The Panasonic Lease-To-Own Program: I got the gritty info.

K

Kholi

Section Moderator
Hey peoples.

So, now you're hearing about this Panasonic lease-to-own thing that your local authorized dealer/vendor is a part of. From what I've seen, this is not a fairly new deal but something that's been around for a while. The thing that's happening here is that the actual APR is really low, a special promotion if you will, and is Applicable to the HVX200.

It's also Applicable to EVERY PANASONIC PERIPERHAL and ACCESORY, if your credit can cover it.


The Gyst: Get yourself an HVX200 on a lease-to-own basis. Your rate for 24 months is 2.99 APR (yes... drool). 36 months would be 5.99 (mmm... tasty) and so on and so forth. Contact your local dealer for anything further; I wouldn't look into more than 36 months.

You can ALSO tab your p2 media to the program! That's right, it's all included. And the accessories are at a 2.99 (or 5.99) percent because they're Pana-products. Rejoice more at this point.

You pay two months up front of your montly due amount and from there on pay your arranged montly amount. The two payments are PART of the lease, so that leaves you with 22months OR 34months. Just in case anyone wondered that.

At the end of the lease, your ownership payout is 100.00. This buys the ownership rights to the products.

Example: Pansonic HVX200 + 2 4gig P2 cards = (appx) 6400.00. Calculate your interest rate into that and (for 36 months), add that to your equipment totals, divide by 36 and you have your monthly payment; Mines came to 188.78 a month for this exact same package. (Find the cheapest dealer for the best price on equipment, of course. I found a great deal.)

Drawback: The company does not lease to a single person. You have to be an LLC or have a company, and from there they'll run your credit to see if you qualify. That might've been obvious to some, it wasn't to me so I'm throwing it out there for those who do not know. I am planning to get my equipment under a production company here in CA.

Note: If you are able to prove that your camera equipment is for production, you'll recieve your state/district tax break. Those in LA will see a 5 percent tax break, bringing your taxes to about 3 percent I believe.

Why is this worth it?

1) If you don't have the money, up front, of course. Who wants to drop 7k from their bank account?

So? I have a credit card...

2) Yeah, please, tell me how much your interest rate on your card is and then compare to 2.99 percent. If it's better? Go for it! If not... you get the point, I hope.

I don't have a credit card...

3) Me either. And I really don't want one. This is a great way for me to get the gear I want to play with. And I can totally afford 200.00 a month to pay for it.

Some people want to know if they cover things that are not Panasonic products.

YES.

But the APR will not be the same. The average APR for non promotional items runs between 9 and 12 percent, and I believe that depends on your lease term and/or credit. SO... guess what?

That Tripod that you want from AbelCine? You can get it... FIrestore FS-100? Add it to the list, homey.

The good thing about it is that the APR is not charged separately, it's all factored into the final amount. And being that about seventy-percent of your total is going to be Pana-product, the average interest rate still only ends up being about seven to eight percent. Is that still lower than your Credit Cards APR?

Alright, so that's about what I can remember that's good to know about this. As I find out more about the process while going through it, I'll post here to fill those interest in.

Please be aware that the company is NOT PANASONIC themselves, but another company that deals in this sort of thing.

Contact your local vendor for more details and the PDF that they have to send you regarding the special rates on the HVX200 and Accessories.
 
We use Direct Capital for all of these transactions. Same idea - a fixed lease period with the last two payments filling the "balloon payment" criteria.

This is how many corporations perform capital expenditures. As long as the APRs remain low, this trend will continue. It doesn't matter if it is Panasonic product, because a leasing company will lend on just about any durable goods purchase as long as it makes good sense and the leasee is in good financial condition.

When we figure the purchase versus lease, it is at 20:1 rental against relative one-time expenditure based on the equipment plus finance charges. Don't forget to work the FC into your purchases!

e
 
Yup. It doesn't matter if it's a Pana product at all. THe APR is low for Pana Products, though, so it's a great deal.

I will say (forgive me) that I'm looking into the XH-A1 for this process, as well. Even with a higher APR I end up saving at least 1k in the end for a picture I think is totally reasonable.

Just thought I'd let everyone know what I've found out.

Thanks for the input, Overland!
 
Kholi said:
HSo? I have a credit card...[/B]

2) Yeah, please, tell me how much your interest rate on your card is and then compare to 2.99 percent. If it's better? Go for it! If not... you get the point, I hope.

I don't have a credit card...

3) Me either. And I really don't want one. This is a great way for me to get the gear I want to play with. And I can totally afford 200.00 a month to pay for it.
Click to expand...

I put my HVX on 0% card. Had it paid off in less then 6 months.

You should want a credit card to help build your credit. You dont have to spend a ton on it....but having established credit lets you do things...like get a card with 0% APR
 
The Sarlacc said:
I put my HVX on 0% card. Had it paid off in less then 6 months.

You should want a credit card to help build our credit. You dont have to spend a ton on it....but having established credit lets you do things...like get a card with 0% APR
Click to expand...
Yeah, I listened to that one "get out of debt" guy before I even had debt. I'm poisoned.

I've been thinking about getting one to do my grocery shopping on; who wants to pay for food right out?

You're right, though. Some people will be able to get it for 0apr. Like you. =P

For me? 0 APR isnt' anywhere in my near-future.

P.S. The paying for food thing was a joke. I have credit, just haven't been interested in using a credit card.
 
Kholi said:
P.S. The paying for food thing was a joke. I have credit, just haven't been interested in using a credit card.
Click to expand...

You're smart.

I use to not...til I became knee deep in freelance...then you have not choice anymore :(
 
I bought my HVX outright, so right now I'm only paying off the bills on my accessories - P2, tripod, lights, etc. If I were to buy a second HVX on this LTO plan, would there be an increase in the amount of jobs I get and the amount paid that would cover the monthly payment of it? Right now I'm a year and a half out of college, so I don't have a ton of experience, but I'm completely self-employed doing video, so it's adding up fast.
 
mrWr0ng said:
I bought my HVX outright, so right now I'm only paying off the bills on my accessories - P2, tripod, lights, etc. If I were to buy a second HVX on this LTO plan, would there be an increase in the amount of jobs I get and the amount paid that would cover the monthly payment of it? Right now I'm a year and a half out of college, so I don't have a ton of experience, but I'm completely self-employed doing video, so it's adding up fast.
Click to expand...

Advice: keep your debt as low as you can for as long as you can. Cause the instant freelance dries up for a month or two you are forked til it picks up again.
 
Does anybody have an idea of what type of credit score the are lokking for with this Lease to own plan?
 
I talked with a Panasonic representative today and found out that the leasing plan can be applied on an individual basis rather than a company basis because of the fact that so many companies in the field of video production are run as an individual "doing business as" type of structure. Because of this it appears that Panasonic is willing to apply the financing to an individual's personal credit.

This is good news for anyone considering purchasing the equipment but doesn't have the all money up front. The interest rates are sweet compared to typical loan rates you might run into.
 
Bringing this thread up again and asking those who are experienced with this:

I have 5 years credit history (not 7). Credit score of 735. My largest "debtor" or open account is a student loan of $5700. I have a revolving account (credit card) with limit of $3500.

I am still a student. I do video work on the side. I am not an LLC or incorporated. I "do business as..." (as mentioned before). I don't have a business license or anything setup.

Is it possible to qualify for this lease-to-own program? As an individual, just based on my credit score? Without any proof of having a business or anything? Will my shorter credit history seal the deal most likely?
 
Be advised that you need to carry 1 mil in coverage in panasonics name before they will give you the deal it was the deal breaker for me
 
ONE MILLION DOLLARS?!

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Best thing to do is apply for a zero percent APR credit card. And then take the money that you would have paid the camera with an put that in a 9 month/1 year CD. That way you are not getting charged any interest and when it comes time to pay the card off the money you put aside in the CD has actually grown.

That is what I did. I got a 0% 12 month APR card from Amex (15,000 limit), bought the camera and other stuff with that (~6,000 total). Now I do not have to pay off that until the next year and no interest is applied until the end if I do not pay it off fully (though I do have to pay the minimum monthly charge, about 100)

Now that would be good on its own but then I also took the 6,000 I would have paid (works if you have it) and put that into a 6.00% yield account that I can withdraw from in 10 months with no penalty.

So by the end of the year I will have the money to pay off the camera and have actually made money.

Though all this depends on being able to get a 0% APR card with high enough limit.
 
mjjason, thats a good idea. Yeah, I am not sure what kind of limit I could get, but even if not high enough, I could put a chunk of the stuff on there and pay the rest with cash. I like the idea about sing the 1 year CD, too. I'll keep that in mind.


I think what I may end up doing now, actually, is taking out a loan through my credit union. It would be at 8.5% interest over 48 months, which obviously is no 0%... however, if I couldn't afford to pay back in 6 months (or 12) I wouldn't get nailed with interest. It lets me space things out. I'd pay $25 above the minimum payment each month to help fight the interest.

If I took two years to pay it off (which is probably what I would do), it would cost me probably around $1000 in interest... however, at the same time, since I am no longer ordering through B&H at a higher rate, I should probably be able to save $300-$500 on the price by going through spec-comm or pro video & tape locally, or avsupply. So now, it is really only costing me perhaps $500 more. And, I figure if in the next two years, I get one extra $500 job that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise, that pays for itself there...


Well that's what I am thinking now... any thoughts on that? I think it may be my best option...
 
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