Life savings on a used California

Would a slightly less expensive car stretch you less and give you as much satisfaction ?

If you are stretched make sure you get a good warranty so its one less thing to worry about as it would be a shame to have it and then not use it

 

Someone ban him for his own good, unless he's just trolling, in which case ban him for it in general.

OP, unless you're 22 years old, you can't afford this car. I'd hope you realize that you aren't getting anything close to your money's worth out of this. A large chunk of money will go up in smoke in taxes. What a waste.

I know it's the dream of a lot of people to own exotic, but trust me, it's overrated. You'll be over it in a month. The people who enjoy them the most are only able to do so because the cost isn't a big deal. You don't see so many people on here buying Bugattis and Zondas just because they can cut the check.

 

Rent one and Buy a Porsche 997 and it will hold its value way better + it wont have parts in side the car used on a Fiat and or a Chrysler Minivan.

 

Wow, what a bunch of pessimists. If you can find the cash, do it. There is virtually never a right time and every year the roads get fuller and you get a little older. Go for it and the big question would be does the 2011 car have the seven year servicing package?

 

You did read the part where he said he's 37 years old and this would be his entire life savings, which based on 2009 California prices is probably like $250-300K, right?

 

Since you are going to spend your life savings then you better consider the purchase as an investment.

Personally I wouldn't spend so much of my net worth on a car.

What is your return on the car if you sell it in year or two?

How much of a loss given the high taxes and fees?

Now if you bought something else, real estate or a small business, could you make more and then use that profit to buy a nice car?

 

Use your money on Apple stock, they go up and down 20% every few months. 2 years of this and u got the money for your Cali.

That's what I do.

 

Here is my question..if you buy one now, put 10.000kms on it and sell in a year, how much will you get back? 80%? 50%?

If you get 80% or so, why not do it for a year, so you scratch that itch.

 

I'm assuming your heart is set on the Cali, there are some pretty good deals to be had with well-maintained 360's, 599s, 612s...

Again, I'm sure you've considered those too...but might be a good 'compromise' where you get a lot of the Ferrari thrills/experience, but still have some money in the bank

 

We could be dead tomorrow so live for today. I put every penny into my first Ferrari, sold my house to have enough for a new 512 with enough left over to insure it back in the day and never regretted it. Helped I found a girlfriend with a house and garage.

 

You could buy one in Europe they are practically free at this exchange rate. With the massive savings you can store it in a nice driving region and fly in for trips... Or better yet get an 458 and still save huge $. 458 are around $150k USD

 

Wow! 150K what country is the best place to buy?

thanks

 

I say if you want it bad enough then get it . Although with the 5 year tax issues maybe it would be better to get an older car like a 550 or 575 . But I have owned a couple of californias and they are great cars just get a warranty if you can and enjoy somehow the money will be replaced but if you really have your heart set on a certain car like most of us on this website go for it...

best of luck

 

+1 Absolutely agree….

Car never be a good investment always depreciate in value since you are very 37 years old then invest your money to some investment that will make you more money so enjoy your live when you are 40 years old…. "Live begins at 40"…..

2009 - 2011 California always have a transmission and roof problem so if you want to get California, I would recommend to get California 2012 up.

 

If you live in Malaysia at 35+ years old and have a decent amount of cash saved up why not take an even more brave move and invest in yourself?

Why not take a small portion of those funds and get out of Malaysia, head to Melbourne get a MBA... Work out of Aus or emerging SE Asian markets.

Money is truly the only renewable resource on this planet. Hope you think outside of the box a bit and figure out your situation! The question isn't how can I afford a Ferrari... Its how can I change my path so I never have to question if I can afford anything again.

 

A little off topic....
But the USD 550,000.00 quote is in a way what I (or for that matter many US purchasers) will be paying for their new Cali T, when you factor in fed & state personal taxes... lol

Never really dawned on me until last year when times got a little rough and spending needed to be monitored. My god I never really realized I pay about 50% of my earnings in taxes and then some when you consider sales tax... wow.

OP, I owned a '10 Cali , loved it, nothing like it, I had owned a few porsches, no comparison. That said I was always worried about a few items that were noted to fail. Would have been very costly so for 2 of the years I owned it I purchased a costly extended warranty. I do not think you will have that option or that it will help you that much. So imo tread carefully, I would say if possible consider a newer model, the newer the better , I think.
Good luck, we only live once...

 

Actually, I would consider moving to live and work someplace else first.

If a Ferrari means a whole lot to you and where you live cannot make it practical to own one I would simply pull up roots and move. You need to direct your available energies towards solutions that you can make happen. No sense consuming your energies on a system that heavily penalizes you for wanting to get ahead.

There are hundreds of millions of people in the world living in places where it's either not healthy or not suitable for them to thrive. Most have no choice but to stay but for those who understand their predicament and can move, they should move because they will otherwise regret not having made that choice when they could have. You cannot fight "city hall" on such matters. If your country makes itself unwelcoming for a person to pursue his justifiable personal passions, he should seek welcome somewhere else.

I grew up in Hong Kong, arguably one of the best places in the world to be a kid in... during earlier times. But times have changed dramatically since then and I would not be realizing my dreams if I were still in HK today.

FWIW, I also sank all my extra cash on my first BMW when I was young and I never regretted it because the BMWs of those times exemplified the quality of workmanship and passion I felt necessary to possess in life. It helped me move ahead because I would not settle for less. For many car guys, a car is really more than just a car - it's their statement about life. Good luck pursuing your Ferrari passion!

 

very nicely put.

Relocation is sometimes hard (impossible?) for many reasons, but the idea you present is worth deep consideration

 

True. Sometimes a person has to make difficult choices and compromise or bide his time. The important thing is to keep faith with your personal passion in life and find a way.

 

Your avatar simply has to match the maximum size requirements of "80 by 80 pixels or 39.1 KB (whichever is smaller). ". This site does not accept animated GIF files for avatars.

Go up to the menu bar, click on "UserCP" for the control panels, select Edit Avatar from the left panel and activate the "Use Custom Avatar" radio button. Have your avatar file ready then click "Browse..." to upload.

As for your impending parking garage problem, you could consider a lift but do make sure you check out the available lifts BEFORE you buy the house.