DeTomaso Mailing List: May 98, Message #239

Such a good question.   As a soon to be Pantera owner (that's the
confidence part), I have been looking into different forms of "financing"
my purchase.  Since I don't usually have a lot of liquid cash, most is tied
up in investments or major assets (like a house) and I am faced with the
necessity of getting a <gulp> loan.  In my current search, I have found it
best to go a home equity route so far.  There are basically no questions
about what specifically the money will be used for, the interest rate is
low and the payment schedule can be a bit longer.  I am fortunate in that I
own my home and have sufficient equity to make a real dent in purchasing a
clean Pantera.  I have as yet, not pursued the actual financing any further.

Now, in the same light, I talked with other folks about this very subject,
some of whom gave me really good advice while in Vegas.  No, it wasn't to
gamble until I got the funds : ) rather, it all hinged on a "relationship
with the bank."  Banks right now are begging for customers and interest
rates are low.  If you have a bank, work with a specific loan officer,
start now and work your way towards the loan.  Build the relationship, be
honest.  The best part of this scenario as weaved by Chuck Engles, tell the
bank you're buying a Pantera and that it currently is not depreciating, but
rather gaining in value.  You probably could cite specific instances, but
just take the bare fact a new Pantera in 1971 was about 10 grand, but is
now over 20K.  Work the "investment" angle.  It's a collector car, it's
gaining in value and value will just keep going up.  Hopefully the banker
will see this and grant you laon, after all, if you default, they have a
better chance of buying it from the bank at a lower value. hehehe... okay,
only kidding. : )

Or, you could borrow the money from Mom, or you could take a draw on your
401K, or you could save some of those 5K checks and forget about them till
you're ready to buy....

Your choice.
FWIW,
Asa Jay


At 17:15 05/04/98 +0000, Ted Stalcup wrote:
>This may be the stupidest question ever but...
>
>I've always thought that if I wanted a car like a Pantera, two decades old,
>third or fourth hand that i had to pay cash...So i've been waiting to acrue
>$20K cash.  Now don't laugh, in my business I often get checks for $5K or
>more and sometimes I do have periods where $20K cash is a pretty doable
>thing.
>
>But..I keep hearing people say "I got the financing together" or "I would
>have bought it but I didn't have the financing together"
>
>So heres the stupid question...do I really need $20K+ in an alligator-skin
>attache case to buy a Pantera?  What sort of insitution finances such an
>animal?  What are the terms or do the terms make the cash option more
>attractive?  And I don't own a house so I couldn't squeeze cash out of
>one...the only place to squeeze cash is me (and no on better try it..unless
>yer really cute)-Ted
>Revenant Technical Consulting: HTML, Hardware, Software and Networking.
>
>
>