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I'll tackle this one from a different angle. Why do you want to buy a exotic or luxury sports car? Are you bored, curious to know what owning one is like, want to see expensive repair/maintenance bills, spend $2K-$3K per set of tires, spend half a day draining oil, have more car than you can handle, etc?
As for me, I've thought about buying an exotic as an alternative asset but have never pulled the trigger. I live in a funny place called Newport Beach where I'm jogging distance to Eurocar, McLaren, Pagani, Ferrari, and a Porsche Consignment store...exotics are seen left and right around here. So I've contemplated buying a:
2005 Ford GT when I was in my 20s (how I wish I pulled the trigger)
1994 Acura NSX (when you could buy one for $25K)
2010-2014 Audi R8 (amazing shifter when they were $60K on the used market)
1995 Ferrari F355 (friend of a friend is a Ferrari mechanic)
In the end, I just bought two electric vehicles and a heavy duty truck. I have friends with exotics and some friends with some really cool off-roading/overlanding rigs. I've found that I have more fun driving their cars and not having to worry about the upkeep. Most of my friends who now have cars with appreciating value did so without any inkling they would increase in value.
But to answer your question literally, one could afford an exotic whenever they can qualify for a loan. I feel like I could afford an exotic when I have and extra $20K that I'm ready to burn for repairs/insurance/potential depreciation. At this stage in my life, I'd rather throw my money into an electric sailboat (I can drink while piloting it without consequence).
By the way, I take issue with your cars that are "boring" to drive...maybe you're just not driving them right. Many of us can have lots of fun driving the most boring cars when you take it near its limit.
If you're still saving the same for retirement, then why not spend more of the income on a car if it's your hobby and what makes you happy? A hobby needs no ROI other than making you happy. Not everybody needs to go on 27 vacations a year or eat out at fancy restaurants monthly/weekly/whatever. I don't need a big fancy house or to go on Caribbean cruises every year. I could enjoy life in a smaller house with a big garage and a bunch of fun cars that I loved looking at and driving. Even if a car cost me more than the house did. At his income level I could easily live in a $200k house and drive a $300k Aston... lol!
Those personal financial discussions assume the car is only a point A to point B appliance, not a hobby.
If you're going to just blow the money, I agree it doesn't matter what you blow it on, whether it's a Porsche or a boat or crazy vacations. I think financial advisors counsel people not to do that.
If you're going to just blow the money, I agree it doesn't matter what you blow it on, whether it's a Porsche or a boat or crazy vacations. I think financial advisors counsel people not to do that.
What’s the point of making that sort of money over and above what you’re already saving for retirement? You can’t take it with you and living miserable until you die is pointless too. If you’re making money just to make money, I say you’re doing it wrong. The OP says he’s a car guy and this is what he’s interested in. This is why us car guys make money.
I did - 164 mph Bmw 540i
but then 3 different people deliberately (?)plowed into it
I did The expensive repair and sold it Got me a used Camry
Look mom no more malicious envy
Get the Porsche. It'll be a joy for many many years to come.
Don't go into this "toy" with the mindset of having it for a few years and then replace it with something else. That's the key when you're spending that kind of money. Pay for what you know you'll want to still have in say 10 years. Not much out there that ages quite as well as a Porsche 911. Neighbor has a 20 year old one, original owner, and still loves it. It's his toy. I want one someday myself too, and will be mine for at least a decade if not longer. Get what you will be ok with repairing. The BMW and Audi you mention are nice cars, no argument there. But in 5 years, they're going to be a 5 year old BMW or Audi and new versions will be out that will date yours. That's not quite the case with the iconic 911. In fact, I wouldn't necessarily put the BMW and Audi up against the 911, but rather the 918 instead. A Porsche 911 is just that, regardless of year. There is no other like it no matter how hard others try. It's not just about the speed, or the handling. It's about the beauty (which I admit is in the eye of the beholder), and how it makes you feel when you get in and take it for a drive.
In terms of spending that kind of money for a car - I feel that way about Mercedes. Just recently dropped nearly $90k for a new SUV and while a big gulp for me, it is doable. I told my wife to pick a car that she would feel comfortable with a $2,000 repair bill in the future because she loved the car. Really loved the car. Not liked at the moment, but loved. She spent a few months thinking about it, and kept seeing older GL models out there and would ask me how old they were, some 10 years old, and she was surprised. So we bought with the mindset of a decade+ purchase, and therefore made that price tag far more acceptable, and the depreciation aspect not applicable. You really can't go into a car purchase as an investment unless if you're a collector or buying something totally unique to your market. It's a depreciating asset for 90% of them. Buy with intention to hold for a long time, and depreciation fear doesn't really come into play.
Get the Porsche, and enjoy some of the benefits you have created for yourself! You won't regret the 911, and it will always put a smile on your face when you see it in your garage. It's like the "milestone" car for many of us car guys.
The 2 seaters are not the top models. Cayman and Boxster, the mid engine models are 2 seaters and they do depreciate from new, but tend to level out pretty fast. The 911s are 2+2s and tend to hold their value much better.
The owner of the Porsche sports car still lost $40,000 in one year with 1,300 miles on odometer.
Whether "exotic" or not by some who claim to define exotic is still a $40,000 loss in one year.
I can get a nice new Toyota for just the depreciation alone.
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