I am thinking of letting my 96 GTI VR6 go and getting a 951. I still have a payment on my GTI but I think I am at a point that I could sell and take away enough cash for a small down payment. How do banks do with financing cars of this age? I was hoping to get an 87 or 88 for around 10-13k. If I find a worthy car will I be told the loan value is some really low number and be expected to come up with a huge amount of cash for a purchase? I have good credit and do make a good salary for my age of 26. All my friends tell me that all Porsches are rich mans toys and I should just get a Camaro. If that is the case I will keep the GTI. Thanks for any help.

 

Most banks that I know of do not loan money against cars as old as a 951. If they do they would charge a huge interest premium for letting you borrow on such an old car. You might be able to get a personal loan. I.E. Not borrowing against the car but borrowing against yourself. But that depends on the bank. Another route might be a credit union. Of course you have to be a member but usually all that they require for membership is that you open a savings account. Credit Unions are not allowed to actually make money so their interest rates are usually lower then what a regular bank would charge. When I used to sell cars we couldn't finance cars that were less then a couple of years old. We mainly dealt with Wachovia, Ford Credit, and other big banks. We also had some finance companies you know for people with bad credit but their interest rates were really high.

Good Luck


Mark

86 White 951
Koni Yellows

 

You can check the Blue Book price at <a href="http://www.kbb.com" target="_blank">Kelley Blue Book</a>. The 1987 944 Turbo has a retail price of roughly $8000. Most banks will loan up to this value, plus tax and license.

 

I would budget an additional $5k for maintenance items when buying a car that old. My 86 needed belts/rollers/water pump, control arms/steering rack/pump/ties rods, x-pipe/oil pan gasket/ rod bearings, shifter bushings, possible clutch, dampers on all 4 corners. That all adds up to about $6k right off the bat.

I would not consider stretching out a loan to get this car and not account for costly and necessary service! I also would not consider the car to be a reliable daily driver until all those items were checked out.

Eugene

 

Make sure you get one with records. Complete records. Make sure it has always been serviced at good shops. Porsches are a little more expensive to maintain, but like any car, if it is well taken care of, it'll cost you less money.

If you get a car for $10,000 that has been babied, it will likely only cost you minor maintainance related things, fluid changes, brake jobs, belts, the usual. If you get the same year, model and mileage car for $7,000 that has not been maintained adequately, it'll cost you thousands, and one thing will break after another.

Porsches are the most reliable sports cars you can get, but they are still cars! You have to take good care of them.

If the oil hasn't been changed regularly, the tires are cheap, the repair records are spotty, avoid the car. Pay extra for a well maintained car, and you'll be happier in the long run

 

When I bought my 951 several years ago, I was told by my bank that they do not usually loan money on cars that old. They made an exception in my case because of two things - 1) Long time customer, and 2) I put 50% down. Your experience may vary, but it's best to talk to the bank first. Then you'll know what you can do.

Later,
<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

 

When I bought mine 2 months ago, they had no problem with it. Of course it was through a credit union. They gave me their standard rate for a used car 6.9%. Just to keep payments low, I asked them to give me their max amount of time which was 8 years. Obviously, I will not take that long to pay, but it allows me to be flexible (ie pay extra down when I have it, yet in a tight time, pay the normal amount). They gave me the blue book value, which for an 86 is around 6.5K. I paid the rest out of pocket. I even purchased it out of state with no problems and I never had to let them see it. Just check around, you will find someone in a bank that knows that this is not some cheap old car.

Good luck. The 951 is an addictive habit. It's speed and incredible handling is the only cure.

Kool,
You are from the exact same area as me. We just had our regional PCA dinner Tuesday night. I am looking for a good mechanic close by. Who do you use? (ProTec)? Thanks <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" /> <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" /> <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" /> <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

 

Patrick,

I am with a very, very good bank that caters to military members - and even they would not front out a loan for my 85.5 NA. I ended up going the credit union route - but I would consider avoiding a vehicle loan and simply going with a standard loan. The interest rate you find for your vehicle (this depends upon age as well.. most of our cars are near or right at the cut-off limit) will be quite high - and you might (as I was able to do) secure a lower rate by avoiding an auto loan completely. As it stands, I STILL have a 9.x% rate on the loan I took.

Good Luck.

Micah