Financing options

Are there any companies that provide financing options for an older porsche like a 996? Thank you

I had a buddy who used Lightstream to finance a classic car and said it was a pretty painless experience. https://www.lightstream.com/classic-...sredirect=True Cost to borrow is typically greater than if financing a modern car. However, if there are no other options available to get $ it's an option to get someone into the classic car of their dreams.

I used penfed and other than them being slow to issue you the check, no issues. Lightstream is quick.

LightStream has worked well for me.

I would caution against financing a 996. I wouldn't suggest financing anything without a warranty. If you can't afford to purchase it out-right, you likely can't afford to repair it either. Too many members here have dumped their 996s for pennies on the dollar when they ran into the expensive repairs.

I agree with Tex . Any Porsche can be an amazing experience to own and drive . But they can stab you in the heart with expensive repairs . If you are not financially able to have 5-10k ready to go IF needed then your plan is flawed . Just my opinion but I have owned six of them . Been stabbed a few times ☹️

I bought mine for 16K, I financed it but I had 8K down, and knew I had some extra income coming in and had it paid off at the end of the first year,, then about 4 months later popped the motor, and it sat for 2 years from death to rebirth (Some of this time was me deciding how deep to go if I repaired it... ) Luckily we bought it as a toy and so while disappointing, the engine failure didn't kill the car for us. I'm deeper than I wanted in terms of total cost, but now I know what I have and Its hard not to grin when the 3.9 lights up..

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Not to be a buzzkill, but I have to agree with Tex and 996C4. Also, you didn't say if this car would be your only source of transportation but if so, it goes double. Everything I've said is from the mind of an old fart. If you're young, you might have to just go for it!

It's not the cost to buy the car, it's the cost to keep it running that gets you.

Its a really bad idea to finance a toy car, especially a 996. Your 35k car can turn into a very expensive paper weight. No way could I recommend this plan.

I'm in the "don't finance a fun car" camp personally, and yet there is an entire industry built around it. Here's a guideline page put together by Hagerty. https://www.hagerty.com/finance/classic-car-financing

I acquired my 997.2 FSI 4.0 at a great price because the previous owner financed it and then needed to unload it when PDK failure occurred. I agree with many here, these cars shouldn't be financed unless you are earning more on your savings than the finance charges.

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Thank you! Very helpful!

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I have seen this advice posted many times, but im not sure I agree with it. Financing a car like a 996 is a great idea if you know what you�re getting into because it can help free up cash that you can use to get the car into top condition. I personally think it�s a good idea to use less cash on the initial purchase if that allows you to have a fund set aside for deferred maintenance and upgrades. That�s assuming you can get a decent interest rate� In my case, I financed the purchase of my �01 C2, which allowed to keep $15k set aside to catch up on deferred maintenance and do a pretty thorough engine refresh. Now the car is almost paid off and running great.

The problem is many people finance in order to purchase having no cash reserve for repairs or maintenance. I'm a debt-free advocate who didn't purchase until I was able to buy my 996 and perform repairs & upgrades with cash. Mine was paid off when I purchased it in 2017 and still is. It might not be the fast or easy route, but it IS the most stress-free route. I drove crappy daily drivers for years so I could make it to this point. I know not everyone will agree, but for me it was the best route.

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yeah it really depends on the buyer�s financial position. If you�re emptying your bank account for the down payment and using debt to stretch your purchase budget to buy a car that you won�t be able to fix, I completely agree that is a very very bad idea with an older Porsche. That�s how so many of these cars end up run down and neglected i just don�t think it�s fair to say that you have no business buying a 996 if you aren�t paying cash for it, which I�ve seen people post before. Debt can be a wonderful thing when used responsibly

I don't think financing a Porsche is always a bad idea, it depends on your personal situation and how committed you are.. I financed my 1999 996 15 years ago because I didn't have the cash. It was the right color (Polar Silver ), full leather ( Metropol Blue) , Silver Dials, Stainless Steel option, a really well optioned nice car with the engine disassembled in a basket... The Bank manager looked at me sideways when I told him the engine was in a basket , but I convinced him I knew what I was doing. He looked at the value and the price I was going to pay for it and even gave me a great interest rate of 6% ..lol ( I didn't even tell my wife I had bought it) I bought a 50k mile core engine for $2250 that had a cracked head but no coolant in the oil had the head repaired and have put 90k Miles on it . Had it on the road in 2 weeks. I rebuilt the original engine and its still sitting on the engine stand 15 years later waiting to needed...( oh and I told the wife I had bought it after I had it on the road two weeks later).. I think I paid the loan off in 36 months, but that was 12 years ago...lol

Paying for the car with cash, an auto loan or HELOC is not as important as buying right. 1. You want a car that has been more than properly serviced with oil changes, preventative parts replacement done and has the service records to prove it. 2. You want a thorough PPI to verify the condition of everything so you know what needs to be spent going forward to refresh and keep it running. 3. You want a car without bore scoring so a thorough scoping must be done by a shop that knows what they are doing. All three of these items will tell you what you should pay for the car and how much you will need to put into it. Be prepared to spend more in servicing costs than you guesstimate. Patience, patience, patience. Use your head not your emotion.

In the old days, if you had $50k cash, and financing was a 1-3% rate, and we could make 8% in the market all day long, fine. Nowadays it�s the opposite. Rates are high and the market may not deliver anything substantial in 2023, so there are practically only downsides as I see it.

I'm in the camp that believes you don't take on debt - an appreciating asset in the hands of the lender - to acquire a depreciating asset in the hands of the borrower. The financial delta is directly working against you. Maybe 996s are at the value trough and maybe they'll appreciate over time - although I personally don't believe that's generally true - but the cost of the debt will surely outpace any increase in value over time. As others have pointed out, these cars will have a maintenance load. The parts are expensive enough if you're DIY; it's worse if you have to use an Indy or a stealership. If you're giving up APY on a loan and your asset doesn't at least grow at the rate of the debt, you're financially moving in the wrong direction.

I financed my car when I bought it through USAA, about 2/3rds of it. In a perfect world, everyone would have $1MM in their savings account as a rainy day fund. No debt ever. Guess what? I paid it off quickly and I do my own maintenance and the car has cost me very little to own. I have the original IMS bearing installed and I sleep well at night. ;-)