Don’t Regret These Rookie Mistakes

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By now you know the brands to buy and what to pay for them. Here are the top two mistakes that get the best of us.

 

1. Zero Interest Scam

2. Cowboy Claims

 

1. Zero interest finance

No interest finance is a slight of hand trick which causes recipients to focus on cheap finance as a distraction from an inflated price and inferior quality product.

 

No interest finance typically requires the seller to pay a secret fee of 15% to 30% of the real price to the finance company.

 

“No interest ever - what a load of crap!”

That’s how one installer puts it.

 

Agreements are confidential but we are consistently informed by solar retailers that they increase the price of their quotes by about 25% when they are asked for this sort of finance.

 

“A well tested psychological principle that is scarily effective on the human brain.”

 

Popularised by the likes of Harvey Norman, the payment providers approve even bad credit borrowers so they can buy now and pay later. Good borrowers pay a hefty price because of it.

 

Why be careful?

• You’ll probably pay 2-3 times more than a low interest green loan

• High ongoing fees and charges

• You don’t get any of it back if you pay out early

• Often offered by door-to-door providers pedalling inferior quality products at an inflated price.

 

Pro Tip: Check the brand, Check the installer and ask for the cash price.

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2. Cowboys with Big Claims

Beware the rate of self-consumption - that is the amount of solar power you will consumer rather than send back to the grid.

 

The benefit of self consumption is about three times (3x) greater than returning energy to the grid. Because of this, the rate of self consumption you use to calculate system benefits will have a big effect on the final figure.

 

The average rate of self consumption is about 30%. That can be substantially higher if you work from home or are efficient with your bigger appliances.

 

Half of your time at home is after the sun has gone down. If you are being offered a system based on a calculation of more than 50% self-consumption, your bullshit detector should be making some noises.

 

Pro Tip: Consider installing a monitor for a few months prior to choosing your system size

 

Ready for a Finance Quote?

Call us on 1300 13 17 11 and we can get you pre-approved so that you can negotiate the best cash price from you installer.

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