How Rich Should You Be to Own a Porsche?
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As Gotgolf52 stated, life is uncertain. I lost my dad, my uncle, our dog, and we lost our family dog this year. My dad was a self-made millionaire. He came from China with not a penny in his pocket and worked his whole life to make sure that his family was well taken care of. He hardly ever took a vacation. Now he wasn't uber rich, but he was solidly upper middle class. He had wanted a Mercedes R129 SL500 convertible for a very long time. Finally he asked me one day if he should buy it. I told him wholeheartedly "YES!!! Go enjoy yourself! All your kids have great educations and we all have our own professional careers." And so he did. But he only got to drive it for 2 years before he had to have multiple major surgeries after which he was never able to drive again. He spent the next 11 years in a wheelchair and bedridden until he passed away earlier this year. I have that car in my garage still. He gave it to me a few years ago when he realized he'd never drive again. I don't really drive it much at all. I should probably sell it. But I can't bring myself to do that with all its sentimental value. So I have a mint SL500 with only 17k on it. After he passed and then my uncle, I started to think "gee I'm only 27 years younger than my dad". I may not have all that much time. I'm not as well off as dad was. I have a lot of responsibilities still, having had kids very late in life. But I decided what the heck. A few more years and I'm going to have a hard time even getting in and out of a sports car! So I just wired the money today for a 2011 Carrera GTS in GT Silver. My point is if you feel comfortable parting with the money and it won't endanger your welfare or that of your family - DO IT!!! Happy New Year!
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Thank you! Dad was always grateful to have come to this country. He escaped crushing WWII poverty in China, barely escaping from the Japanese invaders. He lost many relatives and his brother died of starvation. I'm glad he was able to enjoy his cherished SL for a couple years at least.
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I am embarrassed to type this question on here.
Its naive, and perhaps insulting... and immature.
But I have to ask it.
I am a 31 year old guy, a little immature..young looking.. not yet married, and make around 200 a year. I live in a 150k condo, nothing that brings me in much debt at all. I have no kids and a GF that pays for a lot of stuff herself (hehe).
I am an internet entrepreneur that kind of has some weird websites going that make my income. I do not have a reliable profession.
I currently drive a 2004 3 series BMW that is kind of dated and is kind of boring me. It has over 100k miles, and is probably worth 8k.
I have a lot of money saved up, and I am just kind of bored. I want to get a toy. I was just about to buy a Carrera S but backed out, because I felt insecure about my income stream.. and.. ultimately.. I guess the image of driving a Porsche.
You see, I do not want people to see me and think I am driving a 100k car (I was looking at spending 40-45k on a porsche, which wouldn't be a big deal at all) and that I am likely a millionaire. Because I am not.
Do not get me wrong, I want to look good.
But ultimately I want a stylish toy that I love driving.
But I really cannot make up my mind on this. I feel it makes perhaps too bold of a statement for me, a younger person , driving a porsche around.. yet at the same tiem I find them kind of low key. They are not Ferrari.
Perhaps it also depends on where you live. Seems like everyone in LA drives them.
I dont know, I really hope this doesn't offend anyone. <--- But perhaps me saying that is the source of my problem -- I care too much about people judging me.
Its naive, and perhaps insulting... and immature.
But I have to ask it.
I am a 31 year old guy, a little immature..young looking.. not yet married, and make around 200 a year. I live in a 150k condo, nothing that brings me in much debt at all. I have no kids and a GF that pays for a lot of stuff herself (hehe).
I am an internet entrepreneur that kind of has some weird websites going that make my income. I do not have a reliable profession.
I currently drive a 2004 3 series BMW that is kind of dated and is kind of boring me. It has over 100k miles, and is probably worth 8k.
I have a lot of money saved up, and I am just kind of bored. I want to get a toy. I was just about to buy a Carrera S but backed out, because I felt insecure about my income stream.. and.. ultimately.. I guess the image of driving a Porsche.
You see, I do not want people to see me and think I am driving a 100k car (I was looking at spending 40-45k on a porsche, which wouldn't be a big deal at all) and that I am likely a millionaire. Because I am not.
Do not get me wrong, I want to look good.
But ultimately I want a stylish toy that I love driving.
But I really cannot make up my mind on this. I feel it makes perhaps too bold of a statement for me, a younger person , driving a porsche around.. yet at the same tiem I find them kind of low key. They are not Ferrari.
Perhaps it also depends on where you live. Seems like everyone in LA drives them.
I dont know, I really hope this doesn't offend anyone. <--- But perhaps me saying that is the source of my problem -- I care too much about people judging me.
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31 is the best age to buy one. I make half of what you make and have always been insecure being the Fat Middle aged balding man driving a porsche.
That insecurity made me buy my car as a 30th birthday gift. Had to do it as long as i looked good along with the car. LOL
You are thinking too much. Go out and treat yourself.
That insecurity made me buy my car as a 30th birthday gift. Had to do it as long as i looked good along with the car. LOL
You are thinking too much. Go out and treat yourself.
.
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This is a topic that seems to come up on many car forums, whether it be Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini etc. It usually is either how rich you should or need to be to own something or how to be successful in life or what is success. Because of all the cars I've owned and other reasons people assume I must be a success in life, also the fact that I happen to have a tall blond model gorgeous women in my life also seems to make them think that way as well. I live a few miles from the local Ferrari dealer and within 15 miles pretty every exotic car company has a dealership. There is a lot of money in a very small area they call the main line. Most people are surprised to find out that I never made it past the 8th grade and I was homeless and living on the streets at one point in my life. I used to think success was doing everything people told me I could not do and for the most part from writing novels (working on my third right now) to designing and patenting parts and systems for cars as well as owning multiple companies you could say I made it. Then I realized that is not success at all. Being a great dad to my kids (both hers and mine) being a great partner to the women I love and most of all giving back something to the world instead of just taking up space in it. In other words I have learned money is not what makes you successful, it might make you rich but success, well that is for each of us to decide what that is and for me it's not driving a Porsche, or a Ferrari, or any car.
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Rich enough is a very subjective statement. I'd qualify being rich enough as... If you're out of warranty you need to be rich enough to pay for a new engine or take a near complete loss on the vehicle without batting an eye. This means sacking away $20k in a rainy day fund that is outside of your normal rainy day fund.
If you buy one with a warranty then that's another story, and a prudent one at that.
If you buy one with a warranty then that's another story, and a prudent one at that.
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HENRY's! Love it! That's what used to be called 'living above your means'. Now it's called 'conspicuous consumption', or 'under accumulator of wealth'.
Here's how Dr. Stanley defines 'wealthy' - "Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be."
If your net worth is equal to or above that number, buy the Porsche. Now you have mathematical justification!
Here's how Dr. Stanley defines 'wealthy' - "Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be."
If your net worth is equal to or above that number, buy the Porsche. Now you have mathematical justification!
Sweet! I made the cut off by 10K.
I guess I am in. Now to find the right one is another story.
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Some Porsche financial "Rules of Thumb(s)":
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
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Just curious, when doing these kinds of calculations, do you guys consider things like property equity as part of your wealth? Or only liquid funds/cash in bank?
Last edited by the997dude; Jan 9, 2015 at 04:01 PM.
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Liquid funds only. I wouldn't take out a home equity line of credit to fix my car.
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Some Porsche financial "Rules of Thumb(s)":
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 935
From: Maryland
Rep Power: 62
Some Porsche financial "Rules of Thumb(s)":
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
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Well said!
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Generally agree.
Some Porsche financial "Rules of Thumb(s)":
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
If you can't afford to write the check, you're not rich enough to buy it......
If you can't afford to fix it, you're not rich enough to mod it.......&
If you can't afford to write it off, you're not rich enough to take it to the track.......
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how rich?
Doesn't matter what people think. People that love cars will get it and people that complain are jealous. Get a Porsche and enjoy it. You can own a Porsche and be a jerk and own a tan camry and be a jerk. People will react to the vibe that you put out. One of the most important lessons you will learn in life is who cares what people think if you are being true to yourself.