Enjoy the dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very good points about spoiled rich kids. I hate it when people get things and take them for granted, or act like they're better than everyone else just because they have an M3 when they're 16.

Luckily, I wasn't brought up this way. To be honest, I wouldn't view my family as "rich," and I wouldn't say we are too different from anyone else. My mom isn't putting in too much money for this one, and I'm paying for all other car related costs. I refuse to be the snobby spoiled kid who is unappreciative and a general a-hole. I just enjoy Porsche like you guys :cheers:

well 21 isn't that young (well nowadays). So Having a Porsche isn't too outlandish.

one thing, driving sportscars brought me to the world of Autocross/Driving schools which has made me about 1000X's the driver the average motorist today is.
actually,m After the first event I was a 3X's better driver then I was the day before.
I've avoided accidents that I highly doubt I would have avoided if I didn't have experience REALLY laying into the brake and a very sharp turn of the wheel.

i doubt you'll ever learn to do that with a big sedan. Does Lexus make a good second hand coupe?

So from a safety standpoint, your reaction time and sense of becoming alert to dangerous conditions become far more acute as a sports car driver
IF you make it your local Autocross. In the DC area they do them at the FEDEX Stadium. A huge course where Nationals are often run.

Other good used sports cars
Subaru STI
Mazda Miata
Honda S2000
Acura RSX
Dodge NEON RT(?)

Maybe wait a couple of years for the Boxster. Your insuracne will be cheaper and a low mileage 2000-2004 BoxsterS will be a sports car bargain. Honestly I think its a good car to move up to but not really one to start off with. Learning to drive correctly can be hard on your machinery and Porsche parts out of warranty can be pricey, much more so then any of the cars listed above

p.s.
a BMW 3 series coupe is an excellent safe and reliable car that's not too bad in performance terms.

I'd have to agree - but I would also add that the safest driver's I know also ride motorcylces. Not that there aren't crotch jockeys out there - but if you RIDE - you quickly learn to be safe.

You don't take road conditions for granted. You don't take a right just because the oncoming car is a lane over. You never assume anyone is stopping at a light, stop sign, or intersection. You are constantly aware of every car around you at all times. You always know where your "out" is for any given situation - and you never put yourself in a position where you don't have an "out". And, you always assume that the drivers around you are idiots who will act in an completely irrational and unpredictable manner.

It may not teach you to handle a car - but it will make you a safer driver.

Hi,

I agree with your premise, and I'm sure many motorcycle Riders do develop good Situational Awareness. But, there are lots of Idiots riding Bikes out there - sometimes I wonder where they learned enough to balance themselves. Riding a Bike does not automatically make you a Good Driver - Perhaps it's that the Bad Riders just get weeded out... :(

I used to ride Bikes when I was in College, in fact my '68 Triumph Bonneville (not yet a Classic back then) was struck by an old Lady running a Stop Sign at a Blind Intersection with me on it (nowhere to go and I didn't want to lay it down under her Electra 225, so I rode it out) and I had my Graduation Ceremony in a Hospital Bed with both legs in casts (turned out OK, because the Bike was totalled and I got a Norton Commander as a replacement).

My Sister and her Husband are both Surgeons, one a Trauma Surgeon, and from the stories they've told through the years, they don't call 'em Donor Machines for nothing.

But, back on point, it's partly our system. We teach people how to operate a Car and Obey the Traffic Laws, not how to Drive. No parent should hand over the keys to several Hundred Horsepower and a couple tons of sheetmetal to their Kid without much more practice and training than most people currently receive. I'm not picking on young people, but that's where all the lousy Adult Drivers come from, it's not a skill where one generally digresses...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99 (wishing he still had those Bikes of Yesteryear... ;) )

I agree, although Randall...saying "I don't have kids" kind of negates a lot of it. I've had 4, on my last one and he was bought a car....a '91 Mazda 323. Not pretty, not 'fast and furious' but very reliable, easy on fuel and cheap to keep. One before that got an '89 Ford Aerostar. If I could afford one, I still would not buy them anything fancier than that for a first car. I agree on letting them learn responsibility on something less than a Boxster, for instance. But if Slayer here is 21, he has hopefully already demonstrated his ability to be and act responsibly. I hope you get one, buddy! :cheers: One thing to suggest would be a driving school geared toward safety so you can learn the Boxster's limits on a track, not under a semi!

The worst part about getting a Boxster as your first vehicle is that it will also likely be the one you screw-up! That's not a great feeling when it's a vehicle as nice as a Porsche. Dents in your first POS just don't mean as much.

I just went out to my Boxster to run some errands and found the passenger side had huge scrapes along the rear quarter panel in front of the duct. It looks like someone nailed it last night while I was parked on a one-way street. No real dents, but it's scratched up something fierce!

I feel like I want to throw-up.

Anyone know where I just take it in Denver?

Why couldn't they have nailed my 95 Montero? I could give a crap about that vehicle.

Actually, the driving school is a great idea. If I end up with a Boxster, I'm definitely going to do that, and I'm sure it would make my parents feel better about getting that vehicle. Plus I think it would be fun to take the Boxster out on the track and safely learn what it can do.

I also agree with starting on cars that are less of a risk. Until i was 19, I wasn't allowed to touch my mom's E420. Mostly I've driven cheaper SUV's.

Thanks for the continued replies. Did any of you guys have a nice car like this when you were younger? What did you think of the experience? Do you regret it in any way?

I know, lots of questions. I'm just trying to make sure I decide correctly - a car is a rather major decision!

I had a few: new 65 Mustang & 67.5 Firebird 400 in high school. Traded 'Bird for 66 912. Then new 914-6 after college in 70. Followed by a year-old 911 in 71. And the rest of my history does not qualify as "young." If your real question is "Do I regret blowing money on cars?" the answer is an emphatic NO! You'll never enjoy cars as much as when you are young - at least that is my story. If you have the means or have to stretch your finances a bit, then do it.

I've never had kids so that means a lot in terms of being able to waste money on cars, women, and booze. I know a lot of guys delay nice cars until they push families thru life and then become financially able to afford the finer things. I admire them for it. But for me the memories of the enjoyment and excitement of my early cars cannot be replaced. I wish my Box could do the same for me, but it does not. I love it, but not in the same way as I felt about cars at your age.

The only regrets I've had are the "ones that got away." The 57 T-Bird for $1795. A 289 Cobra for $6500. A 904 (with a 911 engine) for $6500. A Gullwing Mercedes for $30k.

Advice - go for it if you can and enjoy it. :cheers:

My first car was a 63 Stingray conv. My reget is that I sold the car to my brother and he sold it to ...................

:barf:

lol..you're right...I better go knock on some wood. :)