Financing ANYTHING these days is not the smart way to go, and especially what in reality, is considered a trivial purchase, and that's any classic car. The days of buying and flipping are nearly over, with extremely few exceptions! Going out and financing a classic car, thinking it's going to be the same as a new/late model, is just about impossible, in today's financial climate. Face it, financing a classic is a WANT, and is in NO way a "need", no matter what your views on old cars are! And I've been around them all of my adult life! Save your money, stay out of debt, set aside $X per paycheck towards fulfilling your old car ownership dream, and take it slow and smart. Own it free and clear from the very start, and you will never regret it.
Although you will be able to get some money out of it from appreciation, dont get a loan, with the way the economy is, you could be SOL and completely screwed over. Just wait a while and save every paycheck and THEN buy one
If your heart is set on doing it, check with your regular insurance company. I used State Farm twice to get a loan on cars local banks wouldn't touch because they were more than 3 years old. But, as many have said, you would probably do well to save your money and nurse that Isuzu for awhile. Prices are dropping on a lot of older vehicles. In 6-12 months you could have a good hunk of money to buy something decent for cash, and still have the Isuzu as a backup ride.
Everyone has a different level of risk acceptance. Some believe you should never pay for toys with borrowed money. Some think toys should always be paid for with borrowed money (so they can be sold in hard times without risking necessaties). It's all going to come down to your own situation. Secure job? No upcoming expensive events (kids, marriage, etc)? Comfortable payment level? It's up to you. Just don't pay more for your car than you feel you can sell it for in the first year in case the unplanned occurs. And keep the beater around in case you need to get to work when the Chev is being stubborn.
i bought my tudor sedan with a line of credit i have attached to a checking account i hold at a credit union. when i found my sedan it was too good a deal to pass up but i had just moved back to so cal and had been out of a job for a while so i was short on cash. i used my line of credit to buy the car. the sedan was a complete fully fendered car when i bought it. over time i sold off all the extra parts i didn't need/want (i really just wanted the body - it's super cherry) and in the end i basically have a free car because the parts have paid back the original purchase price plus interest. as for having a car that old as a daily driver, that's a bad idea.
I used J.J. Best. The interest was 8.9%. Pretty easy to deal with. We paid it off early as we could afford it. Make sure your payment isn't too high so you can still buy parts while paying it off.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
Very good advice from both sides of the fence. I truly do appreciate it. I just plunked down $300 on the Rodeo to get a mystery coolant leak fixed. Some random hose that had a split in it that I just couldn't find. Truck still gets hot in traffic so I'm guessing I've got till the end of the year with her before she is down for the count. FWIW I got a job as a registered nurse so my job isn't recession proof but certainly recession resistant. Overtime is plenty, yada, yada, yada. Here's where I'm on the fence. A) I replace the Rodeo with something more reliable for ~7K and up that I really don't want. or B) Use the 7K or more to purchase the vehicle that I truly want and be able to acutally figure out what might be wrong with it before it goes completely south. Either way I will have to finance the purchase. My sincere thanks, NAES
I was in the same boat when I financed my old cars. Where in So Cal are you? I don't know what your financial situation is, but being a Murse in So Cal, it seems you should be able to save $7k in 3 or 4 months. My wife only has her associates and she made $67k in her first full year of nursing (loma linda medical center)
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