Financing an E55 with value over KBB.
 

I have found a couple of E55's that I really like and in clean condition but are in the $18k-20k range. The only thing stopping me from getting one of these E55s is that I am having a hard time finding a credit union/bank that will finance them. I have excellent credit, its just that since they are older cars, most banks wont touch them. I have found a credit union that is willing give me a loan but only based on NADA values which are in the $13k range at most for one of these that I found going for $18k-20k. Have any of you guys found a bank/credit union that Is willing to work with cars that are older and priced above book values?

Lightstream or exotic finance groups, but you pay a huge premium and be required to carry stated value full coverage insurance

Banks usually wont touch cars older then 10 years or over 100k miles. You just need to find a credit union that will do it for you. When I sold my E55 over "market value" the buyer went through Penfed Credit union and they did the loan for him on my 05. Give them a try.

if you're lucky they'll give you what the KBB value is and you'll have to cover the rest...

beyond that you'll need to find another banking institution or request a personal loan. the difference between a personal loan and auto loan is that the personal loan will hold a higher interest rate. Also, they won't hold onto the title of the vehicle, you will.

also be advised...if you buy at say, $18k, and a week later you (heaven forbid) total it? Insurance will only pay what their third party appraisal service appraises the car for. And I can guarantee it wont appraise through them for $18k..

I hope you also have a spare $5k for all the maintenance the previous owner didn't do and any unexpected repairs.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I don't think you should be buying one of these cars if you have to finance it.

if you have $18k cash, you wouldn't be looking at a 12+ year old car.

I've used lightstream on 2 separate vehicles. If your credit is good enough you'll get a decent interest rate. I was able to get 3.49% and never had any stipulations on insurance besides full coverage. The process was super easy, they deposit the full amount in your account, and all you have to do is send in the title. The second loan was even easier than the first, I applied on my phone and within 2 days I had the money in my account.

If you have decent credit you should have no problem getting the loan through them.

I financed mine only cause the interest rate was so low. I rather keep the cash and make interest on it on a money market account.

I financed an E55 wagon that was a good $5k over KBB.

I used lending club, because banks won't touch a car that old for financing, especially over KBB.

I had to pay slightly higher interest rate than a traditional auto loan (4%) but it's completely unsecured and I have the title to the car.

Edit: I recommend them for weird, older car purchases like this. They make a decision and deposit the money straight into your bank account within 24 hours. I was able to cut a certified check for the car about a day after I first found the listing.

BECU (boeing employee credit union) set me right up when I overpaid for my car when it came up on Ebay during my off-season. To deal with insurance issues, I got a declared-value policy through progressive. I don't like that outfit much but the car is insured for more than I paid for it. And when I got rear-bumper-tapped in the parking lot, they didn't balk at all with the whole replacing of the bumper cover with the same EV12 item direct from Brabus it came to me with.

I don't think I follow this. The interest on the loan isn't deductible and the interest on the money market account is taxable. Also money market rates haven't been very high lately, you got a money market rate higher than the interest rate on a used car loan? Now if you said you'd toss it into the stock market and maybe average 7-10% in something like an S&P 500 fund, maybe that'd make sense, but the markets have been tanking lately.

Yeah, same thing here too. I paid cash for my E350 and I always felt I couldn't afford an E55/E63, but maybe I'm just too cheap to spend that kind of money. It just sounds like OP doesn't even have much of a down payment. If the car is 18k, you could at least finance the 13k book value so that means the OP has less than 5k to put down? The repair expenses for common things like airmatic and the brakes are typically well over 1k. Also when book is 13k, that's also a great negotiating tool, offer 14k, say it's 1k over book. When they say no, wait a few days and make the same offer again and maybe they'll come down more.

Aren't there several nice clean E55s available that can be had for $13k or less.

I also agree with these statements. Also the cars are affordable to buy now because of deprecation but the maintenance, repairs and parts are not cheap.

Rob.

Another agreement here. Unless you have another vehicle spare, enough mechanical aptitude to work yourself, and enough cash for costly parts and/or labor if you don't do it yourself.... Stay away.

If you meet those requirements... These cars are awesome :y

I bought my E55 for more than that... in cash... so....

I'm not really into working on my own stuff (especially a car like this) and my housemate has worked at an MB/BMW indy for 20 years now. If it wasn't for him doing any work my car needs on the side there's no way I'd consider owning one. My E63 hasn't been problematic at all, but it has had a few issues (normal stuff) come up since I've owned it. I just have to pay for parts and buy him some beer or maybe lunch as payment.

If I had to depend on the dealer or pay an indy shop to do the work I would not consider owning an E55 or E63. They're a great value for someone that can DIY or has a hook up like I do.

I bought my E63 for a lot more than $18k in cash and it was 9 years old.

You guys want to know why I'm going to be selling it? I really want a VW Bug (preferably a Baja w/ a Subaru swap) for some reason. I like the E63, but I've had it for a couple of years and am bored with it. Time for something else.

This..
...and this.

I'll keep that in mind. I still need to sell the E63 so I'll have the garage space for a project. There is a Baja with the swap done already on CL but it's been on there for awhile, which kind of has me worried. Could still be worth picking up if he'll go cheap enough. He just dropped the price some on it recently as well.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto...724516865.html

I generally agree. To provide a counterpoint though....I could afford to pay for mine in cash (plus maintenance and repairs) but I chose to finance mine when I bought it last year. I was able to get an extremely good 2.49% on it and I put zero down. But the main reason I did it was because I figured the likelihood that this car was going to get into an accident (and possibly totalled) was greater than average because I chose to drive it year round including the winter.

If I had paid cash I knew the insurance payout would have likely been abysmal. With GAP insurance, the whole thing would just be paid off.

I see your point and understand why in your situation. Where I live in California winter isn't really a thing. We get a bit of rain, no snow around here. If I lived somewhere that had real winters I (personally) wouldn't buy one of these and drive it all year.