Hi all,
I think I need your help. I'm torn on buying a cheap-ish mazda miata as a toy car for the weekends. As I type this I feel silly, but for whatever reason this thing really has a hold of me. I drive a 2010 prius that I bought used and told myself (before I found mustachianism) that I'd save the gas money and pick up something fun and cheap when the time was right. Now, of course, I know better... hence being torn.
So, what would you do in my predicament? Without putting too many financial details out here on the web, I will say I have a mortgage, but my vanguard account eclipses that balance by at least 10k. I have another 34k in lendingclub that I'm slowly draining to use as a down payment on a rental property, and another solid amount spread across a couple of 401(k)s. I have no other debt and my savings account has 6 or 7mos of living expenses in it that I will not touch. The money I'm planning to use comes out of my tax return and my bonus this year. Given all that justification, I feel like I can spend $6k (including taxes and registration) on a car. I was a car guy before and I enjoyed tinkering and driving on the weekends, and I'd like to return to that a bit. At the same time, I hate the thought of buying a liability instead of an asset, but then I get depressed by that thought.
Am I reverting slowly back to my old sucka consumer ways? Is this a slippery slope to leasing a Chevy Tahoe and maxing out my credit cards? Or am I merely human and should cut myself some slack? I need an outside perspective with financial savvy, and all of you qualify, so... fire away!