Need some advice

I would like to get a 911(997 or GT3) in two years but not sure if I deserve, have earn or can justify the cost of a 911 to my self. So here I am hoping to get some advice from the people that have been successful in their life (financially). Below is some info on me. I�m 35 yrs old (married 15 yrs) no kids and will not have any. House will be pay off in 10.5 yrs Current net worth $800K give and take a few Ks House hold income $172K. Would like to retire in 15 yrs. Thank You.

Just my two cents, but who do you need to justify this to, yourself or others? If you can afford the car, and you truly WANT the car, go buy the car. And while you're driving the hell out of it with that permagrin, you'll quickly forget about any issue of 'justification'.... JUST DO IT! Life's too short. Enjoy it while you can. If laying out the cash is an issue, find a nicely optioned used '02, for example, and enjoy it. I bought my first Porsche on my 40th birthday, after having several Mercedes, a Z-car and a few other enjoyable rides.

I agree completely with the above post. Let's get something straight right now, a 996 or 997 is not, nor ever will be a financially sound auto to own. It has a tiny trunk, the only people that can fit in the back are your friends that have done land mine work overseas and no longer have their legs, it's expensive, the upkeep is higher than your average car; but no one that owns one gives a damn about any of that. It's a 911... it speaks to your heart, it gets in your blood and it becomes a part of you. I don't recommend anyone should live outside their means, but it seems you are OK. If you feel the need to over analyze it then this isn't the car for you. Porsche had the best slogan ever... "We don't build cars that are something to everyone, instead we build cars that are everything to someone." Now I have to go, I'm getting all teary eyed.

If you buy the car and at any time sell it at a "huge" loss (say 50%) of what you paid, how does that in any significant way alter your life or your plans? I doesn't seem relevant to me. If you want the car and can afford it, the cost of the car is trivial over the span of the next 15 years. At least that's how I see it. Having said that, 50 is really young to retire. At 55, I cannot imagine what would fill my days without some form of work. Your wife may be your best friend, but she doesn't like you that much. AS

You're doing just fine financially. Buy the car now and enjoy it. The extra $ compared to the baseline car you'd buy otherwise isn't that much. You can only lose as much as you put into it, and that is the very worst case. Your finances can absorb that unlikely worst case. If you really want to be conservative, lease a 1 or 2 year old model that has enough warranty to cover the term, know that the depreciation is fully accounted for and at the end of the term you just walk away.

2 years ago i was a poor *** emergency medicine resident. Now I am a less poor attending doctor in an ER. I talked mysef right out of the 911 when i got my first "real" job. (too expensive...i'll wait a couple years...bla bla bla!) what the hell was i thinking! life is for living every dream you can possibly attain! (and some you can't!) Buy the damn car! you will smile a lot

I am the same age, we make @ the same but my wife and I don't have a house, we'll be trying to buy in the next year, and we're working on our first child. My dad gave me advice after his 55th b-day. He stopped racing cars when my brothers and I were born and didn't start again until he was 50 and we were all out of school...He said that stopping what he loved was the biggest mistake and regrets that he had. Told me to NEVER do that 'cause once time is gone you can't go back. He still wonders what could have been, 'cause he's very good at drag racing... That being said, as soon as we sign for the house, I'm getting my P-car! I need a garage... -Patrick

BTW...The cost of most luxury cars and SUV's now are @ the same as buying a used Porsche...don't settle for less! -Patrick

Life isn't a dress rehearsel DonnyJ

I had a friend who said that when he reached a certain financial position in his life he was going to buy a Vette. He was an accountant and after one particular good season he felt he was ready to do it. He finished up his last tax returns on April 15th, went home and had a massive coronary on the 16th and died. Within 2 weeks I went out and bought a 65 Vette and I have never looked back. My justification is easy. Can you have more money when you retire if you don't buy a Porsche? Certainly. You'll also have more money if you never go out to dinner, take vacations, pay for cable TV, send flowers to your wife. How much money I have when I'm too old to enjoy it is not as important to me as how I live now. I am not foolish about saving money, I do. I am just not obsessed by it.

Fairly impressive financial situation alin330. But I got bad news for you. Your worth nuthin, nada, zero, SFA. Because when you go in that whole in the ground you go the same way you came in. With Nought! If you can go down that whole leaving a massive debt behind you having lived a good life with all of life's luxuries. You did OK. If you didn't, well more fool you. Go buy yourself a GT3 now.

I'm still laughing on that one...Now if I can just find a garage...

and, why stop at a GT3...might as well go nuts, C-GT and see if an enzo can keep up!

I'm 40 and have had Parkinson's for six years. My right arm shakes so much I can't work a shifter. No problem: I bought my first Porsche this summer, and put nearly 3,000 miles on it before parking it in the garage last month. My only regret is not doing it sooner (well, I'm kinda wishin' for a C4 these days! . I enter a happy-happy fugue state every time I drive that car, even if I'm only driving 15 minutes to work. Screw therapy and Paxil: my Porsche is strong medicine. Especially as the sun sets on a late summer day. If you really want it, buy it. Now. Life is too short, the wife may not ever understand, the numbers will never justify themselves, but oh, that car is like nothing else. Think of it like buying art. Buy it because you really like it, price be (almost) damned. - Bill

That gif is hilareous.

Here's the thread this gif came from... I have to give Random Alias the credit! https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...5&pagenumber=1

I'm amazed by the original question. Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you aren't sure you deserve a Porsche, then I think you're probably being a little hard on yourself. It's your life, your happiness, and as long as you're not hurting others you can spend your money any way you want. BUT, I would ask why you want a Porsche. Porsches are terrific cars and really not like any other, but too many people buy them and are disappointed to find that it's largely a sports car not a luxury car. What cars have you owned so far? Don't buy a Porsche for status, buy one if driving it puts a big smile on your face. I am not in as good a financial position as you, and I have a child (who is the true joy of my life) and two weeks ago I bought my first Porsche (2001 C2 coupe) after looking at Porsches for the last 3 car purchases and chickening out each time. Good luck. C. (wishes unix guys would learn to spell)

I have to agree with all that has been said so far and especially with what Chrisalberts has to say. Porsche cars should not be bought for status. In my opinion if you want to make a statement about your financial independence, go buy a Ferrari (You will need that financial independence to keep it running). Porsche is a passion. This passion runs more than skin deep, its a disease most Porsche owners have and I know I have had it since I was 13. From that point in time on I could only dream about the one car that I have always wanted to own, love and cherish - a Porsche. I have had a number of cars over the years - mostly Japanese until 1998 Christmas when I bought my first 993 C2 Cab. That day I will never forget, it is something that will stay with me for a long time. At the time I was 27 and would not call myself financially independent, but doing alright. I met a lot of resistance about the purchase but no-one could understand my desire. Others saw it as a car I saw it as a passion. Today I drive a 996 C2 Cab which I bought once again at Christmas of 2001 this time. Every time I get behind the wheel I am a different person which is quite hard to describe. This feeling overwhelms you and makes you forget all the hassles of your day week, month or even year. It is pure paradise. Just like everyone else has said, you only live once and you have to do want your heart desires. If it is a Porsche it desires then do not deprive yourself of that desire, you will only live to regret you did not buy it. ___________________ ArthurK 02 996 C2 Cab (Over the last five years on owning a Porsche has actually cost me less to maintain than my lest two Japanese cars - a Mazda MX6 and a Nissan Maxima (Ultima is the US?) ) At the same time it makes me wonder why more people do not drive Porsches in the States. The prices are so much better and more affordable than here is Australia. Price in Australia for a C2 is more than a Turbo Coupe in the States

I'm 38. I've wanted a Porsche for most of my life. I'm more conservative financially than almost anyone else I know. A friend of mine has a running bet on things that will happen before I finally buy a Porsche. He's won that bet several times (i.e., the other thing happens and I still don't have my car). Up until a few weeks ago, I never even test drove Porsches because I was afraid I'd decide to buy one. Tomorrow morning I get my Porsche ('01 C2). What tipped the scales? Not really sure. Test driving several was part of it. Can't believe what I've been missing all these years. Also, I ran a spreadsheet, which is my solution to most things. If you factor in that most Porsche's depreciate more slowly than regular cars, it's really NOT that big a financial impact. My spreadsheet showed that it was almost the same financially to drive a newer Porsche for the next two years as it would be to keep pumping $$ into my 9 year old Volvo (repairs & maintenance, plus depreciation, plus insurance). We're talking just a few thousand dollars difference over the course of 2 years. Ask me in a year if I regret my decision, but I have a feeling I won't have stopped smiling from tomorrow on... Gnome (first post. Woohoo!)

Gnome: "Tomorrow morning I get my Porsche ('01 C2)" Congratulations! C.

alin330 - Based only on my own experience, hoping I don't offend, recognizing that this is none of my business, I'd forget the Porsche and have a son or daughter. Failing that, I'm with the others - life is short, buy the car. Cheers.