a cracking deal from a UK dealer BUT.... I can have either 10% off or pay the full price & get 0%. But I can't have both.

50 Cycles have replied to my message I sent on facebook & will call me with an offer tomorrow on the quote I asked for but I have had my head turned. Had they contacted me sooner i wouldn't have spent nearly all day looking for other options but at least I have another option

Thanks for all the replies by the way.. much appreciated.
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,312
The dealer pays the finance company a commission on the loan, typically six per cent.

That's why Damian Harris offered you either/or.

They have about 10 per cent to play with, so they can give it to you in the form of a cash discount, or they can pay it - or a bit less - to the finance company.

Similarly, bike to work scheme bikes cost the dealer about 10 per cent, so they will almost always be at full price.