Evo > STI
#1
I've been inspired to write this by a couple of other posts which have popped up lately. This is not a post about specific financing; it's a discussion about the metaphysics, if you will, of automotive finance, which is why I didn't post in M&I.Close you eyes and imagine for a moment... Full Feature
#3
Awesome write, and I fully agree that I would want to be the guy that enjoys himself, but isn't there a medium here?
#4
Or, you can be 23, buy the STi, and get a similar, though different, amount of pleasure through checking your e-trade account twice an hour and talking about stocks/finance with your friends that you do through driving your STi.I agree with your post, almost entirely. However, I think the best bet is to work very hard in school, spend freely on things you love, but not wastefully on things that don't matter so much to you (i.e. $12 movie tickets and crappy $50 meals at Friday's or Houston's), then make sure your money goes into both your auto hobby and your finance/real estate hobby. Best of both worlds, right?
#6
The price differential between an Accord and an STi isn negligable over a life-time.
#7
Great piece. Reminds me of a Jimmy Buffett song in which he proclaims "I'd rather die while I'm livin' than live when I'm dead."Most people give up on enjoying life in the interest of financial responsibility. These same people will "sacrifice" and spend $45K on a Navigator when they could probably get by with an Explorer and have enough money left over for something fun, like a Miata. But that would be frivolous, wouldn't it?
#8
The first thing I told my buddy right after I bought my 911 was "I just did something really stupid..."
Live for today, tomorrow might not be there!
#9
I bought a Rabbit for the $1600 I saved doing Passat and Golf repairs at home. And I'm paying for the parts I buy it with the money I didn't spend on a 528i sportwagen.You know what? I love it. I slapped my cash down and bought the biggest headache I will ever have the pleasure of b!tching about.
Someone once said that the best revenge is living well. No truer words spoken!
Modified by atomicalex at 11:49 AM 11-28-2005
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#10
Quote, originally posted by FatSean » The price differential between an Accord and an STi isn negligable over a life-time. What about the difference between an Accord and an STi every 5 years over a lifetime? (Don't forget the difference in dollars of gas used, insurance costs)
Mind you, an STi is more comparable to a Civic in terms of interior space and other non-performance utility, so the difference is even more.
Based on my sig, you can tell I obviously don't save every penny, but I don't fool myself into thinking I'm not mortgaging at least part of my future for pleasure/utility now.
#11
Very well written, almost American Beauty-esque.While I think being fiscally responsible is something important, there is a huge difference between being successful on paper and actually being happy. I don't think I'll ever be the 23 year old with the STi, but a cheap used sports car would do nicely.
-Andrew
#12
Nice writeup.
One of my friends has a saying "do you live to work or work to live", very much the same thing here as I see it.
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#13
Quote, originally posted by alman »
One of my friends has a saying "do you live to work or work to live".Agreed, I also enjoyed this read. My father once said to me: "Everything you do, do with enthusiasm." Life is about acheiving balance, and sometimes for us enthusiasts we do things other, responsible people would not understand. Whether that is buying a Rabbit project car, or in my case a G35c
Personally I think its good I've saddled myself with the debt, otherwise I might be too tempted to quit my salaried job and move to Hawaii and wait tables
#14
Quote, originally posted by Bryan@VWvortex » Most people give up on enjoying life in the interest of financial responsibility. Being a debt slave (worrying about whether the check will clear or whether the credit card has enough credit line left) is hardly enjoying life.
Financial responsibility does not require deprivation if you know how to spend money only on things that actually increase your enjoyment of life, rather than frivolous, wasteful spending that does not increase your enjoyment of life.
#15
so you are saying i should convince my dad to buy the C6 Z06 with his avalanche as a trade in, and then find a cheap used Silverado for the winter truck?sounds good.
#16
i saw an interview the other day with the incomparable charles barkley.he said he wants to live rich and die broke, and plans on spending every single dime of his current 50 million dollar wealth before he dies. he said he has no interest in accumulating more, buying more houses for "investments" or having a dime to leave to people as an inheritance. his goal is to spend it all, but at a rate just low enough to stay rich enough the whole time.
granted its a different situation than most of us will ever be in, but he's my new fiscal hero.
#17
The compromise is always nice. You don't sway too far to either extreme compromising equilibrium of life. But in the end are you really compromising or just teasing youself. Yeah, i can drop $24K on a WRX realize and not break the bank. Everyone would praise me for being a smart, mature 24 year old. But in the back of my head, there will be that constant nagging that I call desire, questioning why I didn't live today and get that STI. I owned a WRX and 6 months later drove a friends STI. Yes the insurance and payments would leave me with Ramen meals, but the smile that car brought to my face could not be had with compromise. The way it made my heart pump on a deserted road in an industrial part of town, made cardio exercise useless. Since that day, I never really fully enjoyed the WRX because I always wondered how it would be with the STI. Yeah I know, I'm spoiled, I should be happy with a WRX. That guy with the Civic SI would die to have one. I am a lucky man. I wasn't truely happy. I sold the WRX partly because I wanted to get an STI and partly because I felt I was selfish for wanting an STI when I had a WRX. It sounds so superficial, I know. But it's all about happiness.
#18
What, 24 year olds aren't allowed to have high paying jobs?
#19
Quote, originally posted by GTiTOM » i saw an interview the other day with the incomparable charles barkley. he said he wants to live rich and die broke, and plans on spending every single dime of his current 50 million dollar wealth before he dies. he said he has no interest in accumulating more, buying more houses for "investments" or having a dime to leave to people as an inheritance. his goal is to spend it all, but at a rate just low enough to stay rich enough the whole time.
granted its a different situation than most of us will ever be in, but he's my new fiscal hero.
Sir Charles is arguably one of the most interesting guys to have a conversation with IMHO. Hands down one of the few athletes/celeberty i would actually want to spend a day with (and this is coming from a sports fanatic).
#20
I too would love to sit with charles barkley, but I'd probably have to be high so i can laugh harder at the things he says. Oh and Bill Walton has to be there too. He will say things like
"This is the greatest conversation in the history of speech."
#21
Well I bought a brand new car when I was 19... now it is paid off, and has 85k miles on the car. I sold it to my parents. yea I wish I had bought a used MK3 or soemthing else back then so at least now I have lived with my mistakes and at least now I know what its like. Probably going to do it again, exept this time I am saving money first, then putting more down. Anyhow, GREAT article!
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