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Hi all,

Life always unfolds interestingly. Since I've purchased my Boss (late May of 2012) things have really begun to fall into place in my life. I should be closing in on my first house later this year and not much longer after that am hopefully getting engaged to my best friend. Having said all that, TRACKING the Boss is not a reality with these added expenses. I could make it work but rather uncomfortably. I have a little over a year and a half left of payments on the Boss.

So the wannabe racer/weekend track rat in me feels that letting the car just sit and depreciate or in LA traffic is just a waste. I've committed to the idea of a crappy daily (my Acura RSX Type S I've driven since it was new in 2002 and has been hit 3 times albeit cosmetic damage, countless rock chips, undertray held together in one part by a ziptie) and a "toy" car that I can thrash but serves double duty so I can take the girlfriend out for a night on the town. I feel like I need a toy car that I can do a full season of autocross and 8-10 track days a year that is VERY easy on the consumables and is a little less expensive to insure/maintain. So I've come up with three possible options

1. Swap out my RSX for something a little less practical like an NB (last gen) Miata. Track the crap out of the Miata, occasionally track (once to twice a year) the Boss. I still feel like the Boss is a wasted garage queen at this point.

2. Trade in my Boss and take a fleecing but get a new under warranty Miata (which I get 1K off invoice). Completely paid off, some $ leftover for some World Challenge/Grand Am quality suspension components/wheels/tires. This option seems to be the best overall financially.

3. Just carpe diem and roll around in my new Miata and the Boss, get rid of my daily that has already hit rock bottom depreciation wise. I very likely will not opt for this.

It seems a lot of you are married or have houses, so all feedback is welcome!

- Frank
 
Keep the car and ditch the wife ;D...I'm just kidding (I did so well in my first marriage I decided to do it all over again...lol). Honestly there is no right or wrong answer. You know your financial situation better than any one on here does. I will say that if you sell the Boss you will definitely miss it. I had a 1998 Corvette that I loved. It was my first true sports car. I sold it when I got married the first time to help pay for the wedding/honeymoon. I've regretted it ever since.
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
Moderator
2,848
14
Connecticut
Frank - I remember the feeling well when my wife and I were first married 23 years ago. The only advice I can give is this. First off, as you are already aware, don't put yourself in a hole when you first get married. Secondly, if can afford to keep the Boss as-is for now (taking into consideration gas, insurance, etc.) the you may want to hold off on your decision for a while if possible. Who's to say that you can't squeeze in one or two days a year at the track? Maybe your financial situation will get stronger over time (I pushed my wife into management from having a per-diem hourly job. C'mon honey, you know you can do that job ! ;D ). Maybe not now, but maybe later. Keeping it will also give you all the fun you can have on the back roads on the weekends, and you won't get fleeced on a trade in or even a private sale (the car is too new to really appreciate yet I believe).

That's my $0.02 - but at the end of the day the economy rules....

Good Luck,
Pete
 

ace72ace

Zaino, I put that $hit on everything
1,242
71
It was a real stretch to get my Boss, but after 20yrs of driving older cars and some that even had 'beater' status, my turn finally came when I got a new G35x at the end of 2007. It got totaled, and then the 2010 G37S 6MT was going to be my dream car. Hated the clutch, ended up selling to a coworker, and the set my sights on the new '12 Boss. After driving my wife's 11 GT, and then sitting in a new CO '12 Boss at a local dealer (who wanted 5k ADM), my story ended up with a happy ending with my RR '13 in my garage.

I have 4 kids, the older 2 girls in college, and my 2 sons I hope to help send to school also. So now my window of opportunity was there. Things are very tight right now, but my oldest is finishing up her Jr. year, and should be able to support herself after graduating once she goes for her masters or doctorate (me puffs chest :D ). Then the wife will pay off her GT, so things should ease up. I am quite happy with my decisions so far, and don't for one minute regret having a much lower cash flow in the short term. Big picture, long term thinking for this car was one that I carefully considered, and I was willing to sacrifice short term 'extras' (vacations, electronic upgrades, etc) for my long term happiness of taking delivery of this special car exactly how I wanted it.

Not everyone has the same emotional attachment to a vehicle as others, but I do have perspective and if I had to sell it to take care of a family issue, I would do it w/o hesitation, and buy it back (or another) when life went back to normal. If you are on the fence, and don't really know if really want to keep your Boss, think carefully what it would be like without it. Try to leave it parked for a week, don't drive it at all. Then take it out for a spirited spin, and see how you feel. You should know after that if you can live w/o that rush, or if it's something you just can't justify giving up, because you know you would regret it later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmXWkMlKFkI
 
KEEP THE BOSS!!! It's just a car and use it for daily trans. If you track it, it's going to go down in value faster than using it for daily trans in my opinion. If I was buying a used one, one that had been thrashed on the track would be the last one I would want, unless I planned to track it myself. You have already eat the depreciation so I wouldn't want to take the bath of selling so soon. My 2 cents...
 
It's just a car and can always be replaced. Family and finances come first. Keeping your financial house in order will pay huge dividends later in life so tend to it now. Congratulations on the engagement and good luck!
 

NeuRon

2012 500A #1626
108
0
I'd also encourage you to get rid of the other cars and actually use your Boss for daily driving. If you're forced into selling it later, you'll have some nice equity in the car. Consider it an emergency savings stash that can't be dipped into so easily as an account. If you happen to track it at some point, on rare occassions, good for you. If not, you'll still enjoy it daily. And consider that you don't have all that much longer before it's paid off. A paid-off Miata or a paid-off Boss 302? I know which you'll have more equity in. :)

Of course, reading that it's LA traffic does give a different perspective. I simply don't contend with stop-n-go traffic in my small town and I'm able to keep it rolling most of the time. And, boy, do I! ;D Delivered Aug. 2011, about 8500miles so far. Like I said, it's a smaller town... ...mostly driven 5 days/week but NO roadtrips!

You're absolutely right about it being a waste just sitting in the garage. I'm not sure what seems worse; sitting in traffic 50% of the time or letting it sit in the garage 75+% of the time. Maybe it's time to move. :p

Props to those of you who can afford to use your Boss as only a track car. My daily-driver (PW 2012) remains stock, with only a set of new tires and the TracKey as changes or 'mods'. Might do the QTP e-cutouts at some point, as nearly every V8 Mustang in town is loud as **** (all the time)... ...and they all want to measure their 'Stang against a Boss 302. ::)
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
I hear the 2014 Mustang is going to be a major improvement in performance in dynamics, so you can always get one of those in the future or another BOSS
 
Been in your situation before. If you can afford it financially, by all means keep it.

You're the original owner and you can only do that once with a car. Even if you're not going to be driving it much or tracking it this too shall pass... some day you'll have more time and funds to enjoy your Boss the way you want to enjoy it. Plus, these are special cars... Ford's not making any more of them. The market will eventually realize this and years down the road they'll be blue chip collector cars, no question.

I had a numbers matching early production '820 S' motor white '69 Boss 429 all through college that I sold right before I got married. In hindsight I should -- and could -- have kept it, maybe stored it someplace for a few years. I kick myself to this day for selling that car... it was just an awesome machine. It was paid for, insurance was pretty reasonable and I could have afforded to hold onto it even on my meager Navy ensign's salary.

The lesson I learned is, when you have a car you really like and you can afford to keep it, even if you aren't driving it, hang on to it. Hindsight is always 20/20. You'll never regret not selling it.
 
NFSBOSS said:
It's just a car and can always be replaced. Family and finances come first. Keeping your financial house in order will pay huge dividends later in life so tend to it now. Congratulations on the engagement and good luck!

+1 on this. Cars come and go, hopefully families do not. Concentrating on saving and finances early in life is paramount although many don't learn that until it's too late.
 
If you are getting married then I would think twice about a Miata. I assured my wife that trading in my paid-off GT for a Boss was fine since we wouldn't be having a kid for a few years and it would be paid off. What changed right after that? My healthcare is now high deductible and with "Obamacare" will only get worse, tax rates went up, MA tax rates will probably go up, I had to buy a new commuter ('12 focus) and I will have a baby boy to take care of in March...

While the most fun right now, a 2-seater might bite you in the rear in a few years. And you don't want a baby in the Boss I think :) Personally, I would run the RSX into the ground, AutoX the Boss, and in the meantime keep a list of what you would replace it with when it does give out.

If you want a good beater maybe look at the new Focus? I am even thinking if something happens to my Focus (like totaled in a wreck) I might look at the small Hyundai models. My philosophy is to have a boring commuter so that the Boss is all that much more special to me. And I can concentrate all my washing/detailing efforts into just one car. If you get two fun cars with one being just cheaper you might not get your moneys worth out of the Boss.

Good luck and congrats!
 

four-walling

Kerry, San Diego
fduboss302 said:
Hi all,

Life always unfolds interestingly. Since I've purchased my Boss (late May of 2012) things have really begun to fall into place in my life. I should be closing in on my first house later this year and not much longer after that am hopefully getting engaged to my best friend.

- Frank

You are a year out from buying a house and not engaged. I wouldn't do anything.
 
1,281
3
Tulsa, OK
My thoughts are that you will be very sad if you replace the boss with a miata (nothing against miatas). I would suggest keeping the boss and your daily driver and just attending track days when you can. Attend some local auto-x events or hit the drag strip if you have the itch to "race." Both of these options are fun and cheaper than a day at a road course. Or sell your RSX and daily the boss. But as others have said, you know your situation better than the rest of us. Good luck with everything and congrats on your pending marriage.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Congrats on your engagement Frank!

If you can swing it, keep it. And you can always sell it later. By rolling it off the lot, you've already taken the biggest depreciation per unit of time. Delaying the decision doesn't really cost you much.

If your fiancee wants you to get rid of it, just do it...
 
The decision to part with your BOSS is part Financial & part future marital. But it also involves how much you enjoy your BOSS! This is a limited edition race car that you won't be able to buy next year. I, for one, am like a little kid on Christmas morning every time I get in my BOSS to start it up & go for a ride. If you don't feel that feeling you probably won't regret selling it. But if you do, it will come back to haunt you...trust me ;)
 
Does "best friend" mean she allows you the satisfaction of owning such a fine car? What does she think of it? I married a woman who could take it or leave it, but I am lucky that she knows I love it, and wouldn't tear me away from it, unless we were in dire circumstances. I think you are wise to consider whether it is an appropriate luxury given your current situation, but if the bills are paid, and you can still put away $ for later in life, keep doing what you love.
 
max5ive0 said:
Does "best friend" mean she allows you the satisfaction of owning such a fine car? What does she think of it? I married a woman who could take it or leave it, but I am lucky that she knows I love it, and wouldn't tear me away from it, unless we were in dire circumstances. I think you are wise to consider whether it is an appropriate luxury given your current situation, but if the bills are paid, and you can still put away $ for later in life, keep doing what you love.

She loves the car, she has no idea of my finances. My bills are paid but I'm just projecting for the house, the ring, the wedding. Keep in mind I'm in Southern CA so my down payment is the entire value of a house is in most other parts of the country. :( The responses here do have me torn, I know what is the "adult" thing to do but the Boss puts a huge smile on my face when I drive it each time.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
fduboss302 said:
She loves the car...

She loves the car too...keep the Boss and keep her...work out the rest of the details.


Keep in mind I'm in Southern CA ...

I know...you're in the best area of the country to race all year round!

Go to Track Attack for your honeymoon... ;)
 

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