Dubya

I won't lie, the commercials got to me. I am 27 years old, make good money, financially stable, etc. I owe money on a house and stupid credit card (which is nearly paid off, still working on it), but basically I have my life together enough for this. I own a paid for MR2 Spyder that I love very much, but the upgrade sounds fantastic.

I first thought a new boxster would be fine. PDK, Sport Chrono, there is a beautiful one at Harper's Porsche in Knoxville, TN that I genuinely like. But I know how depreciation works on a new car, and I'd rather not sell my pcar that I paid 60k for for 15k in 5 years, that seems absurd.

So, that brought me to a '99 Cab in Autotrader for 25900. I test drove it. It was great. I went home and read all the horror stories of IMS failure and the like. I realize quickly that I need some sort of warranty, maybe a 3rd party one (screams in the distance). I've heard that Easycare actually is a decent warranty, but still.

The brings the option of buying the car from Porsche. Porsche is selling 04s for 50,000. This is ridiculous. I am all about a 2k Porsche warranty, but that is absolutely ridiculous. On Autotrader, there are '04 Cabs listed anywhere between 45k and 58k. This is almost the same price as an 05 Cab, I mean, REALLY close. 58k for a 996?! There are literally 07's out there for that.

So, fine, ditch the cab idea... there are 03 and 04 turbos out there from 39k to the sky, and an actual VERY cherry looking one @ iautohaus for 42k (that's an 01).

Which brings me back to here. I don't want to spend 50k on a car, and then be out $15k to fix the dang thing. I don't want to lose my shirt, either. I seriously considered Martin's car, I mean seriously, checked plane tickets and everything, as I know that car is not going to lose a whole lot of value.

So, now follows my solicitation for advice. My wanted pcar is a Manual Cab without a black interior. My target price out of pocket is 45k, but I can rub to 50k. Should I consider EasyCare? Should suck it up and buy a CPO car?

simplysql

the advice that seems consistent with Porsches - and most used cars, I guess - is to buy the newest model you can afford. Here I will add in my advice - which is based on owning 2 used and one new Porsche - is never own a Porsche without a warranty. They are great cars - but when they break - and they do break - it can add up quickly.

Ucube

For your peace of mind, definitely yes.

No HTwo O

Don't buy any Porsche until your credit card debt is ZERO.

Dubya

You're right... selling the MR2 brings that balance to zero, but it's what I drive at the moment.

Jetpilot

PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARD -THEN BUY A CAR. YOU WILL THANK US ONE DAY

mobonic

if you cant pay off your cc... then dont add more debt.

debt in 2009 = BAD

yemenmocha

Sounds like you're cash poor and have no down payment for the car (otherwise why have unpaid credit card debt?). You'll be upsidown by several thousand when you drive it off the lot. What if it is wrecked in the first few months of ownership?

Did you get your insurance quote?

Do you know that for a 911 you'll need new rear tires that are $500 each in less than 10k miles?

Will you have some reserve cash funds for miscelleaneous expenses?

tstafford

Agreed on card and warranty.

stevepow

CPO is good idea.

Also, though, you need to shop some more and really hone your choices - from your post, it just sounds a touch impulsive and all over the map:

Yikes!

For example, if the Boxster was interesting, other than the depreciation hit, then why not a used one? Or was it PDK ?, but you won't get that on any of the other cars you mentioned...

Figure out what you really want and then start looking at the trade off between age, mileage, options, color, warranty, price. I read lately on this forum as well as 6speedonline where a lot of people are finding really nice cars and getting very good deals on them by being patient and shopping around.

Mspeedster

Seems like we got a bunch of Suze Ormans on the board. But you know they're right - Suze would veto your pcar buy.

abe

One possible reason is that you should not get into further debt before paying off the credit debt. The real reason is because as soon as you buy the Porsche you are going to need all the credit you can get to pay for goodies and not mention the repair bills!
abe

djcxxx

The old school held that the cost of ownership was not just the purchase price (or monthly payment), but every other expense required to keep the car on the road. A used car is often an invitation to assume the problems the previous owner couldn't wait unload. Even on a modern Porsche, minor repairs can easily run in the 2-5K range while major repairs can be breathtakingly expensive. You need to be sure that you have sufficient cash reserves to avoid the dream quickly becoming a nightmare.

MyEmily

Just buy the car and worry about the cost afterward. Isn't this the American way? Just think, it's a girl magnet! Front road valet parking. First one off the stop light! Buy it before it is sold!

Listen to the board.

rkuo

Yep, if you are "working on" paying off your CC, odds are you are really stretching to buy a Porsche. Not saying for sure, just saying on average. You may be able to afford to buy, but can you afford to own?