Interesting question from the wife this evening...

Over a few drinks, she says: "So what are you going to do with your car? Are you going to keep it, or sell it and get another one?" My mind begins to race... what is she thinking? Is she implying that I should upgrade my car to a 997 or even a 991? Why is she asking? What's driving this question??? Ultimately, it makes the most sense for me to keep the 996 for a while. I have one kid in college, and one soon to be in college. The 996 is long ago paid for... so I have no car payment to worry about like I would with a newer car. I'm keeping it. I guess I just enjoyed entertaining the thought of buying a newer Porsche. I'll be there in a few years. In the meantime, I'll just continue happily modding this one!

Good for you Dennis. You are thinking ahead of the game and making the right financial moves. Family first. We had our 1st child last year. Opened a 529 for college and put as much as possible each year. But always in my mind is upgrade to something or move to something else. My wife always keeps telling me to save and save. So that helps me not buy something and spend my money. Oh well, someday I will also upgrade to something

Well Dennis, whenever my wife asks a question like that it seems to almost be an endorsement to get a newer Porsche. Since my sons are out of college my answer might be a little different than yours, however, the real estate market is still very soft and inactive at the moment for me.

The correct answer is "Keep it, sell it or get a new one? It's a Porsche, not a wife."

Why don't you just ask here what she means? Trying to decode their questions on your own will just cost you a lot of money.

I actually did ask her. I originally made the post because like Steve said, this kind of question almost gives implicit approval from her to buy a newer Porsche. I don't hear that from her every day! Her concern was the rising maintenance costs of my 996. It's still not too bad, but it does go to the shop on Monday. And I'm tire shopping (as usual). I think I'll wait a few more years until I can buy a lightly used 991 turbo.

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Good move on the 529 accounts. We did that too and it definitely helps now that I'm writing the checks!

If service costs are getting higher, then that is a good reason to buy a newer one. On the other hand, everyone knows that you shouldn't get rid of a good car (that you love, that is still running well and not killing you on maintenance costs) just because it's "too old". Irrespective of money, karma dictates that you will sell your good car only to roll into a lemon.

Imagene what a set of 20" 991 tires costs! Don't forget the TPMS handling fee!

I actually created a simple spreadsheet recently trying to analyze the cost of keeping my vehicle or buying a lower mileage Turbo. What I did was figure out what it would cost to perform all of the necessary maintenance and simple modifications I'd like to do on my car (now that it has 113k miles) to keep it running for another 10 years. Then I priced out what a 996 Turbo would cost that still would need $5k of work on it. In the end due to the higher (as of right now) resale of the 996TT value in the long-run the delta between the two was about $10k. So in other words keeping my car while virtually rebuilding every wear component would cost me $10k less than moving up to a Turbo. Of course this doesn't take into account that once the newer car gets to higher mileage it will also be due for additional maintenance or that it is usually more costly to repair. But now my decision is, is that dollar value worth the upgrade or do I pour money into a vehicle that I know will never pay me back? Decisions, decisions...but in either case I still end up happy, after all who can complain about any 911 in their garage?

Its different for everyone of course. This car has been *extremely* reliable for me, needing only minor maintenance and less than two thousand dollars worth of real *repairs* over the 3 years that I've had it. I do my own repairs and maintenance- so that keeps costs down of course. I'm keeping my 2002 for another 5 years I figure. I have two kids (7 and 9) and use my car daily to commute 75 km round trip. It has 186,000 km on it today, with a new engine at 70,000 km. I used to put 25,000 km per year on it, but now I'm ride sharing and riding my motorcycle so I figure I'll be putting 15,000 per year on it going forward. So 5 years from now the car will 260,000 km (161,000 miles) but only 210,000 (130,000 miles) on the engine. That's not unrealistic. I figure my silver on black 996 is worth $25K today and that it will be worth $17K in five years. I figure the 996 will cost me $5K in repairs over the next 5 years. A 2007 997S would cost me $50K after the taxes are paid and I've imported it to BC. I figure it would require $3K worth of repairs over the next five years, after which time it would be worth $35K So selling the 996 today, buying a 997 and driving that for 5 years costs me a whopping $43K. Keeping the 996 for the next five years costs me only $13K. I wish it wasn't a no-brainer - because I really like the 997.1S - but from a $ perspective the 996 is a keeper. Is my math goofy?

Cars cost money to own. You get to decide how you're going to spend it. If $10k over a few years is a financial issue then you've obviously made a poor choice in buying an exotic in the first place. If you can turn a wrench then you're ahead of the game a bit. Affordable is a relative term.

I agree with Mickey Cars are not investments. I think all will agree on that

Dennis...sounds like your wife is throwing off an error code. Did you happen to write that down so all us husbands can help you decipher what she is really trying to say?

If my wife asked me that... my first thought is ... what room is she looking to remodel now? It's the old Bait n' Switch guys. "honey ... you can look for a new car... while I start talking with a decorator..."

Anytime Mrs SSST asks a question like that I know it is going to cost at least 5 figures. And that's if I give the right answer.

She has definitely thrown an error code. The thing is... it has me thinking now... maybe I should just go up to the dealership and look. I wouldn't be actually buying anything... just looking. Maybe I'll see what they'd give me for my C4S... it couldn't hurt to look... I looked online already. They have a nice 2008 turbo with 37,200 miles... that looks nice. They also have a 2005 C2S cab with 3,900 miles that looks very nice too... and a 2009 C2S cab with only 12,800 miles... No... nevermind.... I'm keeping my car...

It's a slippery slope. If you walk into the dealership, you are going to go the 6 figures for the new car and possibly another 6 figures for the vig extracted by your wife. May God have mercy on your soul.

Also, remember those extra mods you are talking about doing to you car, are just Extra coins going out the door, you'll never get back when you do sell! jmo

It's a rare day that Mrs. Esponte throws me a bone like that but, in my case, it generally isn't associated with a need to renovate the house. She's going to do that anyway and she knows that I'm not going to give her a hard time. Sometimes I'll run with it. Other times I know better myself and I think she knows it. Damn her. Thankfully, our spending/saving habits are closely aligned on just about everything...the only real exception being cars. That said, she's allowed me the luxury of keeping my S60R and Sonett with nary a criticism so who am I to complain? I don't know your personal finances but it sounds like you're doing the right thing by holding onto the 996 a little longer. I've got two little ones and, while they're far from college age, the time sure does fly by quickly and the costs of education are skyrocketing. We're seemingly in perpetual savings mode - with an occasional extravagance. I'm far more comfortable with that personally than where I see some friends racking up 6 figures in credit card debt. Besides, while you're in wait and see mode, it will give Porsche some time to work out the bugs in the 991 just in time for you to pick one up. -Eric

My wife and I are very aligned too when it comes to finances. While Mrs. C definitely likes nice things and likes to spend money, both of us absolutely abhor debt. We have no credit card debt. The only card I use is American Express. I paid cash for the 996 when I bought it. We're paying cash for the boys' college educations. We save a considerable amount for retirement. I know I'll eventually buy another 911, the question is really just when it will happen. I'm more comfortable waiting until I'm done paying $50k per year for college! Besides, I really just got the C4S modded the way I like it!

My advice: go and shop at the dealership, then come home empty handed. You'll have some points for doing that in addition to the points she gifted you at the dinner table the other day. Then, in a few years when the 991 is sorted out and when the more advanced models have been out for a bit, you can shop again. But be careful the first time because Porsches are like puppies and it's very hard to go see one and then leave it at the store. Just my $0.02.