Restoration Financing

[B-Doon]

Has anyone looked into "financing" a restoration?

I want my 02 to look great, but with work, family, and limited skill, I could be 100 before I have enough time to devote to the car. I would like to get a restoration started while I'm still young.

Are there any reputable shops that provide financing, or loans, or what? I can't be the first that's looked into this. It would be much easier to convince my wife to agree to say $500 a month than it would be blowing our entire savings in one shot....

Any thoughts?

thanks,

Brian

[Jim_75Sahara]

Good question. I feel like I will be too old before I ever get things right on my '02. Has anybody financed a resto. with The Werk Shop, La Valle or others? Maybe for the right monthly payment, I could have what I wanted in the long run.

[Richard]

buy a nicely restored car. I know of people that have spent 5-10K$ restoring a car and are left with a car worth $6K. If you have the money to blow never mind......Richard

[winstontj]

Brian your car is really nice... does it need a resto?

You could try a personal loan or an equity loan on your house (probably not the best idea) and soon will be a good time to refinance if you own (tomorrow almost 100% chance of another rate cut... 25bps).

Problem is that the shops will need to pay out up front (materials, overhead, etc.) then you pay back over time. Interest and other considerations like mandatory insurance with an agreed upon value, etc. would all come into play. I would imagine that most decent body shops don't want to turn into banks.

On the other hand banks have been getting into more and more alternative types of financing trying to get an edge on the rest...

Problem is what if you put $20k into a resto and then the car is stolen/wrecked? Now what? you pay on a car that does not exist anymore?

I'd imagine that a decent shop will be willing to work with you as best they can but it's going to be hard to finance something at a few hundred a month IMO.

Good luck though!

[Otis]

equity loan on your house

The AMT (alternative minimum tax), if it applies (and it has caught more and more people each year), is the biggest zapper on that one.

[B-Doon]

thanks for the compliment tom!

However, my car really is a "20 footer" I've got a basketball sized dent in the roof, hail damage on the roof, hood, and deck, rusted though at the base of the doors, wormy rockers, and rear wheel well arches that have 1" x 6"....ahh..."vents"...

The rest is ok, I probably should just find the needed parts, take them to a body shop and have them prep and paint the body...probably spend 4 grand or so...

[scestes]

I personally am going to be looking to grab another 02 as soon as my current car is finished with it's race prep. I really want to do a full ground up restoration. The thing is, for me, the restoring of the car is going to be a lot of the fun of owning the car. I'd not really turned a wrench on a car in around 14 years before I got my 02. Before I did it for extra cash and to keep my own car on the road. These days I actually enjoy working on my car. My 7 Series is far too complicated electronics wise for me to hope to do it all by myself. Buying parts slowly and putting an 02 together as I have time is going to be a huge part of the enjoyment of the car. I think the others are right in that if you really want a restored car and aren't really going to be doing the work yourself, try to find a restored car. OR, as you said, fix the issues that are actually bothering you with your car. I had parts for my track car that I thought about ebaying, but now I'm hanging onto for when I actually do restore a car.

[trangieboy]

I know a guy here in Aus that has spent $50,000 just buying parts (all new) for his 2000Ti NK sedan. He was recently quoted 25K to do the body/paint.. When he is finished he will have a car worth maybe 5K IF he could find someone that actually NEW what sort of car it was !!!

Personally i`d be too scared to drive such a car for fear of scratching/denting it.My idea is to restore my car to reliable driving, `nice` condition.I won`t be scared to drive it.

I reckon if you can`t afford to do it ( which like me you obviously can`t ) then don`t do it !!! Fix the rust and just drive and enjoy the bloody thing.No matter how much money you spend on it someone will always have one better !!!!!

Just my opinion,not trying to upset anyone.

Mal.

[robspeed]

a good place to start with questions like this is to simply call the shop/s you had in mind to do the proposed resto... expect to spend/finance 30-40k, and you could get maybe 15k (i have seen this done for a regular 02--sold to dubai) when its finished.

[MN2002]

With the exception of the AMT problem, a home equity line is probably the way to go. Bank has a secured loan and you can write off the interest. Nobody is going to loan money of the dollars we are discussing if the end result is going to be a much lower total value. Although depending upon your income, you might be able to get an unsecured loan for a large amount.

[Jack]

I'd go another way and say, respectfully, that if you cannot do a restoration out of cash flow without taking from the family, then it is best not to do. Go to a voc tech and improve your skills and do it yourself over time. I know what it is to be way the 'ell upside down in an '02, and while I love the car, well, my kids were gone when I made these very astute (sarcasm intended) decisions. Nice looking 20ft'er!