bgoetz

And to address the actual question, 911 hands down. I have a good friend who has owned a crap ton of awesome cars including the GTR and 911, all of the negative GTR comments are spot on with his experience. And the comment of you don't truly understand a Porsche until you own one is exactly what he says. Now I will say this, he is currently driving a 991 and actually misses his Evora S that he sold to buy this.

I think these conversations are neat even if they get a bit side tracked. It is interesting to see the different mindsets that goes into spending this type of $ on something that will most likely depreciate, regardless of where you are financially.

white98ls

Yeah, that's what I like about it. While the contrast between M5 and S2k makes me love each one more (they are perfect complements to each other) it also highlights deficiencies. In the S2k in the twisties, I think "I wish this had the torque and sound of the Bimmer" and in the Bimmer I think "I wish this didn't feel so mushy." The C2S would have at least 80% of the best aspects of each car, combined into one.

I think it comes down to a more philosophical decision of two cars vs. one. With two cars you have more flexibility. I can track and DD a light, simple, tiny, nimble, cheaper car with lower-cost consumables, while having a big sedan for weekend trips and such. Meanwhile, wear and tear is spread between two cars and if one goes down I have a backup. Both have been very reliable, but the piece of mind is nice. However, having to register, insure, maintain and keep clean two cars (I don't have a garage) is a pain, esp. knowing that I could have an even more awesome ride in the 997S if I sell both.

I'm rambling... guess I'll just see what 997S prices will do (my guess is not move much from here for a while). Probably the biggest worry is combining the values of both cars into one + $5-7k, then tracking that car (I do ~3 track days a year). I'd rather track a $15k Honda and have another car I love on the side than track a $40k Porsche as my only car, with the cost of 19" tires, big brakes, and the ever-present risk of balling up my $40k only car...

Extreme Dimensions

Why not both?

Da New Yawka

When u live in a place with a lower cost of living, it means more money for shit u don't need!

He's down in Florida.

$70k down there with no kids is a nice amount of money. GF is making $35k.


His rent is probably $800ish a month for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment. ( Fiancée sister is paying $600 a month for a 1 bedroom in Orlando)


Housing is seeing double digit increases yearly the past few years though.

If you're still able to put money towards your retirement, house down payment, etc.

Then the balls in your court.

Don't forget this R35 is still going to be worth a nice amount if u decide 3 years from now to get rid of it.

rob-2

I'm normally a financial planner, a stickler for great deals and a saver.

Then a few things happened. I got divorced. I got re-married. My mother got stage 4 cancer. I have a son now. I dropped a lot of money on a wedding because my new wife hadn't had one.

I share this with you because a lot of this advice is the same advice I'd give you just a year ago. Our family savings rate is around 15% and after we buy a home we'll up that some more (God willing). We are putting off another kid for 6-10 months because a child costs about $1,500 if you can find reasonable daycare.

Here is the kicker. No matter how much you save you cannot determine when you'll get to enjoy it. My mother said to me shortly after getting cancer and learning she could never leave her city that she wished she'd taken the vacations, gone on the adventures and spent more of their money when they were healthier. They had put off several big trips hoping they'd do them in their retirement. My mother will never make it to 64.

I think the trick here is finding the balance between future retirement and enjoying today. You need to have 6 months living expenses saved, at a minimum before you go into debt for something.

If I was you, I'd buy the house prior to marriage and get a prenup. You own the home on your own and if life goes sideways you stay in your home, and your ex-wife moves out. Then I'd reflect carefully on what and how you want to do with your life. If you're the kind of person who wants to travel a lot and see the world, an $800 car payment doesn't make sense. A good trip to Europe will set you back $8-10k for two people, which is about the payments a GTR will cost you for a year. For me, I'm the type of person who would rather have the nicer car, slightly smaller house and do less travelling. I enjoyed a reasonable bit of travel earlier in life, and when my kids are older we'll get them out to Europe a few times.

Then you need to think long and hard about how you wed this woman. My wife didn't get an expensive ring, because I didn't want to drop a months or more income on diamonds. Will you? How will you do a wedding? We got ours done for about $13k with $3-4k for a honeymoon. This was hard work on my part to keep the costs down but it was duable. A far cry from the $25k+ people will tell you to save for. My advice? Skip the wedding, throw a party at your house after you get married in some remote location. This will be your wedding/honeymoon/party and can probably be done for $5-7k.

Here is the rub. When I owned my S2000 I thought I'd never sell it. It was paid for, reliable and a blast to drive. Life changed and it might for your GTR ownership. The rub? Childern. As soon as I became a father that car sat. I could only track it or take my wife out for a date in it. During super hot months she didn't love baking in the car. I couldn't share that car with my son, couldn't use it daily because he needed me to pick him up. Quickly I had a $15k car sitting doing nothing.

Leave room for financial mistakes. We bought a car we thought we'd love. Lexus IS250 AWD. It tested well and did everything we wanted. However on 3+ hour drives both our backs hurt. The back seat was OK for a child, but to get comfortable my wife had to adjust the seat so far back we had to put the kid in the middle. It was cramped. That cost me $3k to get out of.

Budget. Run your numbers, know your numbers and see if you can live within them for a few months before you actually opt to buy a $66k car. Once you buy it you cannot get out of it easily.

Be careful of women. In all seriousness this isn't meant to be a bash. They change their minds about things more frequently and few of them I've met understand the whole short term pain for long term gain. I assure you as soon as you are married she's going to stop acting like she earns $35k and start planning on how to spend the money you make. It's called nesting. You're going to need crap you never knew about to fill your home with. That sofa you thought was ok as no good. The bar gets raised and life gets more expensive. So factor that all in.

suzuka_indy

^^^ Great points Rob.

FearlessFife

This post wins the entire thread.

fusionchickenleg

This post wins the internet.

FTFY

I was going to unquote the original post but screw it

Manga_Spawn

Keep the topic on cars guys. If you want to make a thread about how to find "the right" something or someone else other make a thread in the off topic section.