Buying a Cayman, parents/peers think I'm really stupid.
Discussion
Hey guys, first post here so hello! I've been reading the forum a lot since I started looking at getting a Cayman (about 2 years ago!). I'm nearly ready to buy a Cayman but I'm having a few problems/people putting me off.
First of all, I've only been driving for two years. That being said I'm 27. Basically, I've been car mad all my life but for whatever reason had never learned to drive. I became a teacher and realised 'hey, I could afford a decent car now' which spurred me on to learn to drive. Now, I told everyone when I was learning to drive, I'm going to buy a porsche as soon as I could, no one thought I was serious. Then, when I got my first car I deliberately bought a Toyota Yaris for £1200 so I could carry on saving for a Cayman. In my mind, i don't want spend 8k on a VW or something, owning a 'normal' car that costs 8k, 10k doesn't get me any more excited than owning my Yaris.
So, I'm seriously looking at getting my Cayman now. I have 15k saved up, I'm looking at spending around 20k (currently trying to decide if i should wait a bit and get a gen 2 Cayman, but that isn't what this thread is about!). Everyone thinks I'm bonkers and wasting my money. What really gets me is, If I said 'I'm going to the Ford dealership tomorrow and I'm going to buy a Ford Mondeo for 18k on finance, no one would say anything. They would probably think it was a sensible decision and say 'well done, you deserve a nice car'. What's mad about that is, the Mondeo will depreciate like a stone and i'd still have whatever the extra it would cost with finance to pay. I've saved up enough nearly to buy the car I want in cash, that has a lot of it's depreciation already taken but everyone thinks I'm being idiotic.
Now, I know this thread may seem pointless but has anyone else been in this position? I know I've only been driving two years, but I feel I'm a very sensible and good driver. I know I can't for definite say i'll be ok, but I genuinely don't think I'll have a problem driving the Cayman or be dangerous, I know speed is addictive but I think passing my test later than most at 25 has made me a sensible driver as I know I'm not the most experienced driver so am very careful. I know no matter what most might think 2 years driving experience isn't enough though, which I can appreciate but I do think I will be ok so I'm going to do it. The insurance quotes aren't too bad either, I think my age and job as a teacher help bring it down.
Thanks for reading guys, it's just really annoying to have people telling me I'm wasting my money and condemning my purchase, when these same people have made car purchases I would never make, buying brand new Mini's etc. Then I have the fact that if something does go wrong (which I appreciate may happen) and my Cayman engine blows up (i plan on getting some form of warranty, hopefully buying one with OPC cover) everyone will be like 'told you so' hah.
Thanks again.
First of all, I've only been driving for two years. That being said I'm 27. Basically, I've been car mad all my life but for whatever reason had never learned to drive. I became a teacher and realised 'hey, I could afford a decent car now' which spurred me on to learn to drive. Now, I told everyone when I was learning to drive, I'm going to buy a porsche as soon as I could, no one thought I was serious. Then, when I got my first car I deliberately bought a Toyota Yaris for £1200 so I could carry on saving for a Cayman. In my mind, i don't want spend 8k on a VW or something, owning a 'normal' car that costs 8k, 10k doesn't get me any more excited than owning my Yaris.
So, I'm seriously looking at getting my Cayman now. I have 15k saved up, I'm looking at spending around 20k (currently trying to decide if i should wait a bit and get a gen 2 Cayman, but that isn't what this thread is about!). Everyone thinks I'm bonkers and wasting my money. What really gets me is, If I said 'I'm going to the Ford dealership tomorrow and I'm going to buy a Ford Mondeo for 18k on finance, no one would say anything. They would probably think it was a sensible decision and say 'well done, you deserve a nice car'. What's mad about that is, the Mondeo will depreciate like a stone and i'd still have whatever the extra it would cost with finance to pay. I've saved up enough nearly to buy the car I want in cash, that has a lot of it's depreciation already taken but everyone thinks I'm being idiotic.
Now, I know this thread may seem pointless but has anyone else been in this position? I know I've only been driving two years, but I feel I'm a very sensible and good driver. I know I can't for definite say i'll be ok, but I genuinely don't think I'll have a problem driving the Cayman or be dangerous, I know speed is addictive but I think passing my test later than most at 25 has made me a sensible driver as I know I'm not the most experienced driver so am very careful. I know no matter what most might think 2 years driving experience isn't enough though, which I can appreciate but I do think I will be ok so I'm going to do it. The insurance quotes aren't too bad either, I think my age and job as a teacher help bring it down.
Thanks for reading guys, it's just really annoying to have people telling me I'm wasting my money and condemning my purchase, when these same people have made car purchases I would never make, buying brand new Mini's etc. Then I have the fact that if something does go wrong (which I appreciate may happen) and my Cayman engine blows up (i plan on getting some form of warranty, hopefully buying one with OPC cover) everyone will be like 'told you so' hah.
Thanks again.
Edited by trashtrashtrash on Sunday 16th June 13:32
If you can afford it and have saved up, why not? It's your life.
Only piece of advice I would give is that if you have never owned such a car before just be aware of the running costs.
My cayman s for example will get around 280 miles from a tank of super, costing around £77. Tyres are expensive being n rated etc. I guess what I'm saying is most people can afford to buy a Porsche but can they afford to run them in the correct manner and not on a shoe string?
Only piece of advice I would give is that if you have never owned such a car before just be aware of the running costs.
My cayman s for example will get around 280 miles from a tank of super, costing around £77. Tyres are expensive being n rated etc. I guess what I'm saying is most people can afford to buy a Porsche but can they afford to run them in the correct manner and not on a shoe string?
People have funny views on what everybody else should spend their money on.
When I bought my new Cayman a few years ago my younger brother thought I was an idiot for spending so much on a car; ironically at the time he said that he was booking a £20k holiday for his family!!
With regard to your purchase you'll be lucky to source one from an OPC in your 20k budget. There's only one at that price in the UK at present on the OPC locater. Next cheapest is £24k. But, good luck in your search.
When I bought my new Cayman a few years ago my younger brother thought I was an idiot for spending so much on a car; ironically at the time he said that he was booking a £20k holiday for his family!!
With regard to your purchase you'll be lucky to source one from an OPC in your 20k budget. There's only one at that price in the UK at present on the OPC locater. Next cheapest is £24k. But, good luck in your search.
Id suggest a little caution. If I was in your position then Id keep the Yaris and look for a Boxster which I could insure on a cheap modern classic policy.
This will give you a relatively cheap and easy start into the car type and you can see whether they really suit you.
If they do then you can jump in with both feet. Everyday insurance will cost more, but you will have had one+ years experience driving a similar car already, which should prevent your premium being loaded by an experienced (with the marque) insurer.
This will give you a relatively cheap and easy start into the car type and you can see whether they really suit you.
If they do then you can jump in with both feet. Everyday insurance will cost more, but you will have had one+ years experience driving a similar car already, which should prevent your premium being loaded by an experienced (with the marque) insurer.
As above but be aware of the running costs.
It's been a while now since I've had the 'It's only a car' or 'it just there to get you from point A to point B' remarks. What the people who say this don't (and probably never will) understand is that, that mundane point A to B drive can be a bit special. Just last week I'd had a s
ty day at work and yet walking out to the car, removing the roof and firing up the Spyder was enough to put a huge a grin on my face, before even leaving the carpark.
It is SO worth it
It's been a while now since I've had the 'It's only a car' or 'it just there to get you from point A to point B' remarks. What the people who say this don't (and probably never will) understand is that, that mundane point A to B drive can be a bit special. Just last week I'd had a s
ty day at work and yet walking out to the car, removing the roof and firing up the Spyder was enough to put a huge a grin on my face, before even leaving the carpark.It is SO worth it
just do it you wont look back,as said before running costs are not to bad,the others are only jealous!but would save a little longer a get yourself a nice 3 year old 3.4s gen2,the older the car the more you will spend on brakes,suspension,rads etc.if they have never been done plus the gen2 is a lower rfl and a better engine.
I think a lot of it boils down to the definition of "afford" which varies from person to person. If you had £20k cash, does that mean you can afford a car that costs £20k? Depends on who you ask. Personally, I'm very conservative and as a rule of thumb, I can afford a car if and only if I'm prepared to throw away all the money that I spent on the car without any consequences whatsoever - this usually translates to about 15-25% of my cash assets (so for a £20k car, I'd have about £100k in the bank lying around). While all of my friends consider this too conservative, it allows me to drive my cars without worrying at all - it means that I can trivially afford anything that comes up, including just replacing the car in the worst case. For example, when I need to buy new tires, I can just buy the "best" without even thinking; if something breaks - just get it fixed, I don't have to even contemplate if I can afford to fix it or how much it costs.
Having said all that, the ability to afford a car is defined by a wide spectrum and is not a black / white issue. I've chosen to be more conservative in that respect because it allows me to enjoy a relatively worry-free life. If I were in your position, I'd rather have £5-10k in the bank and drive a "lesser" car than having to live on a tighter budget and worrying at night that if my engine blew up, I'd be without a car and have to borrow a few thousands pounds to get it all fixed.
At the end of the day, it's all about risk but I'd be very cautious with spending all of your assets on a piece of metal - it might be deemed financially irresponsible and I presume that's the reason you're seeing the negative feedback. While the likelihood of being affected by a catastrophic event is indeed quite small, you'd be in a very uncomfortable position were it happen. In closing, I'd probably just buy a 987 Boxster S and leave a few thousands in the bank.
Note that in all of the above, I'm assuming that your £15k represents the total amount of money saved up, not just money set aside for a car.
Hope that helps.
Having said all that, the ability to afford a car is defined by a wide spectrum and is not a black / white issue. I've chosen to be more conservative in that respect because it allows me to enjoy a relatively worry-free life. If I were in your position, I'd rather have £5-10k in the bank and drive a "lesser" car than having to live on a tighter budget and worrying at night that if my engine blew up, I'd be without a car and have to borrow a few thousands pounds to get it all fixed.
At the end of the day, it's all about risk but I'd be very cautious with spending all of your assets on a piece of metal - it might be deemed financially irresponsible and I presume that's the reason you're seeing the negative feedback. While the likelihood of being affected by a catastrophic event is indeed quite small, you'd be in a very uncomfortable position were it happen. In closing, I'd probably just buy a 987 Boxster S and leave a few thousands in the bank.
Note that in all of the above, I'm assuming that your £15k represents the total amount of money saved up, not just money set aside for a car.
Hope that helps.
Thanks so much for the encouragement! I'm so glad the reaction is positive here hah because if a board of car enthusiasts thought I was doing the wrong thing then it might be the wrong thing.
Dr Mark -Good points but I'm not borrowing 5k, sorry should have made that more clear. I have 15k saved at the moment, I'm saving more and more each month now and should be at 20k in a few months. I don't own any other assets but I do rent a house with my girlfriend. Taking out a mortgage and buying a house will be something I'll do in a few years I think.
Pengin! The classic option is a great idea, makes sense and appeals to my value for money mind set! I have considered it before but not looked into it enough so that I feel like I know the cars/know what I'm talking about enough - this is where my 2 years driving experience comes in to make me worry, I don't know if it's true or not but I have it in my mind those older cars might be a bit more difficult to drive. Still, something I can see myself getting into in the future!
GC8 - Good idea and again something I've looked into but I just don't think an older boxter is the right decision for me, the insurance benefits aren't really great enough and I think I'd feel more comfortable in a newer Cayman. Thanks for the suggestion.
uknick - Haha that's exactly what gets me, people spend their money on all sorts of things that cost a lot of money and don't really make financial sense but they think a used Porsche that can be argued is a sensible(ish) decision is madness. Sorry I should have made that clearer, a Porsche from OPC would be great but I'm hoping I'll find one in the classifieds that you sometimes stumble accross that has some OPC warranty left, which I'd probably try and extend myself.
Itsbitsy - A gen 2 is my current dilemma, I started saving thinking gen 1 but prices are falling and my savings are getting larger so a gen 2 is becoming realistic. I'm thinking a 2.9 if i go gen 2 though rather than an S, is there any reason you say the S rather than the 2.9 apart from the extra speed? Thanks for the encouragement!
Everyone else! - Thanks for the advice and encouragement as well, really appreciated!
Dr Mark -Good points but I'm not borrowing 5k, sorry should have made that more clear. I have 15k saved at the moment, I'm saving more and more each month now and should be at 20k in a few months. I don't own any other assets but I do rent a house with my girlfriend. Taking out a mortgage and buying a house will be something I'll do in a few years I think.
Pengin! The classic option is a great idea, makes sense and appeals to my value for money mind set! I have considered it before but not looked into it enough so that I feel like I know the cars/know what I'm talking about enough - this is where my 2 years driving experience comes in to make me worry, I don't know if it's true or not but I have it in my mind those older cars might be a bit more difficult to drive. Still, something I can see myself getting into in the future!
GC8 - Good idea and again something I've looked into but I just don't think an older boxter is the right decision for me, the insurance benefits aren't really great enough and I think I'd feel more comfortable in a newer Cayman. Thanks for the suggestion.
uknick - Haha that's exactly what gets me, people spend their money on all sorts of things that cost a lot of money and don't really make financial sense but they think a used Porsche that can be argued is a sensible(ish) decision is madness. Sorry I should have made that clearer, a Porsche from OPC would be great but I'm hoping I'll find one in the classifieds that you sometimes stumble accross that has some OPC warranty left, which I'd probably try and extend myself.
Itsbitsy - A gen 2 is my current dilemma, I started saving thinking gen 1 but prices are falling and my savings are getting larger so a gen 2 is becoming realistic. I'm thinking a 2.9 if i go gen 2 though rather than an S, is there any reason you say the S rather than the 2.9 apart from the extra speed? Thanks for the encouragement!
Everyone else! - Thanks for the advice and encouragement as well, really appreciated!
Your money, do what you want. Be prepared to budget a bit more for all the additional dates you'll be going on
Given your choice of occupation, you'll no doubt be surrounded by rather left-leaning 'won't someone think of the planet' types that will no doubt be a bit negative about your choice of car. But sod them, there's a bigger world than work out there.
As long as you're waranteed, I doubt you'll ever look back on your life and say "I wish I hadn't bought that Porsche!"
personally I think it's worth spending a bit more and getting the OPC warantee.
Given your choice of occupation, you'll no doubt be surrounded by rather left-leaning 'won't someone think of the planet' types that will no doubt be a bit negative about your choice of car. But sod them, there's a bigger world than work out there.
As long as you're waranteed, I doubt you'll ever look back on your life and say "I wish I hadn't bought that Porsche!"
personally I think it's worth spending a bit more and getting the OPC warantee.
Edited by richardrsc on Sunday 16th June 15:47
trashtrashtrash said:
Dr Mark -Good points but I'm not borrowing 5k, sorry should have made that more clear. I have 15k saved at the moment, I'm saving more and more each month now and should be at 20k in a few months. I don't own any other assets but I do rent a house with my girlfriend. Taking out a mortgage and buying a house will be something I'll do in a few years I think.
Personally, I'd get the house deposit together first and then the Porsche. Possibly more fun your way. Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff