vader1

I sort of have a general rule that I keep $x of my take home so that I can have fun month to month and travel a lot. Maxing out allowable retirement is a Must. What is left after that is for cars. I think the extra $20k in a payment would be too high. Although if I bought NEW, you bring up the possibility of taking Dad on an ED trip and driving Europe. The only part of this is, my mom has early stages of alzheimers and he only feels comfortable leaving her in someones care for a few day road trip and not any thing extended.

It is not so much a matter of extending retirement a few months as I can't justify that much money on something I can only drive 3,000 miles and 7 months in a year. I am trying to be financially disciplined, but it is hard.

vader1

Will PM.

clawhammer

Unfortunately it's a bit more complicated than that. Back of a napkin math:

$50,000 financed over 5 years at 2% interest works out to $876/month
$70,000 financed over 5 years at 2% interest works out to $1227/month

Let's assume that the difference of $350/month comes out of his retirement savings. Assuming OP is 50 now, and is planning on retiring at 62, reducing his contributions by $350/month for 5 years will cause him to lose out on approximately $35,600 of retirement savings (assumption is 6% ROI). However, in 12 years, he is planning on selling the Porshe. After 12 years, let's assume the $50k Porsche is worth $20k, but the $70k Porsche is worth $30k. So OP can take the extra $10,000, and now his retirement savings is only down by $25,600.

Let's fast forward 12 years. Using the assumptions above, OP is now 62 years old. Had he bought the $50k Porsche, he would be ready to retire. But he needs to make up the $25,600 shortfall by working a few more months. Assuming he is maxing out his 401k and a ROTH IRA and the contributions limits for both will increase at 2% a year, in 12 years OP will be socking away $1902/month into his 401k and $687/month into his ROTH IRA. Rounding it down, that's $2500/month. Assuming OP has $5000/month in living expenses at age 62, if he works an extra two months, his overall retirement need will be reduced by $10,000, and because he is working and able to cover the $5000/month in living expenses out of his salary. So add it all up, $10,000 less needed for retirement, plus $5000/month of living expenses covered, plus and additional $5000 towards retirement roughly equals the $25,600 shortfall that he needed to make up.

Obviously there are a LOT of variables and assumptions. But my point was that in order to get the more expensive car, it would only cost the OP 2-3 extra months of work.

WolfpackS2k

FTR, I would only put my dog on the hump for a short drive. Nothing long distance. Also wouldn't disput Comso's force claims. I'm well aware of the physics involved with a car accident.

Looks like you'll be doing a lot of thinking over the next few months before the salt washes off the roads.

vader1

I was hoping to get a little 911 input if anyone has experience.


And just as an aside, I perused Boxster listings for the heck of it. It seems they must sell a couple times as many because the prices are way less expensive than Caymans. I am not a fan of the last generation Boxster, but the current model would be fine by me in S or GTS trim. Something I could consider when the time comes I guess. Yes I know, Clarkson would call it a hairdresser's car, but the current one looks fine to me.

Adrenalize

The current Boxster is the best looking edition to date, no question. Nevermind what Clarkson thinks about the car.

mosesbotbol

A neighbor at our summer house has an awesome brown metallic Boxster S. Sure is a looker! They really nailed the design on both models. I don't see them as "not a 911", but as just something different; not lacking.

CosmosMpower

Boxster base price is lower than Cayman to start as well. If you live in a climate where you can use a convertible a lot I'd probably opt for the Boxster, I think it looks better than the Cayman honestly in the 981 gen.

mosesbotbol

There's a slim chance Porsche may have to export Chinese market models to NASA as they are over inventoried and have been paying dealerships for their losing profits. Lotus did this a couple of years ago and the "Chinese Evoras" were a great deal. The Chinese Porsche dealerships can only have so many 2014's on their lot as 2015's are starting to populate the showroom floor. Will be interesting to see what happens and if deals could be had.

jeffbrig

If you're not planning to track the car, I'd also suggest giving the 981 Boxster S a hard look.

I currently drive a turbo 987 Cayman S. It's my daily, and I also track and autox it. It's 460hp of mid-engined awesomeness. I've also ridden along for hot laps in a 987.2 S, and 981 S. The 981 on R-comps with PDK was absolutely astonishing. In the hands of a fast driver, it delivers all the performance you would ever need and more. But you really can't go wrong with any of them, they're amazing cars. Huge step up from the s2000 (which I also own and love).

There really isn't much difference in feel between the 987.1 and 987.2, although you'll pay a solid premium for the perceived peace of mind that comes with the 987.2's DI engine. The IMS risk is blown out of proportion on the early 987s, as the failure rate is in the very low single digits. "D-chunk" is almost unheard of - although frequently mentioned on this board for some reason. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Yes, it would absolutely suck if either of these happened to you - but odds are overwhelmingly in your favor that it won't. If you're willing to take on a little risk, you can find a 987 for a steal these days. A PCA buddy of mine recently bought a high miles 2006 Cayman S for under $20k! He's turning it into a track car.

The 981 GTS or GT4 would be very tempting if I were in the market today. I'd take one of these over any 911 short of a turbo/GT3. The Cayman chassis layout and balance is superior to the 911. The 911 is evolving into more of a luxury GT. If it wasn't for Porsche's need to maintain the iconic 911 as its marquee car, I bet the Cayman would be even more amazing.