Payment plans for Rolex watches?

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

I'm old-fashioned...

I buy a Rolex when I have the funds. Not before.

x2

[GoldenBear]

It is just like this exact same topic a month ago...It is a matter of semantics...If you have the money in the bank and are earning interest and are paying 0% over time, that is one thing (GOOD IDEA). If you are putting it on a credit card because you don't have the money in hand, that is something different (BAD IDEA). Two very different scenarios and two different answers to the question of what should I do?

[BillA]

If you are getting financing and even paying 0% interest, you are probably buying at list price, no discount. Perhaps you should look into buying a pre-owned piece, get a great discount and pay cash. My 2 cents.

[East Bay Rider]

How much interest do you really earn by not paying it off right away. I'd rather pay the whole thing if possible and avoid having another bill hanging over my head.

[TDH]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

I'm old-fashioned...

I buy a Rolex when I have the funds. Not before.

X3 and better cash discounts as well!!

[shedlock2000]

For my cents worth FWIW, i purchased my first two cash. However, for one reason or another (i didnt want to relinquish cash saved incase very expencive dental work needed to be done in a hurry!) I traded my GMT II for the GMT IIc (wrong move), put an extra $2000 cash down, and i now owe the AD, the balence, which i will pay this month.

My suggestion is this, and it depends upon your relatinship with the AD, If you MUST have the watch now (and yes, you must, we all must) then put down what you can, ask the AD to stand the rest at an agreed return, say GBP500 each month, if you have disposable GBP1k,

The reason i say this, is (and i am not much older than you, but im going to advise anyway) NEVER take credit, unles you absoloutly need to (car (even then), house, Credit card) even 0% finance. Reason being, you will get used to it, and there not all 0% and you will get the bug....trust me. Especially, if you as you mention, are not strict with your will power. Its a slippy slope, and it will end in tears in this economic climate.

Be safe, save, if you can, if not, spend what you can afford only, and if you ern a good wage like you do, give mum, the GBP1K you can afford a month, if you think youl spend it, then go get it next month.

The guys are right though (as always), 0% is Free, but, others arnt, and you will get in the habit. Bubba, though brutal, is advising you well.

My other cents worth, is get what you want, not what you can afford directly, the reason for this, is you will never be satisfied till you have what you really want, and you will loose a little on the watches if you trade them later. Which ever you buy, some more than others. I am gooing to loose a fortune on my GMT IIc whan i flip it, as i was unsure if i wanted it or not, and now i need to change....again. Get what you really hear singing to you, or dont bother....wait.

[skeen]

Thanks a lot for all your advice guys.

I will agree that it's generally not a good idea to get something on finance if you don't have the money at hand. Personally, I've never used credit, never even had an overdraft on my bank account, and it's not particularly something I'd like to start doing now.

What I'm going to try and do, is save up at least half the balance of the item of my choosing. If I make it that far, and I can't wait, I'll do the financing, and be 50% safer than I would have been otherwise.

Hopefully, this will get me in the habit of saving money, and I'll be able to go the whole distance and save the lot. I then may do financing, because from a financial perspective, on 0% interest its the way to go - though, I'm not sure I trust myself with that much money in the bank!

However, if I pop into a Rolex AD, and see something I simply must have there and then, I'll go for the shortest term financing they offer.

I don't even know what I want yet! Next week I'll go into some AD's and see what they have.

I appreciate everyones advice, and I've taken everything into consideration - you've all been a wonderful help.

[jdc]

Bloody hell wished I had never opened this thread, my local AD is a Watches of Switzerland, although I have not bought from them.

With my lack of will power I can see me being trapped in their soon.......I will put my wife on surveillance alert

[mickeydainish]

Good luck skeen... let us know... and post pics when you get it... :-)

[cmcm3]

Originally Posted by jdc

Bloody hell wished I had never opened this thread, my local AD is a Watches of Switzerland, although I have not bought from them.

With my lack of will power I can see me being trapped in their soon.......I will put my wife on surveillance alert

Lol, Martin! Maybe this is what the "sensible guys" were talking about...

[cmcm3]

Originally Posted by shedlock2000

My other cents worth, is get what you want, not what you can afford directly, the reason for this, is you will never be satisfied till you have what you really want, and you will loose a little on the watches if you trade them later. Which ever you buy, some more than others. I am gooing to loose a fortune on my GMT IIc whan i flip it, as i was unsure if i wanted it or not, and now i need to change....again. Get what you really hear singing to you, or dont bother....wait.

Very much agree with this. No point buying a Sub ND because you can afford it if you really want an LV, or an LV if you really want a GMTc, etc. Just wait until you can afford (or finance ) the one you really want.

[harvey]

my 2 pence worth...

the sub non date or the sub date would be a good choice;

watches of switzerland do offer 24 months interest free credit... when you put down 20% or more. my brother decided this route last month buying his sub date...whilst his money earnt him interest in the bank.

ernest jones... buy some shares in signet group... then get 10% off ANY rolex without negotiating! yep thats right any rolex. i got 10% off my seadweller last month, roughly 300 pounds off and to boot i got 12 months interest free credit. excellent deal...

this month i bought a gmt II but it felt right to pay cash.

im not sure how it works in other countries, but what ive experienced is... interest free credit... is exactly that. i bought my first rolex, the lv, over 12 months interest free. it cost exactly the same as it would have the day i bought it with cash. as they dont discount ss models why pay cash?

[jdc]

[QUOTE=harvey.eu;601507]my 2 pence worth...


ernest jones... buy some shares in signet group... then get 10% off ANY rolex without negotiating! yep thats right any rolex. i got 10% off my seadweller last month, roughly 300 pounds off and to boot i got 12 months interest free credit. excellent deal...

Hi Harvey
Thanks for the info. Do you know if there is a minimum amount of shares you have to buy? Do you have to produce share certificate in shop?

[harvey]

hi martin, i was told this information by another forum member "shoppy" so all credit goes to him.

i dont think there is any minimum amount. i bought a hundred shares through my online bank... they were trading at 64p that day.

i got the bank to send me a letter confirming im a share holder which i then sent to signet... 6 weeks later or so they sent my shareholder discount card. so in essence i can get 10% off when a ss daytona or a milgauss comes in!

pm if you would like further info.

[PeterT]

There is no minimum amount you have to buy but you have to make sure that the agent you buy the shares from contacts Signet or otherwise the Perks dept will not know about you. As an example I bought mine using the Halifax share dealing service and waited 6 weeks for my shareholder card to arrive. Nothing came and so I had to chase everything up. You need the shareholder card when you go to spend your money not the certificate. I still do not have my card but have a short term letter of authority instead. Card will come eventually!
On the other hand if you tell out of big town dealers that you have the EJ 10% discount card they might just match the price. I found one that would in Bury St Edmunds!!

Cheers, PeterT

PS, I bought less than Harvey!!

[skeen]

I went up Oxford St. today, and had a look around. Watches of Switzerland had a nice selection, but nothing without a date. I think I've decided I like the no-dates better. They did have some good deals on a couple of pre-owned watches. They had a very nice Air King, going for just £1,300, and a submariner at around £2,500.

WoS were helpful in giving me a copy of their magazine, CALIBRE, which had a price tag of £5, by the way, at no charge. Makes me want to buy a watch from them, but they didn't have anything I particularly liked.

Earnest Jones had some great Rolexes, I particularly liked an Explorer I saw. I have to say though, I think I'm liking the Sub no-date the most.

Selfridges turned up a vast array of great watches from many various makers - the Breitlings are very nice.

I didn't try anything on - I'll go back in a couple of weeks and try a bunch of watches on, before deciding what I really like and will ultimately go with.

[cmcm3]

Glad you got on well. Let us know as your thoughts develop and if you have anymore questions!

[danberger]

no such thing as free credit - 0% is funded by the store so you are missing out on a discount - there was a Revenue & Customs (equivalent of IRS) case a few years ago which proved what the stores selling furniture on "interest free" were really charging for their goods. Its an illusion - if 0% is on offer then there is a discount there to be dug out !!

[BigHat]

Originally Posted by danberger

no such thing as free credit - 0% is funded by the store so you are missing out on a discount - there was a Revenue & Customs (equivalent of IRS) case a few years ago which proved what the stores selling furniture on "interest free" were really charging for their goods. Its an illusion - if 0% is on offer then there is a discount there to be dug out !!

You are likely correct, but it's much more complex than you state. In regard to Rolex watches at ADs, some are simply not available at less than MSRP, but the big chains sometimes offer 12 months interest free. Now there is no question that interest free loans cost somebody the $$ but the dealer likely doesn't pay the entire cost. The nature of these interest free loans, especially for furniture, are that many people bite off a bit more than they can handle. The terms are nearly always with a very high default interest rate if you fail to make the required payment. Even worse, the the interest is accrued from day one and instantly added to the balance. I have been told many of these loans end up generating interest income for the credit card company.

If you are very careful, using these loans can save you $700-$1000 per $10K IF and ONLY IF you stay disciplined.

I couldn't get a dime off my GMT-IIC at the Big T and they were pretty hard to find anywhere at the time. I set up a pre-planned electronic payment plan after making an additional payment just to be sure I didn't get hit with a 21.9% APR from GE credit corp. Admittedly, I got sick of it after 6 months and just paid it off, but it was a better "discount" than nothing at all.

Cost of money is the cost of money; if you're smart you may be able to work it to your advantage. There are no hard and fast rules about what's "good" and "bad" in my view. That said, sometimes what we "feel" overrules the financials. Even Bill Gates should take 12 months interest free, but if you have the megabucks it's often not worth the hassle etc.

[SPORTSFAN]

Originally Posted by danberger

no such thing as free credit - 0% is funded by the store so you are missing out on a discount - there was a Revenue & Customs (equivalent of IRS) case a few years ago which proved what the stores selling furniture on "interest free" were really charging for their goods. Its an illusion - if 0% is on offer then there is a discount there to be dug out !!

Hi,

So get me discount on a SS Daytona PLEASE

Or a GV MILGAUSS

Or a DSSD

OR any of the other short supply models

You can get 20 % deposit interest free though.



Regards Mike.

[skeen]

Hey guys. Just wanted to followup. As some of you may know, I've decided I want a GMT Master II (16710). Got me £1,000, and I'm going to head down to a couple of AD's next Saturday and try some things on.

I'm going to try and just save the whole amount (saving £1,000 a month), but if I see something I really like, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to resist! In any event, even if I do go interest-free, I'm going to still save the same amount of month, and pay it off in a matter of a couple of months anyway, so hardly any risk here.

[Andad]

Spare me all this BS and and just buy it.

[watchlady]

I visited London in May and found Watches of Switzerland on both ends of Bond St. very nice shops. You can also see some great classics in the nearby Burlington Arcade.
Good luck next week!

[skeen]

Originally Posted by watchlady

I visited London in May and found Watches of Switzerland on both ends of Bond St. very nice shops. You can also see some great classics in the nearby Burlington Arcade.
Good luck next week!

Thanks. :) Yes, I popped in those stores, too - I'll probably check those out first.

[ratae1950]

Originally Posted by redshirt1957

Last time I will get on my credit soapbox. Call me crazy, but I never use credit. I don't care if the offer is interest free. Nothing is free. My suggestion is to only pay cash at time of purchase. It you ain't got the cash you cannot afford free credit. Now I sound like your grand-dad. Well hell son, I am old enough to be your grand-dad. Good luck as it is your decision to make.

I can only but agree. It will feel alot better on your wrist when it's fully paid for. Also life has the habit of surprising us and you may the payments tough to make for some unforseen reason---car problems, rising damp..., your sheep get sick, losing a job. you get knocked up, you fill in the blank......

[Tools]

Great decision on a great watch..

The GMT is a classic and very, very versatile...

[gmtobsessed]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

I'm old-fashioned...

I buy a Rolex when I have the funds. Not before.

Agree! Because it is luxury items.

[Jimbits76]

£2.6k a month!!!!!!!! Is that gross or net???????? At 22!!!!!!??????????????

Man...I'd speak to david robinson in liverpool. If I was buying on finance I'd use these guys!

Good luck spending all that money!

J

[BigHat]

Originally Posted by skeen

That's an interesting viewpoint, but could you elaborate further? You say nothing is free - are you therefore implying that the interest free credit isn't real? I'm sure many would attest that it is.

In addition, even if you had the money, wouldn't the interest free credit be the best option, given the interest you could earn on that money in a savings account?

.

Well, the reality is that many finance companies BET that you won't comply with the terms of "interest free" and thus make a nice return on your failings. It's a win-win for them and the watch seller.

Cost of money is the cost of money. IF you can't get a discount and interest free is the only "discount" available, I see no reason not to take it. I did that with a US AD that didn't finance it, GE Financial did. At a 27% interest rate accrued from day one you can be sure I was never late, etc. Actually, after 8 months I just paid it off just to end the hassle of sending additional payments.

[skeen]

Originally Posted by Jimbits76

Man...I'd speak to david robinson in liverpool. If I was buying on finance I'd use these guys!

Thanks, they look great.

Originally Posted by BigHat

Well, the reality is that many finance companies BET that you won't comply with the terms of "interest free" and thus make a nice return on your failings. It's a win-win for them and the watch seller.

If I do go the credit option, I won't be entirely happy until I've paid it off, so I'm highly unlikely to deviate from my plan of saving £1,000 a month, and paying off the whole amount in no time.

I'm not a fan of credit, hence why I've never taken any, for anything before.