Dell financing...

Hi, I was looking through the dell website and want to purchance a dell 1520 that has a price that came to about $1100 with the coupons...but i don't really have that kind of money right now. So i was wondering if it was a good idea to finance with dell. Is it a good idea and/or does anyone have any experience with their dell through financing? thanks

 

i would say do NOT finance through dell. use a normal credit card first. i have a dell financing account (unused), and they won't close it. i personally think they are shady.

 

configure the same system specs as a vostro 1500. you cant use dell financing over there, however, it probably will be cheaper. another place to look is the dell outlet, while they are refurbished computers, they are almost like new.

 

What country?

And if Dell has an interest-free grace period, no pre-payment penalty, and you'll be able to pay in full by the time interest kicks in, I don't see why not.

Otherwise, wait till you have the money.

You'll get a few posts here I bet about the evils of credit, but financially intellegent people know how to borrow intellegently w/o getting into trouble.

 

Agreed with that part of the email...if, however, there is ANY chance whatsoever that you will not absolutely, positively pay in full, without any penalty, before interest begins accruing, you should not even consider it. Putting aside any general points about the "evil of credit," you will always pay much, much more interest on a "store" card such as Dell (or Gap, or Macy's, etc., etc.) than on a normal credit card and should therefore avoid using them if you ever intend to carry a balance. If you're determined to buy on credit and carry a balance, use a normal card with a low APR instead of the Dell card.

 

if you have a credit score over 700, you might get favourite rate from Dell.

 

Dell Interest is somewhat higher than other cards. Even if your credit is "favorable". My advice, try with a Major CC first and then if not, go Dell.

 

that's weird that they won't close it, but why would you want to? having open, no balance accounts are GREAT for your credit score. Closing an account with no balance lowers your score. You should ALWAYS keep them open.

 

I do and it's still 20% but I usually get interest free for a certain period. On my notebook I got an extra 2% off for financing with Dell.

Conceivably one could pay the minimum through the interest free period and then do a 0% balance transfer (or other lower interest rate) from another credit card.

Edit: You'll want to note that if you don't pay in total by the time the interest free period expires, you'll get whacked with accrued interest

 

that is not true. accounts that are NEW credit lower your score. my credit score is above 800, so believe me i know how to manage credit- and having a new open account on dell is not good.

paying your bills on credit accounts is good for your score, especially with accounts that have been open for a long time.

opening/looking for credit tends to lower your score. why don't you open 10 credit cards and apply for a couple loans and see what happens to your credit if you don't believe me. lol! word.

or google this and see what you get:

open accounts improve credit score

 

Ive bought a few xps systems on dell credit. credit managed responsibly is fantastic, if not, it can be your worst nightmare.

I get no interest for 12 months on all my xps systems, thats why I always end up buying xps.

I have a high interest rate, but to date dell hasnt seen a cent over retail!

 

Unless Dell is offering some discount on Dell purchase, don't use the Dell financing. They are one of the big rip off company in terms of the interest they charge people.

I would put my vote on AMEX if you are only going for 1yr standard warranty-Amex will cover the second yr - basically when standard manufacturer's warranty expires, AMEX's cover kicks in.

 

Well, I'm not gonna bother reading all these posts so..

I financed my laptop because I'd rather keep the cash for emergencies handy. I've had zero problems. As far as these 'extreme' interests rates, you all have no clue. You're interest rate is all reflected on you're credit. If you got ****ty credit, you'll pay out the ass. If you got top notch credit, then it's a laugh. I got the 9.99% rate, about 1.2% of every months payment is interest, the rest goes to the balance. Roughly 2 bucks.. of the 40 something I pay.

It's open, so if you decide to pay it off, you don't pay a penalty..

I'd rather take Dell's 9.99% interest rate over all my 4 credit cards interest rate's at 18 - 29 percent - which is the rates for everyone on the specific cards... Dell a rip off? Give me a break, don't blame Dell because you're credit blows.. Better then Alienware's 29.9% interest rate...

Your Credit Line = Everything

 

interesting... i have a credit score of over 800 and dell offered me a great deal. not. hehe. 17%? something like that. maybe they didn't check my credit correctly, i dunno- but i might have considered using dell financial services with 9%.

now that i know more about their cancellation policies i will not suggest that anyone open a dfs account, because if they don't have great credit like b2- they get a 17% apr on an account that is practically impossible to close which will negatively affect their credit score. or, if dell treats you like they did me, and my credit score is crazy good- and gives you a retarded deal (17% is a joke to anyone with credit over 500) you are stuck with a dfs account you can't wipe off your record.

!!! alienware 30%!!! wwwoowowowowo!! now THAT is nuts.

 

I paid using Dell financing, my credit score is like 760, so I get no interest for 6 months, but I plan to pay this off in 3 months, max.

Now that I look back though, maybe 2% of wasnt that big of a deal.

 

000111,

Man you wouldn't believe some of the rates I found. Before I got this laptop I looked at every vendor I could find, that did reasonable financing, because I like spending money just not parting with it..lol.. semi cheap skate here..

Alienware wanted you to sign up for one of their special credit cards and go with a 29.9% rate, outrageous.

Cancellation policies? What did you decide to cancel the contract half way through? You can't, it's against the contract you originally agreed to. Always read the fine print!

9, 13 and 16 percent, isn't a bad rate at all, frankly it's better then any credit card I've seen, and I get called twice every week by all types of people offering more of those ****ing things.. Never leave me the hell alone!

So far, I find the entire Dell experience pretty damn good, but if they turn on me oh man, I'll come in smashing through the main office doors in my BMW, and start swinging around a husquvana chainsaw.. :rollseyes:

You've interested me on this closing an account thing, do you mean you paid off you're computer and they still had one open and demanded money - or - bought a computer and didn't want it anymore and they're just hassling you due to error. You've peaked my interest meter! lolz

 

b2- i should have been more descriptive!

here is what happened. i really wanted a 1520. i thought i might need to finance, and since i have a good credit score i assumed that dell would give me a decent deal.

so, i applied for the dell financing account. i was pretty horrified when they hit me with the 17%, so i decided to just buy the laptop with my credit card.

now, here is where it gets interesting. since i didn't use the account, i wanted to close it because having new open credit is not good for one's credit score.

i called to close the account, and they first of all said they will have to wait 30 days to close it. which seems like a load to me.

it is supposedly closed by now (been over 2 months)- but it still shows up on my dell page when i sign in. what is up with that?

they said that it would take something like 60 days for my account to be 'dropped out' of the system. hasn't happened. it seems dell's attitude is once a dfs (dell financial services) customer- always a dfs customer. not cool.

bottom line-
i am leary of any company that will not purge your information at the customer's request- and dfs would NOT do that. spooky, and totally shady.

p.s. bmw? nice. i drive a beat up blazer.

 

I think the bottom line is if you're planning on paying any interest, Dell is not gonna be your best bet. The idea behind dell is to give yourself a certain interest-free period and pay it off in full before the interest kicks in. If you're actually looking for the best interest rate, try elsewhere.

 

yep. i bought a 3200 computer for 3200 dollars, but I had 12 months to get the cash so to speak, I wouldnt of saved 3200 dollars in 12 months otherwise i'll tell you that. Interest free financing works for me