I am with Spudz5 and Fly on this one, but each to his own taste. I am glad about the diversity of attitudes. I recently benefited from someone else's conservative approach when I purchased an '07 997S with only 12.5k miles. If I put enough miles on it, I ought to be able to get my cost below 50 cents per mile, taking into account residual value. Years back I got my cost on a turbo Saab that I purchased used with low miles down to 8 cents a mile.

 

ive seen this many times and to me is a pure marketing ploy. we all know what we can't have we want. seen this done with other cars "dealership car", "owner's car", manager's car....to me its all bs. if its in the dealership, its for sale.

 

The hypothetical ?

I am not on my death bed but if I was I don't even know if i would think about my Porsche. If I did think about it .. it would be to consider leaving it in great shape rather than old and broken .As consumed as I might be with thoughts of facing death I would at least be happy to know that my car's legacy would continue . That's as good a thought of having enjoyed it while alive.

 

Hmmm. On my deathbed, I might instead be figuring out how to dodge the nurses, commandeer my aging 997S, and locate road deserted enough that I could find out if it will top 180.

 

Now there's a slippery slope. If every time I was faced with a tough decision I measured the alternatives with the question "What would I do if I had very little time on this earth", I can't imagine how grossly self-indulgent I'd have become. Using that as the measuring rod makes all decisions pretty easy. Also, at the end of the day if my major regrets are about cars not driven, houses not purchased, vacations not taken, etc. rather than people not loved enough, that's sad.

That all said, there is something to the idea of preserving the newness factor and the enjoyment of getting into a "like new" car all the time. We each have to weigh the enjoyment of that feeling versus the undeniable enjoyment of driving these great machines. Hard to go wrong.

 

I've done a lot of things to my 911 (I'm talking modification), tracked it many times... I'm not going to get any of the money back, so I drive my car as it was meant to be!

I never abuse my car, but drive it hard at the track like it's made for! Do the proper service, take care of it. It will last a long time like this...

 

"Hmmm. On my deathbed, I might instead be figuring out how to dodge the nurses, commandeer my aging 997S, and locate road deserted enough that I could find out if it will top 180."

This is poetry.

 

When I bought my new Cayman S, I had a hard time when it hit every major milestone, 1k, 5k, 10k but I decided that what was the point in me buying it if I didn't just enjoy the drive.

The scary part was that at the time, I planned on keeping it for a long time since I'd spec'd it up from the factory to an outrageous price tag of $84000 (yes yes, should of bought a 911). However, I ended up trading it in against a 2006 C2S with 21k on the clock a year later having done 16000 miles and only got $50k back for it .

I'm happier with my 911 because it already had miles on it, I worry less about passing major milestones and with me changing career to medicine, I won't be swapping cars any time soon thanks to the high cost of school. My 911 now has 36250 miles on it and I plan on keeping this one for a long time yet. It still smells new and brings a huge smile to my face whenever I drive it, I just look past the odometer reading now and enjoy the car for what it is. I think it helps that I don't have to worry too much about deprecation as I paid cash for all my cars ; it's that whole out of sight out of mind mentality.... At least that's what I tell the wife.

I'll probably keep this one til over 100k, I may turn it into a track toy when I finally save up the pennies to buy my Ferrari 458 or Carrera GT.

 

I'm still getting used to the DD aspect of owning a 911. Coming from Jeeps and Hondas, I put this car on such a high pedestal I am not driving my cab in the rain. I got caught once and it made me really nervous. I'll either sell it or just get over it. Oh well, what a problem to have...

 

I understand the novelty theory. Rarely using something that is fun keeps the excitement alive. I rarely use my "fun" car and the wife for that same reason.

 

1 smile per driven mile!

 

Sorry to start up this thread but as I passed this milestone, it made me think of this thread. I thought it would be a bitter moment but I was actually really enjoying the drive. I had to let off the gas to pick up my phone and snap this picture.

Bring on 25k, and 30k, and...