If you won a 250grand car (this is not off-topic btw)

[Random Model Maker]

So, the other day, I found one of these flyers in my postbox, where you could win a car, and Luxembourg being Luxembourg, it was a Porsche worth not less than 245000 of our united european credits (€'s that is).
So, being a bit of a car nut, I started dreaming about how awesome it would be to win the thing. But then I realised that it would be great fun for not longer than a few weeks, really.
And being much more of a gear nut, I thought what if I sold the car and blew the whole money on lab gear? So, this is that!

What if you won that Porsche or any other luxury good worth a quarter million?
Suppose you've got a good job, enough savings for the next holidays and suppose further the worldwide peace and happiness is intact. So, no reason against being completely selfish here.
Would you rather blow 250 grand on multiple items you always lusted or that one 50Gig realtime sampling scope?
This one is for all of us suffering from GAS (gear addiction syndrome). I'll start with mine:

-One of those expensive Ersa soldering stations i've lusted for since they came out, and since I've got money burning a hole in my pocket, it's gonna be the top of the line 4 channel solder/desolder/SMD/heatblow thing: 3 grand gone.
-High end multimeters, and since I can't decide, just take one of each brand: another 2000 gone.
-Oscilloscope, of course, I personally would go with one of the Keysight MSO3000's, which is not the best you can get from them, but I think it looks perfect for the average bench: 15 grand at least
-Some vintage valve test gear, i.e. loadbox, valve tester: vintage from ebay, thus not too expensive, say 'bout a grand max
-A nice scopemeter for the glovebox (gotta go a bit overkill here): say 3 grand
-Spectrum analyser: 10 grand if I go for a major brand
-Arbitrary waveform generator: another 10 grand for a nice brand
-at this point I would just go and blow the rest of the budget left on production gear i.e. pcb etching, pick and place machine, small reflow oven etc.
So this would leave me with a small facility for manufacturing small batches of my projects without relying on aa third party, plus a super nice lab to develop, service and troubleshoot the stuff I blow up.
And if I was humble at least on the production machines (they'll be for small batches anyways), I had still plenty of beer money left. That's what this single bloody car costs!

[XOIIO]

Well sure, a porsche is a porsche, but you could make a fucking awesome custom car for way less than that and have a lot to play with.

Besides, parts, maintenance, and registration would probably be ridiculously expensive.

[MrSlack]

I'd sell it and convert it into free time. Time is far more valuable than any physical item.

[Zero999]

I hate driving and probably wouldn't be able to afford the insurance on such an expensive car anyway.

I'd probably use the money to pay of the mortgage.

[Kjelt]

If I read your openingpost the big question is actually how much should you win in a lottery in order to drop your day to day job and start for yourself.
I had the same question, and the safe answer for me is the amount of years I likely remain living on this planet * €40000. Good news is that this amount decreases every year unless inflation kicks in

[Neganur]

Go for last generation used instruments.
You can easily get the SA for 2.5k (ESA series) a VNA for 3.5k (PNA series) and the scope for 3k (keysight's 6000series or even a 3034X)

[StuUK]

I hate driving and probably wouldn't be able to afford the insurance on such an expensive car anyway.

I'd probably use the money to pay of the mortgage.

My thoughts exactly....

[VK5RC]

I am not in my friends financial league, but he owns a Porsche GT3 RS4, he and some of his 'well to do friends' hire out a raceway, (where they hold an International Motorcycle race on other days), for a full day,  have their cars (all high end Porsches) trucked there, they fly in (some by helicopter), hire a few race car drivers to give some instruction and off they go.
I am sort of envious but they can't drive their (I think nice) cars in public for fear of jealous damage. He has worked very hard for that car and it is his ONLY hobby / interest. While these guys are spending crazy money for this day there are at least spending it - employing others in doing so.
He has taken me for a spin in it, it goes like a rocket, but is really uncomfortable to drive in (noise and vibration), it is also pretty boring till you get to 'loss of licence' speeds.
I agree I would, and am, spending my money in other ways and am lucky to have a bit of disposable income.

[Mechanical Menace]

250 grand would get me 4 big, nice, 3 bedroom flats around here bringing in about 3 grand in rent a month or one house that could bring in maybe a grand a month. More 1 bedroom places would bring in more money but be more hassle. I think I'd get 4 flats and use some of that income to buy toys.

[rrinker]

 Much as I would love to drive a car like that, I'm perfectly happy with the driving enjoyment I get from my other German brand driving machine which cost less than 1/10th of that (I buy used - that way I can have a nicer car while some other suc, err wonderful person can take the depreciation hit), so I'd take the cash option or sell it. What I'd do with the money though, I don't know. It wouldn't take all of it to pay off my mortgage and be effectively debt free. I'd then still have some left over for toys or fun.

[Kilrah]

I'd sell it and convert it into free time. Time is far more valuable than any physical item.

+1.

By the way, your username checks out 

[EEVblog]

What if you won that Porsche or any other luxury good worth a quarter million?

I always look at such things by flipping around the scenario.
Ask yourself if you had that $200k in cash in the bank, would you buy that Porsche?
If the answer is no, sell it.

[EEVblog]

250 grand would get me 4 big, nice, 3 bedroom flats around here bringing in about 3 grand in rent a month

The $3k a month in Oz rents you a Ferrari for a weekend every month.
http://www.ultimaterentals.com.au/portfolio-item/ferrari-california-2012/
Complete no-brainer decision.

[EEVblog]

He has taken me for a spin in it, it goes like a rocket, but is really uncomfortable to drive in (noise and vibration)

Not a patch on the latest Tesla!

[SeanB]

Don't know but an older MG coupe is likely to be a lot more fun, even though I am too long to fit behind the steering without having my knees by my elbows. Feels fast and fun even at street speeds, especially here where you can drive with the top down pretty much all year round.

But I really would not buy one, unless I had the money to pay for the maintenance, insurance and the worry of some ahole ripping the interior or worse.  I likely would buy something, but not sure, a Mantis is looking good, but that Aspire with a good 4k small monitor sounds better.

[edy]

I'd convert the Porsche to CASH $$$ and use it for things more important to me. I get around in a Honda CR-V which I own... it's perfect for my needs, inexpensive to insure, fuel and maintain, able to handle all weather. I carry quite a bit of stuff in the back and tow if I add a hitch.

I always thought that if I ever get into a bit of money, I would rather BUILD my own car (or bike) than buy one. Either an old car to fix up, or a kit, or a custom make. I would have more enjoyment from building something unique, getting my kids to help out, take a year or two if needed... as a hobby.

No instant gratification for me... no sirree bob.    I know a few people who have worked on Model T Fords and some other simpler cars, they have a blast driving them around in the summer on weekends.

You'll turn just as many heads driving down main street in this puppy as you would the Porsche, I'm sure (and they only want $11,000 for it):



http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/3487/635920.html?1461793576

[rrinker]

 Despite my love for performance cars (ones that steer as well as go fast in a straight line), a Model T is in my top 10 dream cars. Or other similar old cars, in STOCK form. As such one other YouTube channel I subscribe to is Jay Leno's Garage - I love that he doesn't just hide all his cars away in that warehouse but he actually takes them out and drives them. I will also say a steam car like a Stanley or White is also in that top 10 list.

 A high dollar exotic? Even if I had the money to maintain it? Not so much, unless I had a dedicated track to run them on. If you saw the roads in this state, you wouldn't even wonder why I say that.

 I used to lust after mid-80's Porsche 911's - until I drove the '85 a coworker of mine had. It was quite thrilling, but it was also uncomfortable - between the offset pedals because of the front wheel well and my large feet, I was constantly catching the brake when clutching. Fun to drive once in a while, but to actually own it and drive it regularly? No longer so interested.

[German_EE]

Such a car would be totally impracticable for our needs so the car would be sold, I even know who I could sell it to. The funds would be put into the pension pot, boring I know but I plan to be around for a while.

[Dave]

As much as I'd love to own a high end car, maintenance would probably cost way too much to afford, so I'd obviously have to sell it.
What to do with the money? Splurge some of it on test gear (a good scope, a couple of SMUs, a high-ish end multimeter and a nice signal gen), some for traveling, rent a high-end car for track days a couple of times and shove the majority into a savings account. Save something for a rainy day.

[daybyter]

With the current interest rates, the porsche might be a better investment, than putting the money on the bank, or so. If it is some limited edition, it's value might raise significantly even in a few years.

[RobertoLG]

I would sell it, take my mother to a decent doctor, fix my house, fix my teeth, etc

[Halcyon]

If I had the cash (assuming my house was paid off), I'd have a DMC Delorean sitting in the garage.

[joeqsmith]

Seeing you did not offer me an F1, I would sell it.  Maybe buy a couple of Gossen meters and see where they fit on the curve.

[XOIIO]

If I had the cash (assuming my house was paid off), I'd have a DMC Delorean sitting in the garage.

No kidding, there's a guy in town that owns one, and a whole bunch of other awesome cars, including the original blues brothers car.

I think he said it was about 30k for it, god I want one. (Had some better pictures but can only find this one right now)



That brushed aluminum is the sexiest thing. I hate seeing pictures of the original ones people painted.

[EEVblog]

I'd totally get one of the new Deloreans they are building, with time machine conversion of course.

[rrinker]

 Well you already have the time circuits....

[sokoloff]

That brushed aluminum [on a Delorean] is the sexiest thing. I hate seeing pictures of the original ones people painted.

The bodywork is brushed stainless steel.

[dannyf]

I actually know a person who had spent about 250K usd on a Mazda RX7GSL. That was 10 - 15 years ago so potentially more is spent on it by now.

Would you rather blow 250 grand on multiple items you always lusted or that one 50Gig realtime sampling scope?

I wouldn't mind spending that on my kids education, family trips around the world, a new addition to a house, a summer cabin, or even a large RV ... Never would I spend anything close to that on a car or a scope or any other instruments. Just not worth it.

[bitseeker]

I'd enjoy it for a little while, then take Mechanical Menace's approach and turn that money into an ongoing income stream with which to buy time and toys.

[Psi]

Sell it, use the money as a deposit on a few houses.
Rent them out.
Use the leftover income to buy test gear every month Forever

Or with $245000 you could buy a Tesla Model S and still have $100k to buy test gear.
The Tesla Model S is far more fun to drive than anything else.

[TerraHertz]

I'd sell it immediately, go to Shenzhen, try to find out what happened to SexyCyborg. All indications are she was arrested, now maybe or maybe not still alive. If still alive, get her out and to Australia (if she wanted to.) With $250K that would probably be possible.

$250K isn't enough to fix my own primary problem: co-owner with unstable/PTSD ex-wife of a property worth at least 2 million +. Though far more than enough to deal with a few minor but annoying medical issues.

If any was left after trying the above, convert it all to gold and silver (50/50) and stash it somewhere to await the LBMA bullion price suppression scam breaking down (inevitable, but when?), and the metals reverting to their true historic worth in today's inflated currency. Something at least 10x current pricing is widely estimated. Should be enough to make rapid progress in a little tech-development project of mine, that could be very cool if it worked.

In any case, I'd still be driving my old 1994 Subaru. I like it. Needs an engine overhaul and some rust fixed, but I see no reason to ever change cars so long as I can keep it on the road.