Being able to own a Ferrari
 

Hi,
I have been a car enthusiast for a while and I've come to appreciate luxury/exotic automobiles. Unfortunately I am not able to purchase myself a car like the ferrari (or aston martin, bentley etc..) so I have a admirable respect for those who can. The question I have is quite general and I really hope its appropriate for this board... but what do you Ferrari (or any exotic for that matter) do for a living and whats the salary range? I know that this question may be personal but I always wanted to know what it takes to own an exotic. Obviously life is more than just engines and carbon fiber seats but I know everyone has their hobby :)

I am a young professional so my wealth is only beginning to accumulate and I hope one day that I can enjoy an exotic sportscar.

Thank you :cool:

Get a porsche its Attainable + you can use it as a daily driver

Thanks for the reply and good answer!

But I this question is sorta on the more curious side since I wanted to know who (job they do/salary range) is able to rake out so much money for a car.

To be more extreme, who in the world owns a Veyron.

A porsche, ferrari, lamborghini etc.. can all be attainable for lower prices (sometimes) and Daily D's. but they all cost alot of$$$$ to maintain once u have it, if u were able to get one for a decent price you gotta remember all those cars are over 100k new so ur always going to paying to maintain a 100k+ car. Its not quite as simple as getting one for a attainable price. Then it depends on what ur budget is, to determine what exactly "attainable" is, because its definitely different for everyone.

Rap.

im a DJ and a playboy

Source/amount required
 

I am retired. Its not your job or how much you make, its how much disposable funds, time, skill and effort you are willing to spend on your car hobby. I have the time and ability to perform my own maintenance and a significant percent of the product refinements I incorporate. If I screw up there are professionals available to mend my mistakes. I find it very satisfying to be able to participate.

Agreed with the above. There are attainable Porsche's, Ferrari's, etc. It isn't the purchase price necessarily that is the bar to ownership it is the maintenence.

May I respectfully suggest that you not focus on the income it takes to own an exotic but instead focus on making sure that your financial house is in order with minimum to no debt. If you can do that, the rest will take care of itself.

Using the rule of halves...If you make $100,000 a year you may afford a $50,000 car. If you want a brand new Ferrari then you have to make at least $500,000 gross yearly income. Hope this helps.

Vic

I think it's just as important to be selective with the money you DO have as it is to make money in the first place. "A penny saved, is a penny earned" is a great cliche, IMO. For me, If I save money in one place, I can put it in another place. If I do without one thing, I can have another, etc. This is how I was/am able to afford the 997. I think that most people that drive expensive cars also have everything else that goes along with it...the house, etc., etc. But there are some that just have a few nice things and not much else...like me :).

I've heard that in order to buy a new Porsche comfortably, one would have to earn $300k per year. I think you can run the numbers yourself. Most people that earn between 30-50k per year can easily afford a 20-30k car. Do the math...the rule of halves, as stated above, is probably pretty accurate.

J

I like the thoughts being forwarded above and would like to add a bit from my experience. Not only is it dollars earned at a given volume but also the amount of time that it is being earned. It takes time for your "foundational" wealth to catch up to your earnings. $100k earned this year doesn't have the same impact as the $100k you earn next year, it's a compounding effect. Experience is a large factor in wealth, IMHO. Low to no debt is the starting place. Cool cars are in the cards if you truly understand your finances.

Quote- flinder and lacrosse

I agree with these two, Its not necessarily about how much you earn, but how much of it is disposable. There are alot of factors and variables involved.

If you have a wife, kids, mortgage or other debt that you need to put first It will leave less to go towards your hobbies. On the other hand if your a young single proffessional with little or no debt than you can feel comfortable about spending that extra money knowing the basics are taken care of.

In short, you will know when your making enough money to buy the Ferrari you want because when it comes time to cut the cheque you shouldn't have to stress cutting it.

Good luck in your journey!

It is all about priorities. If your sole goal in life is to own a 100k car I bet you will get it, even if you only make 50k a year. Anything is possible. There are 12 year financing programs out there, put all the maintenance on a credit card etc. From a financial aspect these practices would be foolish, but like I said it is all about priorities.

I know more then a few people that work at dealerships that sell 100k+ cars. They get to see customers finances on a daily basis. They tell me all sorts of wild stories. The joke from a friend that works at a Lambo dealership is that, "90% of lambo owners will tell you they paid cash their cars, while only about 10% really do."

Having just bought a used 996tt, I completely agree with the statements above about being able to afford the repairs and service of the vehicle. In the short period of ownership, I would have needed to spend about $5000 for for all the repairs if I didn't do all of the work myself. For me, if cost of owning a car is going to put a strain on my financial situation, I would rather not own it. As much as I love cars and all the joys it brings me, it's just not worth it...

I'm suprised this thread hasn't already disolved into the key to making money being training spider monkeys. :)

I personally don't believe in the rule of halves. When I made $100k/yr, I didn't think I had any business owning a $50k car. But my long term goal wasn't to own a nice car by XX age. It was to be able to do what ever I wanted in my 50's - including own and race cool cars. As people have already stated, its about priorities. You might find, as I did, that owning a modern ferrari isn't near as cool as the process of saving or shopping for it. They depreciate, they are expensive to maintain, and to drive them on the limit, you need to be on a race track. Even though I could "afford" it, it wasn't good for my long term goals and I thought about that almost every time I got in it. So I sold it. I'll tell you soon if classic ferraris make an individual feel the same way. :)

As for jobs, I don't think this is rocket science. Go and look at the careers that either contain a high percentage of car nuts, or a high annual income. Sales, executive roles in business, business owners or people in just about any field as long as they have estailished they are the top couple percent of people who do that job.

save your pennies. don't live beyond your means. only spend money on things that matter. keep a budget.

good luck.