Too many cars?

HI all,

I apologize in-advance for another "Should I buy this car" topic.

I'm in my mid-20s and addicted to cars! I recently purchased an used Bentley CGT as my first car and leased a Subaru as a practical driver.

Although it might not be smart financially, I'm lucky enough to have the mean to purchase most new exotics in cash (excluding limited production hypercars).

Before I got my Bentley, I lusted after a Ferrari 360 Spider. However, I couldn't find a good example so I bought the CGT instead. I somewhat regret this decision because I never lusted after a CGT. I bought it because it was a good deal and ran out of patience of car searching.

Here is the list of cars I want at the moment:

1. Porsche Boxster - $33,000:

2. Fiat 500 - $18,000:

3. Gallardo Spyder (Pre-LP/LP560) - $150,000-$200,000:

4. F430 Spider - $150,000:

5. Porsche 356 Speedster Replica - $33,000:

Everything is good and rosy except this: I still don't have a house!

I am able to purchase a house BUT I'm currently living in the a city that is rated as the most over-valued city in the world by Deutsche Bank and other organisations. I'm holding off my real estate purchase because I don't want to lose a large chunk of my money when it crashes.

Given this situation, although financially capable, I find it hard to justify adding more cars to my stable. I could get rid of the Bentley but I only bought it few months ago. I need to own it at least 2+ year to justify my initial investments (wheels, tires, brakes, sales tax, and other enhancements). The two cars I bought so far are logical purchases instead of emotional purchase.

I really want the 356 Speedster Replica now but I afraid it will further set me back in my exotic dream like the Bentley did. I also feel guilty about spending all these money when some of my entry-level employees are not making as much in a year than I do in a week.


Any wisdom?

 

So you bought a depreciating asset, 'depreciating' in a 'rock in a vertical downward motion' kind of way, out of impatience although you didn't really want it, and your next move would be... to buy another one of these depreciating assets because you're worried a real estate purchase might cost you money?

 

Hi Far Out,

You are absolutely right. I guess I should clarify that given the same depreciation, the real estate doesn't give me the same amount of satisfaction as cars do.

Don't get me wrong, I love real estates. However, the type of real estate that will give me the same level of satisfaction as exotic costs 10-30 times more than brand new 458 Italia.

I can go out and spend $400k(avg price here) on an 700 sqft apartment in which I won't enjoy, costs a lot, and might lose a significant amount of value. It doesn't appeal to me. If Deutsche Bank and OECD are correct, the real value of this 700 sqft apartment is about $250k. The probability of suffering a 08 style US crash is anyone's guess. The local market did not dip in 2008. Instead, it is continuing to climb at 8-10%/year. The property value almost doubled in the last 10 years whereas wages stagnated.

The same goes for the commercial market: 1. Large initial investment 2. Low cap rate 3. High risk given the current market uncertainty. The stake is even higher because the commercial game starts at 7 figures with at least 40-50% down payment - That is even questionable given my age. I did look at the possibility of purchasing an office space for my company but nothing is for sale in the correct locations.

The other alternative is the stock market. I lost about $2000 doing day-trading in college so I won't speculate again. I plan to add $100k per year to my portfolio of dividend-paying blue-chips.

Back to cars...

The cars I'm looking at are already bottoming out at their depreciation curve. I'm not looking at new cars. The running costs and depreciation on Gallardo is about $12-13k a year which is about the same as if you lease a brand new $70,000 car. The initial all in cost (taxes+mods+tires+rims+repairs) for my Bentley is about $70k. I'm confident I can sell the car at $34,000 in 30 months especially when the new generation debuted in 2012 essentially retains the same body shape and interior.

If I'm gonna lose money on something, at least it is going to be fun, right?

Another strange thing is that when I realized I could afford something, it became less appealing. I realized material possessions like cars don't really bring me long lasting happiness. I could drop $150k in a Gallardo/F430. I would be excited before I got it and be happy immediately after I got it. However, the novelty wears off quickly. That's why I really feel like the 356 Speedster replica is a good choice because it is inexpensive yet captures my heart.

 

There you go. Buy the speedster replica
Seems like 33k would be a very small purchase for you. Im not even sure why you are wondering.

 

Find a car sharing club in your city to scratch the exotic itch until you figure out what you really want. Flipping Bentleys is a quick way to go broke.

 

none of this makes any sense to me.

 

You said CGT and I was thinking something completely different.

 

Thought I was the only one.

 

Just buy them all.

 

just buy what u want. between 04-06 I purchased 45 cars/toys and a 60,000sq. ft. building to house them. just started selling of some(12) and the building. had a lot of fun. still enough left to have fun
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A while back, I got onto a twisty fly-over ramp (two lanes each way), and blew past another car.
He didn't much like that, and blew past me once we got on the straight.
But, at the next corner, I was right on his tail again. (Without ever seriously abusing the speed limit.)

The thing is: I was in an EVO wearing winter tires, and he was in a Porsche 930 turbo.

Lesson: It's not the car, it's the driver.

Get an old, solid rear axle, front heavy, tail-happy, classic lightweight that will toss you into a ditch (at 20 mph) if you don't pay attention.

When you can handle that, *then* start looking at cars that will blow up into a fireball when stuffed into a lamppost.

I tell people all the time: Don't worry about speed. Worry about precision. Once you have that down, speed will take care of itself, with practice.
But without precision, *any* speed is too much.

Don't spend $400 on designer sneakers before you learn how to tie your shoelaces.

 

Ha. Me too.

 

I think what's "driving" you really isn't an interest in cars. You are using the excitement of acquiring something (a car) you had thought to be unattainable to make up for something else that you feel unattainable in your life. That initial rush you feel is like a temporary fix for an addiction. It acts by keeping your mind away from your real problems (or "unattainable" desires).

Here's a bit of advanced advice from an old guy - all of us are driven by our subconscious minds to varying degrees. Where our subconscious mind starts to really make us do weird things is when our conscious lives have become really unbalanced. That's when our subconscious begins to make us do things we don't understand.

We are very good at disguising our true conditions (and problems) to ourselves… BUT we cannot fool our subconscious mind. Unfortunately, subconscious minds cannot communicate directly to our conscious minds. So it does weird things instead to signal its concern and it's up to you to recognize that and to figure it out.

You need to take some time off, preferably at a peaceful location that is not distracting and think about what's happened in your life in recent years, and try to understand where that's taking you as well as where you really want to be.

Trust me on this.

 

Now this does make sense.

 

I Have the same disease as you do! It is wonderfully exciting. I have been up to 16 cars but currently only have 10 cars. Good news , I am on the prowl for cars again.

As one poster said they do depreciate. The only car I made money on was my 2005 Ford GT that I bought new, kept for 8 years and sold for a slight profit.

Suggest you try an Audi R8. They are wonderful cars. I prefer the V10 but the V8 is great also.

The new 2014 Corvettes are great drivers cars. They have blended the European feel with the American brashness. Try one I think you will be surprised.

If you like cars that stand out the Lambo Aventador or the Mosler will do that. They are both 700hp or better. Great and fun cars. I like the 430 better than my 458 ferrari. The Lamboginni Galardos have pretty well caught Ferrari. I owned a 2010 Lambo and the 458 at the same time both a great cars.

The Porsche Boxer are nice but a 911 would be better, The runny egg front end 911s are not espensive but are great cars, Porsche designation is the 996, 911. I bought my 2002 Turbo 911 for $35k at mecum. It was a great drivers car.

I would not buy a replica of anything, but that is me, well I did by a 65 Shelby replica.

I car you may have not heard of this, a VW Golf R. The R stands for race. I is just a blast to throw around and play with. They also make a GTI version which I suspect would be close in fun. Don't laugh at me till you drive one.

I think the Garlardo you are looking at is to old, it will give you problems. I would stay with the Lps. Less expensive to live with. My 2006 Galardo was good to me but my freinds at the dealership told me I was lucky It gave me no problems. You want a Lambo that was built after the VW group took charge of Lambo and the model after that VW was involved in. This way you get german engineering with Italain flair.


Enjoy your cars with saftey.

Best of luck

Lee

 

I used to have the disease but I found the cure. Michael gave you some very good advise I'd consider taking it. Cars are something you go after once you have the more important things in life sorted out.

 

If you want to preserve capital, buy one used exotic, avoid weird colors, and stick with it -- serial car buying (unless you're doing pre-74 classics) is going to burn through a lot of cash. Don't buy replicas - waste of money, and tacky. Buy authentic and buy quality so you can resell. And don't buy new cars.

Keep the Bentley, unless you're really already bored with it. If you are bored, Gallardos are depreciating with the launch of the successor model, so a lightly used one probably wouldn't be too much of a money pit and would be more fun to drive (but less practical). Ferrari 360s are getting cheap, so you wouldn't lose your shirt buying one at this point if all the bug fixes (e.g., varietor defect) are in place, although I think the F430 is a much better car all round.

A lightly used Porsche Boxster/Cayman is a fantastic car, probably everything you really need, but if you want an "exotic" for the attention value you'll find the Boxster/Cayman to be a little common.

With regard to classics (like a real Porsche 356 or early 911, Jag E-Type, Mercedes 280 SL or perhaps Ferrari 308/328), they're amazing, but you will find old cars require a lot of attention to drive and maintain. Also no airbags, ABS, etc., so safety will never be as good. OTOH, the smart money is on the classics. And some of us find them a lot more interesting to drive.

So, I understand not buying a house in a bubble market, but if you blow your savings on a bunch of depreciating modern status symbols you will regret it in the long run. Your 20s are ironically the best time to invest, given that money invested now will have 40 years to work for you prior to retirement.

 

Wow! I am in love with that 550.

Can you share more pictures please? The paint looks splendid!