Looking to purchase an expensive car

[Noobies]

Hi, I am about 6-8 months away from getting a new car. I am expecting the cost to be in the vicinity of about 110k including taxes. Out of this I am thinking of about a 70k loan amount and rest as a down payment. I do plan to keep my current car for now at least, so no trade in. My current fico scores are as follows

EX: 794

TU: 805

EQ: 798

I have had a previous auto loan from BoA (very breifly, 1 month, what the dealer got me) and then re-financed it through a CU soon after. After pay-off without issues, I stopped using this CU, closed my other accounts there etc as I moved out of state and didn't want to manage an account far far away. This was about 4-5 years ago. As a result, while my FICO reports do end up showing the auto loan (both BoA and CU) in the installements section, they also mention that not having a recent non-mortgage loan as a negative factor. ?!?.

Ok, so for the new car, should I be looking at CUs again for this 60-70k loan? Reading a couple of other threads, people recommend DCU however that again is out of state for me (California). Do people have recommendations for a CU in the SF bay area? For DCU, I was looking at their application form, and they were asking like whats your closest branch. My current primary bank is Citibank, but doesn't look like they have much auto-loan incentives. I do use Chase, but only for their credit cards. Likewise Amex, but also for their personal savings account.

Also do people have any opinion about financing via dealership (Porsche in this case) for large amounts such as this? I did read in one other thread where someone recommended dealership financing over CU for such large amounts, though could not clearly understand the rationale for it.

Since I will be shelling out a bunch for this vehicle, I would really like to minimize my interest rate for the loan. Any CU recommendations or any other recommendations folks can give me? Since I am about 6-8 months away, I want to start planning sooner than later. I don't plan to shop for loans till very close to the buying date, so that gives me some time to establish some "relationship" or whatever with a bank / CU.

Thanks!

[Remember0]

Don't do DCU. 60k is too much for them.

For a 60k-70k loan, I'd start by trying with BofA to be honest.

The reason people recommend direct to dealer is because simply put, it's hard for consumers to find and arrange for loans by themselves when the loan amount is above say 100k. Many banks/CUs won't do such a large loan. But since you only want a 70k loan, I'd start by trying BofA. I know people who've had good luck with them for larger sized auto loans. Another avenue you could try is Pentagon Federal Credit Union. But I'd personally do BofA first since they're probably much easier to work with/get approved with.

And I agree with not shopping around till closer to when you buy...maybe 2 weeks before. Also don't bother establishing a relationship with BofA unless you really want to. With prime credit, I'd expect an approve cold turkey so to say.

[Noobies]

Thanks for the info. I think I should have mentioned above, my bad, that I am not a US citizen / permanent resident. And I have heard BofA rejecting most auto loans for non-citizens or approving with a high APR (6-8%). While my permanent residency process is underway, it will be years before I become one (due to the current sorry state of immigration). Even though I breifly had a BofA loan, I am unsure if that matters to them.

I will still take a look into them when the time comes. That being said, I could potentially make a higher down payment and reduce the loan amount if it means getting a better interest rate. What kind of loan amount will work for places like DCU? Thanks

[Remember0]

Okay yeah, that does change things. BofA's no good in that case.

When does your current visa expire? And do you need an auto loan wherein the term is longer than that?

For DCU specifically, I think they say 50k is their max. I'd imagine their comfort level is prolly around 40k or so unless you have a really high gross income. If you're looking specifically at CUs, PenFed's comfort levels are probably better. They'll stomach 70k no issues, but their underwriting is harder. But since you have such high scores, I think PenFed would almost be better. Either way, you ought to call and speak with how they handle visas before applying.

Also since you're out in SFO, I'm sure dealers there have much better experience with this scenario. They probably know exactly which banks to go to, etc... In fact if DCU and PenFed (or your old CU that you've previously used) don't work out, straight to a dealer maybe your best bet. Just don't accept an APR greater than 5% in my opinion...your scores are top tier and should definitely get very good rates.

[Noobies]

Current one expires in 2016, and yeah the loan will definitely be past that. Was thinking of a 5-year one. Even though my visa does expire, it has the potential to get renewed indefnitely (as it has for the last 2 renewals) and is not subject to annual caps due to my permanent resisdency process status. Though I am unsure if the latter scenerio is even considered by lenders.

[redshift1]

Pretty good leases on Porsches currently and for those who purchase it's 6%-10% off MSRP depending on model. Also offering Conquest plans that will reimburse up to $4500.00 of your current lease  if you have 3-6 payments left.

About 25K to lease a $100K car for two years, expensive yes but you avoid the depreciation hit.  2009's  originally selling for 100K+ are now about 50K.

Just some ideas in case the financing becomes unworkable.

[Noobies]

Also, while haven't discussed it yet, I could potentailly have a relative co-sign if needed. He is a BofA banking member and I beleive has a mortgage in good standing through them with good credit.

@redshift, can you explain the % off part? Are you saying you can get that % off at the end of your lease term (off the price they offer after 2 years) or is it something you have to tell them outright? I currently have no lease/finance obligations. I haven't leased a car before, it was something I was considering, but haven't dwelled too much into it. The car I am looking at is the Cayman GTS.

[redshift1]

You would need a current lease for eligibility so that's a no-go for you. We 're looking at the same car and according to the dealers i've visited they will not offer leasing for the Porsche Cayman GTS during it's introduction maybe in 2015. That said the Cayman S should be eminently leaseable as the cars are not flying off the lots. If you're buying the GTS allocations are going fast.  I've got all the Porsche sites saved as favorites and can pass them on if you want.

[Noobies]

Sure, thanks. You can PM it to me.