I have never been much of a car guy. I have yet to own a car. When I drive, I'm just content to have a car that can take me somewhere. If I ever move downtown, I'll probably just join a car co-op like Zipcar. Since I was 16, I probably have spent enough on computers, video game consoles, and games equal to the cost of a new economy car. If you consider the cost of my education, what it took to get two degrees, you're looking at a new, luxury sedan right there. So yeah, I've never put a whole lot of value on owning a car.

Last night, I was bored and I typed "Porsche" into the search box on Wikipedia. A few minutes of reading and then clicking brought me to the Porsche Cayman, the new entry-level sports car model offered by Porsche. It replaces the popular Boxster model which debuted at the turn of the century.

I'm not a huge fan of sports cars but this model is beautiful. It's a great looking vehicle. They did an awesome job of designing it. Then I thought, there's a lot of dumb things I could do with my money right now and one of them is to buy one of these cars.

The base model Cayman is approx. $70 000 CDN before taxes and all those other wonderful charges. In just cash alone though, I'd have enough for a substantial downpayment. Add in my RRSPs and I'd have about half the car paid off before I even drove it off the lot. Considering that Porsche is comfortable selling their vehicles to people with zero downpayment, there's no way they'd turn down my offer to by a Cayman. Given my current financial situation, I could probably pay off the car in about three years. Think of it! I could be driving a brand new Porsche Cayman!

So while the above is true, let's turn common sense back on right now. At this point in my life, I should be saving money for retirement and/or the possible purchase for real estate. My money should grow, not devalue the instant I drive it off the lot (no matter how freaking hot the car looks). Let us not forget I have no where to park the car. I'd have to put it outside in a semi-private lane outside the townhouse complex I live in. What kind of person can afford a Porsche but can't park it indoors? Also, consider what my driving habits are. I tend to drive a car to go to the movies, the mall, and to buy groceries. Do I need Cayman to do that? No. I suppose that once I had such a nice ride, it'd be a waste not to just go on a Sunday drive once in a while. That would probably be a lot of fun, especially in the summer time. Plus, it would be interesting to start dating a girl that just liked me for my car, I've never had that happen before. Seriously though, this car would probably sit idle at least five days of the week. I might take it out only on the weekends.

In reality, it would be impractical for me to buy a Porsche Cayman but in some really egotistical and self-indulgent way, I'll have to be satisfied that I could buy one if I wanted to.

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