I have a limited credit history, but have money for a down payment for a motorcycle. What are my options?

milesm: I have a limited credit history, but have money for a down payment for a motorcycle. What are my options?
The dealership wouldn’t approve me for a loan, because im only 20, and have a “limited credit history.” I have $ 1500 to put down, does anyone know of a place that will accept this? Please don’t harp on me that i don’t need a motorcycle, or that i should buy a clunker. I cant fix a broken bike, thats why i need something in decent shape. It doesn’t have to be new, just not over 10 years old. Ive tried asking people on craigslist, but with limited results. I’m looking to buy something in the $ 3000 -$ 6000 range, so its not ridiculous. Can someone please help me out? From what the dealer told me it doesn’t matter how much money I put down they wont finance me. Please help me out!

Answers and Views:

Answer by benny
Save up until you can pay cash, what other option do you have
if no one will approve you?

I’m saving up, but not because I can’t get approved for a loan,
it’s because I don’t want a monthly payment.

Answer by gordo e
Look , don’t make a mistake! Just save up 500 more so you have 20% down on a 10k dollar bike, get a very very slightly used Honda cbr 1000, no more than 2 years old. Always run redline synthetic.

It’s the most dependable and longest lasting.

If you get any older bike, you’ll soon get sick of how heavy the darn thing is. You can get a 94 Cbr 900RR Honda, that’s a great classic bike with lots of power, but it’s also twice as heavy as the new bikes almost. Never get a bike with a shaft drive, gearing down in a turn will unexpectedly throw you off the road by rotation.

By the way; don’t trust the dealer to find all financing sources for you. Check out some of the cruddy ones that offer 22% interest, then after 6 months, refinance with a lower rate with someone else. I did.

Answer by Anon
Go to your bank and see about a loan for a motorcycle. See what they will approve you for and look for a GS or ES 500. They are cheap to fix and can withstand being dropped and the worst that will probably happen is a clutch or brake lever being broken; this is where the cheap to repair comes in.

Don’t follow the get a liter bike guy above.

Answer by Frank
What you need to do is look into some independant motorcycle shops(not dealerships). Some of these shops do “In-house financing” I work for one such shop and financing is not based off of credit score or history. They are usually based off of work history(length of time on your job) and place of residence. This type of credit looks more at stability than your past. With the amount of money you have for a downpayment you shouldnt have a problem obtaining a $ 5-6 thousand dollar bike. call around all your local shops and you should find one or two that does this type of financing

Answer by racefanwfo56
get more money.

Answer by aaron b
The shops you are visiting are in the business of making money and the folks with limited or poor credit history are in the business of costing them money. You are asking a business that doesn’t know you from Adam to gamble on you for anywhere from $ 1500 to $ 4,500. That’s not what they do man. If you want to do business, you have to come with the green, or you have to lower unrealistic expectations to be able to buy something you can actually afford. There are bikes outs there for close to what you have on hand now. I bought my first bike for only $ 1,000. That was about 12,000 miles ago. Remove the self imposed restriction on the year and you will find a bike that fits you.

Answer by Mister Licious
Join a Credit Union that offers “first time buyers programs”.