Quote:
Originally Posted by HumanWiki
All of these cars are a luxury item, even if they're not classified as a luxury car. We don't need the vast majority of the gizmos, gadgets, power, design, etc. We buy and get in to them for the feelings they evoke while driving them. This is not exclusive to the auto performance area either. It's all across the board, with some hobbies costing more than others.
Depreciation is something you accept because you're buying it as a toy, not an investment.
While I would never encourage someone to over extend themselves and I'm sure some fiscally conservative people will be along to hand slap me.. But, money is a medium of exchange and has 0 intrinsic value. It only means something when we use it and while some may get enjoyment from having more commas in the bank than others, that doesn't do it for me. So, spend what you can on things that make you happy and don't worry about if they lose monetary value over the years. If you're not buying/selling them quickly, it's irrelevant and your mental happiness will usually offset it anyways.
Basically, we're only granted a certain amount of years in life. Choose how you spend them and on the things that make you happy. If a high initial cost car that will lose 30% value in 2yrs is something you can stomach because of the joy it will bring you and you're not going to end up destitute from buying it, then why not? |
Well said! My wife and I have this discussion all the time. When I got my ZL1 she kept asking why I "needed" to get one? I told her I didn't "need" to get one, but I wanted one and it was something we could afford. No impact on our kids college funds, no impact on our financial situation, etc. But she doesn't think like that, she doesn't really understand the "toy" concept. Then I sold my ZL1 and got a ZR1 and the discussion started all over again. I will never tell anyone else how to spend their money. If you end up sacrificing other things to fund your toys then that's your business, not mine. I do think there is a reasonable limit, but again, that's a personal decision. I would love to have a 2016 GT3 Porsche, but would have to make some big sacrifices to be able to afford it. I won't do that, others might. I do think that we are living in a golden age of performance cars. Never in history has so much performance been available for so little. Can you imagine the performance of a 6th Gen ZL1 10 years ago for so little money? Insane that this level of performance is available at a "relatively" cheap price. I am definitely of the mindset that you only live once, so enjoy it while you're here!