Classic Car Financing

[PrisonHack]

 Anyone here ever dealt with one of the companies that do classic car loans such as Hagertys? If so how did it go?

[Brock Lee]

Is that the same Hagerty as the insurance company for Classic Cars?

I would think that if you had good job, great credit and collateral (besides the car you are buying), you could go to a bank and get a loan.

[ITSA426]

Probably not a good idea to finance a hobby, and not many wives are gullible enough to believe it's an "investment" after they find out what you paid for it.

[chargerboy69]

Probably not a good idea to finance a hobby, and not many wives are gullible enough to believe it's an "investment" after they find out what you paid for it.

I agree.  I have not had a auto loan in ten years, and I would never consider financing a muscle car.  This is just my opinion, but in this economy one should not be adding more debt. I would save up, and pay cash.  

[TK73]

Buy what you want, use the wife and kids for collateral and DRIVE IT   

According to the Aztecs, Mayans, or other illegal immigrant groups, we only have until December 2012 anyways...

[Landonsrt]

My recommendation is to clear it with the wife.... I bought one too many toys. After I bought the new charger, she had enough. Now the divorce is almost final....

[PrisonHack]

 I just don't see me ever actually having the 20 grand plus one of these cars cost.

[ITSA426]

I'm not an investment planner or financial guru, but if you save $1,000 per year it will take 20 years to have that kind of money, give or take interest.  You can buy a car with no interest and no financing.  If you don't save the money no sweat but the twenty years will pass anyhow.  Then where is the plan.  If you save and decide not to buy no big deal you just have money in the bank. 

[Troy]

I have done it on 3 occasions. Twice I basically used the loan as a "float" until I sold another car. It beats waiting to sell the car and losing the one you were after. I used J.J. Best each time. I didn't experience any major issues. Things to watch out for are timing (it takes a few days for everything to go through since there needs to be an inspection) and distance (you get a two-party check which both parties need to sign and some banks require both parties to be present to cash it).

Troy

[Charger440RDN]

I just don't see me ever actually having the 20 grand plus one of these cars cost.

This is the exact reason I'm thinking about a classic car loan to get a nice Charger. Not many people have 20-30K just sitting in the bank to pay for a toy that will only be driven part of the year.

[The70RT]

It goes either way. You can buy a new daily driver and spend 25-30K or buy a decent driver for a few K if your don't rack up a ton of miles every year. You then  can spend the $$ on a classic. In 10 years the 25K daily driver is worth? and your classic that you didn't beat on is still worth the money you spent on it  I spent 17K on a daily driver Ram SLT and put 30,000 miles on it in the last 5 years and it now books for 10K less.

[PrisonHack]

Exactly my thinking, I don't want a show car , but it has to be in decent driveable condition.  People finance 30K cars and trucks everyday, in the long run what's the difference?

[Cooter]

For me, I just can't seem to give the same respect at a car show to the person that bypassed all my suffering and hardship while restoring my car over a 3-6 year period, by just simply getting a loan, going into debt, and paying for a car over the next 5 years...To me, this hobby should be about the experience of owning an older musclecar...To just go down and buy the car of your choice, to me is the same thing as buying a new car..part of the experience should be finding out how much fun and a PITA it is to build one of these cars. Sorry, but I just deplore those who complain about the debt problem in the US, then in the same turn, go down and take out a loan on a 30 plus Y/O car as an "Investment"...To me, there are those at the local cruise that have "Paid their dues" and those that simply when asked "What did you do to it? "Did you do all the work yourself?" "Where did you get your chroming done?" And the answer is always the same........"I filled it up with gas and tire shined the tires and now it has some starting/running problem and I have NO IDEA WTF is wrong with this POS"...IMO, the mentallity of just Get what you want by any means posible, is that "Instant gratification" type of thinking that got this country into the debt problem we face today...It's ALOT easier to "Invest" $20K-$30K over a 3-6 Year period a little at a time, than it is to take out a loan and you don't have to make that $500/month payment EVERY month if you can't either..Hell, the first night I had "Christine" out after 5 years of HARD work and listening to my buddies tell me how crazy I was, I had some guy come up and just wanted to buy all my hard work and suffering...I mean, how can you pay me for all those nights out in the cold block sanding when he was inside curled up next to the fire watching TV? It actually made my angry to think he thought I'd just sell that quickly as if I hadn't paid my dues....Just my .02...

[RECHRGD]

Exactly my thinking, I don't want a show car , but it has to be in decent driveable condition.  People finance 30K cars and trucks everyday, in the long run what's the difference?

Not to rain on your parade, but there's a huge difference between a new car and a 40+ year old classic muscle car.  The new car should run great with no problems for years to come.  Oil changes and tires should be your only expense other than the payments.  It's a totally different deal with a hobby car.  Spending 20+K on an old Charger does not guarantee years of trouble free driving.  Things go wrong and unless you can fix everything yourself your in for some serious sticker shock to have them worked on by others.  I bought my Charger in '97 for 5K and 2 years and 20K later it was on the road.  Since then I've probably put another 10K in it.  Some of spending was of my own choice, but a lot of it wasn't planned on at all.  I would fear that being strapped with payments and then having to deal with other unexpected expenses would take the fun out Classic Charger ownership.  Just my  . Bob

[Charger440RDN]

The bad thing is that the prices of all Chargers seem to be going up if you watch e-bay or craigslist. If you wait 5 years to save and buy one you probably still won't have enough cash saved. Chargers are EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!! even the non R/T ones.

[The70RT]

For me, I just can't seem to give the same respect at a car show to the person that bypassed all my suffering and hardship while restoring my car over a 3-6 year period, by just simply getting a loan, going into debt, and paying for a car over the next 5 years...To me, this hobby should be about the experience of owning an older musclecar...To just go down and buy the car of your choice, to me is the same thing as buying a new car...

I totally agree with you. I wouldn't ever do it (buy one done) but that's the pros and cons that I mentioned. It also upsets me when somebody gets a bunch of awards for a car they haven't got a clue about because they bought a done car. Lots of people don't have the skill, place, time, health or whatever.... so I guess they buy one done. If you can buy one I guess more power to you but don't expect everyone to look at you the same when they put (well for me almost 4 years now) a lot of time in on a resto. Some people buy the car and then have it restored to there liking and then get credit for it so what's the difference I guess  

[PrisonHack]

  The reasons I though of trying to buy one closer to done are these: 1. I am not afraid to tackle pretty much anything mechanical. I have spent many hours outside in the cold/heat in a driveway wrenching on my mustangs over the years before I had a garage. 2. I know nothing about body work at all.

 Now even if I decide to tackle body work and learn as I go wich I am no totally opposed to doing, most of the cars I have found that are in need of major body work aren't that much cheaper. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places but all I seem to find are rolling chasis needing half the panels replaced and the still want 10K for them.  

I

[Cooter]

Well, the days of a $2000.00 running and driving Charger, in 1966-70 range needing only a scuff and paint, are gone, never to return...I have hunted and hunted for a car I didn't have at least 3 years of bodywork ahead of me on, and I've found out only one thing.....YOu are gonna PAY OUT THE AZZ cause that is a GREAT selling point when time comes to sell a good,solid, project car....


Now, as for the not knowing anything about bodywork? well, guess what? I didn't either..I got burned by a bodyshop when I was 16 Y/O and LEARNED...You only need to do about one maybe two cars to get pretty good at it...Now whether you WANT ot learn is another matter. I've found in my 38 years on this god forsaken planet, that things I used to consider "VooDoo" were NOT "VooDoo" afterall..That's just what the person charging me an arm and a leg WANTED me to think....You are NOT in the Mustang world here...Ever heard the old saying to build a Chevy, all you need is a catalog, to build a Ford, all you need is a catalog, it takes a real man to build a Mopar...This is true..Afterall, why do you see so many damn Mustanks and Camarios at the local crusie night? Cause they are easy to get parts for, everybody and their brother has one..Only the "Elite" build Mopars...ESPECIALLY A '68-'70 Charger...Think about it, there were NO Four door Chargers to rob parts from, there were NO Wagons for front clips, There weren't even any Convertibles in 1968-70.....A Second Gen. Charger is ALL to itself...You Can't "Clone" a Charger like you can a GTX out of say a "Sport Satellite"..Or a RR out of a Belvedere in 1968-70...Sure, I can tell you where there are about 10 $500.00 '68-'70 Chargers for sale right now, but you know the FIRST thing that comes out of most peoples mouths when I tell 'em about my "Honey hole"?  "Hell Chaney, I don't see nothin' but JUNK"...If you hadda seen my 1969 GL Charger when I got it, you would know WHY I got it for trading an engine block for it, with NO TITLE...I got it cause NOBODY else wanted to fool with it....It was a parts car that needed EVERYTHING....But, I got it, I did it, and I have less than $7000 in it DONE...Does it look as good as most here, prolly not, but It's MINE! Sorry, but with AMD out there Making damn near ANYHTING for these cars, it isn't hard to hear a seller say, "Hell, you canget anything you want for one of these now!" And they'd be correct. Even the biggest turds only a short 4 years ago seem to be bringing big bucks now cause if you have the VIN number and the title, you can buy the rest...

Lemme give you just a taste here....
1. Bent frame rail on driver's side.
2. Rear quarters gone
3. Roof had rust holes in it
4. back glass was almost rusted to where it fell over in the car
5. windshield was almost as bad
6. Doors were in need of straightening
7. Trunk lid was bent all to hell
8. Winshield was cracked
9. One quarter glass wouldn't go down at all
10. Floors were solid as this is why I got it
11. Engine gone
12. Trans gone
13. Had a Maverick 8" rear under it held in with two LOOSE bolts
14. Fell off the trailer inot the creek when we moved it across the bridge where it was sitting
15. rear valance was gone
16. Front valance was gone
17. Hood was missing
18. Grille was missing
19. Wiring was missing
20. Dashboard was missing the cluster and all wiring
21. Seats were missing
22. Steering column was in there, but loosely bolted in
23. all Emblems were missing
24. Both front fenders were gone
25. Trunk floor was gone rusted all the way into the fuel tank
26. Fuel tank no good
27. Rear wheel wells rusted out
28. No tilte
29. No dash pad
30. No rear wiring harness
31. No tail lights


How bad you still want a Charger?

[PrisonHack]

 If all I had to do was trade an engine block for it I coul dsee taking on a project such as that . 

[chargergirl]

OW man...But she's a beauty now right...that is what makes it all worth while.

[Charger-Bodie]

If it werent for borrowing the money,I would to this day never had a car. For me its far easier to make payments than save money.   

[PrisonHack]

For me its far easier to make payments than save money.   

Exactly

[squeakfinder]

..Only the "Elite" build Mopars...ESPECIALLY A '68-'70 Charger...










Oh, I can relate to that. Not to mention the snobs that look down on you for takeing something they consider a rotted out parts car and putting it on the road again.

[chargerboy69]

For me its far easier to make payments than save money.  

Exactly

Believe me, I am not trying to piss on your dreams, I am really not.  It has just taken me years to learn to be financially responsible.  I do not have any credit cards or loans besides my mortgage. And if I do not have the cash I do not buy the item.  I realize it seems like a rough way live, however if money ever becomes tight, I will not have a stack of payments due, without a way to pay for them. Paying for things with cash can be done, it just takes self discipline.

[Charger440RDN]

There is another company called Motor cars financial, where the minimum loan amount can be $6,000 but with JJ Best the car has to cost a minimum of $7,500 here is a link

http://www.motorcarsfinancial.com/