It is no secret that thin or no credit can hurt just like bad credit when shopping for motorcycle loans. The main reason for this is that lenders all have a variety of strategies on how to approach motorcycle loans in their loan portfolios. Some lenders see motorcycles loans as a risky but feasible business investment, while other lenders label motorcycles loans as a high risk money losing investment. Overall, the general perception of most lenders is that a motorcycle is a “toy” and therefore motorcycle loans are much more risky than other types of loans. This “toy” labeled perception from lenders is a critical component which makes shopping for a motorcycle loan much more difficult for motorcycle buyers with thin or no credit.

If you would like to get approved for limited or no credit motorcycle loans, the first step is to look online. Many online lenders are very competitive with offering motorcycle loans and some of them specialize in limited or no credit motorcycle loans.

If you have searched online and are still having trouble getting approved due to thin or no credit, it is critical that you begin to understand the impact of your FICO credit score. Essentially, a FICO credit score is the number one variable most lenders use in approving you for a motorcycle loan. The FICO credit score is a computer generated score which is comprised of your credit payment history, amount owed, length of credit, amount of new credit and types of credit.

Since many people with thin or no credit do not even have a FICO credit score associated with their credit file their motorcycle loan applications are sometimes automatically declined by lenders. Therefore, the first step to getting approved for a limited or no credit motorcycle loan is to start building credit history. In order to get a computer generated FICO credit score with your credit file you must have at least one credit account that has been open for at least 6 months and has been updated at least once in the previous 6 months.

This requirement can make it tough for young motorcycle buyers or immigrants who wish to establish a credit score since some lenders will not extend credit to people with a thin file. However in today’s age, there are credit card companies willing to give newcomers a credit card with a small $500 limit to get started.

As a result, if all else has failed and you have limited or no credit a great way for you to begin building your FICO credit score is to get a low credit limit credit card and begin using it regularly for small everyday purchases. The key to this strategy is keeping your purchases small and frequent and paying off the balance every month on time. Always try to avoid maxing out the credit cards or even using more than 30% of the available credit limit. To make this easy some small purchases can even become automatic by putting things like monthly cable or telephone bills on automatic credit card payment.

The bottom-line is that finding a limited or no credit motorcycle loan can be challenging, but working smarter by shopping for a motorcycle loan online and also beginning to build a credit history can take a lot of pain out of the process.