As soon as I walked into work to start my 12 hour shift today I experienced something noteworthy for this discussion! My two coworkers know that I ride motorcycles and so do they. CW1 yells my name and excitedly asks if I want to ride to the BMW dealership this weekend with him and CW2 so they can both buy BMW S1000RRs ($19,000 brand new). I politely decline saying I have to work noon to midnight on Saturday and Sunday (truth). They’ve been talking about getting new motorcycles for the past week and even tried getting me to buy a new one with them. I’m perfectly happy with my $6000 bike that I paid for in cash :)
What makes this even worse is that CW1 had his motorcycle stolen a few months ago and never reported the incident to his insurance company because he owes more on the bike than it’s worth. So he is still paying insurance/payments on his stolen motorcycle. CW2 was freaking out last year about his re-enlistment (we’re in the Marine Corps) taking longer than it should and how he can’t afford to be out for even a week because he lives paycheck to paycheck and wouldn’t be able to afford his mortgage payment. On top of that, CW2 just recently bought (financed) a brand new $14,000 Harley-Davidson about 5 months ago and is already “bored” of it so he is willing to trade it in to the BMW dealership and roll his negative equity into the new motorcycle. FML this is why the military gets a bad rep when it comes to personal finance and buying flashy vehicles with deployment money, re-enlistment money, or flat-out no money.
Coworker's older teenage son shows up at home with a brand new crotch rocket. He tells dad, "no worries, it's only $100 a month". Problem #1, it's a teaser rate, and jumps several hundred a month in a year. Problem #2, there is no full coverage insurance that the kid can afford, since he is a punk with a shit driving record, and he isn't even an adult yet. The only reason this stupidity was even possible is that the manufacturer was also the lender. Problem #3 the kid is an award winning motocross racer who isn't smart enough to not end up dead, or in a wheelchair, while operating a street bike that can go in excess of 160MPH. Problem #4, dad quickly has enough of this crap, and tells son that it's getting sold,and dad will come up with the cash to bridge the deficit, and make this horror story go away. Shit deal for dad, but better than a late night trip to the morgue. Final problem, when selling a fairly new crotch rocket, you will not only lose your ass, but you will attract a universe worth of dreamers, idiots, and liars.
"Dude, I can spot you $2000 down, if you can do a personal loan for the balance. I'm solid, YO"
" Dude, my student loan comes through in a few weeks, can I give you a hundred to hold it"
"Will you take a trade? I have an Xbox and a 400 YZ that's totally badass. That cool bro.?
It was painful to watch. The bike was finally liquidated, and dad was out $4k.