Spending one-third of my savings on a 911...
I have no idea. Probably not much. Lag is much more of an issue for those of us who track our cars, where one is on and off the throttle constantly. And as I mentioned during roll-on airstrip racing, was a bit problematic as well.
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I know as i track my car. But i realized wait its less than a second, is that lag? I dont know if its lag or the ECU. I think its lag, but even when i brake boost it still is like" are you sure you want to do this? OK here we go" When I drive in sport mode more it seems that time is less and less but still there a little.
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Well, I am going to be in the minority but my advice is to not buy the car.
30% of your savings is bad enough, but do you realize that losing that money now how much money this costs you over the years of compounding?
For instance that $60K that could earn 6% (before taxes/expenses) will double in 12 years, then double again is another 12. So spend $60K now and 24 years from now when you are what not even 55 this car will have cost you $240K.
Then there are the running costs. While you get the car for $60K remember it cost probably over twice that much new and these cars as they age do not get any cheaper to maintain or repair.
My rule of thumb is buying one of these cars should not take your life savings at all. The money used to buy the car should come from separate savings account, mad money or something. I know there is the desire to live for today for one may not be here tomorrow, but most of us will be here tomorrow and for a long time to come.
For instance, my Dad lived to be 95. He retired at around 60 and lived 35 years retired. He was almost retired for longer than he worked after he got out of college (he entered college after he was discharged from the Navy back in 1946). At the end, the last 2 years or so, he and Mom were paying $72K/year for care and just a few days before Dad died the care home raised the care home fee to $84K/year! Even at $72K/year this was about $30K more per year than they were making.
Fortunately my Dad (and Mom) were fiscally conservative and had sufficient savings that none of us children had to help them financially.
My belief is a car purchase like the Turbo should not take any money from retirement, or the kid's college fund, or a down payment for a house fund.
My 1st Porsche was funded by years of hard work and savings -- easy to do since I worked a lot and didn't have time to spend my money -- and doing without some things (like expensive vacations, fancy cars, big screen TVs, etc.) and some stock options that I managed to cash in. Also, I had been fully funding my retirement via max. contribution to a 401(K) plan. (Later on, when I became eligible to do so, I also plowed as much as I could into catch up contributions.)
13 years later and with my 3rd Porsche now I have saved over $1M on my way to $2M and could retire if I wanted to. I don't want to, particularly, but let me point out that I may have to retire even if I do not want to as I was laid off last Sept and have not found a job yet. At my age (63) finding work is tough. My point is you have to plan for what may happen, not what you want happen or think will happen. I'm very glad I held off buying my Porsche until I did, when I was 51. I am very glad I started saving for retirement when I did and being very aggressive about it. (Dear old Dad encouraged me to do this and I am sure glad I listened to him! Thanks Dad!)
30% of your savings is bad enough, but do you realize that losing that money now how much money this costs you over the years of compounding?
For instance that $60K that could earn 6% (before taxes/expenses) will double in 12 years, then double again is another 12. So spend $60K now and 24 years from now when you are what not even 55 this car will have cost you $240K.
Then there are the running costs. While you get the car for $60K remember it cost probably over twice that much new and these cars as they age do not get any cheaper to maintain or repair.
My rule of thumb is buying one of these cars should not take your life savings at all. The money used to buy the car should come from separate savings account, mad money or something. I know there is the desire to live for today for one may not be here tomorrow, but most of us will be here tomorrow and for a long time to come.
For instance, my Dad lived to be 95. He retired at around 60 and lived 35 years retired. He was almost retired for longer than he worked after he got out of college (he entered college after he was discharged from the Navy back in 1946). At the end, the last 2 years or so, he and Mom were paying $72K/year for care and just a few days before Dad died the care home raised the care home fee to $84K/year! Even at $72K/year this was about $30K more per year than they were making.
Fortunately my Dad (and Mom) were fiscally conservative and had sufficient savings that none of us children had to help them financially.
My belief is a car purchase like the Turbo should not take any money from retirement, or the kid's college fund, or a down payment for a house fund.
My 1st Porsche was funded by years of hard work and savings -- easy to do since I worked a lot and didn't have time to spend my money -- and doing without some things (like expensive vacations, fancy cars, big screen TVs, etc.) and some stock options that I managed to cash in. Also, I had been fully funding my retirement via max. contribution to a 401(K) plan. (Later on, when I became eligible to do so, I also plowed as much as I could into catch up contributions.)
13 years later and with my 3rd Porsche now I have saved over $1M on my way to $2M and could retire if I wanted to. I don't want to, particularly, but let me point out that I may have to retire even if I do not want to as I was laid off last Sept and have not found a job yet. At my age (63) finding work is tough. My point is you have to plan for what may happen, not what you want happen or think will happen. I'm very glad I held off buying my Porsche until I did, when I was 51. I am very glad I started saving for retirement when I did and being very aggressive about it. (Dear old Dad encouraged me to do this and I am sure glad I listened to him! Thanks Dad!)
OP - I never experience a near death episode, but you came close and got out alive and strong. I agree life may take unexpected turns for good or worse, but you seem like a very well calculated young men. I think you got your finances in place at early age, did you buy a house yet? If not, may be it is a better investment before getting into luxury sport cars.
I am in my mid 30s, married with kid, bought a condo, open a business and still working full time as a medical professional. I just bought my 997.1TT a couple of months ago but after I got all of my priorities first. Whatever you decide to do, I think you are smart enough to calculate all the risks and benefits. Good luck bro
Last edited by Gotgolf52; Feb 12, 2015 at 06:28 PM.
I know as i track my car. But i realized wait its less than a second, is that lag? I dont know if its lag or the ECU. I think its lag, but even when i brake boost it still is like" are you sure you want to do this? OK here we go" When I drive in sport mode more it seems that time is less and less but still there a little.
Yes it's turbo lag. I've been able to reduce lag with exhaust and tune. Never officially measure the time it takes from when my foot presses the pedal to when the car actually accelerates, but in my estimation it was a good half second stock and now maybe a tenth of the second or less, so a dramatic improvement. Perhaps with headers it would further quicken the response but those are pretty pricey.
I have another track car with instantaneous throttle response. Being able to accelerate exactly when you want inspires a lot more confidence and allows precise control of the car.
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Lag. glorious thing.
need more displacement, no turbos, etc to get rid of that. its just a feel. Even my 1000+hp 6.3L V8 turbo lagged. Its just the way turbos make power. even with anti lag you feel it.
Part of the fun of the car really..
I remember when the LS1 came out all the LT1 guys claimed that it was "gutless" because it no bottom end and was all top end. After enough dynos, people realized that the motors were similar (usually nod to LS1) on the bottom end.. its just the extra top end made the bottom end feel slow.
need more displacement, no turbos, etc to get rid of that. its just a feel. Even my 1000+hp 6.3L V8 turbo lagged. Its just the way turbos make power. even with anti lag you feel it.
Part of the fun of the car really..
I remember when the LS1 came out all the LT1 guys claimed that it was "gutless" because it no bottom end and was all top end. After enough dynos, people realized that the motors were similar (usually nod to LS1) on the bottom end.. its just the extra top end made the bottom end feel slow.
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Well, I am going to be in the minority but my advice is to not buy the car.
30% of your savings is bad enough, but do you realize that losing that money now how much money this costs you over the years of compounding?
For instance that $60K that could earn 6% (before taxes/expenses) will double in 12 years, then double again is another 12. So spend $60K now and 24 years from now when you are what not even 55 this car will have cost you $240K.
Then there are the running costs. While you get the car for $60K remember it cost probably over twice that much new and these cars as they age do not get any cheaper to maintain or repair.
My rule of thumb is buying one of these cars should not take your life savings at all. The money used to buy the car should come from separate savings account, mad money or something. I know there is the desire to live for today for one may not be here tomorrow, but most of us will be here tomorrow and for a long time to come.
For instance, my Dad lived to be 95. He retired at around 60 and lived 35 years retired. He was almost retired for longer than he worked after he got out of college (he entered college after he was discharged from the Navy back in 1946). At the end, the last 2 years or so, he and Mom were paying $72K/year for care and just a few days before Dad died the care home raised the care home fee to $84K/year! Even at $72K/year this was about $30K more per year than they were making.
Fortunately my Dad (and Mom) were fiscally conservative and had sufficient savings that none of us children had to help them financially.
My belief is a car purchase like the Turbo should not take any money from retirement, or the kid's college fund, or a down payment for a house fund.
My 1st Porsche was funded by years of hard work and savings -- easy to do since I worked a lot and didn't have time to spend my money -- and doing without some things (like expensive vacations, fancy cars, big screen TVs, etc.) and some stock options that I managed to cash in. Also, I had been fully funding my retirement via max. contribution to a 401(K) plan. (Later on, when I became eligible to do so, I also plowed as much as I could into catch up contributions.)
13 years later and with my 3rd Porsche now I have saved over $1M on my way to $2M and could retire if I wanted to. I don't want to, particularly, but let me point out that I may have to retire even if I do not want to as I was laid off last Sept and have not found a job yet. At my age (63) finding work is tough. My point is you have to plan for what may happen, not what you want happen or think will happen. I'm very glad I held off buying my Porsche until I did, when I was 51. I am very glad I started saving for retirement when I did and being very aggressive about it. (Dear old Dad encouraged me to do this and I am sure glad I listened to him! Thanks Dad!)
30% of your savings is bad enough, but do you realize that losing that money now how much money this costs you over the years of compounding?
For instance that $60K that could earn 6% (before taxes/expenses) will double in 12 years, then double again is another 12. So spend $60K now and 24 years from now when you are what not even 55 this car will have cost you $240K.
Then there are the running costs. While you get the car for $60K remember it cost probably over twice that much new and these cars as they age do not get any cheaper to maintain or repair.
My rule of thumb is buying one of these cars should not take your life savings at all. The money used to buy the car should come from separate savings account, mad money or something. I know there is the desire to live for today for one may not be here tomorrow, but most of us will be here tomorrow and for a long time to come.
For instance, my Dad lived to be 95. He retired at around 60 and lived 35 years retired. He was almost retired for longer than he worked after he got out of college (he entered college after he was discharged from the Navy back in 1946). At the end, the last 2 years or so, he and Mom were paying $72K/year for care and just a few days before Dad died the care home raised the care home fee to $84K/year! Even at $72K/year this was about $30K more per year than they were making.
Fortunately my Dad (and Mom) were fiscally conservative and had sufficient savings that none of us children had to help them financially.
My belief is a car purchase like the Turbo should not take any money from retirement, or the kid's college fund, or a down payment for a house fund.
My 1st Porsche was funded by years of hard work and savings -- easy to do since I worked a lot and didn't have time to spend my money -- and doing without some things (like expensive vacations, fancy cars, big screen TVs, etc.) and some stock options that I managed to cash in. Also, I had been fully funding my retirement via max. contribution to a 401(K) plan. (Later on, when I became eligible to do so, I also plowed as much as I could into catch up contributions.)
13 years later and with my 3rd Porsche now I have saved over $1M on my way to $2M and could retire if I wanted to. I don't want to, particularly, but let me point out that I may have to retire even if I do not want to as I was laid off last Sept and have not found a job yet. At my age (63) finding work is tough. My point is you have to plan for what may happen, not what you want happen or think will happen. I'm very glad I held off buying my Porsche until I did, when I was 51. I am very glad I started saving for retirement when I did and being very aggressive about it. (Dear old Dad encouraged me to do this and I am sure glad I listened to him! Thanks Dad!)
"My rule of thumb is buying one of these cars should not take your life savings at all. The money used to buy the car should come from separate savings account, mad money or something."
This is semantic quible. The guy has put all his money in one pot. If he'd set aside the money earlier to fit your rule, the net effect would be nothing. He should separate his money so he can keep track of his goals and know when he is definitely saving "enough" and when he can spend some money, but doing it after the fact is fine.
" I know there is the desire to live for today for one may not be here tomorrow, but most of us will be here tomorrow and for a long time to come. Obviously you should have savings goals and stick to them, but that's another issue. "
Most of us will not live to be 90 something and while I agree that you should have a contingency plan, I'd say that investing in long term care insurance would be more reason. He is already way ahead of the game on savings.
I'm making some guesses here, but from his finances it looks like he should be able to put 15% down on the car, payments for 5 years, and still save 10% for retirement and 10% for savings.
No offense but owning a 911 turbo in your "prime" as a single guy with time on your hands and a 30 year olds social life is a very different experience than owning it as an older family man, and in my opinion, is worth a lot.
He's in canada as well, which as far as i know should give him access to elder care without the expenses associated with it in the US
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Lag. glorious thing.
need more displacement, no turbos, etc to get rid of that. its just a feel. Even my 1000+hp 6.3L V8 turbo lagged. Its just the way turbos make power. even with anti lag you feel it.
Part of the fun of the car really..
I remember when the LS1 came out all the LT1 guys claimed that it was "gutless" because it no bottom end and was all top end. After enough dynos, people realized that the motors were similar (usually nod to LS1) on the bottom end.. its just the extra top end made the bottom end feel slow.
need more displacement, no turbos, etc to get rid of that. its just a feel. Even my 1000+hp 6.3L V8 turbo lagged. Its just the way turbos make power. even with anti lag you feel it.
Part of the fun of the car really..
I remember when the LS1 came out all the LT1 guys claimed that it was "gutless" because it no bottom end and was all top end. After enough dynos, people realized that the motors were similar (usually nod to LS1) on the bottom end.. its just the extra top end made the bottom end feel slow.
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If I were you, OP, I would get it.
Most people buying 8 year old 911's don't have 180k in the bank.
BTW - I, too, have had a near death experience that has caused me to rethink the way I live life to this very day. I can totally relate with the way you're thinking right now.
Most people buying 8 year old 911's don't have 180k in the bank.
BTW - I, too, have had a near death experience that has caused me to rethink the way I live life to this very day. I can totally relate with the way you're thinking right now.
Hey, I think it's great that you're looking to get one. But honestly at the end of the day............(and I'm not trying to sound like an @$$ but..............YOU DON'T NEED OUR OPINIONS!!!
If you want the car, get the dang car. If it's gonna break you financially............my advice or opinion really doesn't matter and you don't need it.
If you want the car, get the dang car. If it's gonna break you financially............my advice or opinion really doesn't matter and you don't need it.
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depending on what part of the country you live in , there are better ways to get your dream car without killing your savings.
saved up $45k to buy the car.
at the last minute - spent 40k cash on a duplex and put 5k into rehab. paint and flooring. rented each side out for $450.
got a loan for the car , and had the tenants make my car payment.
4 years later- owned the car and duplex outright.
saved up $45k to buy the car.
at the last minute - spent 40k cash on a duplex and put 5k into rehab. paint and flooring. rented each side out for $450.
got a loan for the car , and had the tenants make my car payment.
4 years later- owned the car and duplex outright.
A friend of mine worked out a formula to drive an almost new high-end car every couple of years. The key is to buy a car at roughly 2 years old, with around 20,000 miles on the odometer. Depending on the car, this allows you to purchase it for roughly 60% of the original sticker price. Drive it for two years and sell it before it hits 48,000 miles. In this two year period, cars depreciate very little. If you go past 4 years or past 48,000 miles, then the value drops quickly. He has done this with a few BMWs, and I know that he generally sells or trades them for only about $5,000 less than he paid for them. Driving an almost new BMW for two years for $5,000 isn't a bad deal...
Well, I am going to be in the minority but my advice is to not buy the car.
30% of your savings is bad enough, but do you realize that losing that money now how much money this costs you over the years of compounding?
For instance that $60K that could earn 6% (before taxes/expenses) will double in 12 years, then double again is another 12. So spend $60K now and 24 years from now when you are what not even 55 this car will have cost you $240K.
Then there are the running costs. While you get the car for $60K remember it cost probably over twice that much new and these cars as they age do not get any cheaper to maintain or repair.
My rule of thumb is buying one of these cars should not take your life savings at all. The money used to buy the car should come from separate savings account, mad money or something. I know there is the desire to live for today for one may not be here tomorrow, but most of us will be here tomorrow and for a long time to come.
For instance, my Dad lived to be 95. He retired at around 60 and lived 35 years retired. He was almost retired for longer than he worked after he got out of college (he entered college after he was discharged from the Navy back in 1946). At the end, the last 2 years or so, he and Mom were paying $72K/year for care and just a few days before Dad died the care home raised the care home fee to $84K/year! Even at $72K/year this was about $30K more per year than they were making.
Fortunately my Dad (and Mom) were fiscally conservative and had sufficient savings that none of us children had to help them financially.
My belief is a car purchase like the Turbo should not take any money from retirement, or the kid's college fund, or a down payment for a house fund.
My 1st Porsche was funded by years of hard work and savings -- easy to do since I worked a lot and didn't have time to spend my money -- and doing without some things (like expensive vacations, fancy cars, big screen TVs, etc.) and some stock options that I managed to cash in. Also, I had been fully funding my retirement via max. contribution to a 401(K) plan. (Later on, when I became eligible to do so, I also plowed as much as I could into catch up contributions.)
13 years later and with my 3rd Porsche now I have saved over $1M on my way to $2M and could retire if I wanted to. I don't want to, particularly, but let me point out that I may have to retire even if I do not want to as I was laid off last Sept and have not found a job yet. At my age (63) finding work is tough. My point is you have to plan for what may happen, not what you want happen or think will happen. I'm very glad I held off buying my Porsche until I did, when I was 51. I am very glad I started saving for retirement when I did and being very aggressive about it. (Dear old Dad encouraged me to do this and I am sure glad I listened to him! Thanks Dad!)
30% of your savings is bad enough, but do you realize that losing that money now how much money this costs you over the years of compounding?
For instance that $60K that could earn 6% (before taxes/expenses) will double in 12 years, then double again is another 12. So spend $60K now and 24 years from now when you are what not even 55 this car will have cost you $240K.
Then there are the running costs. While you get the car for $60K remember it cost probably over twice that much new and these cars as they age do not get any cheaper to maintain or repair.
My rule of thumb is buying one of these cars should not take your life savings at all. The money used to buy the car should come from separate savings account, mad money or something. I know there is the desire to live for today for one may not be here tomorrow, but most of us will be here tomorrow and for a long time to come.
For instance, my Dad lived to be 95. He retired at around 60 and lived 35 years retired. He was almost retired for longer than he worked after he got out of college (he entered college after he was discharged from the Navy back in 1946). At the end, the last 2 years or so, he and Mom were paying $72K/year for care and just a few days before Dad died the care home raised the care home fee to $84K/year! Even at $72K/year this was about $30K more per year than they were making.
Fortunately my Dad (and Mom) were fiscally conservative and had sufficient savings that none of us children had to help them financially.
My belief is a car purchase like the Turbo should not take any money from retirement, or the kid's college fund, or a down payment for a house fund.
My 1st Porsche was funded by years of hard work and savings -- easy to do since I worked a lot and didn't have time to spend my money -- and doing without some things (like expensive vacations, fancy cars, big screen TVs, etc.) and some stock options that I managed to cash in. Also, I had been fully funding my retirement via max. contribution to a 401(K) plan. (Later on, when I became eligible to do so, I also plowed as much as I could into catch up contributions.)
13 years later and with my 3rd Porsche now I have saved over $1M on my way to $2M and could retire if I wanted to. I don't want to, particularly, but let me point out that I may have to retire even if I do not want to as I was laid off last Sept and have not found a job yet. At my age (63) finding work is tough. My point is you have to plan for what may happen, not what you want happen or think will happen. I'm very glad I held off buying my Porsche until I did, when I was 51. I am very glad I started saving for retirement when I did and being very aggressive about it. (Dear old Dad encouraged me to do this and I am sure glad I listened to him! Thanks Dad!)
I get what you are saying, but i don't agree.
Most of us will not live to be 90 something and while I agree that you should have a contingency plan, I'd say that investing in long term care insurance would be more reason. He is already way ahead of the game on savings.
...
He's in canada as well, which as far as i know should give him access to elder care without the expenses associated with it in the US
Most of us will not live to be 90 something and while I agree that you should have a contingency plan, I'd say that investing in long term care insurance would be more reason. He is already way ahead of the game on savings.
...
He's in canada as well, which as far as i know should give him access to elder care without the expenses associated with it in the US
I got to be honest with you, not rubbing it in, but our health care is much better than what you guys have in the US. My brother has a medical condition which requires him to take medication daily: without government assistance, he would need to pay $500/month for his medication. Right now, he pays a $300 deductible each year, that's it. I don't know how much longer the Canadian government can subsidize healthcare given the rapid aging on the baby boomers, so it is good to save something for the rainy day.
Hey, I think it's great that you're looking to get one. But honestly at the end of the day............(and I'm not trying to sound like an @$$ but..............YOU DON'T NEED OUR OPINIONS!!!
If you want the car, get the dang car. If it's gonna break you financially............my advice or opinion really doesn't matter and you don't need it.
If you want the car, get the dang car. If it's gonna break you financially............my advice or opinion really doesn't matter and you don't need it.
However, this is like a host on a radio show asking people to call in to tell him whether or not they love the radio show. Its not a fair survey because those who don't like the radio show wouldn't have tuned-in in the first place. Just like how people who thinks a 911 is a poor investment is not going to be on a forum for Porsche owners :P
I guess I'm just looking for some moral support before I put my money in what I consider as an expensive toy.
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Interesting thread. I can certainly understand all the variables since I'm not wealthy.....but I'm willing to save to satisfy my car habit. It took 4 years to save for my 996TT, and 9 years for my recently purchased Lamborghini Diablo roadster. And I'm now 1 year into saving for the next car.
My only rule of thumb is that I don't touch household funds. Over the past 9 years I worked over 2,000 hours of overtime ($71,000 from that alone), worked multiple jobs on the side, sold vacation time back to the company, and other things.
My only rule of thumb is that I don't touch household funds. Over the past 9 years I worked over 2,000 hours of overtime ($71,000 from that alone), worked multiple jobs on the side, sold vacation time back to the company, and other things.
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Interesting post indeed. I am also looking very heavily at a 997.1TT for the summer. I too am in Canada, 2007s are starting to creep into the high $60s for cars with 50,000km.
I have a terrible mod addiction with my cars and I have been farting around in the BMW scene for a decade. I have always wanted a 911 turbo and recently I had the chance to drive the PTF shop car which has totally changed my perspective on cars.
I am 42 years old, I have a house, 2 beautiful girls and an incredibley supportive wife. I have a MK7 GTI that I daily drive now and am looking to move on from the BMW scene and trade in my M3 on a 2007 997TT.
My advice is simple, if you are not hand to mouth with the car, why not. Life is far too short and we work far too hard to not reward ourselves. I am going to jump into the P-Car scene in a few short months, it will stretch me a little more financially but I am going to do it.
I have a terrible mod addiction with my cars and I have been farting around in the BMW scene for a decade. I have always wanted a 911 turbo and recently I had the chance to drive the PTF shop car which has totally changed my perspective on cars.
I am 42 years old, I have a house, 2 beautiful girls and an incredibley supportive wife. I have a MK7 GTI that I daily drive now and am looking to move on from the BMW scene and trade in my M3 on a 2007 997TT.
My advice is simple, if you are not hand to mouth with the car, why not. Life is far too short and we work far too hard to not reward ourselves. I am going to jump into the P-Car scene in a few short months, it will stretch me a little more financially but I am going to do it.
Last edited by Irishace; Feb 15, 2015 at 07:53 AM.