Let's Play...You Solve the Puzzle
 

Here's the deal...
* You own a '12 991 cab with ~70% equity
* You own a '98 993 targa outright
* You've owned a 997C4S (so the only model type since the mid-90's you haven't experienced is a 996 but you really don't have an interest there)
* You live in the snow belt
* You're wife drives an SUV
* You're commute is about to change from 30mins 1-way to 10mins 1-way after you move into the new house but...(see next bullet)
* The company you work for just got acquired and there's a decent possibility you're going to get laid off
WHAT DO YOU DO?
(Note: You have enough savings that you really don't have to make any moves involving the cars but it might help the stress level if you consolidated the 2 911's into 1 vehicle)

Let me know your answers. I'm trying to come up with a 1-car solution that will be fun to drive, allow me to get to $0 car debt or potentially put money back in my pocket, and still be driveable year round in the snow belt. I'll consider all recommendations (even non-Porsche's) but won't do a wagon. The other requirement is that you'll need to stick with it for a few years (the wife's growing tired of the changes).

Sell the 993, get a set of extra wheels with all season tires for the 991, keep a fund for goodies. Suffer with your 991 cab. :rolleyes:

My opinion - Sell the 991. Keep the 993, and get some dedicated rims and winter tires for Nov - Mar. The 993 is a classic, and will go up in value. And a 10-minute commute is easy to do. Once your job situation settles down, you can figure out what additional car you want for the long term.

Why all-season tires? If you are going to go the route of dedicated tires / wheels for the winter, the performance winter tires are quite good . I've got the Pirelli winters, and I was quite impressed with both snow driving as well as dry weather driving.

I don't personally trust all-seasons on a wide-tire, RWD car in the winter.

(Now, I'm just trying to decide on a good, inexpensive set of rims for the winter tires, so I can swap them in my own garage.)

Keep the 993 - it's a classic and understated.
I wish I had kept my C4S

Drop the 991's . They are a dime a dozen compared to the 993 and you can always get another when your future is more certain....

sell the wife , keep the cars

That's what I did and how I have a 991 and a 993 C2S! hilarious
And my girlfriend is loving it!

sell 991 because its a depreciating asset. purchase awd daily, (golf r, r32, subaru (various), older a4)

its a commute, you are fooling yourself that you need a 991 for that. would make the 993 more special because u'd appreciate it more.

Not sure I understand how much equity you have in the 991: Are you saying you have almost 70% equity?

Dime a dozen? I paid a least a quarter a dozen for mine...

Correct. I owe approximately 30% more on the vehicle.

Not in the cards. I love my wife, daughter, 3 dogs, and my house...no car is worth giving all of that up.:D

Then, that's a pretty big chunk of depreciating asset. With the threat of being downsized plus the potential added cost of the new house, it would behoove you to cash out of your 991. If you don't feel your 993 is a suitable commuter even with winter tires, unless you absolutely need the cash, hold onto the car as you've already experienced the majority of its depreciation.

Assuming a sale value of $100K (wild guess) and an equity of $70K), my advice would be to buy a low mileage 2012-2013 Audi S5 Coupe for around $50K, and you'll end up with a sharp, AWD, swift coupe that can be found with either their great S-Tronic or a true manual. It'll still have lots of warranty left and some of the depreciation already eaten by the first owner. Plus, an extra $20K in the bank for any potential rainy days upcoming.

Here is a 2013 S5 Cabriolet with S-Tronic, gorgeous interior with contrast stitching, under 1200 miles and asking <$58K on an MSRP of $68K. A lot of fun, plus AWD for the snow, plus money in the bank from the equity in your 991.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2013-..._237358wt_1150

When things turn around and everything is stable, you can always get yourself a 991 again. Your wife, daughter and 3 dogs come first.

Risk of getting laid off? Get rid of the stuff that you're doing payment , 991 included. Buy a cheaper awd car like Subaru wrx sti and find a good job to be able to afford 991 Porsche again (recommend buying outright if you can). Oh yeah, get rid of 993 if you don't use it that often.

Sell the cars and get a Subaru. Wrx wide body could be a nice car that you can buy outright. Good luck.