I think this is a great question and is a concern of mine as well. It is a real business problem. Unfortunately as a business owner or a salesperson one must care what people think of them and first impressions are huge. I have had some people love the car and not even know what it is, others I think would feel they are spending too much on me as a vendor.

I don't even think the color matters as much as the fact it is a Porsche, the good and the bad is when people see it they assume $100k car. If they know a little about Porsche and see Turbo they think $200k. If they know a lot about Porsche they appreciate it for what it is. The issue is, can it affect one earning business and I feel it certainly can. Many times I will not drive the car to a client unless I know they are a car person and not even then - until I get to know them, or if they have spoken about "successful people work with successful people." Personally I'd prefer they do not judge me based on my car but I know it happens - we can't control that.

On another note I am a bit surprised about some of the answers to this question, I would love a yellow car but didn't have the guts to buy something that "loud" and I don't know if you can say since someone had four kids instead of a Porsche they resent you, it is just their choice to collect kids and not cars - I have 4 of both (children and cars). I'd give up the cars before the wife and kids any day. But I also understand there are those who have no children and can drive whatever they want - some drive Porsche's and some drive Honda's. What brings us here is that we all have a certain appreciation for what a Porsche is.

 

I lived in London, I've got to tell you it does make a difference in attitude. I often found people resented you for your success (I find that less so in the US). I think It can be a part or a high tech, successful image, then it will earn respect of clients. A couple of years back I was looking at an opportunity back in the UK. They were offering to move me, my family & possessions ect. I asked if they'd move my car - the HR manager asked the model of car (!?), then said no I almost felt like I pis...d him off for some reason.
I remember back in the mid eighties my sister was auditing the equivalent of today's IT/forensic accounting firm. They had a fleet of 911s as company cars, it was a part of their image.
I can tell you in S. FL not many people notice these cars as they fly by, It does depend on the habitat.

 

This is a great point. I go down this path often when people/friends say something about my car and I get the impression they think it's some $150k car. I tell them, hey - it's 7 years old so it was a fraction of the cost of a new one. This surprises most "non-car" people.

Yes, depending on where you work, this is a very good way to approach it.

How does this many sense? I drive a 50k 2001 996TT but Joe Smith drives a newer Bimmer that costs $60k + or leases it and you prefer him? Hmmm...

I am a business owner and sell to construction-related clients who drive big 4 wheel drive trucks mostly. I usually ride with my partner to meetings or jobsites (he has a big ext cab Silverado 4x4) as it just fits in better. But it really depends on your industry and your personal level of success or wrung on the corp ladder, for lack of a better phrase. Here is an example. I have a friend who was a stud sales rep in the data storage industry for the last 6 or 7 years, where he was making $500-600k annually in recent years. The dude was still driving his 2002 VW Passat!
He isn't a car guy (obviously!) but his boss and co-workers (and us) encouraged him to get a nicer, newer car to actually represent how successful and well he was doing! Some clients want to see the guy they are working with is the top dog and best they can be working with. This is kind of he exact opposite of some other viewpoints here!

You don't think yellow creates a different impression than gray or silver? (which about 1/3 of cars seem to be a variant of this color) I gotta disagree there....

But you are right about 99% of people assuming it is (and that you paid that much!) $100k+...

Wow, that was a long post... sorry!

 

I had a red 993 c4 with turbo body and a 3.8 engine....arrest me red. That car got a lot more envy than my midnight blue 996tt. The latter is way more car in all respects...but the former said money more. I do think color is in the equation. Unfortunately.

Jeff

(At least in my world...yellow in any car says look at me more...just a fact of life. It is probably safer...silver was noted a few years ago as the least safe color.)

 

I used to be in student loan sales. The company paid for our cars so theoretically, we could get anything we wanted and they would reimburse us up to a certain point. We were pretty much specifically warned off of getting anything that gave away how much money we made. No BM's, Jags, or Mercs, maybe could get away with an Audi. You just have to know your client and your business. Our clients didn't make that much money as they were school employees, so coming to a meeting with a Porsche would've been completely inappropriate. It also would have made pricing negotiations extremely different. Hard to tell a client that you can't give on an issue because it would cost too much when you're driving a car that (in their minds) cost thhree times their annual salary. Actual cost plays no part in it, fair or not. It's purely perception. If you're in a business where your services make people money (agent, lawyer, accountant, etc.), it may help to have a "flashy" car because it does add to the aura of success. But when you're asking people to enrich you and they're not seeing an economic benefit directly, not really the way to go. So I got a Charger SRT-8, which offends pretty much no one and still put a pretty big smile on my face when I opened it up on the way to a meeting.

 

Id get a diff car to drive around clients...something nice but not better than what they drive...a nice 5 series comes to mind. I dont even drive my 996tt to the office much less consider driving clients around

 

Depends what demographic your clients are...some will think they are with a winner, others might think they are paying you too much. I have had comments range form "you must be good, you drive a porsche turbo" to "you're financially irresponsible".

Most of the time I drive my suv and avoid the issue until I know my business environment, Once I am comfortable taking the P-car, most of them ask if I will drive to lunch ...and then take the long way back :-)

However, I will never get a prius to just to bow to the greenie weenie clients.

 

And to add one more thing - NEVER let your boss know that you drive a better car than he does. My boss drove a little Smart car to the office every day, and to client meetings. He never let anyone at work or clients know that he had a Maserati Quatroporte in his garage. He was the last to know about my TT, and the perception created may have been that I was paid too much, or that I had to work even harder than I already was. His boss - head of the office - drove a Ferrari 612 to the office every day.

 

He doesn't want attention, he just really wants his name to pop out by the watercooler

I've noticed that it's a good thing that when I changed the hatch to CF, I never got around to putting the "Turbo" script back on. Generally people that don't know sports cars, cannot tell porsche models apart just by looking.

Since I drive the car daily, I'm also happy I picked a low key color as I barelly get noticed.

As far as business, let's just say I recently picked up a sporty minivan. I'm a Loan Officer and we're in this mortgage meltdown mess, I deal with a lot of realtors and in my line of work everyone is commision compensated, so as you can imagine I'm surrounded by Money Driven, mean, jealous, greedy people .

 

interesting thread, also something i've pondered myself over the years as a tech sales guy. i echo the many opinions here that it is environment and context specific...

 

I'm with JCB here. I manage money for doctors for a living and am inherently conservative due to the fact my client base has many years of solid income. Tortoise always wins the race and all that. I got some flack initially, but when I threw out the JCB line about just how inexpensive they have become, everyone started asking for rides. Golden.

 

Also keeping in mind human behavior...I think a business book titled "Never eat alone" had something about the following:

If you want to have tons of friends, always let them think they are better...makes sense if you imagine a friend buying a BMW and you say "nice car, check out my ferrari". Vice-versa, he'd feel pretty cool if you drove a Honda Accord.

Regardless of what you think and what rationale you make, if you drive a nicer car than your clients, it does not come off well...this isn't a car meet. A car that screams in yellow doesn't help the case...

 

I am in the same boat. Very few people at work (above me) know what I drive, besides my beater (which is a BMW, so not really a beater), as it brings unwanted results. First, come compensation time, the single guy driving a 911 Turbo isn't going to be viewed the same way as the father of four driving a used Jaguar, if you have done identical work. When people try to be "fair," they are doing the exact opposite as they are paying you for what you need and not for the work you've done and the money you deserve. Second, no clients know what I drive. Period. When you manage funds, any money that you get is coming from expenses taken from your clients. We've gotten a bad enough image on Wall Street, and I'm not looking to feed the trolls any further. I'll walk into a meeting with a custom suit and nice piece on my wrist, but the days of the flashy fund manager are gone. (They never should have been, either.)

 

Fully agree. Well said.

 

Its a heavy load to bear when your a baller.