Renting from Radio Rentals - Good or Bad?

[STEALTHY™]

Just wondering people opinions (obviously people having rented from them)


The ol 60hz is doing to well anymore, and not having $1000s at my disposal, thought renting an LCD would be the easiest way to improve my xbox360 (or later PS3) experience.


I thought i heard of some hidden catches, but reading thru the terms and conditions, couldn't see any!

[JBDrifter]

My mum rented a stepping machine from them years ago... actually I think it was hill climber, but that doesn't really matter anyway, the point is she had a good experience renting from them. It was cheap, they offered good customer service and after a certain period of time she was able to buy the machine for a small price.
This was quite a few years ago though, maybe ten years... so things could quite possibly be a lot different now, but thought I'd share my experiences anyway.

[vy_storm]

I never rent through them, I always take the interest free option so I own the item once I have paid for it. The downside is they normally ask 1/3rd up front. Renting always works out more expensive as you actually never own the goods and are just paying for the use of them.

[adam69]

Harvey Norman usually have some good intrest free deals going.

[vy_storm]

Harvies use an external credit agency from what I remember so any bad marks against your rating will come up. Radio rentals have their own internal credit department that run checks, but are still pretty strict on who they give credit to.

[STEALTHY™]

Yeah i don't really have the $$ to pay 1/3 up front (or whatever it may be)


Considering, the TV that i'd be happy with is about $3000, yet only $11 a week.

Might look into that rent to buy thing and see how much dearer it is. Thanks guys!


Also, my credit is fine, and i'll have no problems paying either the rent side of things, or if i was to get the interest free thing. But i can't justify 'buying' something that in a year will be outdated anyway (go technology) hence why i just wanted to rent one.

[maginoodle]

ive had no troubles with radio rentals. It does work out dearer.
At the moment they have a deal where after renting for 36 months you can buy it off them for 1 dollar.
I was looking at a bigscreen. It worked out that i would pay double what its worth.

[STEALTHY™]

ive had no troubles with radio rentals. It does work out dearer.
At the moment they have a deal where after renting for 36 months you can buy it off them for 1 dollar.
I was looking at a bigscreen. It worked out that i would pay double what its worth.

plus in 3 years it'd be worth less again (or is that 'worthless')

[albert5268]

if you do rent to buy make sure when the interest free period is up you have enough dough to pay for the closure. after that they usually slap you with a bucket load of back dated interest right back to when u first made the deal. not sure if thats what radio rentals do tho.

[STEALTHY™]

if you do rent to buy make sure when the interest free period is up you have enough dough to pay for the closure. after that they usually slap you with a bucket load of back dated interest right back to when u first made the deal. not sure if thats what radio rentals do tho.

yeah thats what i thought it would be.

[NORTI]

Harvies use an external credit agency from what I remember so any bad marks against your rating will come up. Radio rentals have their own internal credit department that run checks, but are still pretty strict on who they give credit to.

they had an ad on the other day saying that they are waving trhe credit checks.....


bad idea IMO......

[1991_Vn2nV]

I rent my laptops through Radio Rentals. I like having something up to date with new software for uni, so I pay $110 a month (~$1300 a year) to rent a $2300 laptop. I upgrade that laptop every 12 months, so essentially im paying $1300 for a $2300 laptop. For my needs, its perfect and once im finished my 6 years at uni, i'll buy the laptop off them and keep it, but the money/hassle I save in the mean time is well worth it.

I also dont have to worry about insurance, as its done through RR. If its stolen, it breaks or has any issues at all... Its their problem and they fix it/replace it. Insurance and repairs can be costly and annoying so its good to not have to worry about either.

[minux]

lol, radio rentals..you may as well throw the money down the drain, better of fpaying for it so its yours...rather then paying for something you will never own.

$11 a week is $572 a year that you will never see again. renting anything is a waste of money, home/TV/car etc if you never own it in the end whats the point?

[STEALTHY™]

I am renting the house also, as, money isn't overflowing into my bank, and a morgage for a decent house would be way out of reach.


Renting seems the go, as i said, i have no intentions of paying for a TV that will, in a few years (by the time the interest free is up) will be outdated.

[-UNKNOWN-]

we are renting to buy from radio rentals and we have had no worries at all. we've got 42"plasma,PS3, Lounge, TV Cabinet, DVD surround sound system. not only do we get the option of buying it at the end of the 3/5 years but if anything goes wrong in the time you are renting just call them up and they come and collect it and either fix or replace it. (our TV currently getting repaired getting credit for the time we've been without). and you can still upgrade if you want to after your set period of time...

[wrx884]

lol, radio rentals..you may as well throw the money down the drain, better of fpaying for it so its yours...rather then paying for something you will never own.

$11 a week is $572 a year that you will never see again. renting anything is a waste of money, home/TV/car etc if you never own it in the end whats the point?

Id have 2 agree here my bro got a TV through them has paid it off but yet still doesnt own it after 24 months the amount he paid off he coulda owned the tv if he paid it out right so after he finished their contract he still has 2 pay somthing on top 2 actually make the tv his y bother in the long run u loose out

[PRH]

G'day all
My daughter got a tv and set top box from those bastards was gunna cost 80 odd bucks a month from memory and it was second hand ,i went to hardly normal and got a price on new stuff,on a 2 year no deposit scheme it was gunna cost her a little more than half.
I went around to connect it all up and when i seen it was S/H i said like #### and took it back coz there is a 24 hr cooling off period.
So my advice to you old son save some $ and go buy new stuff and you will own it after 2 years and have no residual to pay,best of luck
Phillip

[Shounak]

If you can't afford to buy it, you can't afford it. I'll make an exception for a house and a car if you're using tax savings through deductions or whatnot.

But for small ticket stuff like TV's, microwaves and crap.. Cut out the little things, try get some more O/Time..

Simple solution. Spend less, earn more.

There's no magic in renting and everyone's out to get your money. Don't fall for it..

[STEALTHY™]

To the last 2 guys, i don't really want to own something that will be outdated by the end of the interest free.

Put it this way, the TV at 10 a week, is 500 a year (give or take) on a TV worth 3000. If i was to buy it, that'd be 3000 at once (or the interest free).


That difference in money would be better spent on my car, as long term i have no plans on owning electrical goods.

[pumba]

me and my misses got a fridge and a deep freeze thru radio rentals. it did cost more over the time to pay it off, but we now own them out right. and now we just got a new pc thru harvey norman on flexi-rent (rent to buy) which is once again gonna cost us mor ein the end, but after the contract is up (in 3 years) we can either pay $1 and own it, or upgrade for 6 months and pay $1 after the 6 months and own that one.

we didnt have to do it with the pc, but with the fridge and freezer, we had no choice. otherwise we wouldnt have had a fridge and freezer when we moved in together.

it all comes down to u. are u happy to pay abit more over time? or do u wanna wait ages til u save up the cash?

[The Stig]

I looked at the flexi rent thing a while ago..

what a ripoff..

I was going to flexi a laptop and a digital camera (bout 3grands worth all up)

when they appeared with their little contract the total payments section said almost 8grand..

over double what the gear was worth... told them where to stick that right quick... went and got interest free and now own all the stuff outright... yeah its 2 years old and not current but geez.... you go pay cash for a TV today and its outdated tomorrow anyway....

[minux]

To the last 2 guys, i don't really want to own something that will be outdated by the end of the interest free.

Put it this way, the TV at 10 a week, is 500 a year (give or take) on a TV worth 3000. If i was to buy it, that'd be 3000 at once (or the interest free).


That difference in money would be better spent on my car, as long term i have no plans on owning electrical goods.

By your logic then, buying a car on finance isnt the right thing to do(which i'd agree) however, fact is, even if it is dated after 2 years, you will still have it in 5.

[STEALTHY™]

By your logic then, buying a car on finance isnt the right thing to do(which i'd agree) however, fact is, even if it is dated after 2 years, you will still have it in 5.

but that depends on the car. A $3000 Tv that will end up outdated, or a car you'll probably fall in love with (i know i have with mine, and will never sell it

[vk_calais5.0]

the interest killed me with RR but the quicker i paid them off the
sooner they were mine..laptop is worthless now tho because of windows vista.

i find it hard to save up for something and pay outright,cos as soon as i reach over 1 of 2k i think of what i can do to my car instead of latest technology.

[Shounak]

the interest killed me with RR but the quicker i paid them off the
sooner they were mine..laptop is worthless now tho because of windows vista.

i find it hard to save up for something and pay outright,cos as soon as i reach over 1 of 2k i think of what i can do to my car instead of latest technology.

How badly do you want it then?

I worked my arse off working 60-70 hour weeks for 3 months, saving everything and after it finished I came out with a bike and awesome gear.. A couple of mates were earning similar amounts to me and spent it all on grog, smokes, chicks and cars. It disappears fast and you've got nothing to show for it (other than the car)..

Imagine if you needed to save the money to save your life.. You'd find a way..

I'd much rather cut out a lot of the bull**** things and have something substantial to show for it after a given point in time..