Posts Tagged ‘antique auto loan’

Collector Car Financing – Why Most Lenders Won’t Provide an Antique Car Loan

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Most conventional lenders are reluctant to make an antique car loan, even though buying an antique or collector car is a smarter financial decision than buying a new car.  The biggest reason many lenders do not offer collector car financing is that a collector car is very difficult to place an accurate and reliable value on.  With a new car or one that is less than 20 years old, it is much easier to nail down an accurate market value.  With an antique or collector car, there are way too many variables for many lenders to deal with.

For instance, is the car all original or has it been restored?  If it has been restored, what is the quality of the restoration like?  Is it unique or rare in any way?  Is it a popular car with a wide fan base such as a first generation Camaro, early Mustang, or Mopar E-Body, or is it a more obscure (but rare) model that would only be worth a considerable amount of money to a relatively small group of collectors?  Has it been modified, and if so, how do the modifications affect the value of the car?  Is it really a Chevelle Super Sport, or a mundane Malibu that someone has swapped engines in and added emblems to?  Did the car once belong to a celebrity, or is it a vintage race car that won some famous races?  These kinds of questions will make a normal loan officer’s head spin, but all of these factors will come into play when you are applying for classic auto financing.

The bottom line for the classic car finance provider is, “If the borrower defaults on the loan, how easy will it be for us to sell the vehicle and get our money back for it?”  With a new (or late model used) car, there are enough “data points’ for a lender to get a relatively accurate and reliable picture of what they are up against if the borrower defaults on the loan.  With a 1957 Desoto Adventurer coupe, there aren’t a lot of data points to compare to.  Even for a more common classic car, such as the ubiquitous 1969 Camaro, the values vary so greatly due to the options, condition, and modifications that a typical lender just isn’t well-enough informed to make a good decision.  So they bump up the interest rates to cover their losses in case they overestimate the value of the car, or they just don’t offer collector car financing at all.

When looking for collector car financing or classic auto financing, it is best to seek out lenders that specialize in classic car finance, or at least have an antique car loan program.  These lenders will most likely be able to give you a better interest rate and/or a longer loan term than you will get with lenders who concentrate on newer car loans.  These lenders are familiar with the classic car market, and will understand why a 50 year old car could be worth $50,000 or even much more.

To learn more about collector car financing, go to Classic Car Financing. To get more information on the “nuts and bolts” of getting an antique car loan, take a look at Classic Car Loans.

Collector Car Financing – 3 Advantages of Using a Specialty Lender

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Collector cars can be good investments if you choose wisely. If restoring or driving collector cars is your hobby, you can get a return on your investment and enjoy yourself doing it! There aren’t very many other “toys” out there that can earn their keep; most hobbies require you to invest in depreciating assets (Jet skis? Pleasure boats? ATVs or other off-road vehicles? Hunting, fishing…you get the picture). Collector cars in general will hold their value at the very least, and in most cases will appreciate as time goes by, instead of depreciating in value or getting “used up”.

If you are thinking about purchasing a collector car, using cash is the safest way to do it. However, an argument can be made for collector car financing when you look at the “opportunity cost” of having all that cash tied up and unavailable for other investments. You may be able to get an antique car loan and pay less interest than your money could be earning elsewhere. Most likely though, you would need to get that financing from a company that specializes in antique car loans for it to work. There are several different benefits to using a company that specializes in collector car financing.

Benefit #1 – Less time/Less hassle: You could spend a lot of time trying to find a conventional lender that will provide an antique car loan. Most normal lenders will not provide antique car financing for several different reasons. It mainly boils down to them not knowing the antique and collector car market well enough to make a wise decision on how much a particular antique car is worth. There are just too many variables for them to analyze, and the time they would have to spend to make an informed decision just isn’t worth the return they would get from the loan.

Benefit #2 – Lower Interest Rate: If you do find a conventional lender that is willing to give you an antique car loan, they likely will have a higher interest rate than a company that specializes in classic car finance. The conventional lender will likely quote you an interest rate that they give to the typical used car buyer. They will classify your antique as just another old used car, which assumes that it will be worth less in the future than it is now. Companies that specialize in classic auto financing realize that your classic car will likely hold its value or increase in value, and they lower the interest rates accordingly.

Benefit #3: Longer Terms: Most used car loans have terms of 3-5 years. A company that specializes in classic car finance understands that an antique car purchase is an investment, and they can offer you up to twelve year terms! That will lower your monthly payment significantly, and can allow you to purchase a much higher priced car than you could with a conventional lender.

Those are the top three benefits to using a company that specializes in collector car financing. You can save a lot of time and hassle, get a better interest rate, and spread out your payments over a much longer time period. Just being able to talk to a person that understands what you are doing and why you are doing it goes a long way also. Search out lenders that specialize in antique car loans, and you will find they have a lot to offer.

To learn more about the benefits of collector car financing, visit my page on Classic Car Financing. For more details on what to expect when applying for an antique car loan, take a look at Classic Car Loans.