We are the "Jones-es"

Ok, I'd figure you guys would get a kick out of this. Everytime I get a new toy, my neighbor 3 doors down attempts to one-up. I buy my wife a maxed-out Expedition (complete with some 20" pimp wheels, 12" video screen for the kids, etc) since her previous lease was up, he buys his wife an Escalade. I get the family a golf cart (also complete with some pimp wheels and a pretty sick audio system) for Christmas...we just use it to run around the neighborhood...I don't play golf. He buys an H2. I lose the big screen and get a 42" plasma, he buys a 50". (He doesn't know that I've got a custom theater room with a 9ft screen and DLP projector.) Finally, I buy a Guards Red 2002 C2 (I'm all about letting someone else take the initial depreciation hit). He dumps the H2 and spends 100k+ on an M6. I mentioned we were thinking of moving to a new house in a higher end neighborhood...he put up a for sale sign and went and bought a lot in that 'hood'. I just don't get it!? The only thing I can figure is that (and please read this with sarcasm) that he just wants to be as cool as me! He's obviously not that swift 'cause if he really wanted to one-up, he'd have gone for a new Porsche Turbo! The funniest part is that he has no idea what he bought with the M6. He just knows that it costs a bunch so it must be good! I think I'll invite him to to a WOT hwy race and not tell him about the 155mph limiter his car has just to **** him off when i start to pull away up to 175..."just for funsies".

Forgive me, maybe my sarcasm meter is out of commission but did you actually buy your family a golf cart with wheels and an audio system for driving around your neighborhood?

People do that here. It's one of those things they do. I figured it out when I moved here. They even put their canoes inside the garage and don't hang them on the fence...

Do you have pics of the golf cart? I saw one like you mentioned in Las Vegas that looked like an Escalade.

I saw that almost EVERYDAY in Vegas. Everybody was trying to compete with what turned out to be nothing more than a mirage in the desert (pun intended). I did some investigating on tax websites, etc. (all free info) and could not believe the number of people in my neighborhood that lied about their jobs, income, mortgage, price they paid for the house, etc, etc, etc. It was hillarious watching meighbors always trying to compete. It got so bad that a couple 2 doors up from us (same age) got so far in debt that their house was sold, their cars were sold and they ended up divorced and in rentals! I am sure this "jones-es" thing is everywhere but I don't see it here in the south where I grew up (and now live). We just built a home in a pricey area of town where you would think materialism and competition would be highest, but we haven't had a single neighbor ask us what we do for a living, etc.. However, we are known in the 'hood as the family "with all the Porsche's". When we meet a new neighbor and they ask "which house are you in" we tell them and they say...."ah, you are the family with all the Porsche's". It is at that point I love my life all over again

IMHO he is not trying to "one up you", he likes you, [edit] he really likes you. Or maybe he really likes your wife and is seeking her. Beware or be blessed. LVDell, where are you in NC? Will you be driving in the PCA Fall Tour this weekend?

RDU. What is the PCA Fall Tour?

The Fall Tour starts with breakfast at Porsche Hickory, 8 AM Saturday morning, 10/28. Reservations are limited to 50 cars, there will be a Furious group and a Fast group. Around noonish, we will meet in Little Switzerland for lunch. Then we drive to/around Lake Lure/Chimney Rock. The tour ends in Hendersonville where there will be a banquet, open bar (beer and wine) and dancing. Last week, I was told that seven spaces were still available. Click on the Tobacco Roads link for more info. http://www.carolinas-pca.com/Main.htm 50 Porsches all on the same road, and the Furious group is quite aggressive. Tobbaco Roads has a great write-up on Group Drive Ettiquette.

so you guys in fact know each other's TV screen size? interesting neighborhood ...

Thanks NC, I will check into it!

It was one of the main reasons my wife and I sold our house in Scarsdale. Too many f#cked up people with nothing to do but wonder about you. We wanted no part of our daughter asking for new Nike's when she's in Kindergarden. EDIT: Post pics of the golf cart.

What�s that saying? Jealousy is the best form of compliment� That is why my wife and I keep to ourselves. The neighborhood is always gossiping about them and those. We decided not to partake in any community events for such reasons. We are respectful and say hello to everyone but once gossip starts, we walk away.

Ahhh - I love not having neighbors, I don't miss that BS in the least.

This is the reason why living in LA, I stay west of lincoln at all times. But I do get a kick out of driving through beverly hills and such. Joneses everywhere.

Not necessarily, he saw the truck unloading the TV, walked over and said "What's that?" I told him that my projection TV was having issues and wasn't worth fixing so I just bought a new TV. Next thing i know, I'm outside with the kids one day and he stops by and says, "hey, i got that new 50" pioneer plasma TV". Since I didn't want him to evict one of his own kids out of their rooms, I've never mentioned my theater room to him. Odds are he'd do that or install a drive-in in his front yard! I'm not one to follow others, nor do i care if I'm "the first on my block...". That's why my wife and I get a kick out of this goofball. The way I see it from his perspective, if you can't be yourself, you might as well try to be somebody else.

TBH996.....sounds alot like the Vizio "howdy neighbor" commercial!

Here is what I would do...rent or get a loaner Gallardo of F430 and drive by and stop at his place and ask him how he likes it. Then rent a hot babe for an afternoon and repeat...wait..this could be fun...yeah right....pathetic.

Good one!

Who cares, let him try and keep up. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. That said, you could always take it over the top.

now this is funny as always, devail is in the details.

I thought about calling a buddy that has a sick offshore powerboat and have him park it in my driveway just for fun for a few days to see what happens. The hot babe thing won't work. Both of our wives are pretty hot, except mine is stock and his is modified.

That Falken cart is cool. I saw it at SEMA a few years back. Mine's not that cool, just some chrome rims, tunes with a video ipod source, separates, and multi channel amp with a Nitrous Bottle subwoofer hanging off the back.

Sign me up for two of those! What's the top speed on that thing..

Your cart and the guy trying to decide if he wants to keep up....

Hahaha - Chris, that's a great pic. I'd kill for a golf cart with a Rolls grill and the red canvas roof with the white fringes... "Smile, everyone, Smile!" (am I dating myself?)

Stay in your original hood and he will go crazy figuring out why you did it !

now how did you learn that??

Some of us can tell female "enhancements" just by looking - it's just a talent. http://ca.askmen.com/fashion/how_to_200/246_how_to.html Sounds like this guy is a real loser. Just sit back and have some fun... taunt him abou things that you're "thinking' of buying occasionally and see if you can make him go bankrupt.

His wife likes to brag and the changes are somewhat obvious. So far, she's gotten *****, tummy tuck, *** lypo, and hair extensions. Now, he hasn't copied all of my toys - I'm still the oldest "kid" in the neighborhood with a race modded GoPed, an RC Ferrari Enzo, and a mini chopper. The neighborhood kids always wanna race me on my Ped with their scooters (and I usually let them win).

You mean like this boat?

details. details. how did she brag about boob job? i mean, it's one thing to talk about big screen TV, and she really said something like:" check it out, man, i got it done last week, it's 36E now."

[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:] https://rennlist.com/forums/graemlins/bowdown.gif

That's pretty much how it went. Just without the visual credentials to back up the claim.

you are just as bad, if not worse then the guy you are describing.

Wow Dirk, you really are a piece of work. First post and already ruffling feathers. Find another place to troll. ps. and it's than not then.

Hi Dirk, want a free Carfax?

LV, nice job with the grammar, oops I mean Grahmer or is it grammer?

I had a neighbor that I swear got a boob job for his wife after my wife got hers done- made a huge deal of it- but she also called my boxster my ***** extension but hasnt said anything about the 996- maybe she thinks its big enough now? dreams

How is that? Some dude mimics me in some subconsious form of psuedo one-upmanship that I get a laugh over and I'm just as bad? If I continued the game by attempting to keep up with his trying to one-up with me, then I'd see your point, however, in every scenario I mentioned, I acquire something - TV (mine broke), Toy (bought the fam a golf cart), Car (wanted a 911 since i was 8), etc and he runs out and does the same...not 'cause he wants to or needs to, he just seems to have the need to compensate for some sort of inferiority complex that I provoke just by living on his street. The way I see it, I make my purchases for 2 reasons - I want (or need) them and I can afford to buy them regardless of ego or outside influence. His purchases are based on - He wants to be the best on his block and can afford to be due to a lack of ego and overabundance of cashflow. After all, i bought a 4 yr old 996 for $48K as a goal I set as a kid. He drops $100K on an M6 with no concept of how phenomenal of a machine he's now piloting after seeing my ride in my driveway...that's a sign of having more money than sense. After all, this guy has never owned or driven a performance car and just bought his H2 9 months ago! "Homey don't play that!" It's only a competition if there's more than one competitor.

TBH996, does your copycat neighbor's name happen to be Dirk LaToya. I think he's on to you........

Please post pictures....

damn, where LVDell, the pic. police when we really need him!

I had always heard about people like you, just never met one so proud of being such a tasteless, exhibitionistic, materialist. I bet if you owned any books, you'd try to put chrome 20's on them. Did your plasma TV come "maxed out" with chrome 20's? You like to complain about your neighbor, but you know that half the reason you buy these ridiculous trinkets is to impress him, and people like him. Please stay in Florida. Please.

Noah, get back on your Ark and sail away.

I need to put some chrome 20's on it so I can max it out, and build an Ark Theater with some 50" plasmas, and then it'll be ready to sail. But, if someone else puts chrome 20's and plasmas on his Ark, I'll have to get chrome 22's and more plasmas before being able to shove off. Dontcha understand?

That's actually pretty funny...

Noah, I have taste. I'm not gonna comment about being an exhibitionist, but I did some streaking in college. Yes, i am materialistic. I do own books and some of them don't even have pictures in them! Don't knock aftermarket wheels, it seems like a majority of the members of this forum have non-stock wheels on their cars. I've got 18's on my 996 and 20's on an Expedition (not too outrageous by any standard) My plasma TV is a simple 42" EDTV for daily viewing (mostly cartoons that the kids watch). It was a replacement for a busted old-school projection unit. I never complained about my neighbor, I just thought it was funny that every time i make a luxury item purchase, he runs out and does the same. I'm not out to impress anyone but myself and to make it worse you are on the PORSCHE forum calling those cars trinkets! That's blasphemy! Where did you learn geography? What makes you think LA and FL are the same place?

maybe both of you just happen to have similar earnings (or increase of earnings) and w/ each step it just happens that both of you can afford nicer and nicer things... my guess is he'd be doing those things regardless whether you bought a tv/car/wheels or didn't. plus, to a guy that dropped 100k on a 6-series, it probably looks to him like you are the one following along and trying to keep up. after all, it doesn't take a genius to check ebay and realize that used 996's are a dime a dozen right now... then again, maybe he learns from you that there are better things out there and he just wants to upgrade what he has just like anyone else... you might be overthinking this 'joneses' concept, unless the idea of *being* a 'joneses' is appealing to you.

I am Jones. Keep away from me. Loser.

Interesting... TD tracked a 996, then saw }{'s old 911. So TD bought a 944 race car. Then }{ decided to go racing, got a license, and started working on turning his 911 into a race car. So TD put a few track dents in his 944 to up his track cred. So }{ responded with some bent body work of his own... The 'keep up with the Jonses' continues at a fevered pace!

This guy makes a lot of $$$. I don't have a problem with that. I'm also not competing with him or anyone else. I couldn't drop 100K on a car on a whim for two reasons - don't have the $$$, and couldn't stomach the depreciation hit. I just think that it goes beyond coincidence when these things happen this frequently. Why is everyone reading so deep into the psyche of this? I posted this for a giggle and now it feels like a psychoanalysis.

+1, I thought it was hilarious reading...

thank you...thats more llike it!

I agree that it's funny. But I do have one request - install a small pool in your yard so that the neighbor can put in a huge one so that you can get some good bikini shots of his "modified" wife.

Our neighborhood has a great pool, playground, tennis, basketball court area. I use that pool, plus, that's what I pay the association dues for. He had a bad-*** custom pool put in last summer - the neighbor across the street from him put one their back yard 3 months prior to his! Coincidence...hmmm?

Install a 9' ***** in your front yard and watch the fun begin . . .

Oh Todd! I just had diet coke shoot through my nose reading your post. The visual is priceless

And how are you going to meet these challenges? A golf cart just doesn't cut it, hombre, not even if it's maxed out. What about a water slide in your front yard?

Turn the "aforementioned statue" into a fountain that operates whenever a guest pulls into the driveway. Better than a guard dog.

maybe the guy w/ the 6 series has a parallel thread on a beemer forum ab a guy w/ a used porsch trying to keep up. betcha he posted about his pool on a thread titled: "this should slow him down"

You're still getting it all wrong. Like I said, it isn't a competition if there is only one competitor. No one is competing with anyone except this guy who is competing with everyone around him... unbeknownst to them. Plus I don't want or need a pool. I can afford to buy a pool, but why would I when there is a great neighborhood pool that I can pee in anytime I want to?

OK, so you don't want or need a pool. But who doesn't need a 9' Japanese fertility statue in the front lawn . . . particularly if you convert it into a fountain or birdbath or something else supremely useful . . .?

i'd go w/ this approach:

You know if I put that in my yard, he'd buy a 16ft tall black one!

sounds like a challenge to me Please just do us all a favor and post the HOA letter you receive after installation. Thanks. P.S. Is this your neighbor? https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topic/306625-next-big-purchase-hdtv-plasma-lcd-dlp.html

I am writing this from my blackberry from some god awful hotel in china at three in the morning. But I thought this was a funny thread and the best part of it is the guy I am going to tell you about, is my friend. He bought a 993 conv. A few years ago and stuck it in our face. Well we fell in love with it but choose a newer 966. When I drove my new toy home he would not even come into our yard or mention it. Then we had our yard lanscaped, and it looked great, not a word except your walkway is "big". Then I built my 5 year old girl an awsome playhouse with swings slide, not a word from him. Then we bought a audi a6, not only did he not mention it,he has not talked to us for 6 months and this is a guy that we had dinner with 3 times a week. The best part of the story is last week he put his p car up for sale and now talks to us again. I guess he gave up trying but we we're never in the game...he was our friend and we just do not think this way

Of the 11 years I've been on Car Club websites I've never seen a post of anything resembling a *****.

The old Jag XKE sort of looks like a *****. And have you seen the latest post of that proposed 2012 928 - very phallic indeed... Here's an OT link for all of you - http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...term=*****+car

You are tracking every purchase that your neighbor makes. Thats pathetic. The fact that he out does you with everything and you go and complain on here is even worse. Maybe he doesnt care what you have, and you are just envious of him?

this is what happens when your first p-car has radiators...

1. I'm not tracking, it's hard to miss an M6 in your neighbor's driveway, a black Escalade, and a wife with big fake ****. As for the TV and pool, he made it a point to stop by and tell me about them. 2. Who's complaining? I just think it's funny. 3. I envy no one...except maybe Tommy Lee 'cause he gets lots of grade A 'tang' with his giant pecker...in fact, I think that weenie on the parade float in the previous pic is his. Now quit being an *** and enjoy the "funny".

The picture was the biggest ***** ever associated with a Porsche.

Ouch...that hurt. I guess it doesn't help either that my first p-car was an '87 944 I bought in '92. The 996 is my second.

LOL, nope. you're still down to just one p-car.

Wow, your second post certainly is interesting....thought you might have gotten the hint from Dell after your first post.....where's that ignor function. First time I have seen a need for it.

why ignore the fun?

u know it could be a 993/996 type of thing, you know air/water stuff. where are u in china? i was over there this spring. interesting trip.

This is just too funny....I call them inflatable neighbours...the sad part is that some people get in credit over there heads to keep up....who cares what my neighbour has...unless it's a 25 yrs old **** star trophy 5th wife...then I'll be jealous...

In the words of the immortal Hulk Hogan: "Amen Brother"

Uh oh, I have an M5, black Jeep and wife with big fake ****....is that close enough? Thi s thread is hilarious, but you gotta draw the line at plastic surgery..that's sacred ground and well worth the $$$. Fake **** are $3-4,000, about the same a a nice set of wheels but more fun to go out with.

yeah, but they're fake. it's like having a fake porsche.

You mean they look great at first, but to an aficionado the handling is all wrong?

Purist, indeed. Cars and people need a little enhancement now and then. Why bother putting on an aero kit, rear wing, PSE, etc. when those could have been added originaly? Are you then creating a "fake" car even though your are improving/enhancing the original for your own enjoyment? You are confusing this with some bozo putting a turbo badge on a C2, which is indeed, "fake"....and you're in the minority if you don't like a nicely enhanced breast...IMO.

i don't even own fake plants

FYI, the adjustment is down between the legs....whoops, that the seat adjustment. Try your hands at the 10 and 2 positions.... Just in case anyone's wheels need a lift job: http://wheelenhancement.com/

Hey, I'm all for a nice pair. In fact, no matter how enhanced they are, they're not fake on the outside! Besides, I'd rather that than a padded bra...that's sort of like false advertising. In the end, as long as they can move like this - - I'm happy.

I agree totally! A while back my wife and three of her friends were having one of their occasional "girls night out " dinners. One of her friends noticed a large breasted woman entering the restaurant, and said. "Look at that! Those are obviously fake!" My wife simply relpied "Yes, but men don't care!" She said her three friends burst out laughing and agreed with her. Damn, my wife knows me too well!

At this stage in my life, I am pleased by any pair that is not in use

I know that one well! Don't knock it, inflatables like that mean that you never know what you're getting until they come to the party.