Any other "Car Guys" planning for FIRE?

[SuperCarGoals]

When I say "guys" - I mean that wholistically and inclusive of all pronouns

I've just come back to this forum from my first and only thread 4 years ago!
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f26/retire-in-a-rari-91333.html

My "SuperCarGoals" have still not changed, and I'm still planning for that "Rari"

Since that original post, I have acquired a new Porsche 911, and with the market run over those past four years, I could meet the numbers I discussed 7 years early!

==

Anyhow, I wanted to kick off a thread outside of my personal "Hi, I am" post for those that are also specifically allocating a portion of their FIRE stash towards "Car Guy" related purchases/activities.

- Dream Cars
- Hobby Cars
- Car Modifications
- Track Experiences
- Garage Upgrades

Aside from personal finance and family activities, even at 45, I find myself still visiting car forums, going to car meets, reading car magazines, and hanging out with other "Car Guys" - if this resonates with you, please join me

==

Couple of things that I'm interested in getting opinions on or hearing about your personal experiences.

- What percentage of your stash/annual expenses have you allocated to this addiction?
- Do you, or will you, plan to lease, finance, all-cash, your new/additional car(s) once FIREd?
- Have you found that you spend more/less time on car-related activities after FIREing?

 

[Car-Guy]

Couple of things that I'm interested in getting opinions on or hearing about your personal experiences.

- What percentage of your stash/annual expenses have you allocated to this addiction?
- Do you, or will you, plan to lease, finance, all-cash, your new/additional car(s) once FIREd?
- Have you found that you spend more/less time on car-related activities after FIREing?

I never really tracked my car hobby cost/expenses (before or after retirement.) If I liked (wanted) the car/truck/parts/tools, etc, I just bought and/or traded for them. I made money on some and lost money on more. I really don't know for sure, but I "suspect" I've lost more than $1/4m on the hobby (all things considered) since I retired but I've got many times more than that in enjoyment. It was never about the money anyway, which turns out to be a good thing.

All acquisitions were cash and/or trade deals. No financing or leases.

When I first retired I spent a lot of time buying, selling, working on and enjoying the hobby. Ten years later, not so much. In the past few years, I have sold all my collectables and a lot of my tools. Now I only keep a couple of new daily drivers... However, I still keep at least one ultra high performance vehicle in the garage and ready to roll at all times.

 

[chassis]

I consider myself a car guy personally and professionally. I choose to put my time, money and effort into my daily driver. I have had hobby cars in the past but they grew to become burdens more than sources of enjoyment, because I prioritize other areas of life (family, travel) over spending time on a hobby car. I have a good set of tools and DIY most maintenance including when the vehicle is within factory warranty.

I'm a pay cash and drive the wheels off type of vehicle owner.

Would love a Ferrari, Lambo or Aston but can't see driving a work of art and paying for repairs and maintenance, whether by DIY, dealer or indy shop. Similarly, I likely won't own an AMG or M V8 because of poor reliability which conflicts with my tendency to own vehicles for a long time.

 

[38Chevy454]

You basically describe me. Except I have old hot rod cars instead of newer exotics. Currently 5 older cars (2x 1937, 2x 1952, 1x 1968). Have three daily driver type vehicles (2008-2016) and one slightly older 1988 diesel pickup. Also one big motorhome. Just DW and me. Even my daily drivers have some level of modifications. Car trailer and a smaller utility trailer. All owned paid in full. Especially hobby stuff is paid cash, no finance.
I have a 50x70 detached garage and do all my car work myself except final paint and upholstery. Swapping suspensions, swapping engines, trans, rearend. Not much stock, mostly for higher performance.
I don't calculate or budget car hobby money. Just buy what I need, although I'm pretty set on tools. Do some selling of parts from parting out cars after getting all the parts I need for my projects. I also have a small home based business related to my old car hobby. Mostly a tax benefit, but it does give positive money.
If I am not working in the yard, or on vacation, I am doing something car related. Working in my garage, going to a car show, attending car club mtg, or just driving one of my old cars enjoying the ride. I've been a car guy since little kid. Bought my first car at 14. Had two or more cars since 18. Worked my way through engineering college part time during school at auto parts store. Summer and co-op were engineering jobs full time.
I spend more time in retirement on cars, but not a lot more than when working.

 

[SD-455]

I've always loved classic muscle cars from the 60's-70's that I spent a lot of time drooling over in high school. Over the last 30 years or so, I've had one that I can drive or restore in my spare time. I don't really consider it spending, more like moving funds from a liquid asset to a fixed one that I enjoy. The market has been pretty good for classic cars so they are usually a break even or a little better. I'm retiring in 2022 so I have a new restoration project I bought to work on in spare time now and to make the transition from work to retirement a little easier. I think if any hobby is something you really love and enjoy, you should do it within financial reason while you can.

 

[Ronstar]

I used to have the urge to restore an old car. Just never had the time or space.

My urge has changed over the years. Now I'd like to restore an old Jeep or Bronco.

It would be great to have a hobby Jeep/Bronco that I could drive around.

 

[mrfeh]

Couple of things that I'm interested in getting opinions on or hearing about your personal experiences.

- What percentage of your stash/annual expenses have you allocated to this addiction?
- Do you, or will you, plan to lease, finance, all-cash, your new/additional car(s) once FIREd?
- Have you found that you spend more/less time on car-related activities after FIREing?

I probably don't meet your definition of "car guy", but my plan going forward (and has been for the last 20 years) is to have 1 grocery getter as well as 1 "fun" car in the garage (where the fun car is a classic/collectible/sports car that is really only driven for pleasure.

I approach this activity frugally; I'm certainly not going to buy a new 911 (although I did own a used one). My current limit for the fun car is $30K.

I enjoy occasional, simple car projects, but I'm not the person that's gonna heavily modify a car and spend every weekend in the garage. I went through a muscle car restoration that occupied all my free time for the better part of a year; I'm not interested in doing anything that involved ever again.

 

[CRLLS]

I have been a low-end car guy for all of my life. Early on, due to necessity, then later as part of my soul. I have always had a car to work on/restore/build. I don't have a budget. My LBYM soul prevents me from entering the high-end exotics, I never paid more than $21,000 for a new or used car or had more than that invested in one of my projects. DW allows me to use the garage for my hobby while our DDs sit in the driveway. So maybe I'm not a car guy but more of a mechanical DIYer. At 69, I think my current project may be my last major project.

 

[stephenson]

Fun topic!

I have always maintained our cars and trucks - only had a few new vehicles of the 40ish. Maintenance sometimes included engine rebuilds. I was really cheap in the beginning ... imagine driving 100 miles in Maine in February to remove a $50 Datsun 1200 engine.

Between used cars and maintenance, we probably avoided in the range of $500K over the many years. Drove some nice cars like used MB diesels, but also 4-5 VW Rabbits.

And, several 125-250 old motorcycles as commuters, even when commuting was painful due to weather.

Now having a hard time changing "attitude." Recently, decided to try a fun car ... found I didn't like new BMW M4 or new 911 - too quiet and smooth and turbo charged. Settled on a like new, low mileage 2015 911 Carrera S. Fun, but wondering how to "enjoy" it without stressing my 40 year need to save money ��

My friend continues to remind me of QTR ... Quality Time Remaining.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I had most of my "Super" cars (to me) during my 35+ W*rk years. To use your words "Rari" (2), Lotus (4), Porsche TT (3), Jaguar (1), TVR (2), TR6 (1), MGs (Lost count maybe 9), Aston (1) Mercedes AMG (1) and probably more.

Since retiring I had one 750 HP Modded Porsche Twin Turbo S. I used it so rarely I ended up selling it. Having a Super Car in SoCAL where they are commonplace, vs most of Florida where they are like hen's teeth, does not give one confidence, especially when left in a car park full of cars with door dings, dents and scratches. I was nervous every time I left it anywhere.

This was a big deal for me. As just having one is not good enough. They need to be Driven.

One of my Neighbors has a McLaren & a new Top end Corvette and he never leaves then anywhere, just goes for coastal drives on occasion, his daily car is a Mercedes commuter, very much a waste IMHO.

I am still a car guy, but more of a looker than an owner anymore, happy with the fact that I could buy any one I wanted, but simply choose not to. I just settle with getting a new utilitarian car every 3 years whether I need it or not. MMDV

 

[JRon]

Have always loved cars and spend time every year going to car shows with my wife. We like to travel too so we combine the 2 interests by taking trips in our Corvette. Have had a few and am currently getting a restomod built - 1982 with everything new but the body. No budget involved, but like others, always pay cash.

 

[Venturer]

I love cars, trucks, and motorcycles I have bought, sold, or traded all my life since my 1st 1963 Ford Fairlane 4 door which my stepdad bought me for a daily driver that he thought would not be raceable. He was right until I found a wrecked 1966 mustang 289 hypo and dropped it into it. It was my 1st "sleeper". Now I just look at the beauties at car shows and "cruise ins" around the area. I've had a lot of fun but at 69 I can't get into the low down sports cars any more --or I can get in but getting out is a pain. I still have my bike and will ride it until I can't pull it up off the side stand anymore.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

For most of my career I had long commutes, which were painful if not injurious in an econobox. Plus, I'd wear them out in a few years. So I decided to drive high-end European sedans that had depreciated.
The first was an E30 chassis BMW 3 series. It was fun and pretty well-engineered but it didn't have quite the comfort I was looking for. I moved on to W123 chassis Mercedes diesels, a 300cd and later a 300td. They were well-built, from an era where DBAG didn't engineer to a price point; the turbodiesel engines were legendary for their durability; and the seats -- oh, the seats. Settling into the car after eight hours in an office chair was a delight.
One more feature was that they were cheap. It was the 1990s, and nobody wanted a 15-year-old Merc. My rust-free West Coast coupe cost $2 grand. It was victim to a freeway collision after I had driven it about 80K miles, and I picked up the wagon for $2500. It had rust that eventually killed it, but not after I had rung up 50K miles in it.
The successor was an E34 chassis BMW 540i. The cars had an undeservedly bad rep for reliability. They do require maintenance, which many owners ignored. And it wasn't a car for tooling around town -- it needed to stretch its legs. Which I obliged. I put 220k miles on the beast, and it's still sitting, retired, out back. I'm picking a few parts for my current sedan, an E34 525i wagon. After that I'll have to let it go.
The garage queen is an '83 BMW 633 Csi, the E24 chassis. It's my hobby car. I bought it from a U of Wis doctoral student who had moved north from New Mexico. Low miles, no rust, but the paint/interior were baked. I'm gradually bringing the cabin back to habitability.

I paid $9K each for the E30 and the 540i, which were low-mileage, turn-key cars. The others required a little sorting, but I bought each of them for less than $3K.

My one negative experience with my depreciated-German strategy was a late-80s Audi 4000cs quattro. It had a tuned suspension that made it turn on a dime. I tracked it repeatedly and drove it a lot in ice autocrosses. Fun car, but delicate, and parts -- Volkswagen parts -- were insanely expensive. The model number reflects the price I paid for it, and I'm sure I spent another $4K modding and maintaining it.

I haven't had a lot of notable cars, but they're models that you don't see on the road everyday. Also, I don't swap in and out of them; once I know my way around a car or truck, I want to keep it for the long haul.

Oh, I forgot to mention one fairly recent addition to the corral -- a 2006 Dodge Sprinter RV conversion by Great West. It's a rebadged Benz, of course, with the OM647 5-cylinder turbodiesel. It's the last year before DEF, so from a simpler era. I'm still sorting a few things, like the TV/DVD player. It's good to go from a driving standpoint.

 

[Speculator]

I've always loved cars and I have been dreaming about many of the cars other posters have mentioned for over sixty years. Having only owned one really nice, fast car, a 1973 Pontiac SD-455 Firebird Trans-Am (brewster green with a white leather interior), the desire has always been there but now the ability to fund such a purchase has become a possibility. Right now and continuing in a somewhat frugal vein (compared to many other cars I dream about), I have my eyes on the 2023 Corvette ZO6, which would satisfy my desires yet be at what I consider a reasonable price point based on my current financial situation. Whether I will "pull the trigger" and buy it or just keep dreaming remains to be seen, but either way, I will always be a car guy no matter if I continue to gaze at "car porn" through the classified adds and Mecum Auction website or actually satisfy my dreams with a purchase. As far as having planned ahead by allocating funds towards a future purchase of this nature, no, I haven't, due to my thoughts that a purchase like this would be sort of frivolous (again, my frugality rears it's ugly head). As to whether to pay cash or finance it, I'd have to look at my options at the time. I would definitely not lease a car like this because I remember when I had my Firebird, nothing would please me more than taking very long drives almost every day, even though I knew I had to plan on spending hours in the gas lines afterward (the good, ole' days of the '73 oil crisis). And after FIREing, my car-related activities have not changed too much, other than accepting the fact that everything I do takes much longer and I end up with more skinned knuckles, strains and bruises than I had in the past.

 

[SD-455]

I've always loved cars and I have been dreaming about many of the cars other posters have mentioned for over sixty years. Having only owned one really nice, fast car, a 1973 Pontiac SD-455 Firebird Trans-Am (brewster green with a white leather interior), the desire has always been there but now the ability to fund such a purchase has become a possibility.

'73 Brewster Green is a very rare car and much more so with the SD-455 in it. Was it a 4 speed or auto? I've seen the '73 SD's go for well into the 6 figures and a Brewster Green '73 sold for the highest price of any I've seen. I may run across it as I know a ton of Pontiac guys. My retirement restoration project that I'm starting to work on now a little before retirement is a '74 SD-455 T/A 4 speed and I have another '72 Formula 455 as well.

 

[corn18]

I am a well regulated car guy. My wife has a lot of say in what we get.

I drive a 2015 2500HD pickup and love it. It does many truck things and pulls our giant 5er. It is a work truck and does that very well. My daily driver in so much as I drive daily in retirement.

My wife drives a 2020 BMW X3M and loves it. I can say with great certainty we will never get another performance SUV. What a waste. She drives it like grandma and I hate it. Way too much power and no real sporty enjoyment. Next one will be a base model of her choosing. Hoping we will go electric or at least hybrid.

Now the well regulated part. Our third car is a sporty car. I wanted performance, she wanted looks. So we got a Z4M. She loved it, I loved it but we bought it when we were broke and had to sell it. Then I got a 1984 MGB LE because I had that car in high school. It was nostalgic, but it only took a few months to realize it was more work than fun. And my wife wouldn't drive it. So that went away and we went back to a Z4 hardtop with the smallest engine. Perfect for us right now.

I keep thinking about getting a super car. Not sure why. Can't use all the performance of the Z4, let alone a super car. My best friend went through the AMG, Porsche, Lambo, Mclaren and Ferrari phase and ended up not keeping any of them. He didn't want to track them and was always worried about driving them. I think that's how I would be.

I wold love a new Z4 M340i. But not sure how it would be any more enjoyable than our current Z4.

I know we aren't Camry or Accord types. Those are the backup if the crap hits the fan and we have to cut back on expenses. The current plan is to get me a new truck and it won't be cheap. I want some of the new safety features.

 

[kgtest]

Just a car dreamer. I try to take ride's in nice/fast cars when I can, but not an owner. Almost bought a 7.0l Vette a few years back, and sorta regret it TBH, but with 3 small kids it just didn't make sense financially.

Have ridden/drove in:

5.0 Mustang with lots of performance parts bolted on
Shelby Mustang with some performance parts
1500 Step Side Chevy that had a NOS canister in the bed
Quite a few Camaro's
A few more Corvette's
1995 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo with some upgrades
Stock Dodge Viper
Hellcat
Durango Hellcat
Tesla Model 3 with some upgrades
Nissan 300z
Audi TTRS
Honda S3000

I drove a GXSR 1000 and Yamaha R6 that a buddy had owned briefly. Always wanted to drive a Hiabusa


I might rent a 'rari or Lambo when I go out to Vegas in a month. Still kinda kicking the idea around, but the issue is I am only there Friday night to Sunday night so I might only get a day out of the rental seeing as many of the shops are closed Sundays.

Wrenched on a lot of vehicles in my younger years. Replaces a few engines, did a lot of repair work myself after also doing a lot of damage and breaking things on vehicles driving them way harder than they should have been. I have all the tools to do most jobs but haven't needed to do much lately. Need to replace a bumper on my truck that was dented when a trailer hopped off and had to use the truck to stop it this past summer.

If I started naming all the work I've done it would be tough. Suspension Swap outs, brakes and calipers, control arm, idler arm, pitman arm, starters, radiators, gas tanks, fuel pumps, sensors, gaskets/rings, headers, clutch's, engine swaps, and used to change my own oil but now value my time more than what it takes to do that.

Its always been frustrating to me working on my vehicles but I take the stance that I would rather spend money buying tools and DIY then paying a mechanic $60/80hr.

Helped my ol man add some shorty's and a top rebuild with an edelbrock intake manifold on the 2dr Tahoe. Mainly owned Trucks myself as they are super durable. My buddy has a low 8s SS that he races around, I've never driven it, but stood over the hood while he showed it off a couple times.

 

[Speculator]

At SD-455
It was an automatic, which the dealer told me was the only transmission available. I ordered it from Caplan Pontiac on Sunrise Highway in Seaford, New York, for, if I remember correctly, $6300 in May (or June) of 1973. The Caplan dealership was the only dealer on Long Island who would order it for me. Over the years, I have seen a few Brewster green ones for sale, but not with the white leather interior or without the big Firebird on the hood. And you are right; the price has certainly gone up! For what it's worth, I loved that car and when I sold it, I was heartbroken for awhile. Good luck on your restoration project; it sounds like fun!

 

[SD-455]

what a small world! I'm pretty sure your car still exists, and the guy you sold it to likely still has it, at least he had it in 2013 when he registered it in the SD-455 registry. Sold at Caplan Pontiac and was delivered to them new in July 1973. Brewster Green/White Deluxe Interior with hood bird delete. That's got to be your old car. Go to the SD-455 registry search page here: http://www.sd455registry.com/455%20SD%20Registry.html
and only enter these 6 digits: 142001 in the 3rd box for "VIN" and let me know if this was your car!!

 

[Speculator]

@SD-455

Yep, it looks like that was the car I owned! I hope the owner is enjoying it; I sure did! Thanks!

 

[Romer]

I may or not fit into this category

I did have to build an extra garage to hold my Toys

I have a 1973 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 that I have restored. I have owned it now for 8 years and it is my 3rd FJ40. I had a new one in college

I have a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser 200 series I have built up for off roading adventures. Besides the FJ40's I had a 1997 80 series Land Cruiser, 2004 `100 series Land Cruiser and now the 200 series

Yes I like Land Cruisers. They have awesome reliability and they go anywhere I want to go

I also have a 2019 BMW Z4. It is my 4th Z4. Having a Z4 to pair with the Land Cruiser has always given me the best of both worlds in my view

Not quite a car, but I also have a 2016 Kimberley Kamper I imported from Australia. All the USA built campers I have fell apart goin offroad even though they were defined as off road. Australia Builds things to last in the bush for months at a time

I also just bought a welder, Hobart 240V. I plan on taking classes to learn and that leaves me an option to build something else in my retirement. I do still have one empty Garage bay

Oh and my wife has an Lexus RX450h

 

[corn18]

I may or not fit into this category

I did have to build an extra garage to hold my Toys

I have a 1973 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 that I have restored. I have owned it now for 8 years and it is my 3rd FJ40. I had a new one in college

I have a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser 200 series I have built up for off roading adventures. Besides the FJ40's I had a 1997 80 series Land Cruiser, 2004 `100 series Land Cruiser and now the 200 series

Yes I like Land Cruisers. They have awesome reliability and they go anywhere I want to go

I also have a 2019 BMW Z4. It is my 4th Z4. Having a Z4 to pair with the Land Cruiser has always given me the best of both worlds in my view

Not quite a car, but I also have a 2016 Kimberley Kamper I imported from Australia. All the USA built campers I have fell apart goin offroad even though they were defined as off road. Australia Builds things to last in the bush for months at a time

I also just bought a welder, Hobart 240V. I plan on taking classes to learn and that leaves me an option to build something else in my retirement. I do still have one empty Garage bay

Oh and my wife has an Lexus RX450h

Oh yeah, that definitely counts. That camper picture is CRRRRAAAZZY!

 

[Romer]

Oh yeah, that definitely counts. That camper picture is CRRRRAAAZZY!

Thanks. The Kamper is a pretty cool feat of engineering. Hard sided even when up. There is a winch you press for the main unit to raise, then push the bed out and your done unless you want to attach the awning

Hot water, a Toilet like home. Inside and outside Kitchen. The shower is a bit cramped as it shares the toilet space so does take some practice walking around the toilet while staying in the shower curtain

When I bought mine you had to buy from the Factory in Australia. Now there are several US dealers for this and the much larger versions. They are pricy though

https://kimberleykampersusa.com/

 

[tbis]

Definitely a car guy here - started with trying to make crappy cars go faster with all the usual mods (intakes, carbs, headers, nitrous, engine swaps, etc.) then gravitated to muscle cars with Pontiac being my preferred brand (was genuinely sad, but not surprised, when GM killed Pontiac) - love the SD 455 talk!

Eventually gravitated to sport sedans as they allowed me to DRIVE my "fun" car vs. letting it sit in the garage (like a boat) never getting used. That put me into BMWs (which I always thought were hype until I actually drove one). Started with a red 97 328i 5 speed w/ sport package, and ultimately ended up with a 2002 Lemans Blue M5. All of these were bought used so they were affordable...well, they were since I could do all the repairs myself! I always said that when you buy a used BMW you get a car and a weekend car repair hobby al in one.

Then...something happened. I sold the M5 and leased a Chevy Volt! I took it on a test drive (by myself - salesman didn't care), and when I pulled back into the lot I remember thinking "Well crap, this - electric - is so clearly the future and now what am I going to do as a gearhead?". I was simultaneously intrigued and bummed (still am to a great degree).

After leasing the Volt for 3 years I knew I wanted my next car to be electric or at least a plug-in hybrid (it's hard to go back), but wanted more power and more of that sport sedan experience. Around that time Tesla introduced their CPO program and I picked up a 3 year old Model S (P85+..the plus has the sport suspension). Now I am fully hooked on electric even though I still have my old project car muscle car that I haven't touched in 3 years.

I am hoping in retirement to get back into the old cars, especially since they are AFFORDABLE. Anything "cool" in electric is generally new and thus pricey (can't afford that path now pre-retirement much less in retirement).

Ultimately, the "gas" cars already moving into the realm of nostalgia cars - and anything "fast" is quickly being overtaken by the fastest electrics (dang Tesla Model S plaid has changed the game entirely and even that performance will start to trickle down to more affordable cars). I'd like my next gas "fun" ride to be a stick (to have something electrics don't really replicate) and I don't think it even needs to be "fast". Of course my knees may not be fond of that option...sigh.

 

[Car-Guy]

Interesting read(s) here... I was into restoring older cars (60's vintage) for decades... My biggest problem (have lot's of them) is I liked too many and I was always "recycling" buying and selling... My interests was to keep them as close to stock as I reasonably could... If I got one that was modified, I'd take it back to original when possible. Original motors, trans, wheels, exhaust, etc. I wasn't as fussy about the paint jobs. Sometimes I'd keep them the original color and sometimes not. At the same time, I always liked my daily drivers to be ultra high performance cars, but I bought them that way (factory builds) and rarely did any upgrades. That's just me.

However, now that I'm sort of out of the vintage car hobby, I'm "considering" some bolt on's for my new TRX and taking it up a few hundred more horsepower. Trying to find that balance between top performance and reliability, with this one.