Shallow? It depends why you want it. Are you trying to impress people or do you want it because it is a bad *** car?

It sounds like you are also asking if it is unrealistic. I think obtaining one in two years is unrealistic for you but obtaining one sometime in the future if you get a better job and learn how to manage your money isn't. One thing to remember if you can't do your own work, and this isn't the car to learn on, you will need to be making some decent money in order to pay for any repairs without feeling like you are ruined.

I make an embarrassingly low income compared to what I'd assume the average to be here but I am able to make it work mostly because I can do my own work.

 

What other thread? I didn't see it.

Anyway if you're 17 and make $10K/yr, save your dream for the future. Use it to motivate you to develop your talents, expound upon them, and continue your education.

Realize you can have anything you want. Be the best in your field, which will be the ultimate reward. Smaller side benefits will be a beautiful home, larger than what you need in a wonderful area, a garage full of your dream cars and motorcycles. Money in the bank, investments earning for you, your business property paid for, getting up in the morning and being excited to go to work. Living debt free and sleeping well at night.

Simply focusing on a car that is way too expensive for your economic situation is foolish at this stage of your life. Look beyond this and well into the future. You need to learn to walk before trying to run and in the whole spectrum, you are starting to crawl. Your heads in the right place though, "wants" will head you in the right direction.

 

Forget about the car until you are more established. Get an education, a good job, buy a house or apartment, save some $$ and maybe then think about a more expensive car. We all love our vehicles but in the grand scheme of things, it's really not that important... You have plenty of time left to buy a Porsche...

 

Lol threads like this Kill me ... You come on here to ask a bunch of strangers , not sure if your expecting a pitty party or something else.

Why didn't you ask this question to your dad? Or your friends?

 

17, makes 10k a year, and wants to buy a car that, even if he found an extremely high mileage one, would be 30k or more...

Sigh. What is wrong with the youth of today?

Kid, with that kind of budget, your best bet is to go buy a 90's Eclipse turbo, and spend some money modding it, and you'll have a fast, fun little car that you can actually afford. To put things in perspective, I just bought two new rear tires for my car. Guess how much that cost me? A tenth of your yearly income. It's not worth it to have to spend all your money maintaining a car. Hell, you probably will have to pay cash for one as well, since I can't imagine financing one of these cars will be easy for you at your age and for how old these cars are getting.

 

I see the "buy a house first" in many threads on this forum in response to similar threads. About six years ago I decided my goal was to buy a house. A few years ago I did it. Most of the time I resent my house more than appreciate it. I get way more fun out of my 911 than my house. This isn't to say one should just perpetually rent so they can save for toys instead of a house. If someone decides to rent they should be doing something else investment-wise with the money that would otherwise be used for a down payment. There are advantages to having a house, but there are also advantages to renting. Most importantly the flexibility to move around for jobs.

 

Funny thing about this kid is that he has much better grammar/spelling and articulates his thoughts better than most on this board who likely have more professional level jobs than "retail" and make 10+ X his salary.

 

Correct statement! Unless you happen to buy at the right time, real estate isn't that great of an investment. That said, if you want a house with a garage for your toys, you're probably better off buying since renting a house isn't that cheap. I bought in '08, refinanced twice and now pay less on my mortgage than you can rent a similar house for . Not to mention, my payment will be the same the next 20ish years; rent won't be.

 

That is one thing I really appreciate my house for. I bought in 2010 and refi'd at a lower rate last year. My payment is less than a one bedroom in the hood here.

Like you say, a garage was a HUGE factor in me buying a house. Next is to find a house with a 3 car garage and enough ceiling height for a two post.

 

I had dreams like the OP about owning a super car, so I understand the desire. I'd say go for the dream along side other major purchases like college and a house, but do not chase the dream car alone.

Look at it this way: if you buy a house and fall on hard times, you can always rent out a room to a friend to make ends meet. However, if you buy the Porsche before a house and run low on cash... we'll let's just say good luck renting out the car and explaining to the wife why she has to walk to work while someone else drive the car

 

Can you suggest any books, old magazine issues or eBooks that can help me learn to do much of the work myself?

 

And just to reiterate, I'm not planning on owning tons of bikes and cars-- I'm not striving to be Iron Man or Bruce Wayne, lol

Also, just for clarification, maybe it's due to growing up in a deprived home, but I don't have many materialistic wants at the moment, besides a having a decent home theater system with a projector screen and all, a badass/sexy sports car, and possibly a house in the late future. I do intend on hoarding my cash for the most part outside of these materialistic things, and having visited many "frugal living" websites and blogs recently, its not a bad idea IMO.

Renting is what I'm used to, so having the option of moving around for whatever reason is better than being stuck in one spot because of a house, having this dictate where I can essentially live and work.

 

My recommendation is to buy old POS cars first. They will give you plenty of experience in wrenching and their parts will be cheap. You WILL screw stuff up when you first learn how to work on cars. You don't want to do that on a car with expensive parts like the 911.

When I was your age I got the urge to learn how to work on cars. I got a friend involved who had the same desire and we bought an 85 300zx that was rusted to hell and pretty well beat on. We basically took the whole thing apart and put it back together including rebuilding the engine, repairing the rotted out rockers, and painting the car. The experience was invaluable and I highly recommend it as a way to learn your way around a car. Find a good deal on an interesting car that has lots of parts available that aren't too expensive and a good online community for support and I guarantee you'll learn a lot. Make sure along the way as you are replacing parts you also research the part/system online to understand how it all works. When you have the parts in your hands it really helps everything make more sense.

 

this will be the last opinion from me on this subject . (not that anyone cares!) i have built cars bikes and more since i was a kid. hot rods, race cars, harleys, dirt bikes and every day drivers.

this car is without a doubt the most difficult car i have ever worked. i have a huge tool box full of decades of collecting tools, and a 2 post lift in my garage. and im still cussing when i bend a wrench. its not for the uninformed or the timid.

start small with an education, make your way in life and when you have money and success buy what you want.

a quote from dave ramsey " live like no one else so you can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE!" this country lives on credit and its killing the country from the inside out. pay cash and live within your financial means. when your older you will be in a place that most only dream of. debt free and wealthy

 

Well said. The OP also needs to consider the cost of all the tools he'll need if he wants to work on this car himself and save money. As for the financial advice... I'm afraid it's probably going to fall on deaf ears.