Cobra Financing

[mkuhlwein]

I am trying to finance the purchase of a used Cobra kit car built in 2005. None of my conventional lenders will do it. Any recommendations?

[jhv48]

Most will do it if you put up the cash as a security deposit. Or look into a signature loan. If you have the equity in your home and the disclipline to pay it off, that may work also. Rates are much cheaper too.


Check out the Dynamic Superformance website. They have a leasing company that might be willing to do it. But they are around 9% right now. Very flexible also.

[rokndad]

Originally Posted by mkuhlwein

I am trying to finance the purchase of a used Cobra kit car built in 2005. None of my conventional lenders will do it. Any recommendations?

Get a second TD from Lending Tree or Priority Lenders or your Credit Union if you have untapped equity in your home. You can most likely deduct the interest from your Fed/State Income taxes if you itemize.

[jwd]

Originally Posted by mkuhlwein

I am trying to finance the purchase of a used Cobra kit car built in 2005. None of my conventional lenders will do it. Any recommendations?

Here's my advice. NEVER, I repeat NEVER finance a toy. If you can't afford to pay cash, you don't need it. Unless your house and other cars are paid off as well as all your bills, you could put the money to better use. Probably not what you wanted hear.

Jim

[rokndad]

Originally Posted by jwd

Here's my advice. NEVER, I repeat NEVER finance a toy. If you can't afford to pay cash, you don't need it. Unless your house and other cars are paid off as well as all your bills, you could put the money to better use. Probably not what you wanted hear.

Jim

You must be in another tax bracket. I'm retired and still owe $$ on two homes and will until I die. Why give it all to the IRS? And I get to upgrade my lifestyle with a nicer house at the beach, nice garage, nice toy(s) with a little bump in the monthly payment spread out over another 30 years. I'm most likely not going to be here in 30 years, and can afford the payments that I've gotten used to since we first got married. You afford what you can afford. Kids higher education over with, so I moved onto something else.

I say, rather than don't finance something at all, finance smartly what you can afford while maintaining the lifestyle you want to have. Family certainly comes first, but us hardworking Dads deserve some rewards for our sacrifices before we can't bend over to pick up a wrench, right? Never say never.

[jwd]

Your second sentence is very sad. Fortunately, my homes and properties were paid off over 5 years ago as are all my cars, toys, etc. I retire next year at 55 YO. As to "giving it all to the IRS" please explain how it makes sense to pay $10,000 in interest only to deduct $3200 from your taxes. To me, you just lost $6800.

Jim

[csx4910]

Not wanting to particiapte in the argument of whether you should(that is no one's business but yours) Capital one does financing up to $50000 for used or classic cars. I used them for a 67 mustang I purchased a while back and was very happy with them.

Whether or not you should finance like with anything else would depend on the interest rate, amt etc. Others are right that if you did a part of home equity it would be tax deductible. This was 2006 but Capital one with putting down 20% I believe my interest rate was 7-8% for 3 yrs.

It would be great if everyone had their house and cars paid off but that is just not reality for most of us. I say life is too short not to enjoy it and if you can afford it - go for it, just figure in the interest you will pay into the amount of money (plus some) you will lose when you sell.
Ron

[Rick Parker]

jwd:

Evidently you have planned very well or had some opportunities that others may not have. That's very good, my hats off to you. However most people have to finance major purchases, which one of our cars or any car for that matter would be. Finance charges are the price of admission. No one puts a gun to your head when you buy one of these cars, we all have different motives and desires. Some have the assets to qualify for the loan, others do not. I agree with ROKINDAD, do your research (as he is attempting to do) and if it's DOABLE, go forward and forever live with your decision.
It's not our place to pass judgement on the wants and desires of mkuhlwein. He is experiencing the desire to achieve a goal just like you did, by his own means.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by jwd

As to "giving it all to the IRS" please explain how it makes sense to pay $10,000 in interest only to deduct $3200 from your taxes. To me, you just lost $6800.

Of course it makes no sense (financially speaking, that is)... and he is probably laboring under the mistaken belief that the federal estate tax is somehow going to take all his money when he dies. Really, all he's doing is lowering the amount of money that he will be leaving his kids, or his wife, or the church, or the Society for Krishna Consciousness, or whatever. But that's certainly his right, so long as he fully understands what he is doing. Actually, it's his right even if he doesn't understand what he is doing -- and perhaps that's the case here.

[elmariachi]

You'll need stellar credit and verifiable assets but these specialty companies might be an option: http://www.jjbest.com/, http://www.woodsidecredit.com/, http://www.motorcarsfinancial.com/. Sure its nice to be able to pay cash for a toy, but a lot of people would go there whole lives without toys were it not for financial assistance.

I am not affiliated with any of these nor have I ever used them, I just know of them from having been associated with the auto business a few years back.

[RodKnock]

When this thread popped up I knew the "don't finance a toy" crowd would speak up.

The OP wants to finance a car. He didn't ask for advice about whether to finance it. He just wants to finance it. No one knows the OP's balance sheet and income statement.

[jhv48]

I watched my dad scrimp and save his whole lifetime (he was raised in the Great Depression years and had to scrounge for whatever he needed). He is now worth a bundle and aside from travelling all over the world many times over, has rarely indulged himself. To him, money in the bank is security. He intends to pass it all down to his heirs.

I am from a different school of thought. I am part of the "you can have it all" generation, and believe that as long as you have put enough away for your retirement years, you have the right to enjoy the fruits of your labor. I also plan on accessing my home equity via a reverse mortgage should I need the money in my home to survive comfortably in my golden years. My house is a giant piggy bank, and as long as it is used wisely, can be a great source of security.

My family has been well provided for with life insurance. If I have spent every last dollar in my estate, they will all have a healthy amount of money to pursue their dreams, and it will be 100% tax free (unless the Dems decide to tax life insurance proceeds to help balance their outrageous spending).

So, if you have met all your financial obligations and choose to borrow the funds to buy/build a Cobra, have at it. It is your money after all.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by jhv48

So, if you have met all your financial obligations and choose to borrow the funds to buy/build a Cobra, have at it. It is your money after all.

And if you haven't met all your financial obligations and choose to buy a Cobra (or finance it) its still your decision as well. Some of us are fortunate enough to be able to write a check, others need alternatives. In the end, everyone deserves to enjoy things, regardless of the means.

[rokndad]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Of course it makes no sense (financially speaking, that is)... and he is probably laboring under the mistaken belief that the federal estate tax is somehow going to take all his money when he dies. Really, all he's doing is lowering the amount of money that he will be leaving his kids, or his wife, or the church, or the Society for Krishna Consciousness, or whatever. But that's certainly his right, so long as he fully understands what he is doing. Actually, it's his right even if he doesn't understand what he is doing -- and perhaps that's the case here.

I'm not laboring under anything, and as long as I must have a mortgage, I'll allow the Tax Codes to give me some relief. You don't know what my or anyone else's financial situation is and can only speculate, out loud, as you have.

As far as responsible financing and living your life to its fullest within your means, check the rest of the responses herein. Be happy. Life's too short to be snarly all the time. Let's stay on point and not derail the intent of this thread for the original poster and hope he gets to enjoy one of these great cars.

[Dwight]

If it's titled as a 2005 Ford, Cobra, assembled car, whatever, I can get it financed at my Credit Union. I just need an appraisal stating the valve. And because it less than 5 years old I get a good interest rate. I borrowed money on my Cobra so I could build a shop on my land. NO Mortgage. They can have the Cobra and I can keep the shop.

Both are paid for now.

Dwight

[m5extc]

Hi there,

One other option is Mike Branigan from Astrolease in New York. It is an equipment leasing company that has spun off a division to do Cobra and GT40 replicas as they are Superformance & Shelby nuts. Give them a call. Contact me offline if you need direct contact info.

Andrei Fenner

[madmaxx]

I used to be of the mindset, if you cannot pay cash then do not buy it. After the miserable performance in the DJIA and NAsdaq, inflation about to sky rocket, there are worse ways to spend you money then a Cobra. They do retain their value better than other toys. If you can get a good interest rate, go for it, if it dont work out sell it and move on. Life is to short!!

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by madmaxx

I used to be of the mindset, if you cannot pay cash then do not buy it. After the miserable performance in the DJIA and NAsdaq, inflation about to sky rocket, there are worse ways to spend you money then a Cobra. They do retain their value better than other toys. If you can get a good interest rate, go for it, if it dont work out sell it and move on. Life is to short!!

If the goal is to make money, buying a Cobra on credit ain't the way to do it. If the goal is to just have fun with a Cobra while you can, then by all means buy it on credit. Yes, you are pi$$ing money away on interest -- that's absolutely undeniable. But more people than not would probably say that just buying a Cobra with cash is pi$$ing money away. So there is an argument to be made that it really doesn't matter in which direction you pi$$ your money -- it's still pretty much gone regardless.

[mtml427]

Originally Posted by jhv48

I watched my dad scrimp and save his whole lifetime (he was raised in the Great Depression years and had to scrounge for whatever he needed). He is now worth a bundle and aside from travelling all over the world many times over, has rarely indulged himself. To him, money in the bank is security. He intends to pass it all down to his heirs.

I am from a different school of thought. I am part of the "you can have it all" generation, and believe that as long as you have put enough away for your retirement years, you have the right to enjoy the fruits of your labor. I also plan on accessing my home equity via a reverse mortgage should I need the money in my home to survive comfortably in my golden years. My house is a giant piggy bank, and as long as it is used wisely, can be a great source of security.

My family has been well provided for with life insurance. If I have spent every last dollar in my estate, they will all have a healthy amount of money to pursue their dreams, and it will be 100% tax free (unless the Dems decide to tax life insurance proceeds to help balance their outrageous spending).

So, if you have met all your financial obligations and choose to borrow the funds to buy/build a Cobra, have at it. It is your money after all.

I see little wrong with financing a car. Just make sure you separate the car and the car loan from your other assets (no home equity loans for a car purchase). You may be able to stomach the loss of a car but to lose your home because extending on toys would make little sense.
Check with Hagerty. They are able to finance some and may have knowledge or who else to contact. Also, we belong to a credit union that does finance some re-creations.
As to the above quote regarding hoping to tap into to equity via a reverse mortgage: It has been a major topic of discussion recently that the next debacle will be the direct result of reverse mortgages. People will be complaining they didn't realize they would out-live their reverses and find themselves homeless. So guess what, we'll have to bail out another bunch of morons.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by mtml427

Just make sure you separate the car and the car loan from your other assets (no home equity loans for a car purchase).

Now how is he going to do that? With a non-recourse loan secured solely by the asset itself? Impossible. If he gets behind on his car loan they will re-pop his car and go after him for the deficiency (and that means going after anything he owns that's worth a shi!). But I know what you're saying, don't take out a second mortgage to buy a toy and then when you can't make the payments they foreclose on your home.... I couldn't agree more.