[Mozella]

........... snip...................I actually have found it truly fascinating how people perceive both the Porsche products and Porsche drivers. The comment today was by no means an isolated incident. .......... snip..........

Fascinating for sure, but the reaction you get from strangers should come as no surprise. Face it, of all the high-end marques, Porsche drivers are the most likely to be jerks, often going out of their way to keep the Porsche Driver As A Jerk stereotype alive. You're going to have to live with that fact; however, you can do your part to change the public perception of Porsche drivers, or least try to change it.

When a stranger comments that my Panamera is way too expensive for them to own, I sometimes politely explain that I paid less for it (used of course) than they paid for their Camry. Or, if I see a youngster and their parents looking at my Guards Red Cayman, I sometimes let the kid sit in my car for a moment. And once in a while I have an opportunity to explain that I paid about the same for my new 2021 Cayman as they paid for their gussied-up pickup truck. Naturally, if you drive a 911 variant costing a hundred and a half, you have to use a different approach.

Every Porsche owner has to decide how to handle both compliments and snippy comments in their own way, but being polite and informative without being apologetic is the key, as far as I'm concerned anyway.

And if the stranger doesn't respond in a nice way, just look down your nose at them, spit on their shoes, and speed away spewing gravel all over their stupid little economy car.

 

[Erik van Rijn]

Funny. Over here BMW/Audi/Volvo drivers are considered the jerks on the road.
Porsche sports car drivers are usually very friendly. Not the ones in a big Cayenne/Macan/Panamera

 

[jimmuller]

He loudly commented to me "The cost per gallon has increased [recently] by over 40 Cents/Gallon!" I simply and politely said "I noticed." To that he responded, "I noticed faster than you did because I'm on a budget!" ...
I knew I was buying a more expensive car than my previous BMW Z3/Z4s but never expected what I have observed and heard over the past two years.

I would guess/think/imagine/suppose that it depends on the neighborhood. In a land where everyone can afford a BMW another BMW is just another BMW.

The problem is all the cop cars pulled up at my house, I have two Porsche's, a Harley and an X5 parked in my driveway. They discussed between themselves and said sorry and drove up to his house and arrested him. It was obvious they thought it was me due to the Porsche's, lol.

Maybe it was the Harley. (I have a co-worker who rides a Harley. It has a plate on one side engraved with the word "****". It's a subtle joke because he is one of the nicest, most un-hellish guys I've ever known.)

Inaccurate perceptions are all around us, unfortunately. I have been judged inaccurately in personal ways many times through my seven decades, and judged accurately some too. No one has yet complained about my 718 Cayman though. Tolerance is a good balancing agent to inaccuracy. If someone wants to think I am <fill in the blank>, I tolerate it as long they tolerate me in return. And when the opportunity presents itself I set them straight by whatever means works, behavior, speech, example.

 

[Porsche Wolfe]

Fascinating for sure, but the reaction you get from strangers should come as no surprise. Face it, of all the high-end marques, Porsche drivers are the most likely to be jerks, often going out of their way to keep the Porsche Driver As A Jerk stereotype alive. You're going to have to live with that fact; however, you can do your part to change the public perception of Porsche drivers, or least try to change it.

When a stranger comments that my Panamera is way too expensive for them to own, I sometimes politely explain that I paid less for it (used of course) than they paid for their Camry. Or, if I see a youngster and their parents looking at my Guards Red Cayman, I sometimes let the kid sit in my car for a moment. And once in a while I have an opportunity to explain that I paid about the same for my new 2021 Cayman as they paid for their gussied-up pickup truck. Naturally, if you drive a 911 variant costing a hundred and a half, you have to use a different approach.

Every Porsche owner has to decide how to handle both compliments and snippy comments in their own way, but being polite and informative without being apologetic is the key, as far as I'm concerned anyway.

And if the stranger doesn't respond in a nice way, just look down your nose at them, spit on their shoes, and speed away spewing gravel all over their stupid little economy car.

To maintain a high-performance car, like Porsche, is not cheap. I also own a Honda Pilot SUV and oil and filter change cost me $58.00 at the dealership. A Porsche is very expensive to maintain unless you have a extended warranty. Your Porsche will cost you at least thousand dollars annually on maintenance costs depending how you drive. You can't compare a Porsche with a pickup truck that's Ludacris. A pickup truck is definitely much cheaper to owned for the long term.

 

[Roondog]

I just bought my first Porsche this year. It's been a dream and a goal since I was really little. This past year I took a risk and left my comfort zone of a career and took on a new opportunity that so far has been financially rewarding. While I could have afforded this car years ago, now was the time as things happened to line up. I have noticed the looks from people and so far I have not seen anything negative unless you count every Billy out there that wants to race you in their turbo diesel truck. That's just Texas for Ya.
I took a good friend for a ride who I respect a lot. He is a very successful Neuro Psychologist and the most frugal person I know. He was asking why now and how long have I wanted it? I explained and he said you know what if you can afford something like this and it's been a goal, good for you. I've worked hard to get where I am and while I felt a little guilty when I first bought it, I shifted my thinking on it. I hit my goal because of the work I put in and the early sacrifices I made to ensure I would be in a comfortable financial spot.

 

[worf]

Put a Porsche badge on a Trabant, drive it around and a lot of folks will think you’re rich.

Worry about not embodying the stereotype.

 

[CJA]

Perceived value: Got a comment "must be worth over $100k" from someone at work. They didn't bite at $95k I offered.

No negative observations made to me after 1yr ownership. (SoCal)
Honda Civics seem to get the most excited to see me on the road.

MR2 '85: Great car, and resolved to have another 2 seater when I sold mine will 275k miles.
Knew I wanted a Cayman since then, managed to hold out until 2yr 718's used available.

It's a personal indulgence with other financial commitments taken care of.
IF I were to get a stimulus check, was going to donate it straight to food bank.
Didn't expect or get one, donated extra anyway.

 

[MLJJ]

I've been told in parking lots that I must be:

• a doctor
• independently wealthy
• shopping in the wrong location (Walmart)

No comments or stares to date seemed particularly egregious so I typically smile and go about my way.

 

[Markoware]

Porsches are rare in my area, especially as daily drivers. While I love conversations with strangers who are into cars (especially kids), I detest the more common conversations that go along the lines of what everyone else has said. I am very uncomfortable driving my cars to work because of the perception people have. But as someone else said, my previous used 911 or my current Boxster are not too far off in price from my coworker's $60k SUVs. I'm also incredibly cheap when it comes to everything else so I can afford my cars, which of course nobody assumes. My wife has been on me lately to buy myself socks, but I refuse. Every week I have to scratch bottled water off our shopping list because the family can get perfectly fine filtered water out of the refrigerator. I'll option leather backrest shells on my car no worries, but if I can save fifty cents on a can of corned beef hash by going to Walmart I'm all over that as well.

Speaking of my wife, the interactions I find really hilarious are when we drive the used Maserati Ghibli I bought her. People take pictures of it like it's some sort of exotic car (I never see any Maserati in my area). It's particularly funny because half the time the person is driving a new SUV or sedan that that I'm positive cost the same or more as the used Ghibli. Yet they are taking pictures of our Italian Chrysler 300. I have had zero conversations with a "car guy" when I drive that thing...they know what it is. I think the greatest feature of electric cars is never having to go to the gas station and being asked what I do for a living, how much I paid for my car, and can you adopt me.

 

[Sunny SF]

...6 years ago, when I was still employed, middle management once took me aside and told me:
'You have a company car, why do you also own a private car and sometimes use it to drive to work? You're not allowed to drive it to work anymore. You have to use the company car!' ...

Erik - A good friend of mine in Belgium has your exact experience. He is a very senior partner in a firm and gets a huge car stipend, something like 2000 euros a month. But he's only allowed to drive a "practical car" that doesn't give off the wrong impression of too much wealth. So he drives an X5, instead of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo he really wanted.

 

[Porsche Wolfe]

Erik - A good friend of mine in Belgium has your exact experience. He is a very senior partner in a firm and gets a huge car stipend, something like 2000 euros a month. But he's only allowed to drive a "practical car" that doesn't give off the wrong impression of too much wealth. So he drives an X5, instead of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo he really wanted.

I'm not sure what is going on In Belgium or the Benelux countries with wealth. Here in Arizona people don't care if you drive a Volkswagen, Porsche, Ferrari or Mercedes. If you give the impression your wealthy here that's a good thing because your able to buy expensive things to keep people employed at there jobs. Just imagine if nobody buys a Porsche they would have to lay people off and close the factory. Wealth is good to keep the economy going and you should never be ashamed to drive an expensive vehicle if you can offered it.

 

[Porsche Wolfe]

I'm not sure what is going on In Belgium or the Benelux countries with wealth. Here in Arizona people don't care if you drive a Volkswagen, Porsche, Ferrari or Mercedes. If you give the impression your wealthy here that's a good thing because your able to buy expensive things to keep people employed at there jobs. Just imagine if nobody buys a Porsche they would have to lay people off and close the factory. Wealth is good to keep the economy going and you should never be ashamed to drive an expensive vehicle if you can offered it.

"afford it" sorry I hit the wrong key

 

[girarcat]

I'm not sure what is going on In Belgium or the Benelux countries with wealth. Here in Arizona people don't care if you drive a Volkswagen, Porsche, Ferrari or Mercedes. If you give the impression your wealthy here that's a good thing because your able to buy expensive things to keep people employed at there jobs. Just imagine if nobody buys a Porsche they would have to lay people off and close the factory. Wealth is good to keep the economy going and you should never be ashamed to drive an expensive vehicle if you can offered it.

100% true. Unfortunately many people are unable to understand this. Their only argument is that you have "too much" and they have "too little" and that it is not fair that you have more than them and you should share your money, not realizing that buying thigs is a great way to share your wealth. Besides, they always disregard the fact that you probably spent your youth studying harder than most, or that you must wake up at 4am every day, work on holidays, spent countless days away from your home/family, or that you had to assume a huge financial risk in order to start-up your business, or whatever reasons made you a little bit more economically successful than the average.
However, when you suggest they could also share their home with a homeless person, they don't seem to like the idea.

However, to be honest, If you asked me 5 or 10 years ago what being wealthy meant, I would've said "driving a brand-new Porsche!".
Owning a Porsche was my childhood dream, so all the rich I wanted to be was rich enough to buy a Porsche. Just a few years ago I myself would've considered as rich anyone driving a Porsche sportscar. Now of course I understand a few more things about life in general and domestic economy in particular so I don't consider myself rich for owning a Cayman. Being young with no kids and keeping my fixed expenses under control is also a key part in being able to afford a sportscar such as the 718. It's not only about earning a nice amount of money. It's also about not wasting it in other amenities or luxuries you don't even care about. Also, how big your passion for cars is makes a huge difference when deciding how much to spend on a car.

 

[Barryng]

I started my first full time job in 1969 for General Electric as an entry level engineer at one of their big old industrial city well established manufacturing plants with almost 5,000 employees. One day my car was being serviced so my Dad lent me his car, a big (like in "huge") new 1969 Cadillac. Without any thought I drove it to work and parked it in my assigned parking area, a lot reserved for exempt employees only (no bargaining unit). Later that day I was discretely informed it was not considered acceptable to drive a nicer car than the boss. That never did effect what I drove to work but I did then park in a less noticeable area of the lot. Interestingly, a new Porsche 914, driven by a co-worker, that moonlighted as the local 11 O'Clock TV news personality, never got any attention (at least that I knew of). I always had a very hard time buying into that level of old established corporate culture. My attitude in this regard was periodically noticed over the years, to my detriment. I also heard stories back then there was a time in the not too distant past where one did not enter an elevator if the plant manager was riding it.

 

[MikePhDPE]

I think Porsche owners are as bad if not worse at this than the lay folk. I recently saw a facebook discussion in a porsche group where a guy asked what grade of gas everyone uses. Every person who said they use regular instead of premium because it's so much cheaper got inundated by other porsche owners blasting them about being cheap or saying if you can afford a porsche you can afford premium, etc. In my local PCA monthly gatherings I was really turned off by a large percentage of the members who were super bougie.

 

[GregW]

If I feel it's worth a short conversation I say that after paying for two wives, two divorces, 3 houses, and 3 university educations I only had to save for 10 years or so. 😳

 

[worf]

I think Porsche owners are as bad if not worse at this than the lay folk. I recently saw a facebook discussion in a porsche group where a guy asked what grade of gas everyone uses. Every person who said they use regular instead of premium ...

Two things wrong here:

• use regular in your 718 and the ECU will pull timing to mange knock
• facebook

And if you think some PCA folks can be strange, show up with a 928.

 

[MikePhDPE]

• use regular in your 718 and the ECU will pull timing to mange knock

That was my exact point. The additives don't make much difference on a direct injection engine because the fuel doesn't wash the intake valves. I'd rather save 30% on fuel and give up a few hp. the car is plenty powerful as is.

 

[antennahead]

If I feel it's worth a short conversation I say that after paying for two wives, two divorces, 3 houses, and 3 university educations I only had to save for 10 years or so. 😳

LOL, "after paying for two wives, two divorces, 3 houses, and 3 university educations" , in my humble opinion, you're earned the right to drive anything you chose to drive, the opinions of others be damned

 

[Ycanada]

Erik - A good friend of mine in Belgium has your exact experience. He is a very senior partner in a firm and gets a huge car stipend, something like 2000 euros a month. But he's only allowed to drive a "practical car" that doesn't give off the wrong impression of too much wealth. So he drives an X5, instead of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo he really wanted.

I work as a software consultant and my current company charges pretty much the same as other companies in this field but has much lower overhead. So, simply put, I make significantly more than before. I drive a 718 Cayman S and the head of the company once asked if I get any friction when clients see me pulling up in my Porsche. I told him, if he were the customer and for the same cost, he had a consultant pulling up in a Porsche and another pulling up in a Corolla, who would he think was better and more likely to stay around for the duration of the project (instead of leaving for more money at a competitor)? That was the last time he questioned my choice of car.