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MP 7,1 2019 Mac Pro: financing, leasing, or pay at once?

chfilm

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,451
2,133
Berlin
Hey guys,

as a freelance editor I‘m looking at my options to pay for the new new Mac Pro, once it comes out. I dont think I can comfortably swallow the 10.000 € pricetag That my dream machine will most likely have at once currently.
I was looking at the Apple business options but they only offer leasing, which is kinda ****** for a machine like this if you ask me, because if you want to upgrade it yourself it makes not too much sense to not own the device, and it‘s supposed to last at least 7 years from now, not 3.

I couldn‘t yet find a good financing option in Germany, like I would like to pay it off Over the course of one year, and make an upfront payment of 4-5000 € I think.

How are you guys approaching this?
 
chfilm said:
Hey guys,

as a freelance editor I‘m looking at my options to pay for the new new Mac Pro, once it comes out. I dont think I can comfortably swallow the 10.000 € pricetag That my dream machine will most likely have at once currently.
I was looking at the Apple business options but they only offer leasing, which is kinda ****** for a machine like this if you ask me, because if you want to upgrade it yourself it makes not too much sense to not own the device, and it‘s supposed to last at least 7 years from now, not 3.

I couldn‘t yet find a good financing option in Germany, like I would like to pay it off Over the course of one year, and make an upfront payment of 4-5000 € I think.

How are you guys approaching this?
Click to expand...


I'm not sure how it works in Germany but I'd expect there are plenty of commercial banks, I'd start calling them. If your financials are strong you should be able to find someone to finance the purchase. As an individual expect to have to sign a personal guarantee (i.e. the loan won't just be to your company but to you as well so you are on the hook for it personally) but as a freelancer that's likely what you expected to do anyway.

edit to add: banks may not want to issue a 12 month note but typically there's no penalty to paying off early. Interest rates are pretty low these days though so for cash flow purposes perhaps extending the payments over a larger portion of the equipments life could be appealing (it will cost you more in interest of course) and line up with whatever your depreciation scale is in Germany (consult your tax professional) - not that payments and depreciation have to match at all, again just for cash flow if that matters to you and you can take advantage of the depreciation (those are two separate concepts but tax liability of the depreciation can affect your cash flow).
 
Last edited:
Apple is still offering no-interest for 18 months if you use the Barclaycard Financing VISA. That is how I intend to buy the new Mac Pro rather than pay cash.

Also, as of November 1, buyers of Macs get one year of free Apple TV+. Not such a big deal money-wise, but still it is free.
 
majus said:
Apple is still offering no-interest for 18 months if you use the Barclaycard Financing VISA. That is how I intend to buy the new Mac Pro rather than pay cash.

Also, as of November 1, buyers of Macs get one year of free Apple TV+. Not such a big deal money-wise, but still it is free.
Click to expand...
This offer is US only, or?
 
At least in the US, Apple Business has not (yet) offered any details about their MP7,1 options, pricing, or possible discounts. They're still selling the MP6,1 starting at $3K USD with 1-2 week shipping times.

Screen Shot 2019-10-25 at 8.51.58 AM.png

This is the basic Apple Business lease summary. You MUST be a business to purchase/lease through Apple Business and everything is currently done through CIT. Until you know the costs, it's not worth calculating.

Sorry - Business - Apple

Sorry
www.apple.com

Apply for Financing | Apple

apple.directcapital.com apple.directcapital.com

Consumer purchases (or those without business accounts) are handled differently:
www.apple.com

Financing and Credit

Get special financing on Apple products. Pay over time, interest-free with Apple Card Monthly Installments. And get 3% Daily Cash back with Apple Card.
www.apple.com

Most people will use a credit card with rewards of some kind. Know several will use Apple Cash 3% or B&H Payboo in the US.
 
Spoke with Apple pro support, and they explained that just buying it through business will give a refund of 6%. The financing they offer will have an interest rate Of something around 8%.
i think I’ll just end up swallowing the price.
 
Tax writeoff period for a computer is three years - wouldn't it seem reasonable to also take out a loan for that period?

Have to admit I never looked into this because for my work I don't require some big badass workstation but a deal where you want to pay half up front and already aim to pay off within 12 months must not sound overly attractive to a bank. They want to put food on their table, too. :)

I also think 10k might not be quite enough especially if you are perhaps after that video accelerator board. Apple's pricing seems to have shot right into the stratosphere over the last decade.
 
th0masp said:
Tax writeoff period for a computer is three years - wouldn't it seem reasonable to also take out a loan for that period?

Have to admit I never looked into this because for my work I don't require some big badass workstation but a deal where you want to pay half up front and already aim to pay off within 12 months must not sound overly attractive to a bank. They want to put food on their table, too. :)

I also think 10k might not be quite enough especially if you are perhaps after that video accelerator board. Apple's pricing seems to have shot right into the stratosphere over the last decade.
Click to expand...
Well about the ProRes Card, I would add that later. That's the beauty of that new modularity, right? ;)

The thing with write offs in Germany is, first of all they write off such a machine over 5 years I think, and secondly, if I do a financing it doesnt matter how I pay for it, the write off will look at it as if I just paid upfront. Only with leasing the full leasing rate will be written off in the month when it was paid. But I dont want to lease this thing.
 
chfilm said:
Well about the ProRes Card, I would add that later. That's the beauty of that new modularity, right? ;)

The thing with write offs in Germany is, first of all they write off such a machine over 5 years I think, and secondly, if I do a financing it doesnt matter how I pay for it, the write off will look at it as if I just paid upfront. Only with leasing the full leasing rate will be written off in the month when it was paid. But I dont want to lease this thing.
Click to expand...

I'm in Germany. :) Three years is standard write-off if it's classified as a desktop machine.

www.haufe.de

Computer, Notebook, Tablet-PC: Abschreibungsmöglichkeiten

Computer, Notebook, Tablet-PC: Welche Abschreibungsarten genutzt werden können.
www.haufe.de www.haufe.de
 
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chfilm said:
Well about the ProRes Card, I would add that later. That's the beauty of that new modularity, right? ;)

The thing with write offs in Germany is, first of all they write off such a machine over 5 years I think, and secondly, if I do a financing it doesnt matter how I pay for it, the write off will look at it as if I just paid upfront. Only with leasing the full leasing rate will be written off in the month when it was paid. But I dont want to lease this thing.
Click to expand...

I'm not an accountant and even if I were I don't know German tax laws but I believe that can vary by type of lease. If it's a capital lease ($1 buyout at end of term or last payment ownership) then you can deduct interest only but depreciate the value of the equipment over its standard depreciation schedule (sounds like five years for you). If it's an operating lease (payments for the term then equipment reverts ownership) you'd use the amount of the payment. In any case, don't listen to me, consult your accountant :)

edit: looks like someone above me confirmed three years for you.
 
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100% ask your accountant. For a $6K+ business purchase, it's worth the additional $50-100 they might charge for answering your questions for this. Be fully transparent with your plan (buy or lease machine and buy additional modules). Sometimes it makes sense to do this separately, sometimes it actually complicates the matter. Show them your initial quotes if you're looking for guidance.

For insurance purposes, it's almost always cheaper to do separate even if the total value of all equipment is the same - such as insuring 10 additional things at $500 each vs adding $5K to the machine purchase. Unfortunately, this isn't always possible.
 
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