Hey guys…, I’m thinking about selling my 2008 GTS so I thought I'd solicit your your expertise on what a fair price might be with all that’s included. I LOVE the vehicle but I’m trying to focus on reducing expenses and increasing income for a while as I’m planning a significant addition on my house so that my lovely lass can move in with me after our still steamy 10 year love affair (I think we both deserve credit – me for holding out for 10 yrs and her for putting up with me for 10 yrs!). I’m sure most of you fellow enthusiasts can relate to how much she (referring to my GF here) means to me given that I’m actually considering giving up my 3rd child (I have 2 other “real” children 17 & 20 as does she, 20 & 22) to make room for her and her 2 great kids (yes, I know – most of them should be on their own by now and they are occasionally, but we still want to have the space for all 4 of our kids as we really enjoy having them around). And yes, I’d love to marry her if she’ll have me as I don’t want to risk her even considering an alternative. This is a totally new concept for me (giving up my motorhead passion for a while, not marriage) and when my siblings catch wind of this they’ll surely have me committed (they love Linda too but they won’t believe that I’d sell a car for love!).

Anyhow, on to “Peppa”… I don’t have any pics just yet but I’ll take a full set soon and will share them with you. That said, the vehicle is not showroom new (at least not to me) but whenever I introduce her for the first time, especially to my non-motorhead friends, I often get that question. She's clearly in great shape, but to my critical eye she does show a bit of normal aging here and there but nothing that would jump out at you. I’m not borderline OCD with care and maintenance, I’m clearly acute OCD…

Peppa is currently up to 25,200 miles of pure driving bliss, exclusively on-road. Pads & rotors are 5,000 miles old. Summer Michelins (OEM Lattitude Sport N0 295/35/21) are 2000 miles old (21” on standard GTS wheels). Winter Michelin Alpines mounted on 18” turbo wheels are 3000 miles old (wheels are 3000 miles old too). And, I also have a transferable warranty by CNA Warranty Corporation good until Oct. 20, 2015 or 80,000 miles, and the OEM warranty is good for just a couple more weeks (till April 22). Essentially she’s got a 3.5 yr warranty unless you drive a ton…

I’m the second owner so I don’t have the original window sticker, but I had my buddy Chris at Ira Porsche run a background check on her for me. She’s not fully optioned but she does have some very attractive, and sometimes hard to find packaged together, options with which she seduced me in the first place. Options such as PDCC, extended leather, heated rear seats, and thicker 2-tone steering wheel made her quite sexy in my eye. Oh, she's also got a Tooki in the dash for your bluetooth phone and is wired for a V1. Here’s the full rundown of how she was dressed from the factory…

2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS
VIN WP1AD29P98LA72781

• Tiptronic S
• Jarama Beige Metallic (fairly rare color?)
• Extended Leather Stone Grey Interior w/Alcantara inserts & headliner
• Floor Mats (2 sets – carpeted & winter rubber)
• Light Comfort Package/Memory
• Park Assist Front and Rear
• Porsche Communication Management
• PDCC (love this!)
• Moonroof
• Bi-Xenon Headlights w/ Washers
• Sport Design package
• Ski bag
• BOSE(R) Surround Sound System
• Stainless Steel Front & Rear Skid Plates
• Aluminum Look Wing Mirrors (these, along with the skid plates look very classy on her)
• Front & Rear Seat Heaters inc. Steering Wheel
• 6-disc CD Changer
• Indicator for Custom Tailoring (whatever that is???)
• Instrument Dials in Sand White (goes well with the overall theme)
• Thicker Steering Wheel 2 Tone
• Original retail price $96,435.00

I’m still not fully committed to letting her go but given her background and amenities I thought I’d ask you guys for some input as a way to at least help me to get the ball rolling. Without the winter wheel package and warranty I'm guessing around high 40's or perhaps even 50ish? And with the winters and warranty...? Pics later this week if I can find the time…

 

Is this car paid off?

What expense would you be reducing?

What would you drive? Do you already own the other car?

What would that cost you?

How long could you hold out without an enthusiast vehicle before it ends up costing you more?


Typically the cheapest car you will ever own it the one you already own. Obviously in this case there are more variables to consider.

Will you be getting money back out of this car for the home remodel? Or is it just trying to save a payment?

 

Good questions, thanks for chiming in...

My main goal vehicle-wise is to significantly reduce my payment which is currently about $500/mth. I don't think I'd be able to handle getting something super cheap and boring for a couple years so I'm thinking something used in the $25K range could probably hold my interest for a while - perhaps a used BMW 5 series with a V8 and a manual tranny or something along those lines. I currently owe about $30K on the GTS so I would get some cash out of it that I can use toward its replacement.

 

*If* you can get $45ish out of it you can pick up something fun like a e39 M5 or Audi to keep all wheel drive and probbly get away with no payment at all if you just spend the differnce on the new car. (or even a high mileage older CTT )

That would leave you $500 month for the house. Which depending on the value, loan type etc could give you a deductible payment for the upgrades vs the non deductible car payment.

As long as you can live with an older, cheaper fun car then it could make sense.

Good luck with the transistion.

 

Thanks again, Cole. So you're thinking 45ish even with the extra wheels/snows and warranty? And an e39 M5 is actually on my short list - always loved those. My preference would be a clean '03...

 

Honestly I have no idea what a nice GTS with extras should go for. I was just kinda picking that number out of the air.

I would certainly weigh the opportunity cost there. If you don't get enough from it and have to take a loan to get the next car are you really accomplishing the short term goal?

 

A quick search of cars.com shows 41 certified used GTS for sale from about $45 to $73.

I would wander through some of those ads and narrow them by options and mileage until you find the closest match to yours and see where you land.

 

Excellent point. I'd like to reduce my payments by at least $300. Obviously the lower the better, but again, I don't want to have to get into an old Honda either...

Great advice - I'll do just that.

Thanks again, my friend...

 

If your loan is currently 500 per month, and is a typical auto loan, what is the interest rate?
To remodel your house you will probably get a home equity loan where the rate is super low, somewhere in the low 2%- 3%?
Borrow an additional 30K pay off the GTS, and your GTS payment is now probably under 200 per month because your spreading those payments out. And you get to write it off!

 

I think you are looking in the wrong direction to save money and frankly - after the sale and having paid back 30K you will be left with some money to buy a replacement vehicle and pay the sales taxes. Your cash stash will be gone before you know it. This might be the wrong time to throw your investment in your car away. As someone else suggested, a home equity loan , currently available at ultra low rates would definitely be something to look at. Sometimes you have to invest to save and 500 bucks per month is really not that big of a deal. If it is a big deal.. you have a bigger problem and this is not going to make the difference you are looking for. Good luck..

 

Thanks for all the input folks - very much appreciated. This is just in the thinking stages right now and I've still got more thinking and some number crunching to do as well. Out of the 67 vehicles I've owned the GTS is certainly within the top 2 or 3 but to be honest with everyone and to myself it is stretching the budget a bit - especially with several years of child support payments remaining. My child support payments will be cut in half in 2 years when my son graduates college so the general thought is that if I can sacrifice on the vehicle for a couple years after that I'll be in a much better position to afford a decent machine. In the meantime I can get the ball rolling on the addition. I'm such a car fanatic that it pains me to think I need to sacrifice in this department but I'm sure I can find something that at least doesn't bore me for a couple years. In 5 years my support payments will be done completely and at that point, given that I'm still gainfully employed (there's no such thing as permanent these days even though I've been with the same company for 20 years), everything will be much easier. Now that I think about it a bit more, I'll have no more college payments in 5 years either so perhaps if I set my sights on a nice reward at that time (perhaps a new 2017 Cayenne GTS at that point) I'll have the motivation to get through it and to focus on Linda and the house for a while. Cars are really my only hobby (well, and my kids sports, but that's relatively cheap) and is the one outlet I allow myself. Turning that down a couple notches for a couple years (but not completely eliminating it) should be doable. Thanks again my fellow enthusiast and understanding friends...

 

I've seen some really good deals (under $20) on B6 S4 Audis. (340hp V8). Gets Cayenne like fuel mileage but a sexy sounding exhaust, fun to drive and AWD. The 4.2l Audi V8 is probably one of the most rock solid motors Audi makes.

 

so what did you end up doing GTS Jay?

 

I ended up selling the GTS and I bought a 2007 Audi A8 with high mileage that I'm driving for now. Actually a very nice car for the money. I was laid off a few months ago so I'm going to stick with the A8 at least until I find a new job. I have a perfect set of Michelin snow tires mounted & balanced on the older style turbo wheels if anyone is interested. I posted them in the for sale section. They're just about brand new...

 

I'm sorry to hear that about the job. Good luck with everything.