While I typically endorse the "buy where you want to stay" mantra, there are a few factual errors in your post.
or you can go Disney where the "Magical Beginnings" saves you a whopping $5 p/p and you lose a year of use.
The promotion alternatives most frequently reported are either:
1. Flat $5 off per point and the ability to keep all points.
2. $10 off per point with first year's point forfeited.
Unless one is hell bent on Saratoga Springs I can't see purchasing from Disney. And even then I would strongly consider waiting a few years and going resale.
If one is deferring
Disney vacations for a couple of years, I would think it more advantageous to buy now and rent the first couple of years' worth of points. If you buy at (net) $90, and rent the points at $10 each for the first two years, then your final cost is about $70.
How will that compare with resale prices in two years? Who knows?
If one plans to vacation at WDW right away, it would be tough to argue that someone should defer
DVC, pay cash now, and buy a resale later.
Furthermore if financing is an issue, the smartest way to finance is with a tax-deductible home equity loan which I would bet offer lower rates than Disney financing. About the only arguement I can make for going through Disney is convenience.
DVC loans are also tax deductible. Certainly the interest rates would be lower on a home equity, but you're also putting your home at risk with the loan. With a DVC loan, the only thing at risk is your DVC contract.
There have also been recent reports of new buyers being offered plans with no payments and no interest until mid-2005, which may be attractive to some potential buyers.
Finally, as Pa@okw95 pointed out, SSR contracts are 12 years longer than any of the other resorts. I'm sure this is a big part of DVC's current pricing scheme. SSR contracts will most certainly maintain their resale value longer than the other resorts--particularly 20+ years from now. An SSR contract with 30 years remaining will certainly have more value than an OKW contract with 18 years left.