Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

If there is not a particular, individual guitar that you are in love with and don't want that particular one to get away, then layaway is almost as bad as a loan - someone else is earning interest (and has the money available to them).

If (any ol') Cobain Jag is what you want, save the money in a savings account, get the entire purchase amount ready, and then do the deal.

I know, I know, that sounds really boring and preachy.

It is.

yeah i need to start saving in general anyway.....

I need a driving license too so i can train to be a Bus driver (that s*** pays good money!!!)

but yeah, i might start busking again so i can earn a little more cash

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

Good advice here.. I have bought in finance. I PREFER to pay up front, but sometimes that isnt an option.. Just be careful of the fine print. If you can get a visa or mastercard outright, you can get a better interest rate than a store card. And also, try and pay more than the minimum bal (as with any card) or youll never get it paid off. ALSO, the X months free interest are great if you can beat that deadline. otherwise they get tacked on and put it to you..

Yeah, its a decent method.. Just be careful of the terms..

 

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

With the exception of my vehicle and house (didn't have that level of cash in my bank account), I try and avoid using loans/credit for anything. That being said s*** can hot the fan, especially with stuff breaking with the house, and you find yourself needing to use loans/credit to cover emergencies.

But yeah ... If I don't have money for the guitar and I use money I don't have, no just know your fridge/washer/dryer/somethings going to break ... or your truck catches on fire ... etc.

and here's me wanting a 1k guitar when i need more clothes....

EDIT: not in a bad way... well... i knackered 3 pairs of jeans in cycling accidents this year... so...

 

[TheProphet]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

Let's just say I got burned when I thought times were good a few years back. Learned my lesson, dug myself out, made a mental note about loans/credit and moved on.

Of course I seem to forget all that this year. 2011 was a really expensive year (Took a nice holiday ... then -> Arson on my property/fridge fried/needed to replace a dresser/truck broke down/truck subsequently catches on fire/new truck/X-mas). Currently digging myself out of that mess. Right now I know my life would be easier if I sold my 2 Gibsons and had nothing but the Yamaha RGX and Mesa and nothing else. But nah ... not going to happen. Followed a payment schedule and just gotta tighten the belt a little, maybe pick up a second job.

That's life ... full of mistakes

That's life.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

I just spent $8000 putting in new windows on my house. Do you know how many Custom Shop guitars that could have bought?

All about priorities man. Sounds like you're barely working part-time and you've got other stuff that you need/need to do way more than buy another guitar. If you want it that bad, put one of your other ones up for sale and use the proceeds to buy the one you want.

I used to be a loans officer at a bank here. I have seen first hand the kind of stupid s*** that people get themselves into with credit. Sure, everyone loves to blame the bank or the credit card company for their woes, but in the end, nobody was holding a gun to your head when you bought all that stuff you didn't need. It's all about choices.

 

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

I just spent $8000 putting in new windows on my house. Do you know how many Custom Shop guitars that could have bought?

All about priorities man. Sounds like you're barely working part-time and you've got other stuff that you need/need to do way more than buy another guitar. If you want it that bad, put one of your other ones up for sale and use the proceeds to buy the one you want.

I used to be a loans officer at a bank here. I have seen first hand the kind of stupid s*** that people get themselves into with credit. Sure, everyone loves to blame the bank or the credit card company for their woes, but in the end, nobody was holding a gun to your head when you bought all that stuff you didn't need. It's all about choices.

yeah I'm with you on that.

People are a-holes cause they will get into deep s*** then just blame whoever they can, and it aint just money its everything really.

not in a position to sell any of my other guitars. only one worth selling would be the V100 and i don't have plans to sell it.

 

[guitarrob]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

If there is not a particular, individual guitar that you are in love with and don't want that particular one to get away, then layaway is almost as bad as a loan - someone else is earning interest (and has the money available to them).

If (any ol') Cobain Jag is what you want, save the money in a savings account, get the entire purchase amount ready, and then do the deal.

I know, I know, that sounds really boring and preachy.

It is.

I am not talking about interest type payments being tacked onto the guitar total price for layaway.

At a local shop where I live, you put down money on a guitar and you get let's say 90 days to pay the rest...there is no interest tacked on.
If there was, then no...wait until you have the full amount.
This type of arrangement is nothing like a loan.

I wouldn't even do this type of deal either unless I seen a guitar that I just had to have or at least claim as my own with a down payment.

It is better to have the cash in hand...IMO.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

loanz r evil

This kind of short-sighted thinking is just dumb. Seriously, did you think this out, or are you just one of those dopes who says, "The banks are only out to screw us, maaaaaaaaaan!!!"?

Let's take a home loan, for example. The bank has money, and you don't. You need a place to live. The bank says, "For the next x amount of years, you pay me y amount of dollars to pay back the loan on this house, otherwise I get the house." You can take it or leave it. You DO have a choice. And the bank's terms dictate whether you go across the street to another bank or not. They have to compete to get that interest money.

It benefits both of you. You have a place to live, which I would argue is a good thing for you. The bank gets interest on the money, which is a good thing for them (and their depositors). It isn't even unfair, really--leaving out the part where the government fixes the spread between their lending to you and the government's lending to them. Ideally, the bank analyzes how risky you are and charges you an interest rate based on that risk. They are taking a risk on you, so they should get paid, because you're borrowing money, and you might not pay it back.

The idea that loans are a bad thing is just ridiculous, because there are plenty of times where you don't have the money now but you will in the future. And there are plenty of things you might need right now. If you drive to and from work, you need a car. You need a place to live. And you don't buy those things frequently, so paying them off over time if you don't have the cash right now makes sense, even though you're going to get hit for some premium in order to do so.

So to make a blanket statement, especially in so eloquent a fashion, is just poorly thought-out. Loans are not evil, but the temptation to do something stupid is.

In the case of musical equipment, the only time I could ever see a person taking a loan to buy it is if their job is a professional musician. Even in Hunter's example, I think it makes more sense to invest ALL the money for a year and buy it in cash at the end of the year than to pay it off over time. You have a larger balance earning that interest for a longer period of time.

TL;DR: Loans are not evil. They're a business transaction to be taken when you don't have a smarter alternative to purchase necessities.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

I just spent $8000 putting in new windows on my house. Do you know how many Custom Shop guitars that could have bought?

All about priorities man. Sounds like you're barely working part-time and you've got other stuff that you need/need to do way more than buy another guitar. If you want it that bad, put one of your other ones up for sale and use the proceeds to buy the one you want.

I used to be a loans officer at a bank here. I have seen first hand the kind of stupid s*** that people get themselves into with credit. Sure, everyone loves to blame the bank or the credit card company for their woes, but in the end, nobody was holding a gun to your head when you bought all that stuff you didn't need. It's all about choices.

This sucks to hear, but it's true. I told myself a little while back the only way I'd get new gear was selling old gear. That way I keep my investment going.

 

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

This sucks to hear, but it's true. I told myself a little while back the only way I'd get new gear was selling old gear. That way I keep my investment going.

you are probably in a better position than me to do so, mind.

The strat, I'll always keep, first electric and she's special to me.
The tele, such a cheap guitar that plays really well. I paid £79 for it, the secondhand price isn't even worth thinking about. I'm going to throw some money on it and tweak it into a decent little axe.

The V100.... i could sell it, but it is a good raunchy guitar, especially since I fitted Funkfinger's old MightyMite Mother Bucker in it.

Amp wise, tha blackstar needs to stay. got a few solid state things worth **** all and I don't own any effects pedals.....

only things i can make money from is my old collectible toy collection from the 20's to the present day and i have a low/medium 5 digit value all in all in that collection and its so close to me and i have spent so many years since the age of 6 collecting that i can;t bring myself to sell any!!

looks like busking for me! :friday:

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

I am not talking about interest type payments being tacked onto the guitar total price for layaway.

At a local shop where I live, you put down money on a guitar and you get let's say 90 days to pay the rest...there is no interest tacked on.
If there was, then no...wait until you have the full amount.
This type of arrangement is nothing like a loan.

I wouldn't even do this type of deal either unless I seen a guitar that I just had to have or at least claim as my own with a down payment.

It is better to have the cash in hand...IMO.

You missed the point here. While you arent paying extra interest on the purchase during that 90 days that your paying it off that money you have put down is in someone elses bank earning them interest rather than yours. While its small amounts it does add up.

Guitars are one thing that i never purchase on any sort of credit. There is always another guitar.

 

[guitarrob]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

You missed the point here. While you arent paying extra interest on the purchase during that 90 days that your paying it off that money you have put down is in someone elses bank earning them interest rather than yours. While its small amounts it does add up.

Guitars are one thing that i never purchase on any sort of credit. There is always another guitar.

I get the point. Which is why I advised against doing either.
It is better to have the cash in hand.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

If I hold on to that $2000 and pay something like $167 a month, I can have that $2000 (although ever decreasing) in a savings account earning interest.

This way, the $2000 is earning interest for me over the next 12 months, not somebody else.

And with interest rates at an all time low, you'd be able to net enough from the deal to buy yourself lunch. Good plan.

Finance it and pay it off before teh interest kicks in. But you should look at used gear first, as that costs less, sometimes a lot less. I'd only finance for a hard-to-find item that I may not be able to get used.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

Rule of thumb....

When you want to buy something, always ask yourself these questions:

1. Can I afford it? (Do you have the money right now? Could there be any problem at all with financing it...can you afford the interest, can you pay the interest, do you have money in the bank to back it up?)

2. Do I need it?

3. Can I do without it?

Ex: You need food. You can't do without it. But if you can't afford it you still can't buy it.

How does another guitar fit into that equation?!


.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

Layaway, yes. Financed, only one time. I bought a LP Standard that was packaged with a free Melody Maker for $1,980 back in 2004. I didn't have $1,980 cash, and it was an Internet deal only through Music123. I used my own credit card, though, not the in-house credit card. (I would never use one of those. They just aren't a good deal in the end.) I rarely used it, so I had the headroom to make the purchase. I paid it off in about 8 months. Given that I got the MM thrown in, the math added up that it was still a good deal even after the interest.

I like Sweetwater's three payment deal. And I also like them because they are one of the few online retailers that is not owned by Guitar Center. And they also show you detailed pix of each individual guitar (the expensive ones, anyhow), and list the weight for each. You can choose which one to buy by serial number. I just wish they dealt in G&Ls.

 

[lex666]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

I've used store credit cards but only when they offer no finance charge.

Right now Sweetwater is offering 12 months with no finance charge on some name brand gear including Gibson, if you use their card. If you can pay it off before the end of the agreement period, its not that bad of a deal. Read the fine print tho, alot of times if you don't pay it off they charge you interest from day 1.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

When you want to buy something, always ask yourself these questions:

2. Do I need it?

3. Can I do without it?

We're talking guitars here. No, technically we don't a new one, and yes, we can live without it. But that's no fun. And certainly not good for the economy. :naughty:

 

[Bludave]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

just wondered.

I really fancy myself the left handed Kurt cobain jaguar... but to afford it i would need it on finance.... only problem is is it a good idea....

i could severely end up in the shizzle if i get made redundant or whatever from my job so perhaps not a great idea on the economic front???

the only other option is to save and hold out and if I'm lucky in 12 months buy a new one....


could always buy a squier jaguar or jazzmaster but i would need to flip it over

Sounds like you already have the answer. I would wait until you have the cash.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

In the big scheme of the world these days, I see fininancing as a MAJOR symptom of our financial woes.

I have always said America should make THIS statement: We have the highest UNSUSTAINABLE standard of living in the world.

People finance for the primary reason of being able to sell sooner to people so that they make the sale, show the numbers, and get the credit. They make a little interest as well. At the end of the day this is a house of cards. It encourages people to buy things they can't afford, and businesses to sell things that aren't really going to get sold, and over produce and over inflate value.

Financing for a guitar? No effing way. House - of course. Car, yes. Guitar? Think about that.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Guitars on finance? yay or nay?

I am not talking about interest type payments being tacked onto the guitar total price for layaway.

At a local shop where I live, you put down money on a guitar and you get let's say 90 days to pay the rest...there is no interest tacked on.
If there was, then no...wait until you have the full amount.
This type of arrangement is nothing like a loan.

I wouldn't even do this type of deal either unless I seen a guitar that I just had to have or at least claim as my own with a down payment.

It is better to have the cash in hand...IMO.

I was saying that if you put any money down, into anyone's hands but your own, you are no longer able to earn interest with that money.

The owner of the local shop has it in his bank account, where he is earning interest on it.

(Yes, yes, I know something like $200 down for 90 days amounts to about 4 cents worth of interest or somesuch, but the principle is a metaphor for what the best thing to do is - give something that can benefit you to someone else, or hold on to something that can benefit you so it does benefit you?

In the case of a hold, not having the money available may be totally worth it - for the insurance that the guitar you fell in love with will still be there when you're ready.