Dell Preferred no interest for 18 months???

Has anyone done this on the XPS system? I was going to hold out till at least tomorrow to see what Dell has to offer on laptops and see how the Merom annoucement impacts things. But until Aug 2nd I have the option to purchase the XPS M1210 with no interest which is attractive...anyone have experience with Dell Preferred? No tricks? just as easy as it sounds?

 

I have NEVER heard a positive story regarding DFS (Dell Financial Services). Even my girlfriends father who is a senior level software engineer, huge salary, and excelent credit, was messed over by DFS. Lucky he got out of it because he paid for the laptop in full after the first bill.

The general theme is that you qualify when you buy the laptop, but find out you did not REALLY qualify when you get your first bill. Just google 'Dell DFS lawsuit' and you will probably get a lot of interesting results, and details about pending lawsuits.

Bottom line: I would recommend against Dell Preferred. Good computers, but bad service.

 

Wow, not what I expected to hear, but glad I asked. I undersatnd that you qualify for the no interest payments untill March 07, then if you have not paid IN FULL by then, you will be charged back the interest on the prior 18 months, which is a killer 21%...but I planned to pay it off by the end of the year...anyone else experience them recently? Thanks again

 

The thing with dell is that you must have EXCEPTIONAL credit to get the 18 month no interest deal. They don't just hand this out to the average joe.

 

I mean i dont have 800+ but im close and dont want to post it here, so I didnt get the NO INTEREST TILL 2007, but I did get the No interest for 18 months on XPS. It looks like they are two seperate deals that you could be approved for, and it was clear that I did not get the NO INTEREST TILL 2007. I duno, a bit hesitant to pull the trigger now. I mean, I could pay it all now, but if I can hold my money for 18 months, why not?

 

Pay it now, and spare yourself a potential headache in 18 months. It's not like you can do something else with that money for 18 months. You still have to hold onto it in order to pay it later. If you put it in the bank you'd only earn a very small amount of interest.

 

That is true, but its nice to help build credit on these easy deals...but it sounds like it might be risky to even deal with DFS. Thanks for the info all, maybe ill go with ebay, maybe go direct, the 5% discover card deal helps with the EPP

 

I was told that if u get approved for dell credit that the 18 months no interest is automatically approved but that is only for xps...

 

I believe that is correct... in some cases. On my most recent XPS purchase, I was given 18 months w/o interest, even though the APR on my account was 30%.

In the end, it really depends on the specific promotion at the time of your purchase.

 

I used the 18 month no ineterest thing on my m1210. I calculated that at $62 a month itll be paid off. The problem arises if you dont pay it off in 18months you get back billed for the 18 months of interest. If you are good with money, stick it in an ing account or something and you make a couple bucks on interest while you pay it off. It is the same with any credit cards. Pay off you cards with higher interest first and you stand to lose less money.

 

Niether have I

 

Phantastic, that is what I am doing... I work for ING and I have set up to pay off my M1210 in the same fashion using the DPA. That 4.35% on the balance does add up quite nicely over 18 months while paying down the DPA balance.

 

How far into the DFS plan are you? Did you just start? Any bumps in the road with billing, unexpected things?

 

Interest rates may rise and fall during the duration of 18 months (although lately it's only been rising). Others may want to consider putting the money in HSBC (5.05%), EmigrantDirect (5.15%), Citibank E-Savings (5%).

Citibank even has a BillPay option, allowing to pay you DFS bill directly from you bank account.

Either way, when dealing with DFS it is very important to make sure that your purchase is made under promotional financing. On the statements there is a section where any promotional financing will be listed (if any). This is the first thing you should check for upon receiving your first statement. If you don't see anything there you may want to consider paying off the whole balance or giving DFS a call.