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lilsimon04

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 9, 2009
14
0
Hey i was just wondering is there any place or website where I can like rent an macbook or any macs and after so many payments you can own it?? I live in the United States if that matters, and i have no credit so i can get apple credit to get one, thanks!!
 

gibbz

macrumors 68030
May 31, 2007
2,701
100
Norman, OK
I know you probably need one now, but if you were to just save what you would pay a rental place plus a bit more you could buy one faster than you could own one through rental. You will end up paying a heck of a lot more to the rent-to-own business.
 

JonMcDonald

macrumors member
Jan 18, 2009
48
0
It's hard to wait, I know. But the rent to own will end up costing a lot more! If it's just cause you want it now but don't need it then wait and save money in the long run.
 

Moriarty

macrumors 6502
Feb 3, 2008
436
208
It's hard to wait, I know. But the rent to own will end up costing a lot more! If it's just cause you want it now but don't need it then wait and save money in the long run.

I agree.

These schemes are a very bad idea. Don't be overcome by greediness to have what you want, NOW.

The only kind of "hire purchase" agreement I think is an even remotely sensible undertaking would be an interest-free one where, taking into account "establishment fees" etc, you still make a reasonable amount of money off the interest on the money you keep in the bank. But usually, the returns for this are so negligible that it's a much better idea to just save up the money and pay in cash when you have it.

People living beyond their means is why the worldwide economy is in the crapper. Don't be part of the problem. Do yourself a favour and spend your money (a) more wisely, and (b) only when it is your money.

The only debt I personally would ever want to get in to would be a mortgage for a house...
 

old-wiz

macrumors G3
Mar 26, 2008
8,331
228
West Suburban Boston Ma
I agree.
The only debt I personally would ever want to get in to would be a mortgage for a house...

A resonable mortgage that you know you can pay off is a very good idea in any economy. Even credit card debt is not a good idea. If you use a credit card and pay the full amount every month you are much safer than running up a balance.

The rent-to-own schemes (scams) charge interest and if you miss even one payment you lose your computer or whatever you buy.

You can go to public libraries to use a computer for the web and such and it doesn't cost you anything.
 
I know this thread is old, but I do have to interject..

I have worked in rent-to-own for almost 12 years, and I can honestly say that rent-to-own is a MUCH safer bet than ANY credit card purchase of the same product.

First of all, if anyone here actually did any math on the subject, they would see that you actually pay LESS renting-to-own something over the typical rent-to-own agreement length of two years than you do paying for the same exact item on a credit card for the minimum payment required over a how-ever long period, usually five years + on a credit card. I mention "minimum payment required" with the credit card, because this is what 95% of credit card users pay each month.. the minimum payment.

Second, with "Same As Cash" options available at EVERY single rent-to-own company in America, you can pay the item off within six months as if you had walked in and purchased it cash.. no "interest" per se.

Third, most furniture sold by rent-to-own companies is priced LOWER on its Same As Cash price than regular furniture stores. Take a look for yourself.. go into a furniture store and price some furniture, and then check out a rent-to-own store. 99% of the time, you will see that the rent-to-own store is cheaper on its Same As Cash price than the furniture store. Typically, SAC prices on electronics and appliances aren't as competitive with big box retailers, but that is simply because RTO companies simply don't have the purchasing power of those larger retailers. Even with that said, the SAC price is still competitive with most other smaller retailers, and even sometimes ARE competitive with big-box retailers during special rent-to-own sales. Personally, the rent-to-own company I work for has sold an identical television for LESS than what Wal-Mart sold theirs for, during a special sales event.

With all of that said, YES.. you will pay more THAN THE CASH PRICE by renting to own anything. However, if you actually do the math of to a typical financed purchase, you will see that a rent-to-own transaction is actually cheaper, and doesn't require any credit to enact. NOR does it affect your credit should payments be paid late.

With any "financed" item you purchase, you will pay more over the long run, as opposed to saving up the money and purchasing cash for it. This is the case with anything. Why is it okay to do this with houses, and cars, etc., but not with furniture, electronics, or appliances? Because of the larger amount? Get real.

Let's do an example of purchasing a $599 item under a rent-to-own transaction as opposed to a credit card purchase:

CREDIT CARD - With a credit card, at an average interest rate of 24.99%, your minimum monthly payment will be $17.61. It will take you FIVE YEARS to pay it off, and that is ONLY if you NEVER miss or are late on a payment. If you do miss a payment, or are late on it, not only will it affect your credit, and by it your ability to make future credit purchases, but either your payment will go up, or it will take you longer to pay for it as your balance will go up. The total paid towards your balance after six months: $32.33. After one year: $68.93. TOTAL PAID: $1056.24

RENT-TO-OWN - With renting to own that same item, your minimum monthly payment will be $79.99. Yes it is more, but it will be paid off in ONE YEAR. If you miss a payment or are late on a payment, a one-time flat fee (differs at each company) will be charged to your next payment. Being late doesn't affect your credit, nor does it affect your ability to make another purchase. Total paid in first six months (typical SAC period): $479.94 - which leaves you a balance which you can pay off to end your agreement of $120.05. TOTAL PAID: $959.88 - LESS than a credit card transaction. Oh, and did I mention that if you go past your SAC period, but pay it off before the end of the agreement, that most RTO companies offer a discount of between 25-40% on the remaining balance?

YES, if you don't make your payments, then you will lose your item. You can't honestly say that if you let someone buy something from you on payments, and they stopped paying, that you would let them keep it, would you? If you say you would, then your either a liar, or too much of a wuss to stand up for yourself.

RTO companies don't rely on the backing of the federal reserve or any bank. They are backed by their own finances and purchases, and they basically put their merchandise in their customer's homes on FAITH.. FAITH that the customer will pay for it, and not steal it. So YES, if you don't pay for it, then they will pick it up. If you can't understand this concept, then that means that you are thief yourself and purchase things on credit you never intend on paying for, or else you are incapable of making timely payments and the thought of losing your product scares you.

Oh, and did I mention the BENEFITS. FREE Delivery and Setup. Does that furniture store or big box retailer offer that? FREE Same-Day Service & Loaners for the life of the agreement. Does that furniture store or big box retailer offer that? Do they offer to bring out a replacement unit for you that same day to use while yours is fixed, or do you have to pay to ship off your non-functioning item to the manufacturer and wait weeks to months on end for it to be returned, all the while with nothing to use in the interim? Or how about the ability to choose how and when you pay? Need to pay monthly, or weekly, or bi-weekly, or semi-monthly, or quarterly, or back and forth between all of those options? Rent-to-own gives you those benefits.

I've been a Mac user for the last 21 years. In those years, I have heard other Mac users make comments such as - "Don't knock it until you try it", "Mac is so much easier to use", "With a little research, people would see that the Mac has a lower TCO than PC's", and "I wish that journalist would only do a little research on the subject before writing an article comparing Mac's and PC's". Yet, here I see that Mac users being hypocritical in the same manner towards a different industry. Don't knock rent-to-own until you actually try it. Rent to own is so much easier than managing a credit profile. You will pay LESS with a rent-to-own transaction than with a credit card transaction.


To 'lilsimon04': If you happen to live in Northwest Arkansas, check out some of the rent-to-own companies there. I know of one in particular that DOES rent-to-own Mac desktops and laptops, and they can barely keep enough of them in stock.
 

Surely

Guest
Oct 27, 2007
15,042
11
Los Angeles, CA
I have worked in rent-to-own for almost 12 years, and I can honestly say that rent-to-own is a MUCH safer bet than ANY credit card purchase of the same product.

.....a whole bunch of stuff......

I don't think that anyone stated that rent-to-own is less safe than credit card use. It's better to do neither.

The point that most of the above posters tried to make is that you shouldn't live above your means. If you can't afford it now, save up and buy it when you can.
 

Freakedoutfiero

macrumors newbie
May 17, 2012
1
0
I'm new here, and this is an OLD post, but.... I'm not new to forums. And as with EVERY forum...

The original question NEVER got answered.

I, too, am looking for the same thing. If there are any places that offer Apple products as rentals, please provide the information, not your opinion as to whether someone should or not based on the financial differences between renting and buying outright.
 
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