Just so happened to swing by BMW Park Lane yesterday on a whim and got talking to sales bod (as you do)
Anyone any experience of the BMW select deal - deposit, 3years finance & then guaranteed lump sum? The lure of a K1200S is persistant & troubling...
Would want to put it through the books as company bike - is this possible? Apparently ex demo bikes are VAT eligible.
The R1200S's look much better than when I saw one at Ally Pally... (showroom environment, free coffee perhaps?) Cara sat on the back and ruled it out though (and the thought of the depreciation..)
Having finally paid for the S, new bike is tempting although somewhat inappropriate at the mo..
Ade B wrote:Apparently ex demo bikes are VAT eligible.
'tis true. My S was an ex-demo and the VAT reduction was rather nice.
I'm not convinced by the 3 years payments and lump sum thing though. Overall I think it works out expensive. Plenty of low APR loans about that should easily beat it.
Adam
Forgive me father for I have sinned... ex S owner moved onto pastures new with four cylinders and a chain... and back to a twin, albeit in a V.
I'll second that. BMW Finance always results in you paying through your nose, along with the risk of them taking the bike off you if you have trouble paying. Much better off, IMO, getting a standard bank loan instead (or borrowing from a wealthy relative ).
I've been fortunate to not need loans etc so far so I'm not sure how it all compares but I had a similar conversation with a sales guy at Vines.
I got him to run the numbers for me and for a F800S with a lot of options fitted it would have ended up costing me £700 more over 3 years to buy on the installment plan. They way he felt the scheme was best used though was to replace the bike every 2-3 years while maintaining the monthly payments.
It worked out something like 30% down at the start.... £xyz a month for 3 years.... say £2000 guaranteed buy back after 3 years but realistic value would be £4k so you p/x the 3 year old bike in against a new bike on the same scheme. The £2k extra that the bike is worth becomes the 30% down on bike #2 and the monthly payments carry on.
If I had £xyz a month then it would be an interesting way of getting a new bike every 2-3 years that was always in warranty. Only restriction I could see was that you had to maintain a dealer service and the guaranteed figure got adjusted if you exceed 30k miles in the 2-3 year period.
I suppose it depends on whether you view owning a bike as a desirable asset or an ageing liability...
Not sure what I feel about the S currently... the riding it bit is still ok..
The 'new bike every 3 years' for constant outlay sort of looks attractive at the mo' although when I'm on my 6th BMW I might regret it... as at some point presumably you have to either buy it outright or give it back.. its more like bike tax.
Sort of running the bike under the company complicates matters a bit and may be clouding my judgement...
voices in my head Shiney new bike Shiney new bike Shiney new bike
yeah I know what you mean..... I keep thinking it's really quite attractive and then I think what am I thinking I can't afford that!!!
I consider my bike an ageing desireable liability so I'm always mixed about it. The other downside would be if you enjoy making lots of modifications... would potentially increase the p/x value but you'd be forking out for upgrades every 2-3 years which is probably not cost effective.
When you decide to stop swapping and buy the bike you just end up paying the final guaranteed amount... in my previous example £2k.
on the modification front (for the bike not the other half) - the thought of increasing annual outlay on the money pit that is running a motorbike in the UK, for marginal performance gains has never really appealed - then again I've never ridden a highly modded S (or a standard R6)...
having just waded through 3 back issues of MCN picked up today, there's a lot of bike available for a lot less than a new BM...
Maybe I'll just ride the S for fun this weekend and revel in the smug knowledge that it is I and not BMW finance that own the fine (out of warranty) machine outright and if I wanted to I could set fire to it in a layby with total impunity.
).