Reply With QuoteTake a coin. Assign each of the sides one option. Flip the coin. Your first reaction after seeing the outcome will tell you the right decision.
All your collection to fund a car? i have a hankering to own a porsche 966(all i can afford) i can fit the kids in and the mrs.The problem i have is i love watches and i love cars ,i just can't afford both.So i suppose my question is has anyone owned one and was it worth it and would you sell your collection and most of everything to get one?
Take a coin. Assign each of the sides one option. Flip the coin. Your first reaction after seeing the outcome will tell you the right decision.
Surely you can't mean ALL your collection? You seriously mean you're not planning on spending weeks figuring out the best two or three watch combination to cover all eventualities?
I've always thought that if you turn up in a Fiat Panda wearing an Nautilus, your priorities might be askew. But driving a Porsche and wearing a plastic casio seems strange in the other direction. Or unbearably hip, one of the two.
I don't think I could ever part from all my collection, unless it was an emergency.
It is just a case of priorites - watch v Porsche. Only you know what you really want.
The main problem is performance cars cost a lot to maintain and depreciate, watches don't to the same extent.
My advice would be if you are making sacrifices to buy a 996, then you can't really afford to run it.
I've had a 996 turbo, and whilst it was a fabulous car, it was just too much for the uk's tightly restricted roads. I would suggest something cheaper with lower limits.. An mx-5 or mr2 is a great place to start.
Simple answer for me Peter is 'no'
996's can, and eventually will be, a money pit.
Keep the watches and the Lotus for fun, buy something boring for the family bus.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Do you mean a 996 instead of a 966?
The Porsche will cost you plenty to maintain.What d you drive at the moment? Would the Porsche be a second car?
I'd agree with (some of) this.Originally Posted by carryondentist
I'd always suggest working out what your budget is and if that means you're buying the cheapest example of the car you're after then you should think hard about whether you can really afford it. I've also had a 996 turbo and although it was very reliable I wouldnt call it cheap to run.
Answering your actual question - if everything else added up I'd sell the watches. You can always replace them, although it will obviously cost you!
Always works for me!
I did pretty much exactly what you are considering a few years back...
Sold off a fair few watches and bought a low mileage, FSH 996 C4 from a dealer. They are fantastic cars, but a service costing 4.5k after a year of ownership rather put a dampener on the ownership experience.
That said, I am considering a 997 at the moment, but I really am in a quandary over this. At the moment I have a new type Audi TT Quattro 3.2 V6 - and I have to say it is 90 percent as good as the 911, and overall as an all round package it is far better (decent sat nav, iPod dock, Bose sound system, proper boot and the S-Tronic box is simply amazing ... etc). So much so I am also very strongly considering buying a TTRS - which is considerably quicker than the 911. My Audi has a full factory fitted aero body kit, and it gets more comments and admiring glances than my 911 ever did. Odd.
However, the Audi's don't quite have the flash of brilliance that makes a 911 special. But then they cost a lot less to run... ho hum...
Maybe I'll go buy a Cerbera 4.5 as a weekend car and be done with it.
Last edited by TheFlyingBanana; 13th October 2012 at 20:46.
So clever my foot fell off.
I know a few people who bought performance cars, inc a Ferrari - but sold them after a fairly short amount of time because the running costs if they used them more than infrequently were just too much.
No doubt about Porsche = money pit, eventually. I was in a similar position this year, I crashed my 944 S2 ground up built at great expense race car, 4 laps into qualifying in the season opener at Brands Hatch in May. Then I got stung for a few grand in tax to brighten things up even more. Was very tempted to sell of most of my watches so I could get out on track and get a nice end to the season. Came to my senses and realised this is daft as the watches are semi-permanent but the racing/big car bills is money burned and gone. Sadly it means I show up in the official results with a big fat 0 points for the season but I have kept my sanity and started saving for the future.
For many ppl owning a Porsche is a dream but one way or another chasing that dream will likely cost one much more than a couple or three watches. I had the dream of owning the Porsche 12+ years ago but when that got a bit normal I had to progress to the next dream which was racing the thing.
I wouldn't ever put anyone off living their dreams but be prepared to burn a big hole on your pocket for this one, always plan for the worst case scenario then you can feel lucky if it turns out well.
I think this is really sound thinking and good advice.
I drove a friend's TTRS recently. Was impressed with the grunt, but not much else to be honest. I've only just turned 34, but I felt like an old man getting out after a hour or so's drive. Very harsh ride and heavy to throw around. Was glad to get back in the M3.
If a 911 is what you want have a look at the 964/993's your money would be better off in them than a 996 from a depreciation point of view, maybe even make money. But like has been mentioned, prepare for running costs. I have a boxster s and it's very reliable but consumables are pricey. Tyres are £1000 a set, brake discs £2000 all round. Services at OPC bordering on the £1k mark and 20 something to the gallon is not nice either.
Wow,4.5k in the first year ouch i don't think i could handle that.Maybe i am out of my financial depth with this dream.The main thing that worries me is the apparent self destruction the engines seem to do...The 996 is probably the cheapest (4 seater) way into a porsche 911 shape ,all the others are too much or too quirky,(no pas,or servo and iffy pedal arrangement)for the mrs to drive.I think i need to think this through a bit more.
Jonny, the bus at the moment is a e46 318ci on a 1999 plate,and a elise for the rare sunny days we get.I just think a Porsche is a bit like some watches ,you just have to have owned one once.....
Last edited by peter2704; 13th October 2012 at 20:58.
I wouldnt. I fact I've gone the other way in the past and had a cheaper car to allow me money to buy other things, like watches or hifi or whatever.
Whilst I agree Peter, I have spent 4-5 months researching the Porsche route (also a long time want) but I concluded that whilst I could afford to buy one I was not prepared to stump up the (potentially) very large bills. I was a little sad but since taking a test drive in an Exige........
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I have been looking at the Exiges too,its just the wife has always liked porsches and with a 996 she could use it and the kids (whilst they can fit in)can come too.The elise is a little too basic for her and not a womens type of car.With regards the big bills maybe this is why the 996 seem in reach now ,just waiting to hit you with a nice big bill.
If you think the Elise is too basic the exige is exactly the same inside but louder and harder to get out of!
Hmmm do we have a few members of SELOC on here? :0)
A couple of my old ones from the Seloc days.....
However, as of today I have a Defender 110 X-Tech, three dogs (they'd never fit in the Lottie) and 5 lovely watches. Never look back I say!
s
I have watches that are worth more than my car. I like cars but my love for watches is greater...so to answer your question, absolutely not. You will almost certainly regret it once the novelty of the car wears off.
If you want it! Do it! What's the worst that can happen? You regret living the dream! Buy second hand and hopefully you won't lose to much!
If I was in this position I know what I would do!
^^^^^^l...........Scarto's post that is!
Crikey - £4.5k! What did it need doing to it?
I'm contemplating a 997 at the moment, having done the sensible car thing for a couple of years, and I have to say that the prospect of that kind of bill would put me off. I previously ran a 987 Boxster for 3 years and c.50k miles with nothing like that sort of expenditure - I know it's not a 911 but four and a half grand is certainly an eye-opener!
...and to actually answer the OP - I wouldn't chop in my collection for a car (in fact I went partially the other way, funding my Sub by selling an MG which, whilst it was probably slowly appreciating in value, still managed to cost me £5-600 a year to own despite only managing to get out for a couple of hundred miles).
I suspect 996's are still depreciating so if I were you, I'd bide my time and get one when it's less of a stretch.
SECOC member here.
Love that green S1 above!
Me too since 2002!!
It's got to be a 964 or 993 air cooled
996 just looks like the boxster
I agree with the other comments. Any performance car will cost money to run these days; so much so that it can easily begin to out-weigh the fun of ownership. I've been into cars all my life and have owned a LOT including a 3.0 V6 Jag and a Works MINI etc. All brilliant cars but I've now got a 1.0 litre Toyota iQ and I love it the most! The money I save with it goes towards my other hobbies and it's still fun enough on a country road.
I'm not saying I never want to own a performance car again, but you have to balance the cost of running it with your bank balance and other hobbies. My dad has always said, anyone can buy a used performance car, but can they afford to run it?!
It might be heresy on this forum but I would go with the car. Unless your collection is particularly rare, you can always change your mind later and sell the car and buy watches again. I love my watches, but I get a lot more enjoyment from my cars.
In answer to the OPs question. If I was in that position I would rather walk. Never ever would I put a car before my watches.
Disagree in some parts about the cost of ownership. I've got a 996 c2 cab (and I'm not even a hairdresser) and it costs on average £1k a year to run in terms of servicing etc. Petrol is a different story but since we're all being dry bummed at the pumps these days the extra 10p a litre on 98ron fuel is marginal. They're great cars and it still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. In fact I'm going through the hassle of putting it through a TUV test here in Germany since I enjoy it so much.
selling all my watches to fund one however? Well that's a very personal decision that only you can make. Both will invariably put a huge smile on your face so I guess it depends which smile would be wider? Cheaper cars and cheaper watches can give you just as much fun for sure (like cheaper women, if such a thing exists)
Last edited by tiny73; 13th October 2012 at 23:11.
Or you might have said....
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Last edited by Skyman; 13th October 2012 at 23:12.
Boy that is annoying!
buy a decent golf and a rolex. you'll still have both in a few years.
go and join a banger racing club. have a bloody good laugh for a couple of grand and get it out of your system.
why anyone would bother putting a performance car on british roads is totally beyond me.
I used to love hot hatches back in the 80's then they invented speed cameras, whacked up the cost of petrol, insurance etc and charged you just for parking the car for 15 mins.
I've now got a boring Vw people carrier which I've had for 3 years and I'm amazed how many dents and scrapes it has picked up in that time - all when it's been parked in Tesco or on a street.
I love the idea of fast cars but the reality of ownership and the congestion in the uk makes a car as exciting as a fridge in my book - which I'm genuinely surprised about as I was a bit of a car nut as a young man. Lots of my friends have sports cars and it strikes me as a bit of a willy waving exercise? If you want something quick get a sports bike ;-)
So I vote keep the watches!
Totally agree. I've owned lots of golfs and still wear a Sub. And if you want something fast get a sports bike. Aren't sports cars a bit of a willy waving exercise now every street is studded with cameras and speed bumps?
I've sometimes wondered if there's a 'right' proportion of car spending and watch spending. I love a fast car but can't help feeling they're financial black holes so I try to get the most bang for the least buck generally. I had some great times in my first car, a Mk1 MX-5 1.8, no power steering... Endless fun. I for one have definitely spent more on watches. Who else here has, or hasn't?
In answer to the OPs question, I personally think it's best to have one of everything you need, the best you can manage at a level that keeps some kind of balance all round. That means a decent motorbike, a fun car and a watch or three I can enjoy, rather than a brand new PP Nautilus and a used up Oyster card. It's amazing how many good cars, bikes and watches there are for relatively little cash if you don't have to have the absolute pinnacle of luxury and performance all the time. That last 5% generally means paying double.
Ask this question on a Porsche forum, it won't help - it will be the opposite!
Personally I never had watch posters on my wall as kid, so I guess you can figure out my direction in this matter
willy waving....like it.Done the bike thing,rs250,r6,duc 748, kids come along and wife decides she wants there dad watch them grow up. I think i will see if the porsche 996 bottoms out a little bit more and keep the old bus(bmw ) and my cheap to run by comparison elise(and keep my humble little collection of watches).Interesting comments though ,cheers
Does the missus have her own car? I dont think she would find it practical driving a 996 with 2 kids space wise ,getting them out the back etc.
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A proper WIs.what do you drive?
I'd happily sell more Porsche for more watches, but wil never sell watches for a Porsche. I sold a few to cut my mortgage but never for a depreciating asset like a car.
It's just a matter of time...
Hyundai Coupé SIII from 2007.
Gotta agree here. Just thinking about the money I put into my 944t makes me want to cry
Hi
Considering a TT myself, how's the seats in the back compare to a 911. My wife fits in the back of a 911 fine, and was wondering if you she would fit in a TT. As you have had both was hoping you would have an answer.
If you want a supercool porsche for decent money and mega build quality look at a 968 sport. The clubsport is pointless for the extra cash, as the suspension is only as good as its age. Get a sport and fit some M030 or nitrons to it and youll have a car you can use for any occasion and it's old enough for modern running cost but classic car insurance and low tax.
Win-win!
I don't think I could ever sell all my watches to fund a car, TBH i would not want to tie that much up in a car* On a more modest level, I am however thinking of selling one or two watches to put towards upgrading my VW Phaeton from a 3.2 v6 to a 6.0 w12. I am not sure if this would be wise, but I suspect that it would be good fun!
* although I might possibly consider a consolidation to one watch, for the right one.
I've had a few relatively nice cars, and still have one I consider rather special (albeit now only worth about the same as the watch I have pictured it with here http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...ve-Anniversary). I also toyed with the Porsche thingy: Boxster at one stage, but couldn't see the point in changing from the S2000 to one, and then 911, but went M3 instead. I think that I've got over the whole Porsche thing - and I never actually owned oneNowadays I wouldn't even consider selling anything to buy an 'indulgence' car. It would only be something I would buy from savings - if I had no savings then no indulgence, and if I had savings then there would surely be something better I could do with the money.
Ultimatley whatever way you slice it Porsche ownership is going to cost more than 'normal' car motoring - servicing (including repairing/replacing the things that seem to break), depreciation, day to day running and points on your licence. If you MUST scratch the itch then go into it with your eyes open and earmark the amount of money you're going to throw down uneccesarily.
Re the OP - I think the current combo is bang on - the day to day driver and something fun, but if there is a desire to combine and have one fun daily driver then you could probably have as much fun in a hot hatch - it's not going to have a Porsche badge, but it'll be cheaper all round, more reliable, more comfortable, more useable, 95% of the time as quick for day to day use, less of a liability and probably be an overall more pleasurable ownership proposition - IMO.
However, life is for living and if you must, then go for it with your eyes and wallet open.
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