Why coffee machine financing is probably not your best choice.

So, I personally hate coffee machine financing and I hate it for a number of reasons. It’s not to say it’s wrong for everyone but for me when someone goes the financing route, I’m like there’s so many better choices than going the financing route.

So number one: coffee machine financing essentially means you’re buying a coffee machine on credit and you’re paying more for it over the long run. Yes, there’s advantages and there’s times when you need to do that when you can’t afford a coffee machine of course, but the amount you pay more over a three or four or five year term, whichever term you get, is so significant, I just actually cry when people go that route.

Number two: the part I don’t like about financing is that people go to financing kind of just to dip their toes because they’re not sure which machine to go for and there’s no more protection or there’s no less risk going into financing route than there is buying a machine because as soon as you sign that document you’re in. Whether it’s three years, four years or five years, you’re in and you can’t change machines, you can’t give that machine back, you’ve got to pay for that machine, now or at some stage, but there’s no going back. If you’re not sure, financing is not the answer. The answer really is going on a rental option. Rent option gives you flexibility. You can change machines at any stage, you can give your machine back, you know. Often rental terms are a lot shorter than financing terms. If you’re not sure, doesn’t mean then go the financing route then instead of spending 30,000 rand. Rather go rental route and just kind of feel your way as you go.

Third reason I don’t like financing: the financing is usually done by an external company other than the coffee company that you’re trying to get your machine from and what that means is that the financing amount you pay every single month is it just to give you access to the machine. It doesn’t give you maintenance, it doesn’t give you servicing. All those typical pros that come with usually a rental, are not there in financing. Financing equals buying a machine for a more amount of money, paying it slowly. That’s all it is.

So, if you can buy a machine or rent a machine, rather than going the financing route, to me, it’s just a better choice. Hope that helps. Thank you.