Aceinsurance

There is nothing wrong with wanting to go for your dream car, except that at some point you will need insurance. It is therefore a good idea to have a balanced approach and also look at your car from an insurance company's perspective before you make your decision.

Insurance companies rely very heavily on all sorts of statistics in arriving on the insurance premium to charge for your car. This includes statistics on favorite models for car theft, collision costs and repairs for various models, fatalaties and so on.

The numbers clearly show that 2-door cars are stolen much more than their 4-door counterparts. 4-door cars have a 93 per cent less chance of having a claim elated to theft than 2-door cars. A Buick LeSabre is the kind of car that car thieves avoid and therefore the chances of theft are almost nil, according to statistics on car theft. On the other end of the scale a convertible Chevrolet Corvette is one of the most popular cars with thieves and has very 5 times the average theft rate.

As far as car thefts go, sometimes cars from the same manufacturer can vary widely. The Toyota Celica has a 67 per cent higher chance of theft than the Toyota Camry.

Then there are the cars that are the most costly in terms of collision claims. The key factor here is usually the high cost of repairing and expensive vehicle. In this regard, the Lexus IS 300 is one of the most expensive vehicles for collision claims.

When it comes to car safety, some of the leading models may surprise many. For instance the Porsche 911 has a 67 per cent less chance for injury claims than the average. On the other extreme, the Mitsubishi Lancer has almost double the injury claim rate over the norm.

Whether interest rates are high or low or its the end of a model year with lots of incentives, motorcycle buyers tend to make the same mistakes when shopping for a motorcycle loan. Here are four common mistakes motorcycle buyers make with motorcycle loans.

Shopping for a motorcycle before shopping for a motorcycle loan. Many motorcycle buyers enter the showroom looking for a motorcycle before they determine how much money a motorcycle lender is willing to loan to them for the purchase of a motorcycle. There is no need to shop for a $20,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle, if a lender is only willing to provide a loan amount of $10,000.

Additionally, once motorcycle buyers enter the showroom slick salespeople often pressure them into motorcycle loans with much higher internet rates than they could have gotten had they shopped for a motorcycle loan at a bank, credit union or online. Salespeople do not like motorcycle buyers to leave the dealership to get a motorcycle loan. In the salespersons mind this only increases the chance of loosing a sale and commission. Therefore, salespeople frequently try for a quick sale which normally results in pushing motorcycle buyers to get motorcycle financing at the dealership.

The bottom-line is that it is always best to shop for a motorcycle loan before entering the showroom.

Diving into the unknown motorcycle loan. Motorcycle buyers often jump into motorcycle loans that they do not completely understand or may not be the best alternative for them. For instance, in todays age manufacturers frequently run credit card motorcycle loan promotions on their private-label credit cards. But these promotions typically offer a low interest rate for a short term like 12 or 24 months and have a much higher interest rate after the short promotional term. On a credit card promotion if motorcycle buyers can not afford to pay off the loan during the short promotion period, then they are typically better taking a slightly higher interest rate on an installment motorcycle loan for a longer term.

Borrowing too much.

The most common mistake the first time motorcycle buyer makes in not having a clear sense of how much motorcycle they can afford. This is especially true for young motorcycle buyers who look to buy the top sport bikes that cost up to $10,000 - $15,000. What they fail to realize is that financing a $10,000 - $15,000 motorcycle can stretch them to thin, resulting in them having little cash to enjoy themselves and the motorcycling lifestyle. They may also have too little cash to pay for insurance, maintenance, registration or new accessories for their motorcycle.

Not asking the right questions.

The first warning sign that motorcycle buyers should see is that if they do not understand the type of motorcycle loan, then they should be sure to ask a lot of questions.

Here are some good questions to ask:

Is the interest rate fixed or variable? If fixed how long will it be fixed for?

Are there circumstances that can make the interest rate on the motorcycle loan change in the future?

What happens if a payment is 30 days late? Does the interest rate increase?

What happens if a payment is 60 days late? Does the interest rate increase?

How long is the term on the motorcycle loan?

If the loan is an installment loan, does it use rule of 78 or simple interest? (Simple interest is always better because it does not penalize the motorcycle buyer if the loan is paid off early.)

What is the down payment requirement to get the motorcycle loan?

Is full coverage insurance required?

How much is registration and are these fees included in the motorcycle loan?

Are there any administrative fees to get the motorcycle loan and if so how much are the fees?

Overall, motorcycle buyers can avoid these common mistakes by spending a little extra time focusing on shopping for a motorcycle loan and asking lots of questions.

Copyright (c) 2004, by Jay Fran This article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author's information and an active live link to http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com is published with the article.

A complimentary copy of any newsletter or a link to the site where the article is posted is greatly appreciated.