To sell or not to sell the dream car ??

[TimC]

Hey everyone ,

I have been battling this question to myself for some time , I have a 1972 240z which ive owned for 8years , I rebuilt this car in my garage by myself so there is a strong emotional attachment to it . I really do not drive it as much as i would like to as i live in Canada and i wont drive it in winter , and i also work on a offshore oil rig where I am there for one month and home for a month , so even less time to drive it . I have three small kids now and my time home is mainly spent with them and my goal is to be free of this job within 5years or less .

My current money situation isn't where I would like to be as I have not been good with money in the past but have changed things drasctically in the past 6months , agressively paying off my debt. I have a mortgage which will be paid off by end of next year and a car loan for the family vehicle which I will pay off asap .

Now I could realistically get 25-30k for my car , right now the car just sits in my garage but everytime i drive it i fall in love with it over again and the thought of selling it goes out the window. I dont owe anything on it and pay a few hundred dollars a year in insurance on it so its not costing much to have it , as I have not been spending any money on upgrades for it. But I beleive if i sold it i will get a better ROI allocating that money to something else. My wife isnt a car person and couldnt care less , she wants me to get rid of it . I think I already have the answer to this but emotional attachment to a sports car is a hell of thing .. but if it will take me that one step closer to becoming free of my job and being financially free i will do it . Interested in your thoughts ... thanks for reading .

 

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[Kak]

Hey everyone ,

I have been battling this question to myself for some time , I have a 1972 240z which ive owned for 8years , I rebuilt this car in my garage by myself so there is a strong emotional attachment to it . I really do not drive it as much as i would like to as i live in Canada and i wont drive it in winter , and i also work on a offshore oil rig where I am there for one month and home for a month , so even less time to drive it . I have three small kids now and my time home is mainly spent with them and my goal is to be free of this job within 5years or less .

My current money situation isn't where I would like to be as I have not been good with money in the past but have changed things drasctically in the past 6months , agressively paying off my debt. I have a mortgage which will be paid off by end of next year and a car loan for the family vehicle which I will pay off asap .

Now I could realistically get 25-30k for my car , right now the car just sits in my garage but everytime i drive it i fall in love with it over again and the thought of selling it goes out the window. I dont owe anything on it and pay a few hundred dollars a year in insurance on it so its not costing much to have it , as I have not been spending any money on upgrades for it. But I beleive if i sold it i will get a better ROI allocating that money to something else. My wife isnt a car person and couldnt care less , she wants me to get rid of it . I think I already have the answer to this but emotional attachment to a sports car is a hell of thing .. but if it will take me that one step closer to becoming free of my job and being financially free i will do it . Interested in your thoughts ... thanks for reading .

My advice is best summed up with the popular quote:

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

You seem to be on pretty solid footing. Good for you!

I’d sell the car and be more financially free. Pay off the personal debt that partially requires you to work for someone.

 

[Sheens]

It's easy to see how that would be a difficult choice.

I bet it's awesome and would love to see a photo!

Really an ornery badger of a time to go up against the emotional response to loss or pain.

I'm with both of you on this one as with this amount of money you to pay down debts or even eliminate the one for your family car would be a win for your personal finances, please your wife, and move closer to days of freedom.

Set a goal right now for a future reward of a dream car when you are in the fastlane?

Or build one with your kids?

 

[Strategery]

Lol, I'd rather get rich and buy an XKE

 

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[TimC]

My advice is best summed up with the popular quote:

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

You seem to be on pretty solid footing. Good for you!

I’d sell the car and be more financially free. Pay off the personal debt that partially requires you to work for someone.

I have to agree , its a difficult move but looking back at my past I have had many sports cars in the past , so i need to move on from those liabilities and focus on my kids future and set an example for them to have a comfortable life . thanks for your feedback

 

[TimC]

It's easy to see how that would be a difficult choice.

I bet it's awesome and would love to see a photo!

Really an ornery badger of a time to go up against the emotional response to loss or pain.

I'm with both of you on this one as with this amount of money you to pay down debts or even eliminate the one for your family car would be a win for your personal finances, please your wife, and move closer to days of freedom.

Set a goal right now for a future reward of a dream car when you are in the fastlane?

Or build one with your kids?

It's easy to see how that would be a difficult choice.

I bet it's awesome and would love to see a photo!

Really an ornery badger of a time to go up against the emotional response to loss or pain.

I'm with both of you on this one as with this amount of money you to pay down debts or even eliminate the one for your family car would be a win for your personal finances, please your wife, and move closer to days of freedom.

Set a goal right now for a future reward of a dream car when you are in the fastlane?

Or build one with your kids?

Yes paying off bad debt is my main goal right now and selling the car will definitely help that , whilst trying to make some side income . I am also a landscape photographer , I was featured in national geographic a few years ago and did not pursue this talent as I should have at the time when I had all the exposure and it went to the wayside for years and I am now starting back to pursue this . Landscape photography is difficult to make a lot of income off but I have a few ways I plan to sell my prints for some Extra income , I’ve also started taking family portraits which is a decent amount of money for little time . I attached a photo of the car . Thanks for your feedback very much appreciated .

View attachment 28014

 

[minivanman]

You need to keep the car. You will have a mortgage that will be paid off soon so extra money there. IF you get $25k, that will help you quit your job sooner? I doubt it would be that much sooner. I guess my big question is..... what are you doing besides your J O B to earn money?

 

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[minivanman]

The requested page could not be found.

 

[minivanman]

Photography..... If your car is very important to you, by Monday you will have sessions set up to put that camera to work. I guess I'll change my mind and say.... if you haven't given it any effort and got sessions set up by Monday.... sell the car and quit dreaming about photography while you are at it. That will be your punishment for not putting your talent to use.

 

[TimC]

You need to keep the car. You will have a mortgage that will be paid off soon so extra money there. IF you get $25k, that will help you quit your job sooner? I doubt it would be that much sooner. I guess my big question is..... what are you doing besides your J O B to earn money?

well honestly i dont believe it will help me quit sooner but i could put that towards paying off my family car loan much faster . I am not doing anything significant right now to earn extra money but I am a landscape photographer , i also do family portraits , i havent pushed this hard just yet but i will in the coming weeks. one of my issues is my job is on a offshore rig , so I cant earn that extra income with portraits while i am here . but I am in there process of developing my webpage for my landscape prints to be able to sell them. Its a step in the right direction , not a big step but it will encourage me to pursue more avenues to be of more value.

 

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[TimC]

Photography..... If your car is very important to you, by Monday you will have sessions set up to put that camera to work. I guess I'll change my mind and say.... if you haven't given it any effort and got sessions set up by Monday.... sell the car and quit dreaming about photography while you are at it. That will be your punishment for not putting your talent to use.

I am definitely not dreaming about photography , I am doing this based on public feedback which has been really good which to me is a good indication I am doing something right there. Sales of my prints will really show the value of my photography , it is really not a time consuming pursuit so if I can make some side income why quit ?

 

[MattR82]

It's just a car. Why let things own you when you aren't really financially free yet.

For me, the fun and enjoyment of stuff never comes close to offestting the horrible feeling of debt.

 

[minivanman]

I am definitely not dreaming about photography , I am doing this based on public feedback which has been really good which to me is a good indication I am doing something right there. Sales of my prints will really show the value of my photography , it is really not a time consuming pursuit so if I can make some side income why quit ?

How many sessions have you had in the last 45 days?

 

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[TimC]

It's just a car. Why let things own you when you aren't really financially free yet.

For me, the fun and enjoyment of stuff never comes close to offestting the horrible feeling of debt.

I agree its just a car but i dont agree its just a car , i guess because I am emotionally attached.
Point taken i definitely need to get rid of the bad debt by any means.

 

[TheCj]

I think first you have to decide if didn't have money problems would you want to keep the car.

If you decide you want to try keep the car. Then I'd say need to see how much faster you will be out of debt selling the car vs keeping the car. Is it years faster or a few months?

Then you can decide if it is silly to keep the car with your current financial situation or sell it.

Can maybe look for ways to use the car to create income, use it to create photography portfolio. Maybe is a market in car circles for photographers?

I'd lean on keeping it longer till it was a no brainer i need to sell it if I wanted to keep it. Mainly feel this way because of the amount of work you personally have in it, which you won't be able to replace as easily as just buying another car. Combined with it not hampering your monthly finances and you are making good progress.

 

[TimC]

How many sessions have you had in the last 45 days?

Like i said before I work on a offshore oil rig for 30days on the rig and 30days of the rig, i am near the end of my trip now . I havent had any sessions in 45days since i cant physically be there , but I do have two already booked for when I am home. I am only now getting back into photography , i have done zero marketing or advertising for family portraits but I got two bookings from word of mouth.

 

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[Tourmaline]

Sell it. Reflect on why you're so attached to it and sever the attachment. Freeing yourself from material objects gives you an amazing amount of freedom.

Once you're where you want to be more so, you can always go rebuild another one too!

 

[TimC]

I think first you have to decide if didn't have money problems would you want to keep the car.

If you decide you want to try keep the car. Then I'd say need to see how much faster you will be out of debt selling the car vs keeping the car. Is it years faster or a few months?

Then you can decide if it is silly to keep the car with your current financial situation or sell it.

Can maybe look for ways to use the car to create income, use it to create photography portfolio. Maybe is a market in car circles for photographers?

I'd lean on keeping it longer till it was a no brainer i need to sell it if I wanted to keep it. Mainly feel this way because of the amount of work you personally have in it, which you won't be able to replace as easily as just buying another car. Combined with it not hampering your monthly finances and you are making good progress.

You are right about working the numbers and see how much faster i would be out of debt after selling it, I will definitely do this .

Car photography there is a market but car guys dont want to spend money on photos of their cars they just want to spend money on upgrades to their cars, exotic cars on the other hand is a different story , i believe those guys are willing to pay for quality photos of their rare cars . Its definitely something I will look into .

I hate making this an excuse but my job keeps me back from doing these things because I have to physically be 100miles offshore in the middle of the ocean for a month at a time , and when I am home my priority is to be with my kids and my wife and devote my time to them , i do plan photo shoots when i can when I am home , for now until I can quit this job I am looking at avenues for extra income to be earned also while i am at work on the rig .

 

[minivanman]

I must have missed the part about you being on an off shore rig.

I say do not sell the car. It's not going to help much either way, realistically. If you was $20k in debt and you could sell the car for $20k and be debt free it would be a different story but that is not the case. If you want to keep the car, over the next 3 times you are home, work the photography business. If you are good at it, you will make money. Plus.... Christmas is coming! Forget about that word of mouth..... join Facebook buy/sell/trade groups today and offer family pictures for Christmas. And then, Valentine's Day right after Chirstmas and Easter soon after that. 3 GREAT opportunities back to back to back. And if you haven't made much money by the end of Easter..... you could sell the car if it's really bothering you..... but it still won't do much money-wise.

 

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[biophase]

If you have debt sell the car. It really is just a car. $25-$30k is a good chunk. How much do you owe on your other car?

The one thing you have going for you is that it’s a classic and the price isn’t going down over time.

 

[TimC]

I must have missed the part about you being on an off shore rig.

I say do not sell the car. It's not going to help much either way, realistically. If you was $20k in debt and you could sell the car for $20k and be debt free it would be a different story but that is not the case. If you want to keep the car, over the next 3 times you are home, work the photography business. If you are good at it, you will make money. Plus.... Christmas is coming! Forget about that word of mouth..... join Facebook buy/sell/trade groups today and offer family pictures for Christmas. And then, Valentine's Day right after Chirstmas and Easter soon after that. 3 GREAT opportunities back to back to back. And if you haven't made much money by the end of Easter..... you could sell the car if it's really bothering you..... but it still won't do much money-wise.

Thanks for the advice , i definitely plan to take advice of the christmas season with regards to the photography.

 

[RazorCut]

Just a different slant. You have a car loan. So what? If your home will be paid off soon and your car loan isn't huge then is it a problem? If you don't have large CC debt at stupid rates I would say that you are better off selling the car and using those funds towards building a business as that will give you a much better return. You probably aren't considering it long term but I personally I wouldn't get into the photography niche for several reasons:

1/ Turning a hobby/passion into a business often kills that passion, (been there several times).

2/ Now that everyone and their dog has a camera phone that takes outstanding images there is less demand for professional photographers (I know a few, and trust me their earnings aren't great). Look at how stock and wedding photography has declined in earnings over the years.

3/ Ideally you really want to be looking at ways to create a business that you can extract yourself from once the time is right.

3/ $25k is much better invested in building a business that is scalable and more profitable.

Do you have any form of internet access on the rig?

 

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[business_man]

Hey everyone ,

I have been battling this question to myself for some time , I have a 1972 240z which ive owned for 8years , I rebuilt this car in my garage by myself so there is a strong emotional attachment to it . I really do not drive it as much as i would like to as i live in Canada and i wont drive it in winter , and i also work on a offshore oil rig where I am there for one month and home for a month , so even less time to drive it . I have three small kids now and my time home is mainly spent with them and my goal is to be free of this job within 5years or less .

My current money situation isn't where I would like to be as I have not been good with money in the past but have changed things drasctically in the past 6months , agressively paying off my debt. I have a mortgage which will be paid off by end of next year and a car loan for the family vehicle which I will pay off asap .

Now I could realistically get 25-30k for my car , right now the car just sits in my garage but everytime i drive it i fall in love with it over again and the thought of selling it goes out the window. I dont owe anything on it and pay a few hundred dollars a year in insurance on it so its not costing much to have it , as I have not been spending any money on upgrades for it. But I beleive if i sold it i will get a better ROI allocating that money to something else. My wife isnt a car person and couldnt care less , she wants me to get rid of it . I think I already have the answer to this but emotional attachment to a sports car is a hell of thing .. but if it will take me that one step closer to becoming free of my job and being financially free i will do it . Interested in your thoughts ... thanks for reading .

My advice would be - do whatever makes you happy, mate.

Dont fall on this "practical decisions" stuff...

Sometimes when you look back it makes me smile how much i was sweating on irrelevant decisions. Getting or keep 30k car is one of them.

If you have a bigger dream and that 30k can fund it - sure, go for it. You will feel happier. If its just for a sake of "practicality" meh...

P.s. not all debts are bad, some are just leverage. Recently i had a debate, should i get preowned car for cash, or get a brand new for monthly payments. I decided to go for new. Two main reasons
1. I dont need to freez bigger amount of cahs, which i can reinvest and rather pay my mortage of that.
2. It saves my time since i dont need to go arround town tovariuos self employeed mechanics, instesd i can drop a keys to the dealer and mind my own business (litterally - business ).

It costs me arround 700 more a year, sort of luxury tax, but the amount of time i save not owninf preowned car makes up for it

 

[lowtek]

Don't sell it. You're focused on the wrong things. A $20,000 windfall isn't going to change your life and you'll just regret it later.

 

[Kid]

focused on the wrong things. A $20,000 windfall isn't going to change your life and you'll just regret it later.

Same thing here. Use this situation as a leverage. You HAVE TO make money NOW to keep your car AND pay off debt.

 

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[Kevin88660]

Hey everyone ,

I have been battling this question to myself for some time , I have a 1972 240z which ive owned for 8years , I rebuilt this car in my garage by myself so there is a strong emotional attachment to it . I really do not drive it as much as i would like to as i live in Canada and i wont drive it in winter , and i also work on a offshore oil rig where I am there for one month and home for a month , so even less time to drive it . I have three small kids now and my time home is mainly spent with them and my goal is to be free of this job within 5years or less .

My current money situation isn't where I would like to be as I have not been good with money in the past but have changed things drasctically in the past 6months , agressively paying off my debt. I have a mortgage which will be paid off by end of next year and a car loan for the family vehicle which I will pay off asap .

Now I could realistically get 25-30k for my car , right now the car just sits in my garage but everytime i drive it i fall in love with it over again and the thought of selling it goes out the window. I dont owe anything on it and pay a few hundred dollars a year in insurance on it so its not costing much to have it , as I have not been spending any money on upgrades for it. But I beleive if i sold it i will get a better ROI allocating that money to something else. My wife isnt a car person and couldnt care less , she wants me to get rid of it . I think I already have the answer to this but emotional attachment to a sports car is a hell of thing .. but if it will take me that one step closer to becoming free of my job and being financially free i will do it . Interested in your thoughts ... thanks for reading .

Wow..I think you know the answer. Hope you have courage to bite the bullet.

 

[broswoodwork]

The advice given here is going to be relative to the values of the advisor. Your car means little to us, but we all value not being trapped in debt.

If the situation were reversed, and the sell the car crowd were advised to sell dad's golf clubs, get rid of the girlfriend, or to otherwise drop something they value, they'd be in the same dilemma.

I was just talking to a guy who's one regret is selling some cool car years ago to make one of his ex wives happy. He couldn't replace that car now if he hit the lottery.

I don't get it, because I'm not a car guy, but if it means the world to you, and there are other options to dig yourself out, give those a shot first is my $.02.

 

[TimC]

Just a different slant. You have a car loan. So what? If your home will be paid off soon and your car loan isn't huge then is it a problem? If you don't have large CC debt at stupid rates I would say that you are better off selling the car and using those funds towards building a business as that will give you a much better return. You probably aren't considering it long term but I personally I wouldn't get into the photography niche for several reasons:

1/ Turning a hobby/passion into a business often kills that passion, (been there several times).

2/ Now that everyone and their dog has a camera phone that takes outstanding images there is less demand for professional photographers (I know a few, and trust me their earnings aren't great). Look at how stock and wedding photography has declined in earnings over the years.

3/ Ideally you really want to be looking at ways to create a business that you can extract yourself from once the time is right.

3/ $25k is much better invested in building a business that is scalable and more profitable.

Do you have any form of internet access on the rig?

True , the interest rate on the car loan is 4.1% and I owe around 20k , thats why I would like to pay it off asap. I do have another plan to pay off the car loan , i have a good sum of money going to a RESP , for non canadians its a government plan for saving for your kids education where the government also contributes to it . Theres already 25k in that and my oldest is 7 , i plan to lower my contributions to that and double my car payments to get rid of that debt .
To be honest the main reason I was planning to sell the car is to possibly purchase a established online business where my ROI would be higher than in a car sitting for years and years . I dont have any credit card debt.

I do agree with trying to turn the hobby into a buisness . But people still show interest in buying my prints so I will still sell them .

I do have internet on the rig but the speed is terrible .

 

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[TimC]

Don't sell it. You're focused on the wrong things. A $20,000 windfall isn't going to change your life and you'll just regret it later.

regret is what i am trying to avoid , and I feel it already just thinking about selling the car.

 

[TheCj]

Another option is to look at how much can sell the car with the loan on it and see if can cut the car debt in half or more. Then buy a used car with cash. This would depend on wife being on board and not feeling like onesided sacrifice if the car she drives is one with loan.