panzer grey

Does something happen to Porsche enthusiasts when they can finally afford a high-end Porsche ?

A guy in my apartment complex has a beautiful 996 turbo...silver with blacks wheels...flawless !

I saw him getting our of the car the other day, and I gave him a compliment. He replied "yeah, I've had it almost 6 months and I'm ready for something else...I just sold this one for $120,000."

He parks his Turbo in parking spots close to the building next to ratty old cars and pickup trucks....in very tight parking slots....while there are scores of more deserted areas to park only 20 yards away. He is just asking for a major door ding.

I know that one owner is not indicative of all owners, and this guy was just being vain when he was bragging about being "tired" of the Turbo after 6 months, but his attitude seems more prevalent amongst those who can afford 100K Porsche's. It's like it's nothing to them.

I recently stopped in unannounced at a private garage where they have several exotic Porsche's...including a 962, 968's, etc. They were , shall I say, a bit cold and less than friendly.

I understand that they may have been very busy, and that it was I who walked in off the street with no appointment, but I would have to think that if any of us 944/968 owners had some rare and beautiful cars and someone expressed interest in them, we would at the least appreciate their enthusiasm and maybe say "I'm busy right now, but if you call me sometime I can take 10 minutes and let you see the cars". Instead all I received was some half-hearted "yeah, that's a 962" and dispassionate grunts in response to my excitement.

Is this what happens when these beautiful cars just become "average" for the lucky few ? Just a "car" that you drive for a few months and then trade in for something else ? That you park in door-ding land ? That you aren't even interested in sharing with someone who shows interest ?

Or is it more of the "snob" factor...once you can afford a 99-whatever you have to act like it's no big deal. ( they guy wasn't parking his Turbo in the danger zone for my benefit, he just didn't seem to care that much )

I dont' intend to smear ALL 911 owners, particularly the passionate owners, restorers, and racers of older 911's.

I just prefer the excitement and unabashed passion displayed by 944 owners and enthusiasts.

...and if ANYONE asks, I'll be happy to give out free rides in my little 'poor-mans' 944 !

Alex Cook

I feel sorry for these guys in some ways. If you can't get excited about $120k cars what's the point of being loaded in the first place?

Course if I had that sort of dough, I'd buy 10 old Porsches rather than one new one

jaibeiber

what you do is, start listing all the specs on the 962. including races one. kind of like Tim taylor on "home improvement" would do. say them really quickly and passionatly, like no one was there. make them sound dumb. that would be a victory for the enthusiasts all over.

Kurt

Everytime a thread like this pops up, I refer to this:
Porsche People

and in particular, this excerpt:

3. Status Conscious

Peter Schutz, former president of Porsche, once said; "for some people, a Porsche is nothing more than a fur coat, it's something you wear, not something you drive". Peter was describing the Status owner. It is extremely unlikely that you will ever meet one of these owners at a Club event. Why? Because they don't know that the Club exists, and they wouldn't join it if they did. These are the people that create the unfavorable Porsche-owner stereotype. They overdress, wear too much gold, park in handicapped zones, have bad traffic manners, and look down their noses at everyone. If you happen to meet one of them in say, a parking lot, and you are not driving your Porsche the conversation could go something like this:
You: "Nice 993, how do you like it?"
Status owner: "Actually it's not a '93, it's a '97 'Porsh' Carrera. I like it okay, but you have to shift it a lot and my wife's Lexus rides much better. I might trade it for a Boxer, they ride smoother and you can get an automatic in them. I know a guy at the dealership"

This guy knows absolutely nothing about Porsches except what they cost. The Porsche Gods created Status owners so the rest of us could get good used cars. When the status effect of the car wears off and they discover that Porsches "ride like sports cars", Status owners sell them and move on to Lincoln SUV's – or stretch Hummers. Meanwhile, we all suffer.

Antonio951

Kurt thats a great site. I was almost rolling when i read NR 1. It describes me perfect. I have only had my car for 6 months and im very VERY careful with it but i do take it over 2500RPM sometimes.

1. Worrier

The Worrier is the Porsche owner (usually a new owner) who frets constantly about every detail regarding his baby. Most of us are Worriers to some degree when we get our first Porsche. Worriers will approach everyone in the club about which weight and brand of oil they should use in their car. They'll get on the internet and research endlessly trying to find the best leather conditioner, aromatherapy wax, herbal car wash, tire pressure gauge, etc. They'll change their oil every 500 miles and replace the air in their tires because it might be stale. They'll short-shift their car at 2500 RPM just to make sure it doesn't get over-revved (even though the previous owner may have regularly banged it up against redline). The Worrier won't corner his car hard because that would place undue strain on the delicate chassis. These guys are usually cured when they discover that their **** behavior has actually done more damage than good to their car.

That is funny and so true, the first 3 months i worried about "breaking" something. I take very good care of it now but i do also drive it like it was built to be and im not quite as paranoid as i was, Still am but not as much.

lswanie

the wild *** gear head one is absolutely hilarious

Graufuchs

Waterboy..

Ben Plaisted

I've graduated from worrier to a mix of water-boy and purist. I still occasionally have relapses to worrier though. I want to be a gear head.... maybe someday.

Scootin159

I'd have to say I have a little of all of those in me. Really depends on who I'm talking to, lol. (Mechanic gets the worrier, ricer's get the purist)

Abby Normal

Thanks Kurt!

I'm a #5

Devia

Can we just drive!?

- Julie

Duke

I have to admit I'm number 5

Kurt

Hahaha, I've posted that several times but never got the responses like on this thread before.

I would qualify myself as a Waterboy and an aspiring Wild *** Gear Head - but that aspiring part is just an acquire-and-save-$$ thing.