Originally Posted by
Mark D
No need to have special collectors car insurance on a DeLorean. I have standard full coverage from State Farm with the addition of a "Stated Value" clause where we have already agreed upon a predetermined value if the car were ever considered a total loss. That's the easy part of your question...
From the way you described your situation it doesn't sound like it's one of your parents helping you out with the loan. You would need to get the lender to allow you to cosign the loan and then you would have to get your own insurance for the car. Some banks will not allow non-relatives to cosign, so that would be your first hurdle to get past.
As long as you have a driver's license and don't already have a record of accidents most insurance companies will carry you. You just won't be able to get the special collectors car insurance you were looking at that requires you to be 25.... As stated above, collectors insurance is not required anyway. Most likely your insurance premiums will be high so factor that into whether or not you can actually afford the car. Talk to your current insurance agent or go online and get an quote and see what your premium would be before you get the loan.
As long as the person helping you out is trustworthy and you can actually afford the car then you may be able to make this work. Being 17 years old vs. 18 years old really doesn't change your situation much since you most likely won't have the required credit score to get a loan at 18 anyway. You would end up cosigning and be in the same situation as you are now.
Being able to afford the car doesn't just mean you can make the monthly payments, but also pay insurance, pay for repairs, gas, and general maintenance. There are some online calculators to help you figure out actual cost to own a car. Owning a DeLorean can be a money pit especially if you're buying a car on the low end of the market that needs lots of work. You could end up paying a ton of money for a car you can't drive because you can't afford to keep in running. Search this forum for related threads and figure out if you can actually afford it. Having a job today doesn't necessarily mean you'll have one tomorrow so you will need some buffer in the bank if times get tight. If you've got plans for college or vocational school you may want to put that first and consider waiting until you're actually stable.
I was also pretty young when I purchased my DeLorean so I understand not wanting to wait. I was 24 and had finished engineering school a year earlier, got a good job, bought a house with a garage and at that point I was established enough with good credit to have no problem getting a loan. I paid it off in just a couple of years and still set aside a little bit of money for the occasional work that it needs.
I'm sure you'll get lots of other advice.... everyone here has their own story about how they got their car and it colors their opinion on really young (hopeful) DeLorean owners such as yourself. Hopefully you can actually afford the car, and you can "live the dream". If you end up having to wait a little bit that's not the end of the world either.
EDIT: Looks like while I was typing out my post Dave beat me to the punch. I'd take his advice over most in the DeLorean community since he's pretty much been around and seen it all.