Is it worth owning a Porsche?

[pmg]

I recently relocated back to the UK and was considering what car to buy after a long period living somewhere where I didn’t need a car at all. A good friend, ex-car dealer, and long-time recurring 911 owner warned me away from Porsches due to poor reliability and build quality compared to comparable mass-produced brands. His last 911 was in the garage a lot and he advised me that, at one point, about half a dozen people he knew with various Porsches all had their cars broken down and in the garage at the same time. He also complained a lot about the disappointing materials used in his 911, if you look closely and poke things with your finger. Worse with a Ferrari, of course. He drives a Mercedes AMG GTS now, so he meant what he said and he is still delighted with the Merc after a couple of years.

I ordered a Macan S regardless. I figure it’s an Audi underneath so hopefully will be reliable and well enough made. It was just the most comfortable, best feeling, and most refined car of the type I wanted (either a small-medium premium SUV or an E-Class sized saloon). The price of a highly specced Macan S is about the same as a comparable Mercedes or BMW with similar spec. We’ll see how well made it is over time.

I’m not somebody who sees any particular magic in a Porsche badge. I judge cars on their merits. I accept that larger volume production cars will always be better quality than small volume brands. I think a Cayenne, Taycan or Panamera are too big and wide to really enjoy on UK roads. But with all that, for me, the Macan was still the best car available for the money, from any brand. For what it’s worth, my friend who is so down on Porsches now did agree the Macan S was a great choice - fast, great handling, great interior, and a definite step up compared to a Mercedes GLC, E-Class, etc. For me it was an easy choice and the badge wasn’t part of my decision.

I’m obviously not as experienced owning Porsches as most here but I’d say just keep an open mind, try out the alternatives, and get whichever car feels best to you, based on your preferences. What is valuable to one person may not be important at all to you. Buy the car you love most for your budget.

the surveys do show the SUV's more reliable than the sports cars

[Scooby_Doo]

I've been a car enthusiast all my life and have always had a car that I could reasonably afford , as I got older the cars got "nicer" - Audi, BMW, Merc and now a Porsche. Over the years the main comment regarding my cars has been "you must be doing alright " to have a car like that , to which my question has been "how much did you spend on your foreign holiday this year.
The general answer has been close to what my annual car depreciation has been , I've never flown commercially and have generally holidayed in the UK. My view was, is spending all that money on a two week holiday "WORTH" it when you can enjoy your car for 52 weeks of the year. We're all different and all have different priorities and different budgets, I'm at an age when the cost of my Porsche equates to the cost of the first year stay at an old peoples home ,as I'm reliably informed that there are no pockets in a shroud. My wife has a top spec Gen 2 Juke and has most of the toys on my Macan for a third of the price, I drive it regularly, but competent that it is it's never put a grin on my face.

[Nuclear Nick]

I think everyone’s summed it up pretty well. Do I need four cars and two motorcycles? No. But I’ve been a car and bike enthusiast all my life and I’m enjoying all my vehicles all the time. Of course there will come a time when I can’t any more, so let’s enjoy it while we can!

[MooseMiller]

I think everyone’s summed it up pretty well. Do I need four cars and two motorcycles? No. But I’ve been a car and bike enthusiast all my life and I’m enjoying all my vehicles all the time. Of course there will come a time when I can’t any more, so let’s enjoy it while we can!

Absolutely. 100% agree

[rhinoman]

What price do you put on the smile you can't help having when you drive a Porsche, Had my 997.2 nearly 7 years, the longest I've ever owned a car. I don't need it, I use my Transporter T6 van every day which is good transport.
We Just bought a Macan for the wife (me), to replace the Q7 that we'd had for a while. We looked at the Q3, Q5, briefly considered a much newer Merc GLC and paid more for an older Porsche....just because of that smile. When you haven't had one you can't quantify "that it" that makes you smile, when you have one, the smile that just makes you feal good is why we spend the extra and easy to justify..

[FirstSeaLord]

What price do you put on the smile you can't help having when you drive a Porsche, Had my 997.2 nearly 7 years, the longest I've ever owned a car. I don't need it, I use my Transporter T6 van every day which is good transport.
We Just bought a Macan for the wife (me), to replace the Q7 that we'd had for a while. We looked at the Q3, Q5, briefly considered a much newer Merc GLC and paid more for an older Porsche....just because of that smile. When you haven't had one you can't quantify "that it" that makes you smile, when you have one, the smile that just makes you feal good is why we spend the extra and easy to justify..

100%

[FirstSeaLord]

I think everyone’s summed it up pretty well. Do I need four cars and two motorcycles? No. But I’ve been a car and bike enthusiast all my life and I’m enjoying all my vehicles all the time. Of course there will come a time when I can’t any more, so let’s enjoy it while we can!

Also 100%

[MacanArif]

I think everyone’s summed it up pretty well. Do I need four cars and two motorcycles? No. But I’ve been a car and bike enthusiast all my life and I’m enjoying all my vehicles all the time. Of course there will come a time when I can’t any more, so let’s enjoy it while we can!

Spot on Nick - thank god healthy enough to enjoy sports cars at the moment so going to make the most of it, there will come a time when I can't physically get into a 911!

[Col Lamb]

I think everyone’s summed it up pretty well. Do I need four cars and two motorcycles? No. But I’ve been a car and bike enthusiast all my life and I’m enjoying all my vehicles all the time. Of course there will come a time when I can’t any more, so let’s enjoy it while we can!

Spot on Nick - thank god healthy enough to enjoy sports cars at the moment so going to make the most of it, there will come a time when I can't physically get into a 911!

Arif

It is not the getting in that is, or rather, will be the problem.

It will be getting out.

[Wing Commander]

I think everyone’s summed it up pretty well. Do I need four cars and two motorcycles? No. But I’ve been a car and bike enthusiast all my life and I’m enjoying all my vehicles all the time. Of course there will come a time when I can’t any more, so let’s enjoy it while we can!

Spot on Nick - thank god healthy enough to enjoy sports cars at the moment so going to make the most of it, there will come a time when I can't physically get into a 911!

+1. Am going to keep my 911 until I can no longer get in & out of it. Probably just as well that I didn’t spec the carbon buckets!

P.S. Pleased to see that some of the drivers/instructors at PEC are in their 70s and still happily tearing around in Porsche sports cars!