discoganya

This might be an odd question to ask, but anyway ...

Do 996 owners own or rent houses / apartments? In other words, do people invest in a house first and then get a p-car when they have the extra cash? Or is the car more important?

I live in the SF Bay Area where you need to spend at least 800K for a decent house. That's why I chose to get the car -- buying a house can wait a few years. What's the general opinion? (Lets exclude people who have passed-down houses or trust funds)

P-Car fanatic

I bought my house and rent others to other people.

I did actually have my boxster in the UK before I bought an apartment

1999Porsche911

Buying a house should always be your first choice, barring you planning on only being in the area a few years. However, living in San Fransisco IS NOT a good choice IMHO.

Joe2000C4Cab

Ahhhh, I see you are single!

I too live in the SF Bay area. Married(happily) and there was no way on God's green earth that my wife was going to agree to my 911 purchase before I made sure I could afford other, more sensible big ticket items (house, retirement, insurance, kid's education, etc) were bought and/or saved for.

I got (somewhat) lucky. I worked my a$$ off and was in the right place and the right time (and *recognized* it!). However, if there's one thing I've learned your P-car addiction can be much cheaper than the road I went (my road was mostly out of convenience). There are lots of reasonably cheap 911's around and even more people to help you work on them.

IMHO, get your priorities right, you can't live in your car... Well, maybe you can. Try a more vintage P-car, work on it yourself, but save for a house - that's a real investment.

kem

I bought in san francisco proper with my GF (we're serious, just marriage is not a big deal to us) and then we bought the 911 immediatly afterwards! Granted though, we had two cars (bmw & audi) before and now we have one. So the 911 was the cost effective thing to do! Thats probably not ideal for everyone, but neither of us drives to work and we live smack dab in the middle of the city so the car is just for fun and not commuting/going out on the town.

Sanjeevan

I don't think it's an odd question at all,...

I always believed my first big purchase would be my Porsche, even through college I believed it. The week after graduation I got married,...she convinced me that we should get the house first. Then it was the new family car, the new SUV and then 5 yrs. from my graduation bought my dream car. Now I am really glad I did it that way,..but in Ohio homes are cheap.

So the wiser me now thinks, it is a good idea to start investing and buying a home before purchasing a Porsche. But I have to say, no other purchase even remotely gives me the satisfaction of owning a Porsche.

42empress

house, actually moved up to second one before pcar

ame546

An expensive car NEVER comes before a house. EVER. But American psyche doesn't think that way. Guess that's why the average 30 yr old in the US has a net worth of 0. Unless you can justify it with some future stream of income, I would never place a depreciating asset in front of a home. I paid cash for my penthouse condo 3 years ago, then bought my first porsche. Not owing the bank any money ever will make you feel better in the long run. Pay off that house first.

Riad

I'm 37 and I live with my mom. I've got the basement fixed up sweet.

ame546

Lol Riad.

BlackCab996

Bought first house, 2 years later bought the Porsche - this was after showing my wife that I had set aside enough money for money for a second house (that we recently bought) and had fully funded my company's retirement accounts and the kids' 529 plans. Before being able to get into the California housing market, I was driving autos that were much more humble.

rayng

Buy a house first. Girls are smart and will be more impressed that you own a home in SF than a P-car of any vintage. P-cars impress guys more than girls. My gf, now wife considered my 996 as a big toy that warrants a similar purchase of her own. That's why we're going to HK to buy jewelry.

Although this was not mentioned, I think for some of us, a P-car purchase is a very visible and tangible symbol of our personal financial success/luck/hard work. As for me, I don't think a P or F car has any more soul, passion, and spirtuality than what we imbue upon it. It's just a talisman on 4 very sexy wheels.

Ucube

Yes, buy house first -- always.

Living in SF -- bad!!!!

billh1963

I own 7 houses but am Porsche-less at the moment. What did I do wrong?

1999Porsche911

Identifying your wife as a previous "gf" in San Fransciso does not necessarily mean girlfriend.