Carpe Diem or Save for Another Day?
 

This is probably a dilema some of you have faced before (or something like this), so I thought I'd share and get some thoughts...

I'm currently Porsche-less....mostly for voluntary reasons. Julie and I have been trying to move out West for some time now, and think maybe next Spring / Summer might actually be "it". So we've lowered our debts (sold expensive cars) and saved up some cash for The Move. But being Porsche-less is starting to hurt a little (those of you with The Disease will understand where I'm coming from). So I'm entertaining the thought of spending a little of that cash to buy a 924S to tool around in and basically get my Porsche fix. The dilema is, while I'm sure I'd enjoy a 924S and even have some ideas on "personalization", it's not really THE Porsche I want. So I'm contemplating just saving for another day. Of course, "another day" could literally be years from now (none of my "dream" Porsches are cheap), depending on how The Move goes, etc. I'm not sure how an addict goes years without a fix. Truly.

So what do we think? Carpe Diem or save for another day?

Discuss while I http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...s/a_frusty.gif

Buying a car now is more expense down the road.

You'll need to move to the new local.

Your new home state may have an "import" tax in the form of additional registration fees as an "out of state" vehicle.

If you can't resist buying it you will have just as hard a time not attending to "things".

Tough one. I'm on the fence but leaning towards wait.

If you can't get what you want now then wait. You'd probably 'enjoy' the 924 while still thinking about / lusting after a 'better' Porsche.

Good point about the hassle of moving a third car. And yes, I wouldn't be surprised if the "inexpensive" car starts getting expensive fast!

True, but I have that problem no matter what Porsche I drive. Check my sig. :D

Continue to save. I'm currently Porscheless for voluntary reasons as well. I had to have something when I got rid of the 911 (it was my daily driver), so I replaced it with a miata as a daily driver. It's a good standby, cheaper, handles REALLY well, has lots of mods options, and is reliable. That might be a good option instead of a 924s in case you still need a cheap porsche later.

It depends a little on your age and what you think your income is going to do in the future. I have enjoyed many of your posts over the years, but I don't remember how old you are. If you're fairly young and are looking forward to increasing your income over time, I would suggest saving up for the Porsche of your dreams. You'll actually save money by buying only once. I hate buying something close to what I really want because I can afford it now, and then having something not quite what I wanted for years. With the money I spent on the "almost what I wanted" item I could have bought the real thing earlier.

OTOH, if you're old like me, or the future doesn't look so bright that you need shades, follow Bruce Anderson's advice and buy the best example of the newest Porsche you can afford. Bite down and spend the money now, and count it as an investment in your health.

If you buy it now you'll pay sales tax wherever you are and will be able to transfer registration wherever you go. If you buy it later, you'll have to pay your new state's sales tax. There isn't an extra fee for bringing an out of state car into the state; you just pay the local state's sales tax and registration fees.

Another thought is that interest rates are very low now and are likely to stay low for some time, but not forever. Some day we will see rising interest rates and some inflation, although there is little evidence of inflation on the horizon today and with this economy it might be five years before we see it. We'll all go broke trying to outguess what the economy is going to do, but it is something to keep the broad sweeps of history in mind. My parents bought a farm in the early 70s, moved the family there and carefully saved every penny to remain as debt free as possible, just in time for the worst inflationary cycle of our time to hit. If they had been a little clever about it, they would have taken a good look at the economy and taken on some debt, instead of maximizing savings and minimizing debt in the face of the one period in history that savings was punished and debt was rewarded. OK, that's completely off subject, but it's a long way of saying that maybe we're in a period of time where careful borrowing and purchasing is a good thing, which is a factor in favor of buying sooner rather than later.

Life's too short to drive a boring car. Buy the 924, have fun with it, and buy something else when you are ready!

Save it.

The selection of nice Porsches in good condition is probably better on the West Coast than in Ohio. Buy the Porsche when you get here.

Makes no sense to buy a car to drive for 6 months. Most of which will be winter. And how inspiring is it to drive a 924, really?

I'm not quite ready to buy another Porsche. I'm thinking 944 grocery getter. My wife is thinking Boxster.

A coworker of mine was diagnosed with bladder cancer yesterday. He's a car guy, but is not focused on cars at the moment as you can imagine.

Forget the 924..buy a 951, and drive the heck out of it while you can :)

Thanks for the comments MRM. There is certainly a lot more into this decision than I've touched on so far. FWIW Julie and I are both 39 and make a comfortable living here in Ohio. Our move is about quality of life and about not being stagnent in our jobs and about new experiences and about where we think we would like to spend the rest of our lives. Without a doubt, we expect our income to drop during our move...at least we are preparing for that. This is why I say it may be a few years before I can get the Porsche I want again. Maybe not? (..we're not without skillz. :p ) But until we know for sure we're preparing for the worst. So to speak.

To go even deeper...(not that you asked)...I "hate" my job. I'm good at it, and I'm paid well for it, but I'm tired of it. So there's a chance I may make one of those mid-life changes which will require more education (i.e. money out) and starting over (i.e. less money in). This, of course, would push the Porsche back further. (Maybe.) So yes, buying now might (might) mean I can at least have a Porsche through all of that. (..but would I want one considering the financial burdens they might cause?!?)

Anywho...

Now there's some contradictory advice.

I actually considered a Miata and drove a new one. (I don't fit in the old ones.) I liked it a lot once I was in it, but I think (for my less than small frame) it would get uncomfortable as a daily driver. Especially when it snows and I'm wearing heavy boots and bulky coats, etc.

I currently have a 2008 Subaru Impreza as my daily. It's not as fun as a Porsche ('cept in winter! :p ), but I'm having a hard time with the idea of giving up this go-anywhere-travel-anytime-never-let-me-down vehicle.

Thanks for the comments all. I'm leaning more toward the saving and waiting part. Maybe this will be additional "motivation" to get me off my arse and get the move done and get my life going out West.

..oh, and feel the love for the 924S! :p Almost makes me want to buy one just to defy the critics! :)

My friends that always live in the moment have no future.

My friends that alway save for the future have no present.

Do a little of both. A 924S isn't going to break anyone's budget, unless you are a college student with no money.

How far west ? If california, I would wait and buy there... Less potential SMOG issues bringing a car from out of state, no car-moving expenses, and.... a 924S, really ??? Nah... Save the money and get yourself a nice car then, sounds like a recipe for more expenditures... The west coast is porsche heaven, you will want another car when you get there!

Yup and then you are straight up broke... Have to scrimp on car parts to pay for the dates that the car gets me....


Oh and who says a 924 or 944 is boring... Its more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car ;):D

Not me, but I'd say a 924S is an old car that is very likely to blow something up, and probably not "worth" investing into like a 911 might, in terms of resale, so unless you can guarantee you buy a great one, why bother... Also, Doug has a 2008 Subie right now, I'm not sure what a 924 would bring to the equation, it's neither fast nor all that quirky like an old porsche - I'd almost rather get a reliable miata... or a classic, somethign very different, that may be worth keeping, like a classic 912 ;-)

On " Its more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car" I think that's the most abused expression ever ;-) It's even more fun going fast in a fast car... I know I'd rather go slow in a GT3RS than fast in a 924S ;-) Anyway, tongue in cheek... I know what you mean...

Doug, I still think you should get your $%$#% in order, move, get new jobs wherever it is you are going, don't waste time, brain cycles and money finding/buying/fixing an old piece of junk. Get yourself a nice car once you are there and settled - say a CaymanS or a Lotus, I know you like mid-engines - you'll appreciate it more. We voted and we're all OK to let you stay on the board even though you are porcheless ! ;-)

My first Porsche was a 944 n/a. I loved it. I don't think they're boring at all. But since that's one of the few Porsches I kept for a long time ( :p ) I've kinda "been there, done that" with the four cylinder. But they're hard to beat for the money. Plus, there's that little dream I have about turning one into a 924 GTS and stuffing it with a 951 motor. :D

Don, after we move, it might be plausable to get a Porsche as a daily driver. I've done them here but the only ones I would drive in the winters were the Boxsters. And I "can't afford" the Boxster I want right now.

Greg...PNW, most likely Portland.

:D Thanks! I figured my "experience" should keep me as part of the group for a while anyway. :)

FYI my brother's Cayman S is near the top of the list of Porsches I'm lusting for. Yeah, love the middies. :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-924-944-968-technical-forum/511600-whats-deal-924s.html


A little torture for Dougy....

That's what I'd do, the Cayman S got under my skin. I've tracked all my cars, and I much prefer the middies on track, even though I own 2 rear engined cars.... now I got my 69 912, 83 911 backdate, and a new GTI... Gotta sell 2 to get me cayman s, but which 2 ? ;-) It's torture...

I'm gonna try to send my wife back to work instead and keep them all... well, except the GTI, great car but I am finished with FWD...

Thats like my Corrado... Its fun but the torque steer sucks... You better be holding on when that blower grabs in first and second....

Not quite that bad, they've made torque steer almost a non issue on the GTI (despite my chipped 260 lb/ft of torque) - but I hear ya. I had a Corrado VR6, loved that car... I wish VW would have remade it instead of the scirroco ! anyway, didn't mean to take over poor Doug's thread...

Hey Doug, another idea... they are still cheap and IMO will double in value in the next 5 years...

http://www.erikaslist.com/pictures/DSC_0736.jpg

I love to drive my G60.... But all the crap that breaks pisses me off... And most of the parts cost more than 944 parts and the 944 is better to drive....



Anyways.... Back to normal programing...

I've actually been in touch with this gent about his car. Nice enough guy. But his car hasn't been in service for 10 years. (Very few miles, but...10 years) There were a couple of other sticking points. Nothing major, but they were there..

See we haven't been getting the whole story... It will need a belt job at least at that age....

Two options:

1) drop the S. Get a 924. A $3000 924 can be had that is well serviced and will cost next to nothing for maintaining. This is not the case for a 924S, as one will all the records and belt service is going to run you more than that, unless you get lucky in your search.

This is assuming that you don't have the time/skills to pour into a cheaper car that had problems. In your situation you probably want to avoid that.

2) Save. Save up and you will be able to afford a car more suited to your needs and wants.
$5000 can get you a nice daily driver 944 or 914. $10,000 can get you a nice Turbo or even an early SC in good condition. $15,000 and you can be in a very nice, modern 986.

There are weekly ebay bargain boxsters for near the 10K$ mark. High mileage (a good thing in an early boxster IMO), and with a PPI could be nice cars... but some are surely to be money pits, and maintenance on a boxster is rapidly making that car go the way of the 944 - with nearly half of them winding up junked due to failures resulting from not being serviced on time/correctly.

I figured any 924S I bought would need a good baseline service, so I was planning on an oil and belt change, new water pump, and something about an oil pump or something that often goes wrong? So at least another grand to $1500 on the car. So unless it was a perfect car, I was shopping in the $3k and under range.

Oh, and feel free to ramble on "my" thread. This is what off topic is all about. :)

I think the oil thing you are talking about is the pickup tube failing... I haven't messed with mine yet...


I didn't figure you minded the rambling given the topic.....

Interesting you bring up Boxsters because I've been a champion for the Boxster cause for some time. I just love the cars, dynamically. Unfortunately, two of the three I've owned have had motors replaced (one of them I actually had to pay for). Since Julie bought her Fozzie I've thought about trading my Subie on one and using it as an inexpensive daily driver. But that little fear of the blown motor is keeping me away. I hate it, mostly because it means I'm getting old and conservative and letting fear run my life. (..ok, just in this instance..)

But at the same time, if I had the money, I wouldn't hessitate to find a decent old (re: cheap) Boxster and pay Flat6Innovations to rebuild the motor with all of their updates and have a sweet, reliable car for some time. In fact, I would put that right behind my brother's Cayman S on the wish list. :)

That's it! Thanks. :)

hurry up and get your butt out here...you have been talking about it for years now...there will be plenty of p-cars here when you arrive...just have fune with the subbie in the last midwest winter of your life.:)

sorry foxy brown wont be avaliable when you arrive...you and scott had you turns...i'm still not tired with the car and doubt i will be by next summer either.

Yeah, we're anxious as hell to move. Truly, we're making strides. One way or another, summer is D-day. ..er, M-day?

As for the Subie, I'm supposed to keep that, right? Isn't that the official car of the PNW?!? :)

Probably the car I'm most sorry I sold. Although it's been cool watching what you and Scott have done with it. But don't worry, I'll find "my own" after we're out there!

This is why I cited high mileage as a plus. The cars are meant to be driven. Find a boxster owned, driven, and serviced by an enthusiast at 100k miles and it will last for another 100k miles.

The '00 and on Boxsters don't have the block defects as the first generation cars do.

And I haven't heard of many failures from the S engines.. and the S is the car to have. I've seen a few recent 00-02 S's going for around 16K$ here.

FWIW a 924S has the engine and drive-train of a 944 stuffed into 924 body... very different beast than a 924.

Wish you lived closer, I would give you my 944.

No, but they are just as susceptible to bearing failures. My '01 went in for a throw-out bearing and came out with a new motor. Fortunately, that was one I didn't have to pay for.

I've heard this as well...that they're the strongest of the Boxster motors. Then a few days after reading that I read about three '03+ S models failing on the Rennlist board. :rolleyes:

It's a shame, really. They are such good cars. And I'm not saying I won't ever buy one again, it's just that I'm going to budget another $12k on top of the purchase price to rebuild the motor. (..or try to find one with a recent motor replacement!)

Yeah, that's why I was looking at them. I consider them reliable, if properly maintained. My '88 was running like new when I sold it with 156k miles. Sure, I spent a fair amount on upkeep, but it paid off. I figured a 924S would be a good bet for a long term runner.

Dude if I lived closer I wouldn't need my Subaru and probably wouldn't be in this dilemma! :p

Maaan...I just need to stop looking...I'd trade my Subie for this

2001 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 4 BLK ON BLK LOW MILES CLEAN CARFAX LIKE NE