vbb

I'm a window-shopaholic when it comes to cars.

There, I said it.

And before any of you take this TOO seriously, this post is made somewhat tongue-in-cheek, though there is truth to it.

Like many of you, the 911 has always been my dream car. And like many of you, I've always been a "car guy" even before I could drive. Even when I was a broke college student, I still spent money on making my car nice (whatever nice was back then) and many of my friends, family and coworkers consult with me anytime they're making a car purchase, because I've probably read the reviews about it and know more about the car they're buying than they do.

Going back to the start though, the 911 was THE car for me. I've had a lot of fun, fast and cool vehicles, but this has been my favorite. That said, apparently owning my dream car doesn't stop me from getting the idea that hmm... maybe I should sell it or trade it in for something EVEN BETTER. Now I'm not as bad as some, I usually keep cars for around 2-3 years before trading out, but when I bought my 997.2 (and first Porsche) I figured I'd be keeping this one for 10+ years, especially since it isn't a daily driver.

The thing is, I want to keep the car that 10+ years. Or more accurately, I want to want to keep the car that long. But it's like once a week I find myself down some rabbit hole browsing classifieds for good deals. In the past month alone, I've seriously priced out a few vehicles... a Lexus RCF, an Audi S6, a 981 Cayman S and Cayman GTS, a Cayenne GTS, and wistfully a GT3 and an Audi R8. Every time I do that I have to literally pull up a picture of my car and remind myself that I am driving my dream car already and I need to drop the idea of trading or selling it.

Despite the window shopping, I show restraint. I don't actually go on test drives. I could spend more on a car (not 997.2 GT3 money, but more than I've spent thus far), but I don't... and am afraid if I actually take the step to test drive something, I'll end up trying to work a deal. And I also remind myself that I don't even use 8/10ths of what my current car can do under most circumstances, because I don't feel like getting arrested and losing my license.

But rest assured, next week I'll be trying to convince myself that you know what, the 997 Turbos are really quite reasonable these days, and off I'll go again...

cerbomark

I totally understand. The only difference is I usually only keep the cars about 3 years. As I get older I tell myself "been there, done that" to try and talk myself out of heading down the rabbit hole you speak of. I think the life lesson is that there is no total satisfaction in material things. They all get old to us no matter how great they appear during the hunt... My 2 cents.

Blu311

Hi, I'm Blu311 and I cant stop window shopping cars.

I have always shopped cars, ever since I could legally drive. My wife catches me on autotrader or cars.com all the time on my phone and gives me a hard time. Oh well, its fun!

But like you said, I wont contact sellers or go on test drives unless I really am serious, I don't want to waste anyone else's time.

996scott

I have the exact same problem, glad to know I am not alone LOL. Love the searching, comparing, analyzing, and trying to find my perfect car for the perfect price. My wife just rolls her eyes and laughs. I guess there are worse ways/vises to spend my time.

gopirates

I do it too. The funny part is when I see newcomers to the forum or folks with new acquisitions, I know some of the cars, which dealership it came from and ins and outs of certain dealerships.......I keep telling myself this is normal....

Nip are

Yep totally get it. Wanting can be as much fun as having. Sometimes more.
It's one of the reasons I like motorcycles. You can do the same thing for a lot less money.

Marvinta

Hi My name is Marvinta and I have a problem.

I check regional craigslist auto section almost every day (as well as Carguru, cars. com, autotrader etc etc). I price cars and track values on not just Porsches, but Ferrari's , BMW's Aston Martins, Mercedes, Fords, heck all of them. These days I don't think seriously about tracking cars (though I have thought long and hard about a used boxster in town for 4500$. I could rip it apart and really make something cool from it but I
must
resist....)

Anyways, that's all I feel comfortable sharing today. Thank you for listening.

vbb

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one! Thank you all for replying, makes me feel better.

My wife is used to it as well. I'm always surfing around the usual sites and watching YouTube reviews on cars, and sometimes I'll even try to "convince" her that getting such and such would be a good idea. She usually smiles and nods, but knows I'm not serious. Only once in the 15 years we've been together did I actually go out and sort of impulse buy a car, and that was back when we were just engaged and before kids, so it wasn't quite as problematic as it could have been.

The thing is there's really no rhyme or reason to it either... one day I'm shopping for SUVs (I had a thing for the X5M and the Cherokee SRT8), the next I'm looking at other 911s, and the third I'm looking at sport sedans like the CTS-V or S6.

I think the only thing I'd actually go buy is if either a white over tan, or black over brown 997.2 GTS popped up with the right price and close enough for me to go look at it. I mean, I'd go drive that car, and then whatever happened, happened... you know.

MEBound

I'm the same way and just bought my first Porsche. It's not that I'm looking at trading but maybe just ideas for upgrades to mine or its just a love of sports cars in general, particularly 911's. I was watching a show on Singer Porsches last night and it once again reminded me why we are so passionate about these cars.

mreloc

Oh! I read your first post and thought- "how sad- this guy is a a widow!" Glad I finally pieced together the typo

I have butterflies as I shop for my first 911. Love this stage of the process!

dgjks6

Glad I'm not alone. I wonder if there is a gene for this because I have it too. I think the gene also makes us think the 911 shape is the perfect shape for a car.

One day I'm looking at m5's, next day pricing out buying a 99 996 aero car and having Raby put a 3.6 in it. Next day looking at 991's. Today if was Jaguar F-types

Dennis C

Same here. The thread in the 997 forum asking if people would ever move to a 991 got me thinking, and now I've been shopping for 991s. I think it's an addiction. As my wife says, there are worse addictions than cars....

MkC2S

I got the bug also. Took my 996 in for service. While waiting for a ride, I was window shopping at their showroom/whse. Wasn't planning on buying for awhile, lord behold I was in the car taking a test drive. Two days later the 997 was sitting in my garage instead of the 996.

Para82

Nope not me, all I have to do is look at photos of the 991 or better yet go to the Porsche dealership - it just confirms my thoughts. No way I would hand over my 997 and 20k or whatever it would be. I wouldn't even add a 991 to the stable - only another 997.

vbb

Good catch! Fixed, thanks.