Buying a musical instrument or some art dahling? Get a 0% loan!

harryharp

CAWDAVID wrote: »

does anybody know if there is a list of participating welsh music shops?

As far as I can gather from the website, it's only available in England at the moment- with plans to possibly extend it to Wales, Scotland and N. Ireland in the future.

aloiseb

I work in one of the shops which does it. (I won't advertise it but its website has had some good mentions on Moneysavingexpert before!)
As far as I know:
- Take It Away is only for brand new instruments
- you will be credit checked, which can take a little while in the shop - there are phone calls which have to be made before you are allowed to walk off with the instrument!:rolleyes:
-as far as I understand it, you can't use the Assisted Purchase VAT-free scheme at the same time, because for that scheme, the school has to buy the instrument (they can claim back the VAT) and then sell it on to you. So you would then have to pay the school, and I don't know how that would work with credit - maybe ask the school's financial people?
- A lot of shops (including ours) sell instruments on their own schemes, where you can usually have the instrument for a few months for a smaller amount, then commit to paying the balance either straight away or over a period of months. I'm doing this with my dd's clarinet - it was good for me because this was her 3rd attempt at an instrument, and I wanted to make sure she really was going to get on OK with it before paying out for the whole £350-odd.
- A lot of shops (including ours) also sell on their ex-rental instruments, which can be cheaper + may only have had minimal use. A good shop will have the repairer check them before they go out to someone else again.
- final point! (sorry for long post......) - dont' be tempted by anything terribly cheap (eg dodgy bargain bookstore trumpets...) because that's what it will sound like, in all probability. :eek: The manufacturers will have cut corners where you can't see: there's a lot of engineering in woodwind instruments like flutes and clarinets. Better to get a good make second-hand.

harryharp

aloiseb wrote: »

As far as I know:
- Take It Away is only for brand new instruments

Just checked their website and you can use it for second hand:

Can I use the scheme to purchase a second hand or reconditioned instrument?

Yes, provided that the instrument is being sold through an approved Take it away outlet.