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Will your dream of a hobby car come true this year?
Vehicles ・ 05.07.2021
Every boy has probably played with model cars as a child. Some have even had a poster on the wall of the car they dreamed of owning when they grew up. It is worth remembering Walt Disney’s famous words: if you can dream it, you can do it.
“Anything is possible,” encourages Martin Ilves, Head of Leasing Business Line at Coop Pank, who writes about how his boyhood dream of ultimate freedom and adventure came true. Land Rover Defender offered him all of this.
The Land Rover Defender is said to be the car that half the world’s population has seen first. This legendary machine combines ultimate simplicity, durability and off-road capability, taking its creators first to places other cars were not yet capable of reaching.
Yes, there were occasional rumours about the car’s less-than-reliable performance, but that didn’t stop me from chasing my dream: after all, you can’t put a price tag on love. I bought my Defender near Düsseldorf in Germany. It was love at first sight. Black, robustly square, red leather interior. Inside it smelled like my first Moskvitsch – bucket loads of nostalgia!
There was always a small pool of oil under this car, which meant everything was fine. That was all I needed from a car at the time. I named him Hans, which described him well. He was my best friend for several summers and we went hiking together. I slept in the roof tent and listened to the sounds of the forest in my sleep.
In the winter, it was great to drive him in the woods on snowy and untouched trails. A couple of hours grilling sausages by the fire in a calm and quiet forest was the best form of therapy and meditation for me at that time, which settled my inner restlessness again and again. Driving back to the city, I always had a smile on my face and felt like a better person again.
Hans and I also planned to go to Africa together, but this dream never came true, as life sometimes makes its corrections. But the dream is still there, and I have something to strive for. The time for this will come.
It’s true that Hans annoyed me at times, demanding too much attention through extraordinary expenses, but today I only have good memories of him. I’m glad he was in my life. He gave me a lot of positive emotions, was supportive in difficult moments and made me happy. As Defenders last well, it’s likely that he’s still driving on and off the road, making someone happy, never mind that he was born in 1998.
You probably agree that there is a difference between a car and a car. Hobby cars come with emotions. A hobby car is not just a means of getting from point A to point B. Being on the road and getting to your destination are equally important in the case of a hobby car.
But of course, people’s desires are different. I asked my friends, who were mostly born in the 70s, which their dream car was today and the answers were as follows:
- Porsche 911 Carrera
- Bentley Continental GT
- Audi Quattro S1
- BMW 740i 4DR sedan from the 90s
- BMW 850 from the 90s
- Alfa Romeo 75 V6
None of the answers have anything to do with practicality, as a functional, reliable vehicle can certainly be bought for less than the cost of these cars. But every friend has a story to tell about their dream car. Often, the heart is not at peace until the dream has come true.
Often, however, the dream doesn’t come true, because the car is too old or the make and model too exotic to finance through leasing. However, there is nothing impossible about financing such vehicles, as they are often very valuable and can increase in value over time. The first step towards your dream could be to share it with a leasing company. For example, valueexpert.ee is can assess the value of such vehicles and, when an assessment has been made, Coop Pank leasing is ready to make an offer to finance the purchase. The courage to ask can lead to a pleasant surprise and a dream coming true.