First off, before we get too deep into this, let’s talk about “bad credit”.  What exactly is bad credit?  What is credit and why is it important?  These questions are very important and need to be answered.  Simply put, every person in the United States has a credit score based off a variety of factors.  Their credit scores helps show potential lenders your responsibility with money.  When you to someone to get financing for your motorcycle, they check your credit score to see if you’ve been vigilant in making payments towards your debt on-time every time.  Whenever you miss a payment or are late, your score gets penalized.  When you have a penalized credit score, you have “bad credit.”  When a dealer, lender, landlord, etc., checks and sees your bad credit rating, they’re much less likely to give you money or rent you a room because they think you’ll be unreliable in making payments.

Getting that Harley Davidson motorcycle and financing it can be difficult if you have bad credit.  But while it is “difficult” it is not impossible.  The number one thing you HAVE to do when wanting to get a loan or financing of any sort is have a secure stream of income.  There isn’t reputable lender in the world that will give you money if you don’t have some sort of income.  Plus, not only do you have to have a form of income, but you have to be making enough money to support your monthly payments and debt.  If you don’t make enough money, you can kiss your motorcycle dreams goodbye.

Once you have a means of paying for your motorcycle over time, you can go out and get a loan.  But remember, if you have bad credit, you can expect to be paying a lot more per month than someone with good credit.  There’s no simple way of fixing your credit except by showing you make your rent, bills, and credit card payments on time.  After years of showing good money habits, will you see much better interest rates and offers from banks.  Until then, you can either bite the bullet and take a crappy interest rate on a motorcycle loan or save up some money and put more money down on a loan.  The more money you can pay up front, the better your payments will be each month.
Where should you turn if you need motorcycle financing for people with bad credit? The first thing that you should do is think about what kind of motorcycle you are going to buy. You will need to know how much your motorcycle costs and whether the cost will be acceptable under your given budget.

The cost of your new bike can also influence the lender’s willingness to loan you money.  If your bike costs and extraordinarily large sum of money–especially when compared to your yearly income–a lender may not lend you the money you want.  If, on the other hand, you want to finance a motorcycle that’s a tiny portion of your yearly salary, you will have excellent chances of getting the money you want.  One way around this, of course, is putting a lot of money down on your motorcycle.  If you are eyeballing an expensive, custom motorcycle and don’t have the immediate funds to buy it, you can put what you do available towards a down-payment.  Even if the motorcycle is really pricey, a lender may give you the financing if you make a significant enough down-payment.

So what are the best places to look for bad credit motorcycle financing?

• A local bank or credit union
• Bad credit financial institutions
• Payday loan companies
• Internet lenders

The internet will give you the widest selection of lenders willing to finance your motorcycle if you’re someone with bad credit.  Most websites offer competitive interest rates and finance fees.  Many financial institutions and credit card companies have an online segment of their company that offers different rates and services than what you would find locally.  If you’re uncomfortable about dealing online–don’t be.  While there are people that may try to scam you online, they’re very few and far in between.  You’re just as likely to get scammed in your home town as you are online.  To avoid getting scammed, deal with reputable lenders.  To see if they are honest and reputable, check the Better Business Bureau website.

And even if you don’t choose to get your loan online for your motorcycle, you can use the quality information and rates you find to negotiate with local banks and credit unions.  If they’re offering you a poor deal, counter them and tell them about the better rate you can get online.  Many times they’ll compromise with you and you can leave with a good loan (even though you had bad credit).

• Higher interest rates
• More fees including yearly “service charges”
• A lot less potential loan amount.

But don’t let that ruin your day, there are tons of ways for people to get a motorcycle even if they have bad credit.  You credit score does not need to be the force stopping you.  Bad credit motorcycle loans have been increasingly popular as of late.  As more and more people have to deal with poor credit due to bankruptcy or difficulty paying medical bills, businesses have become more understanding to that group of people.  If you’re someone that doesn’t want to deal with all the paperwork and hoops that some financial institutions make you go through, you’ll love some of the motorcycle loans out there.  If you’re looking to buy a motorcycle fast, and don’t want to deal with crappy loans, you’ll find a lot of loans  that will work well with your bad credit.

Before you’re able to simply go out and get a loan, you should have a firm understanding of the lenders out there that will service you.  You don’t want to deal with the wrong type of lenders.  The greatest options out there if you have bad credit and want to finance a motorcycle is from a dealership you want to buy the bike from or a specialized financial institution for bad credit loans.  These types of “bad credit” lenders are called many different names including “sub-prime” lenders.  In most cases, these types institutions can facilitate your application process much better than your typical neighborhood bank.  Sub-prime lenders, along with motorcycle dealers, are much more understanding about loaning you money and will facilitate you if you have the necessary income to make your monthly payments.  Don’t attempt to get these types of loans if you don’t have the income to make your payments.   Getting yourself into debt that you can’t afford, even for a motorcycle, can end up being a bad decision in the long run.

If you have the paychecks and a steady job to support your motorcycle purchase, it only becomes a simple choice of who to get the loan from.  You can easily apply for a loan from the dealership or you can look a bad credit lender specializing in motorcycles or personal loans.  The best choice is most situations is to go with the dealership because they typically offer the most cost-effective deal (and most convenient).  Beyond that, there are many places that you can look for bad credit motorcycle loans.  There are a large range of lenders online that can help you get a loan at a reasonable interest rate.  Getting a loan for a motorcycle is an easy task if you are vigilant and shop around with reputable dealers and lenders.