silverbullet

Well the last few days I've been doing some hard thinking. I have a company vehicle that I use as my daily driver. When I first bought my car it had alot of things wrong with it and I had the stuff repaired at an Official Porsche Center. Now I do all of the repairs myself. Anyway, over the last two years I have accumulated over $7000 in credit card debt. That amount is hard to get rid of and will take me at least two years to do so.

Now, as of right now I have an apartment and a daily driver. If I sell my car then I can crush the debt and hopefully get a few grand to help go to a down payment for another car. I could then save up and get something a little more reliable and newer. I would like a car that could work fine as a daily driver and be fun as well. I've been thinking about convertibles such as a 968, E36 M3, M roadster, or 964 911.

If you had that much credit card debt would you just sell the car and save up to get something later?

Thanks,
Josh

SD Porsche Fan

Do everything you can to get rid of that CC debt. Interest rates are rising and it will cost you dearly. If selling the car is the only way than so be it. Just think how much nicer car you can own in a couple of years saving money instead of throwing it at the CC companies.

silverbullet

The way it is now, every time I buy a new mod for my car I feel like I'm committing a crime since I have over $7000 in cards.....

At least I could start over and get something more practical, even if I have to have a small car payment.

silverbullet

How much should I be able to get for my car? I won't take less then $10k, preferably $12-13. Is this reasonable?

It's a 1986 Zermatt silver w/black interior with 90k miles.
The good:
Great interior
great compression
Vitesse chips
SFR 3" test pipe
Tial 38
Magnacor wires
Lindsey vac lines, cv and venturi delete
Accuboost with VDO boost gauge
Lindsey stainless fuel lines with billet fittings and Fuel pressure gauge, AFPR
Evo diverter valve
Brakes and pads done 10k ago
belts/front end seals, waterpump done 20k ago
brand new exhaust headers
full tune up
Stainless "Turbo" door sills
silver Fuchs with hand painted crest
Everything works perfect and it drives great

The bad:
leaking oil pan gasket
could use a front bumper repray
scuff on pass side rear fender flare
rear main seal may be leaking
no history of clutch replacement, currently fine though

I'll post some pics tomorrow.
What do you guys think?

Lorax

Get rid of the debt! I have had this hammered into my brain after a lifetime of living with Larry "money matters" Burkett.

silverbullet

Any ideas on what I should be able to get for the car? Anybody here go from a 951 to a 968 cab?

Jfrahm

Yes, get rid of the debt. Getting over $10K for a modded 951 might be tough but you really have to think in terms of what it costs you to own rather than what you have spent. Generally you don't invest money in a car, you spend it. Gone. The cost of ownership you are looking at right now is the repairs/mods/maintenance, insurance, and plates *plus* all the interest on that CC debt that you could pay off if you sell the car. Another factor is if all that CC debt is holding you back from getting a condo or something. With a garage.

I've had two 951s and currently have an S2 cab. I've also driven a 968 cab. The S2 is a lot more fun to drive around town and I love to have the top down. I have a garage though so I can leave the top down for weeks at a time. The S2's I have had have always been very reliable, knock on wood.
A 968 cab can often need a pile of money in catch-up maintenance but after that they are quite reliable and lots of fun. Clutch, variocam ramps, cam chain, etc. might be needed right away if you get a cheap 968 with 120K or so miles on it. There is a reason why lower mileage examples with records sell for a lot more.

CC debt is a huge anchor and will usually drag you down far more than a fun car is worth. It's much easier to afford a fun car after you get out of bad debt and get a place to live. Plus living without a garage blows.

-Joel.

shaheed

you're not going to like hearing this, but getting 10k for the car you just described is going to be very difficult. if you do your own wrenching fix the leaks first then think about selling.

silverbullet

That sucks, I see cars far worse on Ebay that get over that. So the oil pan gasket is going to have to be replaced huh? I could do it myself instead of knocking off the $2000 that it would cost to have it done. I really hate to have to do that though. Other then the damn leak it is a rather well sorted out 951. Every little part that tends to break on the engine and interior has been fixed or upgraded.

SD Porsche Fan

We'll our cars are similarly modded. My rear seal and oil pan gasket isn't leaking (knock on wood), I only have 80k miles, good paint and interior except a few dash cracks. Of couse '89s are Turbo S spec with M030, S4 Brembos, 26/8 etc. I wouldn't expect to get much over $11k. I keep waiting for the market to bottom out on 951s but it seems to continue to inch lower.

Given the price of 968 cabs how would making this type of puchase do anything to solve your debt problems?

DFASTEST951

I agree, get rid of the debt. Here's a tip though. Since the interest rates are going up, there are tons of cc companies offering you 0% interest on transfers for up to a year. At least six months. Use google, find and apply to all offering this, transfer your accounts interest free for up to a year so you can pay down your principal, not interest. When you have to start paying interest and you're not paid up, transfer again.

If you have to sell your car, it's imperative that you spend a considerable amount on detailing. It makes a big difference. You know what they say about first impressions. Hold out for what you want. You should get it. They are going for that on ebay. Great group of guys here but they're also vulchers when it comes to buying a 951. Nothing wrong with that as sometimes there are great deals to be had on these boards. If you look to sell here, you'll get eaten alive. These guys are always hungry.

I just had my car appraised by Classic and Collectable Cars out of Las Vegas NV. It came back at $60,000 even. Yes my car is powerful, but it's one of the prettiest things you've ever seen. Makes a big difference. BIG

pstickne

EBay listings aren't that expensive are they?
Could easily post high and see if you get any bites. I know I paid too much for my 951 so I'm sure there are others out there :X (Although I didn't buy it from EBay, it's just that EBay has huge exposure.)

(Damn, I hate to admit that--the spending too much part O.o)

Even if you don't sell your car (take it apart, it's fun--that's where I'm at--too deep in it to go anywhere but on :P) you should seek some professional credit managing advice. I'm not talking about just transfering to a new credit card line but in actually rolling it into lower-interest loans.
(I have heard stories of people getting screwed over BIG when "transfering" to new cards this way--and you have to realize that the "deal" isn't to help you, it's just to steal your patronage and money [usually just via interest but...])

Stephenwz968

I agree, get out of the cc debt as soon as possible-have you considered getting a roommate for your apartment and using that money to put directly on the cc? I would be careful of the loans-you don't have a house so cant do a home equity and write off the interest, so I would leave things as is and just find a way to put ALL your extra cash onto the cc debt-sell some personal stuff (I sold my drums and a few guitars before I got married to this-I didn't want debt going into our marriage) and reevaluate what you're spending money on. Good luck!

Steve

rickb20

Get a part time job. You're single - now is the time to do this. Get a job delivering pizzas or something that you can get into easily (no training or experience required). Walmart is hiring everywhere. You could bring in an extra $800 or so per month. Apply all of it to your debt and you could be debt free within a year and keep the 944 too.

My wife and I paid off around $40K in debt in two years time with her taking a lower paying job at the same time (to be with kids) so I know this is possible.

Just a thought.