The "Nice Cars / Small House" Decision | FerrariChat

The "Nice Cars / Small House" Decision

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by Ettie, Jan 17, 2013.

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  1. Ettie

    Ettie Karting

    Aug 16, 2011
    72
    #1 Ettie, Jan 17, 2013
    Evening F-Fans.

    The missus and I are at a place where we could have our house paid off in 5-6 years, along with all of our other long term debt. Looking down the road, we're considering a couple of options.

    The first is to move "uptown", increase our living space by about 700sq. ft. Nice neighborhood, excellent aesthetics and very cohesive design.

    The second is to just stay in our first home. It was built in 2011, neighborhood is nice, not upscale but quiet, friendly, safe.

    Option 1 would put us in a position where we'd likely be able to have...maybe 3-4 dream-y cars before the end of the line, considering a moderate ownership length of 3-5 years each time. Really not bad.

    With option 2 that number skyrockets. We could have each of our vehicles be from the "freakin' sweet" list at all times, could easily have 10-15 sports cars of moderate cost before the time for driving sports cars is over. This would also give me the opportunity to drive from the higher end of the menu more often, say 430 & 328 vs. Honda Accord and 355.

    Things to consider:

    No kids, no kids on the horizon. I have no dynastic responsibilities and intend to die close to broke, leaving proceeds from house sale to nieces and nephews.

    I'm 28. I know it sounds like a crazy thing to think about before you're 30, but I'm a planner :)

    I can't afford to keep them all, they have to rotate. Space in town is at a premium I'm not currently willing to pay, and the number of decent places to lease garage space is zero or close to it. (Though it'd be crazy low for most F-chatters :) )


    So, what I'd like to hear from you guys/gals, is have you been in this spot? Which option did you choose, and if you had it to do over again, would you?
     
  2. anunakki

    anunakki Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 8, 2005
    72,938
    Las Vegas Nevada
    Full Name:
    Jerry
    #2 anunakki, Jan 17, 2013
    I was the small house/expensive car guy throughout my 20s. In my mid 30s i switched to better house/modest (relatively) cars.

    Im happy with that decision....was a ton of fun driving Vipers and Ferraris at a younger age.
     
  3. bpu699

    bpu699 F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Dec 9, 2003
    16,253
    wisconsin/chicago
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    bo
    #3 bpu699, Jan 17, 2013
    I did the modest home thing initially too. Liked having lots of free money.

    You do get to the point where you will want the nicer house...

    It's all good, no right or wrong...

    Bo
     
  4. roadracer311

    roadracer311 Formula 3

    May 6, 2009
    2,398
    San Francisco
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    Paul
    #4 roadracer311, Jan 17, 2013
    I'm 40, and live in a 500 sq ft condo with my wife. The 2003 Boxster S and 1995 F355 Spider, and 2008 Triumph 675 Street Triple live downstairs in a giant non-private garage. We plan to keep the square footage small even if we manage to have a baby in the next couple years. I do hope to have a private two car garage at some point. I'd try not to tie up too much of your net worth in cars though, since they nearly always go down in value.
     
  5. Ettie

    Ettie Karting

    Aug 16, 2011
    72
    #5 Ettie, Jan 17, 2013

    This may end up being me. A viper at 30 would be hilarious. Though I'd never get another raise...
     
  6. Face76

    Face76 F1 World Champ
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    Aug 21, 2006
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    The Other Oz
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    M Wilborn
    #6 Face76, Jan 17, 2013
    Maybe my age will show but the thrill of owning and driving cars quickly fades as you get older. I am much more interested in the actual work of owning and repairing an older car that I appreciate versus going through countless newer cars. A lot of money can be lost buying and selling new cars. I was lucky that my addiction was american muscle cars from 1984 through 1998 or I could have lost a lot of money. But I did buy a couple of new vettes and bmw's that did depreciate.

    My advice is to stay in the home and experiment with one nice car that is easily disposed of if your tastes change whether new or older and see how it goes. With your kidless future, there are a lot of other things that could be accomplished that is automotive related. For example, I would like to go to Goodwood one year and experience the revival. Or, travel to an international auto show.

    Good luck. You could have picked a lot worse hobby.
     
  7. Ettie

    Ettie Karting

    Aug 16, 2011
    72
    #7 Ettie, Jan 18, 2013
    Sound advice from someone who has been there, thank you and everyone else who has chimed in. :)

    Going to Goodwood would be awesome. I would really like to go all out and see everything.
     
  8. tervuren

    tervuren Formula 3

    Apr 30, 2006
    2,469
    #8 tervuren, Jan 18, 2013
    My advice is to stick with a paid for home. Then go for paid for cars. Perhaps make garage space to work on your cars.

    There really isn't a feeling quite like the first time I drove my Porsche with a new clutch I'd taken apart and rebuilt myself with the addition of a lightened fly wheel.

    On the other hand, if you work in town, a move into town would save time. That time of going to/from work can be a real drag. If you prefer the nicer place in town, stick with the paid for home, and save up for the new paid for home and skip the cars in the mean time.

    Personally, if it was a long commute, I'd take a semi-exotic(Porsche) that is easy to drive and live in town. If the commute wasn't unpleasant, I'd stick with your current place, and have a mix of cars.
     
  9. Ettie

    Ettie Karting

    Aug 16, 2011
    72
    #9 Ettie, Jan 18, 2013
    I know what you mean, I did a fair amount of work on my miata out of necessity, feels awesome to know that I have it in me to do that type of work. Bumps up the pride of ownership for sure.

    Being debt free may be so addictive that I'll never want to move into a bigger place :)
     

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