let me rephrase, is the attention you get from other people and the pride/self esteem boost as good as you thought it would be when you dreamed of it? i dont get what you mean when you say "it has to be worth it." it's entirely possible that people blow a bunch of cash and then realize later that hmm, maybe i shouldn't have done that. they won't tell anyone willingly, but it'd be nice to hear some opinions.

 

haha... every other time i go to mcdonalds or taco bell the person working the drive-thru will always say "daaaaaaaaaaaaaaayum! dis a sick azz car. i'ma be getting one of deez real soon here." hah... one time the guy gave me a free oreo McFlurry.

i wouldn't know from experience but i'll have an M6 convertible one day... and i'll tell you right now that it'll be worth every penny.

 

Well, I didn't buy my M3 because of its BMW badge, status symbol, for the attention or to boost my already inflated self ego. I think that if that is your goal, you will be sorely disappointed. And the attention that I get from my cars is mostly unwanted attention. Most don't even recognize my M3 as a M3, most think its just a 3 Series Coupe. The ones that do are either ricers who try to race you in their little Neon SRT4s or jealous haters. My S2000 gets more positive attention, but again its mostly unwanted attention from ricers and haters.

 

If you buy a car for the simple reason of getting looks or reactions from other people... you have a sad sad sad set of values... good luck with that

 

there's a saying that goes "if you have to ask..."

 

i would agree that the majority of the attention is unwanted.

I did just pass a new Ford GT on the way home...we both gave a nice thumbsup to each other........ much better than the peeps ax'ing questions....

in the ghetto though a typhoon, s2000, evo, mustang, nsx all get about the same response....

 

"if you have to ask..." what is that supposed to mean?

these are not my values, but rather what appears to be the common values of the general public.

 

it's a pretty well-known phrase: if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Anyhoo. Since this being a car board, I'm sure most of the people here lust after an Italian exotic. However, I don't think anyone not making upward of $400K a year is going to be able to afford a late model Ferrari.

 

i understood the well known phrase, but didn't see how it pertained to the thread topic.

 

I've had my Elise for almost two years now, and I have to admit it is a bit of a PITA. You are never anonymous, people ALWAYS ask how much it costs and I never get free stuff because of it. I try to always be cool to people who want to talk about it, because honestly there is enough hate in the world and if two strangers can make nice over a car, then I'm not going to be the jackass exotic car owner who ruins it.

Since the car is plastic, I don't parallel park, because a bumper check by a Nancy in an SUV is going to run $10k in repairs. Oil changes run about $200. At 5500 miles, I need new rears. At Ferrari dealership rates, I am looking at a good $400-$500 to get back on the road. You actually need a VIN to get the tires.

My point is, I can afford the Elise and have issues with it. I could only image the number small annoyances associated with driving a high dollar exotic. I would have to have enough money to be able to treat my supercar like a beater Accord.