Should I sell?

[Fat Albert]

Tough Decision time; I have recently changed job, so my travel needs have changed considerably, I have also gone into a perm job and given up my main business, so am now claiming a mileage allowance (17p/mile) rather than just sticking everything through the business.

I have taken a considerable pay cut initially, with the hope that in 6-12 months time my commission cheque will more than make up for it

Whereas I used to potter the 16 mile round trip to the station every day, I know have to visit head office in Bracknell (from Huntingdon, Cambs) and my Customer sites, the main one being a rather favoured airline in the Heathrow Vicinity, so lots of time on the A1, M25 and M4. I have done over 2,000 miles in my first 6 weeks, with some days spending 6 hours in the car. (She is up to 203k now)

The Car is running very well, the £50 spent last week on wheel rebalancing and sorting the Hatch pins have made a huge difference and with the other £2,100 I have spent this year it has turned into a fantastic car to drive and has stood up to the driving pretty well.

My quandary is this, do I take advantage of the fact that everything works, the sills have just been done and it is in good shape to move her on, buy an Alfa diesel for similar money and wait for the commission to kick in and get back to Porker world, or do I just stick with it and hope she takes the abuse over the winter without breaking anything big, enjoy her and the fact I am not in a repmobile and hope the mileage tax relief covers the petrol?

It is a tough one, my gut feel is to stick with it, but there are other reasons why it could be useful to have a small diesel estate on the fleet......

 

[robwright]

Or do what I have done mate. I have just inherited the missus 1.0 Yaris, which I am now using as the daily hack. The idea was to give the old girl a break but I reckon the amount I am saving on fuel and just running her at the weekend I will be better off even after tax and insurance on the Yaris.

 

[944 man]

Keep.

 

[blease]

keep. use. weekly professional underbody clean in winter.

 

[Porkie1664]

It doesn't cost anything to stick her away for winter. Keep....

 

[ukmastiff]

And the dead giveaway decider , in current times will you get a decent price for your car ? Nope .

 

[Chrishazle]

An off the wall suggestion - a couple of years ago I bought a 2001 Merc C270 with 67k miles for £6k (just B serviced and with 12 month warranty). 45mpg, comfortable and relaxing to drive especially on long distance - recently did Ashford (Kent) - Holyhead - Dublin - Kilkenny and was fine at the end of the trip. Keep the Porsche, buy something like this for the daily and have fun at the weekends!

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Sorn it for the winter and get a hack. You won't be popular if it lets you down, and it'll still be there in six months.

 

[sawood12]

I regret selling my car. Circumstances for me were slightly different to yours in that kids forced me to make a decision where I wanted to have one decent nearly new family wagon with all the benefit and comfort of warranty, reliability for when the wife is out with the kids etc. rather than buying a beaten up old MPV and keep the Porsche. The only way I could afford to get a nearly new SMax (the only MPV worth getting in my view ;-) without getting a huge loan was to sell the Porsche. Also I knew that I would not have the time and funds the 944 deserved for me to use her as she deserves and I wasn't going to see her become a garage queen - better to let her go to someone else for that - i.e. Tom (Barks944), who proceeded to pull her apart!! (though I know he'll put her back together properly!)

However I must admit I do miss her - especially recently where I seem to have noticed alot more 944's around and about. I reckon in about 3 years time i'll be ready to dip my toe in Porsche ownership again - not sure i'll have the stomach for a 944 or other vintage model at that time - i'll probably want something more modern (probably 996 turbo tip - there is method in the apparent madness), but that depends upon how expensive the kids turn out to be!!

So i'd say that if you can afford to keep her and drive her then do so. Better to regret having one than regret not having one.

 

[Frenchy]

What Paul says, get a cheap hack, loads about at not silly money,

 

[Fat Albert]

Thanks chaps, have a huge Corporation tax bill coming up, so can't afford to buy/run a third car at the moment and was also thinking that now is not a good time to sell anyway.

Just one of those thoughts, as everything was working and she is running well it seemed a good time to sell, although I would like to get the benefit of my considerable investment in her good health this year.

Perhaps I should turn it around and see how quickly I can get her up to 250k miles...!

 

[Porkie1664]

I'm glad you have picked the right choice in my mind, happy motoring

 

[zcacogp]

Big corp.tax bill means you must have made lots of money!

Keep. No doubt about it. Well done with the decision.


Oli.

 

[DivineE]

Really and absolutely keep. Selling and buying a new car is never the cheap option anyway. The 944 will average 30mpg on a run if your just cruising (which I'm sure you will be) the I had an alfa GT from almost new once (6k and 6 months old) and it was already showing signs of falling apart! Plus the Alfa 1.9 diesel is appalling in terms of fuel economy MAX 45mpg on a motorway only journey at a constant 75mph but driven the same way the 944 would have got 35mpg. Realistically it will only do 40mpg and in return you get zero grunt, dirty diesel smell and sound plus you've lost your weekend car and will want to buy something else.

Just figure it through in your head a moment.. say you do around 1000miles a month for work and pay £1.10 for fuel at 30mpg that's (1000/30) x (4.54x1.1) £166.47 at 40mpg its £124.85.... £41.62 to drive a Classic Porsche Turbo instead of a 1.9d like everyone else. The math just makes sense and the Alfa will go wrong more anyway.

p.s. Scott DO IT you need a 996tt in your life[]

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Not wishing to throw a spanner in the works, just another thought though.

What's the work situation going to be like? Will there be the possibility of them getting an attitude problem if the car does let you down? I can't see them having an issue if you drove a Focus diesel, but not everyone sees a 944 as a cheap, reliable classic and might be looking for problems.

The other concern is one that I get regularly. I never take the 944 to do quotes, it just gets smart comments about my rates obviously being too high. Similarly, my better half takes it to work if her Legacy is in for servicing and she always gets a bit of grief. You know, the comments about getting paid more than everyone else, ooooh, Jane can afford a Porsche etc. Would the company be worried about you turning up at clients in a flash car?

 

[Fat Albert]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

Big corp.tax bill means you must have made lots of money!

Keep. No doubt about it. Well done with the decision.


Oli.

Unfortunately the way Corp tax works is that you pay for the previous year's success, even if this year is pants.
I made huge money the year before last and started a new business alongside that I used some of my Corp tax savings for.....then had a bad year last year and the other business is still absorbing cash rather than making it...so spent most of this year paying off the previous year's monstrous Corp tax bill, so have no reserves for this year's....hence the switch to a 'proper' job to remove some of the risk going forward through the recovery.

The plan, once I get a few fat commission cheques in, is to think about a change to a 968/964/993*

DivinE: I like the Man-maths on fuel consumption, there is always a way of justifying a Porsche!

Paul, I understand your point, my boss has seen it and hasn't commented yet and most of my clients won't see my car, if I need to take them out I will use my Wife's 7 series, which cost a mere 10 times as much as the Porsche! My car looks a bit of poverty level if my Wife uses it for the school run as there is an AM Vanquish, 993TT, 993C2, many 996/7s, a Fezza and a couple of Cayennes. (The guy with the Vanquish also has a Maclaren F1 and a 968CS!)

*depends on fatness of cheques....

 

[VanhireBoys]

Definately dont sell.. Keep her for the weekends .. Paul is right about the snide comments ... Get a Focus TDDi - they are absolutely bombproof.. My brother in law has one and drove it with no water for 2 weeks telling me there was a funny smell..... I found a weeping hose, replaced it put water in and the engine was no worse for it.. They just keep on going

After the cash you put in the car this year it would be silly to sell her. If you then buy another you will have to sink the same amount in it again. Keeping it for the weekend keeps the driving experience special !

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: Fat Albert

Tough Decision time;my gut feel is to stick with it, but there are other reasons why it could be useful to have a small diesel estate on the fleet......

been through the same dilema twice myself . I started doing over 200 miles a day in my old Lux !

My ideal was two cars but I couldn't always afford to run two.

I made up a short list of cars ( mine was an A4 1.9 Avant Diesel ,944S2, Mondeo Mk1 Diesel,

Then I constructed a 10 point Pros & Cons list for each car .

In the end I decided the most practical choice was the Mondeo but I reasoned that for the extra cost I'd enjoy driving the 944S2 more and it was worth the extra cost. That old Lux did 750- 1000 miles a week for a year all over Dorset/Wiltshire /Devon and Somerset. The more miles it did the better it went.
I have to say the Mk1 Mondeo I subsequently got for working on the Council Housing Estates was far more comfortable and relaxing to drive. Plus it had a brilliant ICE better than the 944 by far

 

[plenty]

£750 or less will buy a perfectly serviceable runaround with 6+ months MOT that will be more economical and more comfortable than the 951 for motorway work. Insurance will be cheaper as well and you can SORN the Turbo, so basically the only cost you are paying is £750, the bulk of which you're likely to recoup on resale.

 

[Northern924]

After all the time and money you've put into the car over the past 12 months, you know you're going to get much of it back, and the current climate isn't good for classic/luxury cars.
These cars aren't meag expensive and done right don't cost the earth to run, but buyers don't know this and its keeping the price down.
If its running well and you're happy putting the milage on then keep it take care of it through the winter and keep the smile on your face [] thats what I'll be doing!