Overly cautious with my Taycan

[VA_CT]

I hear the general sentiment of the thread loud and clear. Relax and it’s in my head. I didn’t grow up wealthy, I’ve been very fortunate in my adult life, and this lifestyle is an adjustment for me. I do sincerely appreciate the feedback.

I get your point and had similar feeling when I got pulled over by a cop during my 1st month of ownership around my neighborhood. To my surprise he wanted to know what I was doing driving a car like Taycan in Santa Clara and he raised his eyebrow when I told I reside in this town. His comment was you should be residing in Los Gatos. He also wanted to know how much my car costed. I responded back stating without showing my displeasure on his question that it cost similar to a tesla model S and can I leave. There are tons of model s and x, Porsches in my neighborhood. I reminded myself not to care what others think and enjoy the things you got. I didnt grow up wealthy and immigrated to US 20 years ago. Like you I am fortunate and after 4 years of planning/savings bought a 100K+ porsche.. I am coming close to a year ownership and love looking/driving the car.

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[DerekS]

I get your point and had similar feeling when I got pulled over by a cop during my 1st month of ownership around my neighborhood. To my surprise he wanted to know what I was doing driving a car like Taycan in Santa Clara and he raised his eyebrow when I told I reside in this town. His comment was you should be residing in Los Gatos. He also wanted to know how much my car costed. I responded back stating without showing my displeasure on his question that it cost similar to a tesla model S and can I leave. There are tons of model s and x, Porsches in my neighborhood. I reminded myself not to care what others think and enjoy the things you got. I didnt grow up wealthy and immigrated to US 20 years ago. Like you I am fortunate and after 4 years of planning/savings bought a 100K+ porsche.. I am coming close to a year ownership and love looking/driving the car.

Wow. That's weird. I lived in the Bay Area for 3 years and rented a house in Los Gatos near work. I got pulled over once in my Targa and he let me go. I drove that thing all over Santa Clara and never got hassled about it. I never once considered SC any different than Los Gatos - you need big money to be in Silicon Valley at all!

 

[Loltheinternet]

Santa Clara is plenty wealthy, that seems wild.

 

[TDinDC]

Wow. That's weird. I lived in the Bay Area for 3 years and rented a house in Los Gatos near work. I got pulled over once in my Targa and he let me go. I drove that thing all over Santa Clara and never got hassled about it. I never once considered SC any different than Los Gatos - you need big money to be in Silicon Valley at all!

Yeah, that is weird. Over the decades, I have always gotten away with WAY more driving an expensive Porsche than a minivan, suv, or any type of “normal” vehicle. Warnings rather than tickets, waves and finger wags instead of getting pulled over. I mean, I am always polite and respectful and act the same way no matter what I’m driving (and obviously have that same driving record), but I find that the police are more polite and more likely to cut me a break in the $$$$ car than the $$ car. Now, I will not pretend that the car is the sole factor in this dynamic and I can easily imagine a different outcome in same car if I were a different race or gender. My wife has called me on speaker phone when pulled over and I was shocked at how she, who is a minority female (can’t believe I need to say this these days, but a biological female who presents very feminine), gets spoken too. I wanted to crawl through the phone.

I still go back to the point that a car is just a thing (see my signature) and so long as you are normal about that thing, the vast majority of others will be normal too. And if they are curious, ask them if they have any questions or want to take a look and you would be amazed at how you can brighten someone’s day by just donating a minute or two of yours.

And I never park away from stores or take two spaces, as I think that does draw problems. I even parallel park my collectible in town. I actually think you are much more likely to get bumper dings in a $$ car that already has dings (most people don’t want to be that first to ding any car) than in a $$$$ that looks pristine.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

Now, I will not pretend that the car is the sole factor in this dynamic and I can easily imagine a different outcome in same car if I were a different race or gender.

Indeed. Or other factors such as age, choice of clothes, style of hair, regional accents (a significant cause of discrimination in the "United" Kingdom).
EDIT- maybe "prejudice" as much as "discrimination".

 

[TDinDC]

EDIT- maybe "prejudice" as much as "discrimination".

Yes, while the police see me as a doctor, lawyer or titan of industry, if I were younger, darker, and a more stylish hoodie-wearing sneaker-head, I might get searched for drugs and guns (although you would have to be a real dolt to drive an electric green Porsche station wagon).

 

[backslashed]

I’ve had my 22 RWD for 6 months now and LOVE IT…..BUT a significant downside is that I feel continuously and perhaps excessively overly cautious with it. Case in point I went to the supermarket today (parking far/isolated as always) in a good northern Cal neighborhood. I received a work phone call while parking and spoke for about 35 minutes in the car. Several individuals walking by checked my car out as per usual but at least 2 individuals gave me less than pleasant looks. My concern was enough that I left and later returned to the supermarket in my wife’s car. Do I need to just relax or is this degree of caution normal/appropriate? I feel like cougar in top gun 1. I’m holding on too tight.

I just wanted to thank you for being so vulnerable and opening up such an amazing thread! So many interesting answers and insights!

 

[VA_CT]

Wow. That's weird. I lived in the Bay Area for 3 years and rented a house in Los Gatos near work. I got pulled over once in my Targa and he let me go. I drove that thing all over Santa Clara and never got hassled about it. I never once considered SC any different than Los Gatos - you need big money to be in Silicon Valley at all!

Yes it was weird. He didnt cite me nor gave me a ticket. Later I thought he might be new to the area but still unacceptable with his opinion. Generally I have got plenty of compliments/thumbs up and have had several good conversations about Taycan.

 

[whitex]

Piling on.. there are 2 main camps - here and everywhere - those who want their cars to look nice, and those who gave up.

I don't thing they "gave up". I think they (myself included) buy cars to drive them, rather than as a piece of visual art to obsess over and perhaps show off to others. Both are valid reasons to buy a Taycan.

 

[whitex]

I get your point and had similar feeling when I got pulled over by a cop during my 1st month of ownership around my neighborhood. To my surprise he wanted to know what I was doing driving a car like Taycan in Santa Clara and he raised his eyebrow when I told I reside in this town. His comment was you should be residing in Los Gatos. He also wanted to know how much my car costed. I responded back stating without showing my displeasure on his question that it cost similar to a tesla model S and can I leave. There are tons of model s and x, Porsches in my neighborhood. I reminded myself not to care what others think and enjoy the things you got. I didnt grow up wealthy and immigrated to US 20 years ago. Like you I am fortunate and after 4 years of planning/savings bought a 100K+ porsche.. I am coming close to a year ownership and love looking/driving the car.

Over the years I saw plenty of tech company offices when visiting Santa Clara (and living there once briefly last century) with expensive cars in their parking lots so the cop must be new. By the way, my answer to "how much does the cost" would always be "starts around $86K, before any EV rebates, you could get it under $80K until Biden's recent EV initiatives, and after fuel savings the payments can be comparable to a $60K car". Of for those who buy a Taycan to impress others with how much money they spent however, I suggest quoting a fully loaded, personalized Turbo S with PTS+ prices - "oh, these cars run upwards of a quarter million dollars, and with shortages nowadays dealers charge as much as 30 grand of additional markup, taxes, so you can spend $300K to get one". Both answers are true btw, just depends on your intended spin.

 

[Guards Red Car]

I’ve had my 22 RWD for 6 months now and LOVE IT…..BUT a significant downside is that I feel continuously and perhaps excessively overly cautious with it. Case in point I went to the supermarket today (parking far/isolated as always) in a good northern Cal neighborhood. I received a work phone call while parking and spoke for about 35 minutes in the car. Several individuals walking by checked my car out as per usual but at least 2 individuals gave me less than pleasant looks. My concern was enough that I left and later returned to the supermarket in my wife’s car. Do I need to just relax or is this degree of caution normal/appropriate? I feel like cougar in top gun 1. I’m holding on too tight.

I traded in my 2015 911 C4S Cabriolet in on a 21 RWD Taycan
My 911 was a rarely driven and very pampered garage queen - I was always anxious to park it anywhere OTHER than my garage (up on the lift!)

I vowed to make my Taycan a true daily driver

I knew I had to work on my anxiety ASAP

So...within 10 minutes of taking delivery, I went to Costco

I have been enjoying this car on a daily basis - has not yet seen the inside of my garage !


Systematic desensitization is one form of exposure therapy used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Systematic desensitization aims to reduce anxiety, stress, and avoidance by gradually exposing a person to the source of their discomfort in a thoughtfully planned way. With the inclusion of relaxation techniques, systematic desensitization helps to relieve symptoms connected to various forms of anxiety and anxiety-related conditions.

 

[whitex]

I traded in my 2015 911 C4S Cabriolet in on a 21 RWD Taycan
My 911 was a rarely driven and very pampered garage queen - I was always anxious to park it anywhere OTHER than my garage (up on the lift!)

I vowed to make my Taycan a true daily driver

I knew I had to work on my anxiety ASAP

So...within 10 minutes of taking delivery, I went to Costco

I have been enjoying this car on a daily basis - has not yet seen the inside of my garage !


Systematic desensitization is one form of exposure therapy used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Systematic desensitization aims to reduce anxiety, stress, and avoidance by gradually exposing a person to the source of their discomfort in a thoughtfully planned way. With the inclusion of relaxation techniques, systematic desensitization helps to relieve symptoms connected to various forms of anxiety and anxiety-related conditions.

And as you took that second picture, you realized you should have gotten a Cross Turismo instead?

 

[WuffvonTrips]

I vowed to make my Taycan a true daily driver

I knew I had to work on my anxiety ASAP

So...within 10 minutes of taking delivery, I went to Costco

I'd be a lot more relaxed if we had truck-size parking spaces over here.

 

[BMonte13]

I traded in my 2015 911 C4S Cabriolet in on a 21 RWD Taycan
My 911 was a rarely driven and very pampered garage queen - I was always anxious to park it anywhere OTHER than my garage (up on the lift!)

I vowed to make my Taycan a true daily driver

I knew I had to work on my anxiety ASAP

So...within 10 minutes of taking delivery, I went to Costco

I have been enjoying this car on a daily basis - has not yet seen the inside of my garage !


Systematic desensitization is one form of exposure therapy used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Systematic desensitization aims to reduce anxiety, stress, and avoidance by gradually exposing a person to the source of their discomfort in a thoughtfully planned way. With the inclusion of relaxation techniques, systematic desensitization helps to relieve symptoms connected to various forms of anxiety and anxiety-related conditions.

I genuinely appreciate the insight and especially the reference to CBT. This thread has legitimately been helpful for me. However and that being said….

 

[WattTurbo]

Costco parking spaces are always supersized.

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