Hey guys, so I am in a bit of a dilemma with my current car situation & wanted some advice from you guys as you've always been so helpful in my last 6 years on the forum.

Currently my 2016 GS-F has 11,500 miles on it, & I am the original owner. The car is USB/Red with Mark Lev, HUD & Orange Calipers. I have Xpel PPF over the entire car & Ceramic Pro Lifetime on the body, windows, wheels & calipers. Have 3 years left on my Finance (roughly $20k)

My dilemma is as follows,

• I live in New York City with these lovely Northeast Winters. Upon purchasing the car, I didn't hesitate purchasing a RWD sports car to daily because I only live 5 minutes from work.
• I did get a set of dedicated winter wheels & snow tires.
• Understanding the GS-F is the last of a dying breed (NA V8) and probably will appreciate in value, not putting too many miles on it was big deal for me.
• My current job is moving to a different part of town, about 45 mins from my house. Roads are terrible there & the area isn't the greatest so I will probably have to street park. (currently have garage parking at work)
• I am stuck with, do I want to continue daily driving my GS-F or get a second car. I can afford a second car which I will lease & insurance payment, but the fiscally responsible side of me is saying this will be a bad decision and you'll be better off investing that money.
• Having two car payments & two insurance payments is what is not sitting well with me.
• I have toyed with the idea of selling my car (yes I know) & lease a much cheaper car, (Hyundai Kona) to daily and park anywhere without worrying about it. Given its current condition, I could probably sell my GS-F privately for $60k I'm thinking?
• I have toyed with buying a use car outright for $5k but the last thing i want to do is have issues with a used car and it becomes more of a headache than anything. I am not the most savy person when it comes to fixing cars. (I am better at detailing, cosmetic stuff etc)

For those who read, I appreciate it and hope you can provide some sound advice. At my current age 26 & income which is above 6 figures I feel now is the best time to invest in appreciating assets and plan for the future rather than spend money on cars which are depreciating assets. The goal is to have my investments pay for my cars eventually Really torn here so would appreciate some input.

Thanks all.

 

Drive the car. That’s why you bought it. As far as appreciating in value, I don’t really agree. I’m sure our cars will do well in retaining their value, but long term investment in making money I don’t think will happen.

Drive it, drive it, drive it. That’s what you bought it for.

Invest/save the $300-$500 car payment

 

And I know I may be against the majority on the driving part, but I don’t care about the mileage I put on it. I want to enjoy what I drive while I’m still capable of driving (I’m not old, I’m just saying).

 

What part of the City do you live/work in?

If the area you are going to be working in is rough, why don't you use the subway?

Either that, or like the above poster said, just drive it. Cost of fuel or parking in garage may be relatively the same depending on where you park or frequency of tank fill ups.

When I still lived in the Bronx, but worked in Midtown, I would park my nice vehicle (LS430 at the time) in the garage by my house, use the subway, and use it on the vehicle on the weekends as parking in the city is a not an expense I was going to pay. ($700/month)

 

Drive it, depreciation be damned. Or, to where you can take public trans if that's an option

 

This^

We, as car enthusiasts, love to baby our cars. But not to the point where we don’t use them for the purpose they were intended for. Unfortunately. I know far too many colleagues who don’t like to put miles on their car and the cars are solely garage queens. If I’m spending my income on it, I’m going to drive it every opportunity I get!

With that said and based off the info you provided, sell it. Your current life situation doesn’t seem compatible with the car. These cars are special due to being NA, but I don’t expect them to be appreciating in value.

Cars, in general, are not appreciating assets, except for the few outliers, I.e. Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Invest your money elsewhere if you are seeking a good return.

 

Wow! You've done well for such a young age!

Being in your shoes 6 years ago I got the 2013 FR-S right when it came out. I leased it. I'm in NJ and had to live through 3 winters.... also was doing just as well salary wise.

The idea of heavy depreciation didn't sit well with me. So I got a used Mazdaspeed 3 as a beater all-purpose car. I loved it more than the Scion. But then it got old and smelly. And yes, there were a number of normal issues that I had to spend money to replace and fix. But overall, it was reliable.

Now I just settled on the same exact car as you have right now (like literally exact same, with less clear bra). It's a beauty and I enjoy every minute I can to drive it. You are truly blessed to be in your situation.

Only you can make this call. However, if this car is special to you, then 45 minute commute will be a real joy. The only downside to this car is that it has no manual option. If you are a car guy, don't buy a cheap beater unless you have the time and resources (garage, tools, knowledge) to fix it. As you get older your priorities will shift to saving money and building a future. Just ask yourself if you value saving for the future more or having a flashy car more.

If I were to do it over again, I would have leased a cheap manual car as a beater (Mazda3, Accord, any number of SUVs) and gotten a nice weekend car for shows, special events, trips. But then again, your financial situation may be different. Are you building equity? Do you have your 401k set? Is your net worth going up? If it is, then just live a little and spend the extra on the nice car.

 

You will regret selling it.
Get a used Prius, reliable as *****.

 

Get a secondary car and keep it. I feel that our cars have hit a low right now when you compare them next to IS-F's and how their resale prices went YOY. Getting 60K out of your car will be pretty difficult right now and would not help make it a good financial decision.

 

Thanks all for your input... ultimately I decided to finance a 2020 Corolla SE. it's actually a really nice daily driver, & im liking being a little less tense while driving. (not worrying about curbs, dips etc) i also feel like im appreciating driving GS F even more now that i don't drive it every day.