Most People Finance Cars Their Entire Life.
Very Few Ever Ask If There’s Another Way.
This page explains a concept I discovered after spending years in both the insurance industry and the car business.
Hi — I’m John Boyd.
Some people know me as The Cool Car Guy.
For decades I’ve worked in the car business — buying, selling, brokering, and helping people finance vehicles across the country.
I live in New Mexico today, but I’m still licensed to sell cars in Colorado through a trusted dealership partner. I regularly broker vehicles using dealer auctions and other sources the public normally doesn’t have access to.
Over the years I’ve helped people buy everything from daily drivers to collector cars.
And during that time I noticed something interesting.
Most people focus on the price of the car.
But the real money disappears somewhere else.
Financing.
Interest.
Banks.
Loans that follow people for years.
Most people spend their entire lives financing vehicles through lenders.
Very few people ever stop to ask whether there’s another way.
If you’re curious about the idea while reading this page, feel free to text me a question anytime. I answer my own phone.
The Real Cost of Car Financing
Today the average new vehicle costs around $50,000.
Even used vehicles often cost $25,000 or more.
Most buyers don’t pay cash.
They finance.
Typical auto loans now stretch 5 to 7 years, and some lenders even offer 8-year loans.
By the time many people finish paying off that loan, they’ve paid thousands of dollars in interest to the bank.
Often $8,000 to $12,000 on a single vehicle.
Over a lifetime of buying cars, that interest can easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
But almost nobody talks about that part.
Because it’s the kind of money that quietly disappears.
Where I First Learned About These Ideas
Long before I owned a car dealership, I was already working in the insurance industry.
In my early twenties I became licensed to sell life insurance and annuities, including 403(b) retirement plans for school teachers.
That’s where I first learned something most people never hear clearly explained.
Interest quietly drains enormous amounts of wealth from people over their lifetime.
Credit cards
Car loans
Consumer financing
Mortgages
My mentors in the insurance industry explained something very different.
Certain financial tools — particularly properly structured life insurance and annuities — were designed to create something most people overlook:
liquidity and structured income.
Access to capital.
Predictable cash flow.
Financial flexibility when opportunities appear.
At the time I understood the theory.
But years later, when I was running a car dealership, I saw the real-world side of it.
That’s when the connection became obvious.
When the Car Business Made It Click
Every day I watched people walk into the dealership focused on one thing:
“What’s the monthly payment?”
Very few people thought about the long-term cost of financing.
Or how much interest they would actually pay over time.
I couldn’t believe the number of people financing vehicles at 10%, 15%, even 21% interest, simply because the payment “fit their budget.”
But because I had already worked inside the insurance industry, I understood something many buyers didn’t.
There are other ways to think about capital, liquidity, and financing.
And that perspective completely changed the way I looked at buying vehicles.
A Different Kind of Financial Tool
Certain life insurance policies can build something called cash value over time.
That cash value may be accessible through what’s known as a policy loan.
In simple terms, the policy owner may be able to borrow against the policy rather than applying for a traditional bank loan.
This concept has been used for generations by:
• business owners
• banks
• estate planning professionals
• families focused on long-term financial control
Because it creates something extremely valuable:
liquidity.
Access to capital when opportunities appear.
While most financial discussions focus on rate of return, very few people talk about something equally important:
opportunity loss caused by a lack of liquidity.
Do you see the difference?
Two Ways Most People Pay for Cars
Most people follow the same pattern their entire lives.
They buy a car.
They finance it.
They make payments for years.
They pay interest to the bank.
Then eventually they do it again.
And again.
And again.
Over time, thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — of dollars quietly go to lenders in interest.
That’s simply the normal system most people live in.
But some people eventually start thinking about things differently.
Instead of focusing only on the vehicle, they focus on the capital used to buy the vehicle.
They build financial tools that may provide access to capital when opportunities appear.
Then when the right vehicle comes along, they may already have access to funds.
No loan application.
No approval process.
No waiting for the bank.
Just access to capital they control.
The vehicle didn’t change.
The financial structure behind the purchase changed.
My Personal Experience
I’ve personally used policy loans to access capital when opportunities appeared.
In one situation, I borrowed $25,000 in about 48 hours from a policy.
I used those funds to purchase a vehicle through my dealership.
After the vehicle sold, I repaid the policy loan.
Meanwhile the policy continued doing its primary job:
providing life insurance protection.
Experiences like that are what led me to explore this concept more deeply.
Not because it’s some secret trick.
But because it can provide something many people value:
financial flexibility.
Another Real-World Example
Let me give you another simple example from my own experience.
Recently I spotted a small opportunity that required about $10,000.
Instead of going to a bank, applying for a loan, or using my own cash, I called the life insurance company and requested a policy loan from one of my cash value policies.
Within about a week, a check for $10,000 arrived.
Why would I do that?
The interest rate on that loan was 2.75%.
Try finding financing like that today.
That’s about $275 per year in interest to borrow $10,000 — roughly $22 per month.
Did I have to make fixed monthly payments?
No.
Policy loans typically don’t require a traditional repayment schedule the way bank loans do. The loan simply accrues interest until it is repaid.
Here’s how the mechanics generally work.
If a policy had $50,000 of cash value and I borrowed $10,000, the available value would temporarily drop to $40,000 until the loan is repaid.
But the policy itself continues doing its job.
It continues providing life insurance protection, and the policy values can continue growing according to the terms of the contract.
If that same policy had a $100,000 death benefit, and I hypothetically passed away while the $10,000 loan was still outstanding, the insurance company would simply deduct the remaining loan balance and interest from the death benefit.
My beneficiary would still receive the remaining proceeds.
Meanwhile the $10,000 I borrowed could be working somewhere else — such as buying a vehicle or another asset.
That’s why I often describe this as a liquidity tool.
It’s not magic.
It’s simply a financial tool that works very differently from traditional lending.
And once people understand how it works, many start seeing opportunities they never noticed before.
Cash value life insurance is often criticized or misunderstood in the mainstream financial world. But like many financial tools, its value depends entirely on how it’s structured and how it’s used.
From my own experience — both in the insurance industry and the car business — it can provide a level of flexibility and access to capital that many people never realize exists.
This doesn’t replace traditional financing for everyone.
But it does show how some people choose to think differently about capital and vehicle ownership.
Two Different Ways to Access $10,000
Traditional Financing
Borrow $10,000 from a bank
Interest rate: often 7%–12% or more
Monthly payment required
Credit check required
Loan approval required
Miss payments → risk repossession or credit damage
Liquidity From a Cash Value Policy
Borrow $10,000 against policy value
Interest rate in my example: 2.75%
No credit check
No loan approval process
No required monthly payment schedule
Policy continues providing life insurance protection
Same $10,000.
Two completely different systems.
Not Every Vehicle Fits the Bank’s World
Another thing I learned in the car business:
Some vehicles simply don’t fit traditional financing.
Classic cars
Collector vehicles
Enthusiast builds
Modified vehicles
Many of these require specialty lenders — or cash.
Which is another reason some people prefer building financial tools that give them access to capital when needed.
This Isn’t Magic
This approach isn’t a shortcut.
Policies must be structured properly.
Cash value takes time to build.
Not everyone qualifies for every policy.
And borrowing against a policy creates a loan that must eventually be repaid.
But when structured properly, this type of financial tool can create something very useful:
liquidity and financial flexibility.
Why I Built CoolCarsForLife.com
Most people will never connect these two industries.
But once you see the connection, it changes how you think about financing vehicles.
This website isn’t a sales pitch.
It exists because I’ve spent my career working in two industries most people never see connected:
The car business and the insurance industry.
When you understand both worlds, you start to see opportunities most people never hear about.
CoolCarsForLife.com is simply a place where I explain one of those ideas.
If the concept makes sense to you, great.
If not, that’s fine too.
But at least now you know it exists.
Where This Idea Fits
This page is simply an introduction to the concept.
If you’re interested in:
Buying, selling, or brokering cool cars
Visit: CoolCarGuy.com
Learning how cash value life insurance works as a liquidity tool
Visit: CoolLifeGuy.com
CoolCarGuy.com is where I showcase vehicles, broker deals, and talk about the real-world side of car ownership and cool car culture.
If you’re curious about either idea, both sites are good places to start.
Talk With Me
I still broker vehicles and work with insurance tools that help people explore ideas like this.
If you’d like to talk about either topic, feel free to reach out.
📞 Call or Text John Boyd
720-771-6269
Or send a message using the contact form below.
No pressure.
Just a straightforward conversation.
Some people reach out about cars.
Others reach out about insurance tools.
Both conversations are welcome.
Contact John
Important Disclosure
Life insurance policies vary by carrier and are subject to underwriting, policy structure, and premium funding requirements.
Policy loans accrue interest and may reduce the death benefit if not repaid.
This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, insurance, or tax advice. Individuals should consult a licensed professional regarding their specific circumstances.
