What are your thoughts on financing?

So, I was drooling over the G5 iMacs on the Apple Store site, AGAIN. I noticed the 'pay $50 a month' or whatever with a credit card.

Would any of you lease out a new iMac? I love my G3 TOO DEATH, except I would really be interested in trying a newer one.

Your not "Leasing" it, your buying it on credit. Big difference.

I wouldn't use the bank Apple advertises unless you were planning on paying it off fairly fast, their interest is a bit high (ok, real high).

Sorry, wrong terminology. I wouldn't mind the high interest. I forget what it was though. It'll help me build credit.

Chances are, if your credit is not so good, you will be paying more than advertised. They usually advertise the payment someone with perfect credit would pay. You might want to consider a small loan from your own bank instead. I'm sure it would be a lower rate than whatever bank Apple uses (since they take a slice as well)

Last I knew, Apple loans were through Bank of America. And someone on another site once reported that you either pass their credit requirement, or you don't. There was supposedly no alternative financing rates. I've never financed anything through Apple so I could be wrong?

DocZ06 said:

Last I knew, Apple loans were through Bank of America. And someone on another site once reported that you either pass their credit requirement, or you don't. There was supposedly no alternative financing rates. I've never financed anything through Apple so I could be wrong?

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Apple's financing is through Barclays Bank and is called the Juniper Visa card. When I bought my MacBook Pro, they were offering free financing for 6 months and a $25 iTunes gift card if you financed. Although I had the cash, I couldn't resist the $25 gift card. I forget how the points worked, but since I spent $1270, I automatically got the gift card (I think $1250 was the magical number as I recall).

So, I did everything online, paid half the balance as soon as I received my first statement, waited until the gift card showed up and then paid off the rest and immediately closed the account. My wife and I only keep one credit card between the two of us (don't like having open credit lines for security reasons, plus it keeps your credit score high). All in all, the customer service for the credit card company wasn't too bad. It took about 3 months to receive my gift card. I had to call about 3 times (twice to check on the status of the gift card and once to close the account) - and had to wait more than 10 minutes each time to speak to a rep. They do have fee-free online payment and statements, which is awesome.

The moral of this story is that the financing isn't too bad as long as you are able to get it paid off in short order (i.e. before the interest kicks in - which I believe was something like 24% APR). You probably won't qualify for the financing if you have no credit whatsoever, I would recommend you start off smaller. There's a lot of credit card companies that specialize in starting your credit record off. They're usually high interest, so I recommend buying a few small price tag items, and routinely pay the card off before you accrue too much interest. Of course, it's easy to dig yourself into a hole with credit, so don't buy anything that you can't afford to pay off quickly with your existing income. And of course, if you don't have a steady income, wait until you do before you get started.

Rabbit said:

Would any of you lease out a new iMac?

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Only if it was going to result in me bringing in additional income that was greater than the monthly payments...and if I didn't have the cash...

How much interest total are you going to be paying?...

While it is tempting, financing a computer is a terrible idea imo. Computers go out-of-date so quickly that it's simply not worth it. I'll lease a car, I'll rent an apartment...but I won't finance a computer. In a year when you're still paying off your computer, a new Mac Pro will come out that will be twice as powerful, even quieter, cooler-looking, etc. cwa107 makes a good point though - if you can pay it off pretty quickly, it's not a bad option.

fleurya said:

Chances are, if your credit is not so good, you will be paying more than advertised.

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Exactly. Also, if your credit isn't good (or well established) you aren't even going to be approved for the offer Apple has.

Rabbit said:

Sorry, wrong terminology. I wouldn't mind the high interest. I forget what it was though. It'll help me build credit.

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You say that now, but when you realize that you end up paying almost twice what the actual cost of the computer is, it isn't so smart. There are better ways to build credit. Apple's offer isn't one of them.

Simply put... if you don't have the money now, then don't get it. Save your money. Work another part-time job if you have to. Don't buy a computer on credit if you don't have the money upfront to pay for it.

Maybe I'll try to take a loan out from a bank. Thanks for the thoughts guys, I appreciate them.

cwa107 said:

Apple's financing is through Barclays Bank and is called the Juniper Visa card.

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At one time, the Apple loan and credit card were entirely different financial offer's. I find it interesting Apple changes banks and credit card companies almost as fast as they do OS upgrades.

Personally, I feel that if you can't buy a computer outright or can't pay it off a credit card or some other credit within a few months, you probably shouldn't be buying it and either get something more affordable or be happy with what you have.

It's so easy to overextend yourself with credit. It happens every day. Be smart. Be content.

fleurya said:

Personally, I feel that if you can't buy a computer outright or can't pay it off a credit card or some other credit within a few months, you probably shouldn't be buying it and either get something more affordable or be happy with what you have.

It's so easy to overextend yourself with credit. It happens every day. Be smart. Be content.

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That was pretty much the point I was trying to make, although fleurya said it much better (and in far fewer words)

You can get into a world of trouble with credit. On the flip side, having good credit will open doors to many things that you could never have without it - like a home, a new car, etc. So, if you have no credit right now, start off small. Make a couple of purchases that you can easily afford to pay off within a month or two, but don't go overboard. If you can afford to pay the machine you're looking at off within a month or two, it's probably OK. Otherwise, save up until you have the cash.

The UK has over a trillion pounds of personal debt, I have no intention of adding to that. I owe the price of an iPod Classic that will be paid imminently.

Debt is far to easy to build up, and far to difficult to pay off. If you really want a Mac, save up and get a cheaper one - the debt isn't worth it.

fleurya said:

Personally, I feel that if you can't buy a computer outright or can't pay it off a credit card or some other credit within a few months, you probably shouldn't be buying it and either get something more affordable or be happy with what you have.

It's so easy to overextend yourself with credit. It happens every day. Be smart. Be content.

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Well said. I stopped using credit for for pretty much anything. I have 2 personal credit cards with a total of $1200 combine credit. They are great for buying things on-line as they have low limits and if the numbers get jacked, I don't lose anything. For bigger things, like computers, TVs, Stereo's and so on, if I don't have the money in the bank, I don't buy it.