Okay, here is the deal - I'm a young dude, married for almost 2 years andout of college about the same amount of time. I work for Uncle Sam in the military, so I have a steady paycheck and always pay my bills. Being a recent college grad and getting started on the adult phase of life, I've got student loans, two car payments, and the usual utility bills. I tried to apply a few places to get a loan for my bike and got rejected everywhere.

I'm hoping in five months or so I can reapply and get picked up, but I'm a bit perplexed that no one would touch me right now. I've got good credit, just not enough credit history. Is that really enough to no give someone a loan? I didn't try Harley financing, but figured if my regular bank, who I've done plenty of business with and trust quite a bit, and some other lenders didn't want me, they wouldn't either. Anyone think time is the key or am I doing something wrong?

Again, May is the target for me and a Fat Bob is what I'm looking at with a 2 or 3K downpayment, for a price reference. Any advice from those experienced in these things would be appreciated.

 

Harley will probably accept you if you havegood credit.. There pretty easy

 

HD would be my suggestion to........especialy to a AMMO troop

 

Ammo -- Harley will get you the credit, but at a high rate. You should have the ability to use a local credit union on base. I would give them a shout. Lastly, you may want to look at getting a credit card with a small balance (say 250 bucks), and just make the min payment for a few months. That should get you all the credit you need.

Thanks for your service.

 

harley will accept, but may try get you at a high rate. you may want to try a credit union, I hear they are usually more helpful then your standard banks.

 

Another thing is don't apply at more then two places. Multiple credit application will bring your credit score down. Good Luck with the Bob.

 

have you considered that your debit to income ratio might not be ideal? you seem to have a lot of bills (2 cars, student loans, etc) and I am not sure how much you make. you are probably getting rejected becuase creditors may feel you don't make enough to pay for a bike on top of everything else. That would be my best guess. good luck though and I hope you are in the harley family soon.

 

Personal banks for the most part are harder to get loans through than say a Business that writes 100 or more loans a month. Dealerships that have high volume will have more pull to get you financed than you asking from your bank. Get some money down and then go through the dealership. Also the finance guy will probably hold a couple points of interest on you so be strong and fight for a better rate than the one first quoted. ( this means you are approved for say 7% but they will tell you a sob story about your credit and hit you at 9%for example). Negotiate, and have an out like another dealership you can pin against them.
DO NOT fall for the better rate if you get a warranty bit( a suckers play)... It's bull... you can get the better rate without the warranty. I'm retired from a career in finance FWIW.

 

Try Harley financing dude! Their low interest rate (believe it's at 4.99 now?) is probabaly going to be alot better than what any other bank is going to offer you on a motorcycle loan anyway. However, I think I remember that low rate being only for people with a certain credit score? As long as your making decent money & paying your bills on time, I can't see bank-after-bank rejecting you? If so, there's probably something on your credit report that your not aware of? But I've seen quite the number of just straight-out"bums" who can't hold a job for more than a few weeks, have no more than $10 in their savings account& have absolutely, purecrap for credit get financed through Harley & out ridin' so I wouldn't worry too much!

 

I recommend doing a budget and seeing if you will realistically be able to afford it. Use your base pay as a reference. Don't take your BAH or other special pays into consideration. Your housing allowance can change if you get transferred somewhere, and special pay can be lost if reassigned. I know the Fat Bob maybe what you really want but consider a Sporty. Almost half the price and with your $3k down payment your payments will be next to nothing. Ride it for a couple years. Get promoted, make more money, pay the Sporty down and sell it privately. Take the money you made for a downpayment on a Fat Bob and you will have a decent payment, not to mention a credit history.

Keep in mind your applying for loans and getting rejected is going to go against you on your credit report. Too many inquiries is looked upon negatively. Talk to your financial counselor and learn about credit and budgets and debt to income ratios.