Financing a ZR-1: Is it possible?

[pologreenvette]

I'm still in engineering school, but I was talking with my Dad about getting a loan. He would co-sign, and his credit is excellent. I'll be making around $10k this summer as an intern, and that combined with selling my current car (92 Corvette M6) and taking out a loan should be enough to afford a ZR-1 and still have money left over for things such as insurance and daily life.

I've been doing a lot of research and I can't seem to find anywhere that would finance a ZR-1 without crazy interest rates. I would most likely be taking out a $10,000 loan and pay for the rest of the car with cash (I'd sell my LT1 for around 6-7k as well).

Now I don't know much about auto loans; in fact I know almost nothing. I'm just wondering if it would even be possible to get a manageable loan for the car if I were to buy one this summer, maybe at C@C I could find a decent price for one?

Have any of you ever had your cars financed somewhere that you would recommend? Sorry for sounding stupid, I really don't know anything about this!
The ZR-1 is all I can think about lately, just have some ideas brewing on how to get one :)

[LGAFF]

Woodside Credit gives good rates, they will likely sell off your loan but rates are good.

[HAWAIIZR-1]

Has your dad ever served in the military or do you have family members that might meet some of the criteria for Pentagon Federal Credit Union or other credit unions?

https://netmember3.penfed.org/NetMember/Forms/OpenAccounts/Eligibility.aspx

They are awesome and no problem getting loans for decent rates for our cars and only 1.49% APR for used cars:

https://www.penfed.org/used-auto-loan/

Best wishes!


Used Auto Loan



Learn More >> (https://www.penfed.org/used-auto-loan/)



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Rate Term Loan Amount Approx. Loan Pmt. ($20,000 Auto)1.49% APR* 12 to 36 months $500 to $70,000 $568.41
1.49% APR* 12 to 48 months $7,500 to $70,000 $429.47
1.49% APR* 49 to 60 months $10,000 to $70,000 $346.11

[Paul Workman]

Oh...You got it BAAAD! (And that's GOOD!):dancing

Some places have an age limit on cars they'll loan money on: 5-7 years with some lenders (banks) But, if you have access to a credit union as Craig mentioned, that worked for me in the past. And, Capital One was willing to lend money on a early C3. The rates were around 18% for a $10k, 5-year contract with no penalty for early payoff or paying more than the minimum contract amount.

(From my compound interest calculator) est monthly rate range for 60 payments on $10k @

equiv 10% annual = $212.47/mo (approx what a credit union might charge, depending on credit)

18% = $253.93/mo = approx. for a Capital One contract.

Hope this helps. Looking forward to another Brother of the Beast!!


P.

[efnfast]

It's a toy, don't finance it. There are enough things in life that we have to borrow money on and give our money away as interest to others. If you borrow 10K @ 10%, interest will be about $2700. Think of all the mods you could do with that money. I bought headers, had them ceramic coated, new exhaust and had it all installed for less than that. Don't finance your toys. -Steve

[scottfab]

It's a toy, don't finance it. There are enough things in life that we have to borrow money on and give our money away as interest to others. If you borrow 10K @ 10%, interest will be about $2700. Think of all the mods you could do with that money. I bought headers, had them ceramic coated, new exhaust and had it all installed for less than that. Don't finance your toys. -Steve

Good advice here. Focus on engineering school. You have time later to get toys. AND much more discretionary income. The force is strong in you. Learn to control the "force". :-D

[Corbusa]

I went to my local bank . Last Oct. ( 2011 ) . worked extra , sold a few items ( motorcycle ) etc . . My loan was 18.5K I now owe $2700.00 If I didnt have my bike to put a dent in the loan I probably wouldnt have done it . The guys are right its a toy and shouldnt be in debt for toys.. You have to deside .

[alwayscode390]

Woodside Credit gives good rates, they will likely sell off your loan but rates are good.

Truth ^^^ ---

There was a SWEET 1990 Black/Black ZR-1 at a local dealership just last month. 34k original miles, chrome rep A-molds, D/S Rotors, and all paperwork.

I had them talked down to $18k ... and they were willing to do whatever it took to get me a loan.

I ended up buying one 10 minutes up the road with the LPE package I was looking for instead.

They are out there ... I would try a dealership first , let them do all the legwork ---

BTW ... swap your wheels , they are facing the wrong direction front to rear ;)

[Kevin]

you're not in the position to be able to have a zr-1 right now. I get it, I do. But you're young and will have plenty of time to have a zr-1, wait. your sig says your current vette is your daily driver, are you going to daily drive your zr-1...in the winter...with 315/35/17 rear tires? are you going to run 9" wheels with winter tires? do you have money to fix it when it goes wrong, and it will. Stock size tires are going to run me $1600 + mounting/balancing or if you can find a deal on slightly larger tires, $14xx. Insurance, gas, student loans....this all adds up. I know I'm coming off as a **** but I've been where you are and it's not fun. Get your education, the myans were wrong and the zr-1 will be waiting for you when you're established

[LGAFF]

Woodside sells to Penfed...thats who bought mine

[Fully Vetted]

It's a toy, don't finance it. There are enough things in life that we have to borrow money on and give our money away as interest to others. If you borrow 10K @ 10%, interest will be about $2700. Think of all the mods you could do with that money. I bought headers, had them ceramic coated, new exhaust and had it all installed for less than that. Don't finance your toys. -Steve

This really is the best advice. However, if you sell your current car then this will be more than just a toy. It will be your daily driver. So, technically, you're just updating your daily driver. (I'm the King of justification. Just ask my wife).

Yes, you can get them financed. I financed $21k at my local credit union last Sept for mine. I would've paid cash but I would've had to pull it out of other investments and it wasn't worth it after I paid all the penalties. I'll pay it off in 12-18 months and it won't cost much using other people's money. If you're a student can't you join some kind of Credit Union for students? Credit Unions will almost always beat bank rates but they're harder to get into.

[Fully Vetted]

you're not in the position to be able to have a zr-1 right now. I get it, I do. But you're young and will have plenty of time to have a zr-1, wait. your sig says your current vette is your daily driver, are you going to daily drive your zr-1...in the winter...with 315/35/17 rear tires? are you going to run 9" wheels with winter tires? do you have money to fix it when it goes wrong, and it will. Stock size tires are going to run me $1600 + mounting/balancing or if you can find a deal on slightly larger tires, $14xx. Insurance, gas, student loans....this all adds up. I know I'm coming off as a **** but I've been where you are and it's not fun. Get your education, the myans were wrong and the zr-1 will be waiting for you when you're established

Yeah, on 2nd thought, this really is the best advice. You're only a year or two away it sounds like. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, I don't see ZR-1 values moving much in that time frame. You can hang out here on the board, come to some meets with your C4 (you will be welcomed with open arms) and start learning about the car. Then you'll be ahead of the learning curve once you buy plus you can find the car of you're choice and not just the car you can afford. You'll have plenty of time to decide if you want an early car or late car, stock or modded, high mileage or low mileage... There's a lot to figure out and you'll have time to do it right the first time.

[scottfab]

...snip...

BTW ... swap your wheels , they are facing the wrong direction front to rear ;)

Wow, good eye.
When I saw his pic earlier something felt weird about it.
I missed the wheels.

[Fully Vetted]

That's an old pic. He already addressed this in an earlier post.

[pologreenvette]

That's an old pic. He already addressed this in an earlier post.

This. They're facing the right way now :)



Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm obviously very eager to get a ZR-1, but I think it's a good idea to wait until next year. If all goes well, I should already have a well-paying job lined up by next winter. If so, I would not hesitate to take out a loan because I know that I'll be making money and living at home so it should not be hard to pay off.

The idea is to get the ZR-1 in the spring of 2014 so I can enjoy it all summer long. I'd still be in school in the spring, but if I knew for sure that I had a job, I could take out a loan and buy the Z in the spring instead of working all summer and then having to wait until the following year to buy the car. Does this make sense?

Basically I'd only take out a loan if I'm 100% sure that I will have a job as a junior engineer. I really want it as a graduation present to myself, I think I deserve it after 4 hard years at WPI lol

[mike100]

My car had been dormant for years and had all the low mileage, age related issues my previous LT1 car did not. It cost 1000's and I did all the work myself, except for the trans rebuild..What are you going to do if you are tied up owing 12 grand and your 2nd or 3rd gear starts crunching?

I spent $400 rebuilding the shocks and $600 redoing the front brakes (again) and getting new hub bearings while I was in there. Probably I spent $2000 the first couple of months I owned it because the tires were dry and it needed injectors and a few smaller items....point being is that I probably had to spend $7000 to get it tip-top.

that said, I could drive it out of state tomorrow (I did last month), but remember, these are 20 year old cars. My next one would be from a previous owner who drove and repaired it, not really a low mileage garage queen.

Conclusion: don't borrow money for one of these.

[vilant]

I financed mine through a credit union, 2008 and newer the rates are low, but the older the car gets, the rates start to tick up. Still pretty low though, and much lower than banks and dealerships. I could of bought it out right, but I like having a nice chunk of change in case of emergency. I only wish I found this site before I bought mine. Would've realized what the car was going to need and could of negotiated a lower price. But owning one is awesome, as long as you realize what it may or may not need.

[batchman]

You're getting good advice here, even if it's not what you want to hear.

It's good to have a goal, but not so good to eagerly sign up for the instant gratification trap.

The one thing you can do now is move your banking to a regional credit union. That way if a gotta do it deal shows up you have a relationship and history in place. Likely you'll be looking at a personal loan and in that realm a CU is going to be much more reasonable than a commercial bank or other institution. But as others have said here it's best if that financing is used as a bridge pending another lump source.

Good luck,
- Jeff

[Kevin]

This. They're facing the right way now :)



Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm obviously very eager to get a ZR-1, but I think it's a good idea to wait until next year. If all goes well, I should already have a well-paying job lined up by next winter. If so, I would not hesitate to take out a loan because I know that I'll be making money and living at home so it should not be hard to pay off.

The idea is to get the ZR-1 in the spring of 2014 so I can enjoy it all summer long. I'd still be in school in the spring, but if I knew for sure that I had a job, I could take out a loan and buy the Z in the spring instead of working all summer and then having to wait until the following year to buy the car. Does this make sense?

Basically I'd only take out a loan if I'm 100% sure that I will have a job as a junior engineer. I really want it as a graduation present to myself, I think I deserve it after 4 hard years at WPI lol

jobs have a way of disappearing. come to carlilse and have fun, come meet us, we'll all be happy to talk with ya and have a burger together...we weren't voted best tent for no reason. Finish University, get settled into your life, job, payments, ect. Then start searching for the zr-1 you want.

[pologreenvette]

Thanks for all the advice guys, you've convinced me to wait until after college.

I still want to meet you guys and hopefully learn a lot more about the ZR-1 (and test drive one!). After all, it is my dream car and I will have one someday! When is Carlisle? I'd like to go if possible

[Gunny]

ZR-1 Gathering in Bowling Green, KY - May 15-18, 2013
Corvettes at Carlisle (Carlisle, PA) - Aug 22-25, 2013

[C4Fanatic]

My local bank financed mine. I had a decent down payment and they covered the rest. Only bad thing was that they would only go 2yrs on the remaining balance because of the age of the car, so I had a pretty hefty monthly payment. It's all mine now though. :cheers:

[rkreigh]

PenFed and Navy Credit unions have really good deals.

I used a "signature line of credit" to finance one car and borrowed against deposited money to get a 1.9% loan to jump on the deal I wanted to give me time to sell another car to pay off the loan

ZR-1 is fine as a daily driver. just budget a bit more for tires, you're gonna need it! A ZR-1 is a very serious machine, and it's easy to get seduced by the power and rack up a bunch of tickets without trying.

don't fall into that trap or insurance and everything else you DIDN'T budget for can bite you quick.