Deciding to Buy a 911

Right now, I’m actually at the point of deciding whether or not to buy my very first Porsche: a 911.

I don’t know if I’ll get an allocation to purchase one, so there’s a good chance I might not be able to buy it, but the fact that I’ve made the decision to buy is a big deal for me.

In the past, I never imagined that I would ever buy a Porsche in my life, so I wanted to share the changes in my mindset over the past 6 to 7 years that led me to this decision.

In short, there were four key moments that triggered this, and I’d like to introduce them here.

What Led Me to Buy a Porsche

I used to have absolutely no interest in cars at all.

What made me think, “I want to buy a Porsche with my own money” was marrying a car-loving husband and having our first daughter, then getting the chance to test drive a Porsche (Panamera) at a dealership for the first time.

I was amazed by the unity between driver and machine that I had never experienced with any other car, and thought, “Wow! Someday, I definitely want to buy and own one with my own money.”

What’s up with the way this steering wheel is being held…

That said, at that time, I had no real image of actually buying a Porsche—it was just a distant goal for me.

The first trigger that shifted my mindset to “maybe I could actually buy one” was being able to surround myself with Porsche owners.

After starting this Porsche blog and running it together with my husband, I got to hear stories from Porsche owners he knew and was introduced to some of them, which helped me build connections with the Porsche community.

Then, hearing stories from Porsche owners around me about how they “upgraded their Porsche” or “added another one”, I gradually became numb to the idea and thought, “Porsches are actually something you can just buy like that, huh.” lol

The second trigger was buying a car myself. I had previously purchased a BMW 320i and my current beloved Suzuki Swift Sport (both manual transmissions), and thanks to that, I was able to experience firsthand the process of buying a car and get a real sense of monthly payments.

That said, these two cars were priced around 2.3 million yen due to budget constraints, which is quite a gap from a Porsche’s price… but I think the experience of buying a car with my own money was a big deal.

The Push I Needed

Around April last year, when I ordered the Swift Sport, I felt, “With my current income, it’s impossible to buy the Porsche I want.”

At that time, I still had a significant amount of debt from loans taken out when I started my company in my 20s, and all the income I earned from blogging (which was very little) and working while raising kids went straight toward paying off that debt.

In that situation,

I felt, “It’s still a long way off before I finish paying off my debts, save a down payment, and be able to maintain a Porsche,” but at the same time, “Nothing will change if I just keep thinking like this—I have to make a change myself,” and those feelings battled for months…

Then, in June last year, I got a push from a senior entrepreneur who had been supporting me, which led me to start a second company.

Things really started moving this summer. I casually mentioned to a Porsche owner acquaintance, “When the facelifted 992 is announced, I might buy that…” and they said this to me:

“Mina, I think waiting is an option, but if you keep saying that, you might miss the chance to buy at the moment you really want it. The early 992 models still aren’t widely available in Japan, and people who want one are still waiting for production slots. We don’t even know when the facelifted 992 will come out. If you really want it, I think you should start moving now.”

That pushed me forward. I went home, immediately talked to my husband, and the next day contacted my sales rep, Mr. H, saying, “If the opportunity to buy a 911 comes up again, I definitely want to reserve one.”

That was the third trigger.

After saying that, I remember feeling strangely calm, thinking, “Oh, I actually said it… it’s surprisingly straightforward.”

And that sparked a fire in me to earn more! (the fourth trigger).

When I ran the numbers for the down payment and monthly loan payments, I was shocked by the amount and realized, “Even if I buy it, I’ll need to earn more to cover maintenance, inspections, and other upkeep costs.”

One day, a senior entrepreneur I work with said this to me:

There comes a time when you have to make a firm decision and focus on one thing. I think now is that time. The players are all in place. All that’s left is for you to make that decision. Once you do, things will start moving. Everyone around you is waiting for that.

Since becoming a working adult, I’ve always been dedicated to work. Even after giving birth, I threw myself into work, neglecting childcare, which made me feel I had let my children down and gave me many things to reflect on.

So, for the past few years, I’ve scaled back work and made family (childcare) my top priority.

But at the same time, I got too comfortable with that and became scared to put myself in a new environment and take on big challenges.

After various experiences, I believe my core value of putting family first won’t change, so now I feel it’s time to trust myself and take a bold step forward.

Summary

To summarize the triggers:

① I surrounded myself with Porsche owners.
② I bought a car myself.
③ I told the dealership I wanted to buy a Porsche lol.
④ I seriously started thinking about how to earn more and took action.

Some readers might think, “Is it really worth pushing so hard and going to such lengths just to buy a Porsche?”

In reality, a Porsche isn’t something essential for daily life, and I can live perfectly fine without one. There’s no absolute need to buy one.

But still, I have this feeling that “I want to own one myself at least once before making a judgment.” Maybe after buying it, I’ll think, “I don’t really need it,” or maybe a whole new world will open up for me (the rabbit hole looks deep lol).

You just won’t know until you actually buy one.

Even after making this decision, there’s still a very real chance I won’t get an allocation and won’t be able to buy one… and I kind of expect that might happen lol. But I figure there’s no harm in moving forward with a positive attitude, so I’ll keep doing my best.