[aremmell]

There I was, just minding my own business, when out of the blue I got a call from my Porsche salesman that I bought a GT3 from way back in the 997 days.

He proceeded to tell me that his dealership has received a bonus GT3 allocation, and that it's mine if I want it. I am beside myself–the 992 GT3 is my grail car, and as most of you are aware, getting a GT3 allocation right now is the same as winning the lottery. I am going to need you guys' help to figure out what the hell I am going to do now. I think you are the perfect group of people to consult because you can imagine being in my shoes...

I had seconds to decide. If I said "hmm, I'll have to get back to you", then he would have just moved on to the next guy and the allocation would be gone. I did the only thing I could–I gave him my credit card to put $5K down and secured it.

At this point you may be thinking "yeah, so what? just roll with it," but let me mentally vomit my rambling thoughts out to hopefully help put into perspective why I am freaking out over this situation:

1). I am not entirely sure that the GT car frenzy market still has life left in it. I have seen a whole lot of cars that have less than 2-3 thousand miles and have had 4 owners up for sale at obscene prices and they are not moving. If any of you are into watches, you may have noticed the same thing is happening in the Rolex market–there are dozens of brand new watches for sale at 2-3x MSRP and nobody's buying.

That being said, the dealership wants $60K ADM on this car! That means a $220K car just became a nearly $300K car. Also, if the market softens (or worse, crashes) between now and when I am locked in, then I am instantly under water as soon as they hand me the keys. They outright refused to make an agreement with me to lower the markup if the market went to hell between now and then. Thankfully, I have a few months before my deposit is locked in. It's refundable for now.

2). I am not a millionaire (yet ), and I will have to finance much of it. That means that I am probably going to get somewhere around a 7% loan, which is not what I would call a brilliant financial decision.

However, I have always been in the YOLO school of thought, and think that it makes more sense to enjoy life in the moment instead of always worrying about some future point in time that you may not even live to see...

3). I am happy with the M4 Comp xDrive. It only has 1500 miles on it, and I am guessing I would either have to sell it private party or get slaughtered on a trade in. This could result in a $10-20K loss on the deal in addition to that ridiculous ADM. I cannot afford both cars, nor do I have room in the garage for both of them.

4). The 992 could be one of the last generations of real petrol head purist cars. The salesman told me that both the GTS and the Turbo are going hybrid next year . On the flip side of that coin, Porsche could come out with an even better car in the next couple years and prices may have returned to normal, especially if we have a recession/depression in the near future (which unfortunately I believe is inevitable).

I could keep going and going, but I'm sure it wouldn't be useful and by now you see what's happening inside my head. It's going a trillion miles per hour in every direction.

Just tell me: what would YOU do:

- Buy your grail car that you can technically afford but probably shouldn't buy, keep it for 10 years and hope that Porsches continue their trend of maintaining or even gaining value over time

OR

- Pass on a GT3 allocation and possibly never get the opportunity to build one again in this life–and regret it forever

I think these are the only two options (?)

Thanks for reading, and also thank you in advance for any insights, advice, feedback, etc.

[stevefullgas]

It’s a qualitative driven decision, with pretty low chances to have any return in medium term (every market will come down, you mentioned it and I totally agree )

You MUST get the GT3 , the chances to get another allocation are so low and it’s the best car you can buy (except the RS ) , hands down

[m4ml]

I'm pretty YOLO as well... I'd definitely get the GT3.

The $10k-$20k loss on the M4 is insignificant compared to the nearly $300k of the GT3. (assuming financial responsibility)

[Limegrntaln]

If you can handle it without it ruining your financial life, I’d do it. I’m getting a little too old to spend that kind of money on a car, when that’s about all I owe on my house and I want to retire from my second 20 year career in about 8 years. I’m just too close to complete retirement before 60, to want to give that up for a car. I can write a check for my house, or buy a GT3. Right now, my money is making more money, just paying my mortgage. Which I’ll just pay the last half of what’s left off, when I retire to just get rid of that problem.

I’d consider it if the market wasn’t going to be wishy washy over the next few years. And hell, the 2018s are still almost $200k. So, I’m not sure I see any GT cars not being able to weather the storm. I agree there are some used ones on the lot that I follow and have been seeing some price decreases, but, those just may not be a spec people desire.

[geekflyer]

I think as an investment getting the GT3 sounds pretty stupid at this point. You can make more money with less risk than getting the GT3. This is basically a purchase to enjoy your life/passion. I sort of get it, but what I personally would feel a little cautious putting 1/3 of my net-worth into a single car (you said you're not a millionaire yet). You also have to consider insurance cost and all that stuff, which is probably not that low with a $300k car. Just my 2 cents.

If you had 1.5M+ or so I'd probably yolo it.

Personally I could afford this kind of car, but currently I'm driving a cheap-ish 2019 440i and getting end of the year into a G80 M3 2025 (once they're out). I test drove a lot of Porsches (Taycans, different 718s, but not 911) recently, but somehow it didn't click as much as I anticipated. Initially was quite keen to get an 718 for the handling and driving pleasure, but after I learned how much road noise that thing gets on freeways, I couldn't see myself using this on medium or long distance trips, which would mean to keep 2 cars. I'm sure 911 is different, but I bet a GT3 has still quite a lot road/wind noise (and no I don't mind engine noise, but freeway road/wind noise is quite unpleasant on long drives). Mind you I'm talking about US freeways.

I also kinda like the looks (available colors in particular), tech and universal utility of the M3 a bit more over the purist Porsche 2-seaters (911 kind of is a 2-seater) and I'm in the same situation of only having space for 1 car and also not wanting to pay insurance, maintenance etc. for 2 etc.

Anyways, at the end it's your decision, just wanted to share my thoughts.

[evoi19]

If it’s a grail car I wouldn’t be looking at it from an investment perspective. If I can afford it while making mild sacrifices or adjustments, I would do it. Sure there could be another chance later but when really? Thinking logically vs what I want/heart, as long as it didn’t disrupt my finances much I’d make it work.

[aremmell]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I have a few months to figure this out and back out of the deal if I want, so for now I'm going to do what I've always done: spend all of my money on expensive items and enjoy the hell out of them in the process.

I asked my father a long time ago how he could buy such an expensive thing (I don't even remember what it was) and I'll never forget his reply. He said "I'll just make more money." I think that one utterance shaped my worldview and my attitude toward money. He was 100% right, but only to an extent. Like Limegrntaln said, once you start to think about retirement, it becomes more serious and an actual concern.

Personally I believe I will end up working till I die–not just because I am terrible at saying no when it comes to things like this, but also because we live in a world of crazy inflation (which is going to get much worse), so to retire "comfortably" in the year 2044 sounds pretty unrealistic considering that people are already unable to retire in 2024.

I don't know what my odds are of successfully accruing millions of dollars of wealth in the next 20 years, but I am thinking that this one particular decision in the grand scheme isn't going to make much of a difference. You win some, and lose some. It could end up being the worst decision I ever made, or just a really expensive car that I got to enjoy and maybe even didn't lose too much money on if/when I sell it.

I agree with stevefullgas that I MUST get the GT3. If I don't, I am gambling that the scarcity and desirability of those cars is just a fad. If it's not, then it's almost certain that I will never get this opportunity again.

One thing that I find fascinating (and also irritating) is that when I bought my 997 GT3, the total production of that car was around 3,000 and I had no trouble getting one. Over 10,000 992 GT3s have already been produced, and yet they seem 10 times as scarce. Did people just not know how good those cars were 13 years ago?!

Oh, and while we're at it, give me your thoughts on my build (I think this is where I'm going to leave it, but I'm open to suggestions).

[V-Eight]

you've already answered yourself the question. Get the GT3. Even if you're not a millionaire (as I am not by the way...) you can get another M4 spec'ed as you want whenever you'll decide.

Get a GT3 Allocation is something very difficult, and being able to "build" one as you want is really, really rare as told.

I would go for the GT3 in your situation, because it's your dream car....why don't get one if life gives you an opportunity? Remember, it's only a car, if things will go wrong, you will sell it....but you'll have owned it at the same time.

It's always better to have a remors.....rather than a regret. Remors implies that you failed something or maybe, you made a mistake.....but implies also that you ACT to something, you tried! A regret, in th other hand, implies that you stalled on a decision.....and you didin't act in the end. To me it's the worse decision. Remember....we only live once. If God gives you an opportunity you've been waiting for a long time, just go for it. Remember what I wrote, It's better a remorse than a regret most of the times.

[maxwell smart]

Ok , so this is going to sound different than what has been said so far.

The vehicle is intended for the ultra rich, not just regular rich.
It should not be a vehicle someone is making payments on.
If you cannot afford the loss if it was in an accident and totaled, then it's too much car right now.

[Bimmerfun82]

The 992 GT3 is not scarce - they’re everywhere. Dealers are pretending they’re scarce to mint money. I’d pass if I were you. And there is uncertainty around the market when the 992.2 hits. I’ve heard the GTS will be NA. If you do buy it, you will probably lose $50k TCO over a few years, possibly more if your taxes and insurance are high and if your interest rate is high.

[AG23]

A 992 gt3 touring is my dream car so that's an awesome opportunity to build one. That mark up is crazy to me but for the client base buying them maybe not. I would counter at something more reasonable (10-20k) or say no ADM. Luxury car market has cooled significantly. This is coming from sales people at high volume Porsche dealer near me. Also having seen a relative (first time Porsche buyer) get on a waiting list, build and receive a new 4s (nowhere as limited of course) all in last 4 months, with no adm, suggests they need sales. Just my 2 cents. Post pictures when it comes in

[bri1042]

I truly believe that interest rates are too high to finance that much car. I'm on the older side of the age range of this board, so the current interest rates aren't as scary to me based on the rates I've seen across the last 5+ decades, but it's just too much with how unstable the Porsche GT car market has become.

Also, though, I would never be able to own that car and not drive it. I would be utterly unable to park it and pretend that it's an investment. If I owned it, the miles I'd put on it would hurt the value of the car.

[mjj]

Pass.

Many owners that owned a 991.2 and moved to a 992 regret the decision.

I would purchase a lightly used 991.2 before dropping 300K on a 992.

Save yourself 80-100k.

[Weather Man]

That the sales guy had to reach that deep into sales history is illuminating.

[thebigcheese]

Pass. Not trying to sound harsh here…Why are u so lucky? U cant even afford it.

If u go thru with this - i agree with your statement. U wont ever be a millionaire, due to your decision making.

[vbb]

I bet it was exciting to get that call... and like you, the GT3 is probably my "realistic" dream car. Two things would have me pass though, in this order:

1. That $60K ADM. I'm very much opposed to this. I know it is, and has been part of the car market for years, but it just irritates me so much. I'm not willing to pay a markup even if the market has spoken. I'm also a watch guy, and I was able to get a "grail" Rolex from my AD earlier this year. That said, I paid MSRP and not a dollar more. I didn't buy it as an investment, or to flip (I wear it nearly every day), but it is kinda nice knowing that even if the market tanks, I'll probably be able to sell it one day for what I paid, or more.

2. The fact that you're financing a large portion of the deal and interest rates are going to be ~7%. Let's just say the OTD price is $300K and you choose to finance $250K for 60 months. Your monthly payment will be nearly $5K, and you'll end up paying a total of $370K for that car all in. The GT3 is an amazing machine... but what?!? That seems a bit crazy.

I'm a car guy to the core, having owned many different vehicles over the years. I place a value on driving what I like and have tuned out a lot of people that say I've made a bad financial decision because they just don't "get" how the joy that cars bring is worth it to me. But there's a limit to this. I agree with the comment above that said GT3s have become a product for the ultra-rich, not just the wealthy. Like you, I'm at a point where I could buy a GT3 rather than just dream about buying one. But the numbers no longer make sense, even to a car guy like me.

But if you do buy it, post pics!

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by thebigcheese

Pass. Not trying to sound harsh here…Why are u so lucky? U cant even afford it.

If u go thru with this - i agree with your statement. U wont ever be a millionaire, due to your decision making.

OP bought a GT3 “way back in the 997 days” which is what, 15 years ago? Which means OP was 40 then, wild guess? So 55 now and still not a millionaire. Not happening at this rate and with these decisions.

I’ve heard first hand Porsche has people over the barrel with 8-9% interest. So what is that- 40k down, 5k per month for 5 years? Insanity.

[maxwell smart]

I believe this type of car is for the person who has a portfolio so strong they pay for it with the dividends. Its a reward for those that have made it to that level.

[monkeyman8]

300K is steep, I think at some level it's about writing the check. Financing this car makes zero sense.

[Alvinmark12]

This is how you go bankrupt living above your means. Buying a 300k car at 7% interest is insane. Especially for someone who does not have a million in the bank. Maybe you live with your parents and have no mortgage or a wife and kids. I would pass and start saving for the future it comes fast.

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by maxwell smart

I believe this type of car is for the person who has a portfolio so strong they pay for it with the dividends. Its a reward for those that have made it to that level.

And a second home and a few other expensive toys. The guys I know who have had expensive 911s (911R, etc.) are high net worth and usually move on to McLaren and Ferrari.

Unless you really love Porsche, there’s no way - in my mind at least - that the GT3 is a $300k car. $220k is fair. But pushing $300k I’d get a lightly used Roma or 720S or 488GTB or something else. The 992.2 GTS is probably a better buy.

[TheMediumLebowski]

I own a 2024 992 GT3. Don't pay a $60k ADM. No car is worth an ADM unless you're buying time and you can easily afford it without financing. Your dealer is not doing you a favor.

Start searching for a dealer that isn't a piece of shit, i.e. doesn't charge ADMs, and put down a deposit for a 992.2 GT3. If you're lucky you'll get one by 2028 but you won't be getting ripped off.