[freeky929]

Question:

I have a Honda Credit Card issued by GE Capital Credit with a $12,000 limit. I have had it for six months and I was totally dead-set against using it, but I wonder one thing. If I buy a bike with that card, will they require me to carry full coverage insurance? If not, then it may be the way to go. I checked on financing a bike through the bank and the interest rate is around 12%. That's bad, considering my cars are financed at 0% and 1.9%. Anyway, the bank requires insurance. Full coverage on a sportbike is around $2500 a year. With the credit card, if the don't require the $2500 a year insurance, that saves me $200 a month and the extra interest sure isn't that much!

 

[Jake]

I don't have the Honda Card, but I do have the Kawasaki Card, which I bought my 04 10R brand new with back in 04. My card did not require me to carry full coverage because Insurance Companies see the card as a credit card, which does not hold a lien against the bike.

 

[Justin726]

I just couldn't ever bring myself to having my pride and joy go without full coverage on it. BUT, I'm one of the lucky ones that lives in an area where insurance doesn't cost an arm and an leg. That's a tough call. I've always felt better about dealing with a bank though.

 

[Anti-Hero]

I bought my 05600RR with the honda card. I got prefered financing at 6.9% for 2 years. If you get prefered financing you do not need proof of insurance. Otherwise I believe you do.

 

[Rob94]

More than likely the credit card is going to want you to use the bike as collateral on the loan, therefore requiring you to have full coverage insurance. If you don't want to carry full coverage the best way to go is to finance through your own bank. Tell them you need an unsecured loan for x amount of dollars. Typically the rates for a unsecured loan if you have good credit are between 12-15%. Not the best way to go but if it is all you can afford.....

 

[RayOSV]

Two points. First watch the interest rate on those cards. They can go up dramatically in future years. Second if you buy the bike with the card and the bike gets wrecked or stolen, you still owe payments on the card. Liability won't cover damage that's your fault nor theft.

 

[l3uddha]

I HAD to get insurance when I bought my bike. They might tell you you need insurance to get the bike outta the dealership; but you can cancel the next day no problem. a year later, I still havent wrecked, but I feel like a moron for riding without insurance. if you cant afford insurance on a bike your buying with "borrowed money" you really shouldn't get the bike until you can. I count my blessings that I didn't screw myself over completly by crashing and being stuck with a loan to pay off.

 

[tdogg954]

I have bought a bike with my discover card. They don't care what you buy with it and hence you would not need full coverage. Note that if you can cover a 10,000 dollar loss if the bike gets wrecked or stolen then by all means don't get full coverage. I transferred my remaining balance on my last bike (97 yzf750) to one of my cards so that I could drop the insurance but at that time I did not owe that much on it. It sounds like you need to get full coverage if your trying to save $200.00 month.

edit:

At the bare minimum please get liability coverage for the rest of us!

 

[teg]

i just bought an '06 600rr on a honda card last week

7.9 apr and 49 dollars a month payment for 12 months, i thought it was 24 months but i guess their promotion is only 12 months right now, after that it jumps to like 17.9 apr

no you do not need insurance when you use the card

 

[freeky929]

I bought my 05600RR with the honda card. I got prefered financing at 6.9% for 2 years. If you get prefered financing you do not need proof of insurance. Otherwise I believe you do.

Yes, it is a Honda Preferred Card. It's low interest for two years, then jumps to like 24% after that. I am thinking about working a part-time job on weekends or evenings to pay the payment, if I do.

 

[freeky929]

At the bare minimum please get liability coverage for the rest of us!

I would never ride without liability. I had it on my 929 until the day I sold it. I rode the 929 for over 2 years and did not have full coverage and never regretted it at all. I would have regretted having it if I had, since I never had a reason to use insurance. Let's see...2 years, no wrecks, no reason to use insurance, $5000 saved...I'll take my chances without full coverage!

 

[hozhead]

Whether the full coverage is required or not, it is a STUPID idea to finance a new bike and not have full coverage.
There will be no greater feeling than making 3 more years of payments on a bike that was stolen or totalled.


If your bike is payed for (mine is) then full coverage isn't quite such a big deal (I don't have it) if you think you can handle the immediate loss of the bike and its value.

 

[freeky929]

i just bought an '06 600rr on a honda card last week

7.9 apr and 49 dollars a month payment for 12 months, i thought it was 24 months but i guess their promotion is only 12 months right now, after that it jumps to like 17.9 apr

no you do not need insurance when you use the card

Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to know, although I knew I'd get a bunch of preachers along with the answer! :banana :banana

 

[hozhead]

Call us what you want, we're just trying to keep you from making a huge mistake that you'll regret for years.

 

[fiveninerzero]

I have the Yamaha card. It is HSBC Bank, 7.9% for 24 months, then it jumps sky high.

All talk on how stupid not having full coverage aside, I have liability and comprehensive (no collision; I break it, I buy it, comprehensive will cover theft.) That is good enough for me, and I suggest that because most of the cost of insurance is collision anyways.

At the current rate I am paying,t he bike will be paid off in about a year.

 

[freeky929]

I'm not too concerned with theft. I guess if I lived in an apartment or rode my bike to work and left it parked in the parking lot, I might worry. My last bike was used for recreational purposes, not transportation. It was parked inside my locked garage 80% of the time, and I was riding it the other 20% of the time. I never rode it anywhere and left it parked out of my sight for more than about 15 minutes. If I lived in an apartment, like a lot of the people on this site, I would not even think of owning a bike. They are too easy to steal!

 

[freeky929]

Call us what you want, we're just trying to keep you from making a huge mistake that you'll regret for years.

How is paying $2500 a year for insurance with a $1000 deductible not a mistake? If I wreck the bike, will the damage to the bike exceed $3500? It would have to exceed $3500 to be a good idea. Otherwise, I have paid more for the insurance than what I would have paid for the repair. My last bike cost me $5500. I rode it for over 2 years and never wrecked it. The way I look at it, I have banked $5000 that I would have spent on insurance over that period. I has liability that I paid $180 a year for...that's my peace of mind!

 

[fiveninerzero]

I thought the same, until I got a quote and saw how relatively inexpensive comprehensive would be on top of liability. I figure that even though I lock my bike in the storage unit, I might get dragged somewhere where I might end up leaving the bike outside for an hour or something like taht, you never know, I guess shit happens.

Anyways if you feel good and can save some money doing it then that is awesome and I say go for it!

 

[bob12312357]

You here that? That is the little voice in the back of your cranium tellin you that your about to make a big mistake buyin a new bike without full coverage insurance. Look at it like this,no bike+200 a month in payments on a lovely piece of scrap metal. Your call.

 

[hozhead]

How is paying $2500 a year for insurance with a $1000 deductible not a mistake? If I wreck the bike, will the damage to the bike exceed $3500? It would have to exceed $3500 to be a good idea. Otherwise, I have paid more for the insurance than what I would have paid for the repair. My last bike cost me $5500. I rode it for over 2 years and never wrecked it. The way I look at it, I have banked $5000 that I would have spent on insurance over that period. I has liability that I paid $180 a year for...that's my peace of mind!

With the numbers from your previous bike and that insurance rate, you're choice is wise.
I agree so much that, with my $3500 salvage title bike, I only cary liability plus underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage. I'm paying $250 a year vs the $1100 it would cost me for full coverage.


With the numbers for a brand new bike (up to your $12000 credit limit PLUS the interest that will acrue) and a better insurance quote (age 36 with 2 years experience - it should be a LOT lower), the decision to avoid full coverage would not be wise.

I can't honestly believe that a 36 year old with a decent driving record (I'm assuming here) can't find insurance for less than $2500 a year considering that I'm 27 and can get full coverage with a $250 deductible all around for $1900. I even have a speeding ticket on my record.
* I did a quick quote with Progressive on a 2006 CBR600RR with 250 deductibles and $50,000 per person medical.