So I just bought a new home and the 'hidden' costs of homeownership are really starting to add up. Taxes, utilities, association dues, etc...

I find that after my $1600 Turbo payment & my housing & other budgeted expenses that I have very little 'leisure' money left at the end of the month and literally no money left to put in my investment accounts.

I did some hard thinking today - I love, I mean LOVE my Turbo and it would kill me to get rid of it. So I was wondering what I could do to get my car payment down to under $1K per month. Refinancing a car just seems silly to me, plus I'd never be able to match my current APR of 4.5%. So I thought about buying another less expensive 911, but I know that after having the Turbo that I could never step down (power wise, I mean).

Finally it popped in my mind - what about the Cayenne Turbo. Fully loaded preowned '04 models are available for sub-$1000 lease payments. This would give me a little extra spending cash every month and I'd still have a Turbo (of sorts).

What do you guys think? I know the smart thing would be to give up the Porsche and get a more sensible car payment in the $400-$600 range, but I kinda don't like that option.

Is there another performance vehicle in the $1000 monthly payment range that has the fun, reliability, and daily drivability of the Turbo?

TIA!!

 

Get a Mitsu EVO. Really. You'll have just as much fun with lots of money left for mods and the track.

 

Don’t mean to lecture, but one thing I learned growing up is that you do not want to live from paycheck to paycheck. You always want to have something saved up for raining days. Good luck

 

What I would do is make sure I take care of these in order;

1) Pay into retirement account

2) Pay house note

3) Pay car notes

4) Cut down on leisure cost.

Now on the car notes if you haven't had the car more than one year and it was new and never been titled when you purchased it, you may find a bank or credit union to refinance as new. I have done that before and even had them do a balloon payment plan with 15k miles per year. There is a lot of options out there.

 

You should go and test drive a few cars, and see if you find any that match the fun-factor of the Turbo... Now I am not a real big fan of corvettes, but maybe the new 500 HP Z06 might be of your liking?

 

I would see if there isn't sufficient equity in the house to pull out a second mortgage to buy the car with.

For me, personally, I spent a long long time lusty after turbos - I went through 9 Porsches in 11 years - each one getting closer to what I really wanted. Had I bit the bullet and got the turbo first I would be up a lot of money.

Everyone's situation is different. It is a challenge. Good luck

 

Check out a C2T turbo. Far less you can pay cash and modify it to be every bit as fast as most of the TTs if not faster. Older technology but the spirit of a Porsche turbo is present.

 

Are you sure about that???? What's the mileage/year.

 

I think his point was to try to get a lower payment and no money out of pocket. If he had the leisure money or disposable income to purchase a C2T outright, he wouldn't be sweating the $1600 payment.

I second the option about exploring home equity.

 

I guess it depends on what he owes on the car. If he has some equity in the car my point is he could sell it take the cash and get something that would still make him happy. C2Ts are cheap. Under 30K all day long.

 

Car is a form of leisure

 

Thanks for all the ideas guys.

To answer everyone's quesitons:
I'm 24.

I have about $10K positive equity in the Turbo.

Since I just moved into my place, I don't have that much extra equity to play with - maybe $50K.

With respect to the CT lease payment being sub-$1000, yes it's true. The particular vehicle I was referring to is a preowned '04 model currently on ebay and the dealer is offering a lease for $950/48 months/$3500 drive off. There are numerous deals on preowned '04s in the $1100-$1200 range.

Finally, I've driven a couple older Porsches and they really don't interest me that much - I guess I've been spoiled by the fit/finish & materials used by the 996.

I think I may hold onto my car at least for a few more months - this will allow me to do some more thinking and in the mean time the market will become even more flush with used '04 CT's.

 

I hate to sound like an old fart (I'm only 34), but it sounds to me like you're doing very well for yourself at this age, but having the Turbo or a 100K car is probably not that smart. Do you realize how easy it would be to afford it again in 10 years if you invested $1000/mth and had a $600 car note, and you'd still be driving a nice car for that?

Deferred gratification is so worth it. It's going to take a lot of will power to get away from the high end cars, but that's what I'd highly recommend you do. You'll be so much better off and at 24, you have a long time ahead of you to enjoy exotic or semi-exotic cars.

 

Cayenne is a good addition but not a substitute. therefore a C2 might be a better choice when the time comes.

 

Some wise words to consider.