86NOH2O

I need some impartial opinions. I have an 86' Carrera Cab. It's triple black, full leather interior, mint condition and only 30K original miles. I put 1,600 miles on it last year and would love to drive it more. But.....

There don't seem to be many low mile versions of these around. My original plan was to stash it in the garage, take it out every two weeks, get it hot and put it back. Then 10-15 years from now see what it's worth. Will it be special if I follow that plan? If it's going to be a "rare" type collectible I don't want to drive it. If the miles don't make any difference I would love to drive it more.

What's the take out there?

ked

if you live to make a financial investment - park it.
if you live to experience living - drive it.

Bob's flat-six

I don't think it would be considered rare just a nice low mile example. I had a 86 coupe in silver with black full leather sports seats. It had low miles also 26K when I sold it 4 yrs ago.
I would say enjoy it, even if you put another 15K on it will still be a low mile car and the value will be about the same.
I had the same problem with mine whether to keep it fresh or drive it.
I now have an 80SC that I don't care how many miles I put on it. Don't get me wrong I still look for an end spot in the parking lot but I'm trying to drive it as much as possible and I'm having more fun. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

NTI 911E

Cars aren't investments. Our original (except for paint), 48,000 mile, nearly perfect '73 is worth about double its original purchase price, 30 years after purchased new. When you take into account inflation, that's still a substantial loss in value. Even the lowest interest savings accounts will net you much better returns. Keep it because you want to. Drive it when you want to. Don't _not_ drive it in anticipation of future value.

While a nice original low mileage example is nice, it's not that special. There were lots of Carrera Cabrios made in the late-80's. The cars likely to appreciate are the 959, the Turbo S 911s, and the GT2. Unless it's one of those, just enjoy driving it.

Jeremy Martin

drive it and enjoy it. it's harder to enjoy a car when it's parked.

86NOH2O

I'm not really looking to make any money. I don't think I could ever sell it. I love this car. I was thinking more on the line of having something that would be considered special. I plan on acquiring two or three more nice Porsches over the years and have my own tiny collection in my garage just to enjoy. Does that change any thinking? I know nothing will change in the short term but 10-15 years from now would it not be a pretty classic example? According to Redbook ther were only about 1900 of the 86' cabs made for the US. I have only seen two in the past year with lower miles. I'm thinking like a perfect low mile 356 would be looked at now?

If that holds any water, I could just buy another nice car with miles and drive that one?

Thanks for your feedback, it's great with all the other Porsche nuts out there. My wife thinks I have lost it. I just love the cars. Next a 993!
I'm just an air-cooled lover after 26 VW's.
<img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />

Chris Martin

One potential strike against you is the 915 tranny. I think this is a little overblown, but the 'ideal' model has the G50. If I dare look into the future I could see the 87-89's worth more, as they are now, than the 915 cars.

Drive it. Even if you drive it twice as much next year that's only about 3k miles. Start small.

gerry100

If you don't drive it, the person that buys it after negotiating you down to a small premium over a "driven" car will.

They'll be enjoying it - you'll just be older.

Jaxon

It really depends on you.

Twenty years is a loooong time. I was 28 twenty years ago!

If you enjoy the concours scene...great, don't drive it. (not that there's anything wrong with that )

If you love to drive it....drive, drive, drive!

Will it be special in twenty years, like a 356? Probably not. Will it be neat...probably... with or without the miles. Will others think it is special? Who cares!

What would I do?

Just drive baby, drive!

Rick C

I bought my 87 Targa with 23,000 miles on it two years ago and it is now just over 28,000. It is a third car and I commute on a train to work, so I use it as a Sunday/sunny day driver, and only about half the year as they salt the roads here in Chicago.

I love my car too, and will likely keep it forever, so I understand your dilemma. But in 20 years our cars will be 35 years old. If you sell it at Pebble Beach, no one will care what the mileage is, just how good the restoration is.

Keep it special, treat it well, but use it when you can. Don't waste it in salt, or commuting to work, but if you get the chance to take trip on secondary roads, by all means add the mileage!

GrantG

That's not a historically significant car - just one you happy to like. It'll never be considered a rarity - so please enjoy it. Even if I owned an original 73 RS (and I hope to some day), I'd still drive it. One of the appealing things about the marque is the reliability and drivability. It's not a Bugatti after all...

Jay H

I'll add my $.02...

I agree with others. Drive and enjoy the car if you can. The '86 cars (my favorite due to the interior updates but still a 915 and old style headlights) will always be saddled with the fact that they are one year off from the G50 cars. 1900 cars built is quite a bit. If they built only 50 and 2 were triple black, then things might be different.

I feel as long as you keep the car as mint as you can and put maybe 2000 - 5000 miles per year on it, you won't loose any value. Nice cars, regardless of mileage, are hard to find and can command premiums over all the other dogs out there for sale.

It's pretty cool to see a low mileage car, older car at a show or concours. But, when you drive it around, no-one knows what the mileage on the car is but you. My brother's '83 SC has over 120,000 miles on the clock, but he has it looking great. He continues to get the thumbs up and the concours awards even with the mileage being relatively high.

Some people may Oooo and Ah over a low mileage car, and others may say "what a waste of a great sports car". It seems you can't impress everyone all of the time...

But, if you feel you would like to drive a low mileage, perfect '86 cab in 20 years, feel free to store it away with minimal driving. It's your car, do with it as you please. I don't feel the monetary value will increase too much over time, but the value you may place on having a low mileage car (which is getting more and more rare) might be worth a lot to you.

Good luck,
Jay
90 964

Bob's flat-six

If you have the bucks to collect then park it and buy a driver or two. But if you just don't want to put miles on it to keep it special I'd say drive it more and enjoy The more you drive the more you get to know the car.
These motors have a sound like no other that your missing out on right now. Even when you shut them off they crackle and pop as the tin cools, a sound I love.
So go out this weekend and put a few hundred miles on that beautiful black cab and get to know each other.
Someday the 10 or 15 years you mentioned will be in short supply.
Cheers Bob <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

J-McDonald

My personal philosophy when I see a 911 that is 10+ years old with less than 40,000 miles is that it spent the vast majority of its life doing nothing - not being used as it was intended to, not being enjoyed, collecting dust in a garage somewhere.

I can't imagine paying all of the money it takes to buy a new 911, and paying more money to have it maintained, and almost never driving it -- you really can't like driving the car very much to do that.

All of the above being said, I'm thankful that there are people out there who buy 911's and essentially keep them in storage, for me to buy, a couple of years down the road, once I've driven my current 911 past its range of useful life.

Steve 96C4S

After 9/11, I've re-evaluated my life a bit and decided to drive my 88 911 Coupe more, and stop to smell the roses a bit more, too.

It's like that story about the older guy who's wife had recently died, and he was going through her top underwear drawer and found all this beautiful silk un-worn lingerie that she was saving for a "special occasion", but never actually got to enjoy wearing it.

I don't want to go on up to heaven one day and wish I had driven my 911 more and cleaned it less, or that I worked too much and didn't spend enough time nurturing my friendships.

Live for the here and NOW, and enjoy that car! You might be dead in 10 years. You never know.