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by eru 5809 days ago
The article estimates his current car (the Porsche) to be worth $9,000. (By the way, I always thought a Porsche would cost more, even used. Hey, I may get myself one for this price.)

We also don't know what other trades he has made during this time. Judging by the description in the article, he seems to be quite prolific, and has probably also made some money with refurbishing electric gadgets and so on.

And we also learned that he still worked at a sushi bar (but lost the job at some point in time). So he has quite a lucrative hobby, but still did a day job.

1 comments

Porsche's seem to depreciate in price pretty rapidly. I was surprised to find that my used 98 Boxster is now worth only 9k. Bad investment, these cars. And I bought mine used for less than the price of a new Accord. But fun rides!
The only cars which are investment grade cannot be driven, and you've got to be an absolute expert to make money on them - like an art expert, knowing what will be in demand in the future.

No car is an investment, unless you're making money from driving it, ie a limo or rental car.

Porsches have some of the best depreciation resistance in the business, but even they can't resist the pull of gravity that comes with use, and the inevitable production of newer, better models. A pristine, low mileage used Porsche is a good buy, a well-used cheap model is best avoided and admired from a distance.

Your 98 Boxster is 12 years old. They cost about $60k brand new. Holding 15% of it's value over that time isn't too bad, considering you're down to about 55-60% original value in the first year alone. You're probably at 30-35% after 3 years.

Not that I'm complaining - I picked up a 97 back in 2004 for about $13k (when I worked at a car dealership), drive it for 2 years, and sold it for $14k. What's nice about the Porsche was that a 97 looked just like a 2006 since they rarely change their body styles. I did have to replace 2 tires though which was like $500. Not cheap to own, but plenty of fun to drive.