Funny question from billionaire
 

So I took the Boxster (02 S) to an event yesterday. I paid less than $10k for this car and greatly enjoy it.

Woman (who is in the billionaire class) there sees the car and says “who do WE know that drives a Porsche?” As if this is some sort of rich dudes car.

My son and I laughed hard at this comment. She is so far past our income level yet she perceives a 20 year old (low end) Porsche as something that is a token of very high wealth.

Funny.

I used to get the same thing with my 85 944...Dude, this car is 1/10 the price of your new pickup !

She must have been old with a long memory.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, they were a rich person’s car.

Is this woman single? ;)

I think you might have misunderstood her. She was trying to recall if it was their gardener or the fellow who services the HVAC system.

:D
Best
Les

Mclovin nailed it.

Not single.

Super down to earth. Lovely person. Just a funny question.

As long as it's pronounced correctly - I'm good! :)

Normal people are clueless about car values. They think a used $3000 German car is more prestigious than a brand new $80,000 pickup truck. They see the badge only. They see a rotted out Porsche carcass and think "One. Million. Dollars" Then they spend $35k on a brand new mini-van.

I'd say she was doing the best she knew how to throw you a humorous compliment.

Old money? Winning the genetic lottery takes zero insight or intelligence.

A new Porsche would normally be a sign of high wealth, but auto prices are all of the map these days, with some new pickups bumping the six figure level, go figure.

There is a lot of borrowing and crossover in terms of styling and sometimes the badge is the only identifier. Entry level cars are not trying to remain simple and dependable and practical daily drivers anymore, and have started borrowing all sorts of features from the higher-end models, which is sorta taboo imo. Intake scoops and racing stripes on a DD Corolla, seriously? That plastic front bumper may look evil and mean but it still won't pass the 5mph bumper test. Every car seems to have a full dashboard packed with space age lights and buttons excepting the Tesla which went minimalist on the surface borrowing from Apple.

It's a kudo to the Pcar brand that it remains recognizable despite a good part of a century trying to stay with the changing times while remaining a viable company. And that transference to a older model is a nice compliment.

And, if you want fries with that you are looking at $42k.

Meal with a cookie? Fity k. :cool:

Seems like a nice Lady, btw.

Perception is a funny thing when it comes to cars. Most people don't pay a lot of attention to them and only know what they have seen on window stickers in showrooms. My mom had a really skewed idea of what various cars were worth.

I took a rich lady friend to a Porsche gathering at Santa Monica airport a couple of years ago and she was looking at the cars the way that she looks at something right before she buys it. We practically had to hold her back, it was hilarious. They were collectible cars, rgruppe hotrods, gumdrop colors, etc. Lots of eye candy. :)

She’s the billionaire.

There’s no such thing as a cheap Porsche.

Agree with only to add, " ...only know what they think they have seen on window stickers in showrooms."

One day nearly 20 years ago my wife took her then '60 356 to the office. The big man (chairman of the board of directors) shows up and after walking through the parking lot, loudly proclaims, "We are paying someone here too much." OK, it was a non-profit where she worked, but she was far from the highest paid.

At the time the 356 was worth just over 10K and just about everyone there drove a newish car. But it doesn't end there. Soon after the bookkeeper/comptroller shows up with her sugar daddy's gifted branny new '03 Boxster S. I think they were about 45K at the time.

I think the chairman siht his pants. But what did he have? An 80K Merc. (he wasn't paid to be on the board — all volunteers).

Rich older women can't be expected to know a cars value.

They just want to have fun....and I don't argue that.

Used to get comments like that from non-car folks about the '82 SC, back in the late '90's. Admittedly it did have a $35,000 sticker... when it was new. When I got it, it was a $10,000 car with 157,0000 miles and several operational problems. A new Caravan was $25,000 at the time. It's all relative.

I tell them when I bought my SC it was about half the price of a new Corolla. Now it's worth about two Corollas.

I didn't take the billionaire woman's comment anything at all like what the rest of you have mentioned. Of course, I wasn't there and the OP was so I would defer to his interpretation of said woman's comment. But taking the words at face value, she may have been making a comment on a car that was unusual--that stood out. Not necessarily because of its cost, but just because it wasn't something that was common within her circle of friends. It could have been, "Who do we know that owns a Miata?" Or "Who do we know that owns a Mustang?" I mean, it would have been odd for a woman of those means to be impressed by the financial cost of a Porsche, right?

You drive a boxter right? Any wealthy individual of descerning taste would automatically know the value of the car from 8 feet away, she probably wasnt trying to look down her nose at you. Or she gave you a shot that went over your head. Im guessing the latter. Trust me, these folks have seen Buggatis, Lambo's, and tonns of blue chip, cars, boats, and aircraft that would make 90% of whats on the road looks like a hot rodded civic.

Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz.
My friends all drive porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.
So oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz

My wife used to drive a nice looking Mercedes 190 with a 5 speed when we were first dating. I kept it waxed and it looked great. Many of her co-workers were convinced it was a 100 grand car, and as I remember we sold it for 15K and thought was a great price. She replaced that with a E320 that was even nicer and again she got comments that it must be nice to be rich and such as they pulled up next to her in a Suburban worth twice the price of the Mercedes.

20 years ago when I was saving for my 930, I pointed at a mid 70's 911 driving through the grocery store parking lot and mentioned to my wife that I could pick up one of these right now for about $6K and not wait for the 930. A lady walking nearby whispered to her friend that I was crazy for thinking I could by a Porsche for $6K. Of course that car today is worth way more but at the time it was just the cheapest 911.

On the flip side, when I first bought my Cayman I overheard someone walking by tell their friend that the Boxster/Cayman's were the cheap Porsches and only cost about $50K. I wish!

20 years ago I sold a '77 Targa for 6K. That was the going price. We were just talking about this yesterday, that the same car would sell for 35+ today and be even more maintenance (expense). Honestly, I wouldn't even come close to thinking about spending that kind of money for that kind of ball and chain.

Just like houses in CA, the cost of a middie 911 is completely lopsided. 930's I can see holding value.

You likely made the right decision.

“I bet it’s REALLY FAST”

"Has it got a turbo?"

"Sir, it's got four turbos. One for each corner of the car,"

Back in my bachelor days I washed my 914 in the driveway, and the neighborhood kids would ride up on bikes and chat. The one question was always "how fast will it go" or how fast have you gone it in?

I would let them sit in it if they were not all dirty and they all were impressed with a speedometer that went to 150 as I remember. I sold it 26 years ago so I really don't remember to top number on the speedo.

In a neighborhood of mostly boring cars, pickups, and vans a sports car was something fun for the kids.

^^^ That's the first thing kids mention when looking into a car. "Wow...the speedo goes up to ....."

Way way back in 1974 when I first got my 1974 914 2.0 and was out just driving for fun and enjoying the fun back roads of Alabama I ended up in Weogufka, AL and I stopped for gas. The gas station looked like the one in the Andy Griffith TV show, and that was a standard design for stations back then.

Anyway I started filling up the tank. The price of gas had shot way up to 54 cents a gallon, but I filled up anyway. It was pretty deserted. I heard two boys that looked like what you are imagining for 1974, 8 year old boys in very rural Alabama. One of them poked the other in the shoulder and I could her him say "lookie thar, that's a real race car". I smiled and waved at them and they hopped on bikes and rode off.

Likely I put in 6 bucks to fill the tank and get back home.

What does money have to do with genes?

Steerage or stowaway ?

Well, half of your genes combine with the other half of your genes resulting in you and if either half (or better yet, both) came from extreme wealth...you're very likely to be a genetic lottery winner irrespective of quality or capacity to see or reason beyond the end of your nose. Take the time to pencil out all of those odds.

That should be a whole other thread: "when did you learn that speedometers didn't show the car's top speed?"

For me probably around 12-13. My high school library had magazine subscriptions for Road & Track and Car & Driver. Whenever I had free time like before class, lunch, etc I would sit in the library and read car magazines. I was one of those obnoxious kids that could spout off all car specifications.

It does if you don't have any money in your jeans.

Mother in Tucson is on a first name basis with an ex FED Chairman (the other one has since passed).. Her comment was, "Show me a man with a MB and I will show you a man with no money."

That is not exactly true I knew Mary La Fetra who was the founder and owner of the Rainbird corp.. She told me she sold her RR because she didn't like how it drove and bought a MB instead....

Upon an occasion I met one of the Douglas's as in McDonald Douglas...his comment was, "That rich people drive RR and wealthy people drive VW vans".. Which meant that his family drove VW's.

I can tell you from first hand experience that you get a lot of deference when you drive a RR...I opted for a Ford F150..dirivng it nobody even knows you are alive....Bliss...

Old money sees a car as an appliance..go from here to there. New money wants flash, to let everybody know they have arrived.. Nigel Rich..

Socially I met Walt Emmick..Walt at the time was approaching his 80's wore what looked like Thrift store clothing..drove around in a coupla old Chevy Pu's....Nobody quite knew what old Wlat was worth...20M or was it 200M...he had a twin Beech, a ranch in Simi Valley and one in KY..and lived in Al Jolson's house in the Valley..Katy Sagal eventually bought it..YA see old Walt was into Tilt Up Warehouses out in Commerce, CA...he had lots of them.. His problem was he had no one to take care of the biz for him, so as he said to go on a weeks vacation in Alaska fishing he had to work twice as hard for 2 weeks before.

Anybody read The Millionaire Next Door? Apparently, quite often the rich guys aren’t the ones driving expensive cars and wearing fancy watches. It’s an interesting read.

^^^funny. The woman who made the comment? She drove a clapped out Toyota van for years. Her husband? A Camry.

Or they live in a cheap, paid off, low property tax house so they can drive Porsches and still save/invest money :D

In my experience 90% of the public can't tell the difference between a $10k 25 year old base Boxster and a brand new $100K+ 25th anniversary 718, they look like the same car to them. It's a silver two seat sports car with a Porsche badge on the front. Hell, most people can't tell the difference between a 25 year old base Boxster and a new Turbo S 911 convertible if they were both silver with gray leather interior. The people who know the difference are either teen age kids or people stretching to lease their new Lexus to prove they've made it in life. Outside of my car enthusiast friends, the very high net worth friends just drive not only regular cars, but older regular cars at that. And as others have said, the older the money, the less they care or notice what you or they drive. I have friends in the $5-10M net worth range who drive a five year old Subaru and a 10 year old Ford C-max hand me downs.

So it has nothing to do with genetics at all, just a smarmy, classist remark.

Thank you for the clarification


I actually did win the genetic lottery. I expect to live a hundred years in good health and will die with a full head of thick hair