Selo

OK, OK, i know i'm going to get busted on for this but I've searched the forum and haven't found much, so here goes: I'm a 997 owner and it seems to me that traditionally Boxsters and Caymans haven't retained value so well. Am I looking at things wrong? What about the previous generation Spyders and Cayman Rs?
As much as I like the new Spyder, I think I'd rather have a GT4. But it looks like it will be pretty easy to get a Spyder relatively soon, whereas the GT4 could be a year away, or more, IF I can even get one. How badly is one likely to get hurt by getting a Spyder asap, and trading for a GT4 if and when he gets an allotment?
Anyone care to take a stab at the crystal ball?

Sven76

Well, I bought a CPO Cayman R with about 21k miles and 3 years old for c $60k, sticker price new was c. $100k. Car was in excellent mechanical condition, just needed a polish. 43% depreciation on sticker price is OK-ish to me. Will now bottom out.

The Spyder will be hit most in the first year, would not buy one used after one year with anything less than 20% off the sticker price.

The two Lotus I owned previously depreciated by 30-35% in 3 years, but that was real depreciation, not sticker price (Lotus you get huge rebates over here....). Not sure how that is with fairly limited sups cars like the GT4 and Spyder...

If I'd been in you shoes, I'd rather wait for the GT4, if that's what you after. Pull a deal with you dealer that they get you a proper car till the Gt4 gets delivered at a monthly rental.
Had basically agreed on such deal with my dealership here when I was no. 1 on the GT4 wait list (serious dealers will never ask you to enter any contracts before the car can be configured and ordered, I would always walk away from a dealer who would do such thing). He promised me one for April and would have given me any used 911 from his pool from April till actual delivery date. But before that deal got to life I stumbled over a Cayman R. Wasn't the worst thing for the dealer, he completely transformed the R into a street legal track toy and that had probably more margin than selling a new car....

Marine Blue

How well it holds it's value will depend upon how good the car is. If it is very well received by the media and those that buy the car it will likely be better than average. It will also depend upon how the car is optioned and how many cars are produced.

The 987.2 Spyder when properly optioned appear to be selling in the 15% - 18% off of msrp price range with prices dropping slightly in the winter and climbing back in the summer. The cars that have held their value the best are Manual with Sport Buckets. The sport buckets appear to be the primary driver with the Manual being secondary. For reference they made about 890 Spyders for North America in the two years they were manufactured.

Selo

Good info, thank you. But I wonder what they were selling for used 6-12 months after their introduction. This would primarily be determined, I suppose, by whether or not the demand for new units exceeds the supply. While there is pretty good interest in the Spyder so far, it doesn't seem to be nearly the frenzy surrounding the GT4.

rohitgarewal

Since you've given me the out of saying this is pure speculation, I think the spyder will follow 'normal' Porsche depreciation patterns, ie a cayman s or boxster s. It's going to be a fantastic car, but It won't be comparable to the depreciation patterns of the 987.2 Spyder or R for the following reasons. Add on this disclaimer that I'm talking about 987.2 that have sports buckets and manuals and sports chrono. Sports exhaust and sports shifter are a bonus.

-The 981 spyder doesn't have the exclusiveness of a GT car, and optioned right gets you into 911 territory.
-It's simply a boxster with a cool top and better engine, or what the targa is to the 911.
-The 987.2 Spyder and R were produced in limited numbers, mainly because there wasn't as much demand for them when released. As a side effect of the low demand, many were optioned by dealers or those who never bought them, so they are missing manuals and sports buckets.
- the spyder and R, were much better suspensions relative to their 987.2 cousins, and looked unique as well. The current Spyder get the x73 suspension of its 981 cousins

As a point of fact, I've had my Spyder for 2 years (bought used) and it's going for roughly the same as what I paid for it, which was a 21% depreciation from sticker.

w00tPORSCHE

i was offered MSRP on my 2011 spyder. It was one of the very early cars made and had very little creature comforts including no leather and no a/c. This after I drove the car for 20,000 miles after I bought it as the third owner. The 981 spyder scenario is likely to be much different. The 987.2 was very much a purist car. Very few mainstream buyers liked the top and road noise. So the cars that had manual gearbox/buckets sold for asking price or thereabouts and everything else sat or was heavily discounted. The 981 spyder will 1. Appeal to a broader audience which is the good part for resale but the will likely be made in larger numbers and that could affect resale. Minimize your chances of depreciation by ordering it with the correct seats and safe colors since PTS won't be available. Avoiding too much fluff will be helpful as you will not get that money back on resale. Can't compare the 987 spyder values and apply that to the 981. FOr example I guarantee you that Cayman R resale will be affected more so by the GT4 than the 987.2 spyder being affected by the 981 spyder.

jeanrabelais

Appreciate your post; could you clarify your definition of Correct Seats and and Safe Colors?

w00tPORSCHE

For the 987.2 spyder the safe colors were White/Silver. Black spyders look beautiful and I saw one in the NE in its flesh up close but some owners don't like the maintenance involved for a black car and might stay away. Guards red is too common (not for spyders but the color in general) and gets attention and that narrows the buyer pool. I have not gone to Porsche USA website for over two years so not sure what colors are even offered for the newer cars.

The correct seats (again taking exclusively resale under context) for the spyders in my opinion are the bucket seats. So resale will be stronger for cars equipped with these seats. For the 987.2 the buckets were a no cost option which was sweet. Not sure if buckets are a standard option for the newer cars.

.. and take my advice for what its worth as I have helped three owners get into spyders all private sale. And trying to help a fourth buyer get one.

jeanrabelais

Porsche is asking almost 5k for those bucket seats. Can you comment on how comfortable or those plastic/carbon bucket seats are? At almost 6 foot 3 I have some concerns. Don't know if I'll get the opportunity to try them out before ordering.

w00tPORSCHE

It's not the height per SE that matters but where the length is. People can be tall but their femur length may not be too long. Many with long femurs like the extra thigh support that my Cayenne's 18 way seats provide. They do not like the buckets in my spyder. So please try to sit in the 918 spyder buckets that's now offered in the newer cars. I've sat on them and certainly prefer the fit of my buckets. Something's not right when I sit on them.

Marine Blue

Unless you have a large frame and or are very tall the buckets are very comfortable. The newer buckets offer more adjustment than the 987.2 GT2 buckets.

The safest color for the Spyder will be white as that is the color they used for the introduction and seems to be the most popular. It's also the most common on the 987.2, not sure if the same will be true on the new one.

w00tPORSCHE

Agree with Afshin. Aqua blue was a very desirable color for the 987.2 but not many made.

Milehigh981

Only buckets I've been able to find were in a 2011 gt3 re. They were surprisingly comfotable though I didn't get to sit in for more than a min.
Can't get heated seats with the new buckets which may be a factor in some areas.

w00tPORSCHE

I have driven hours in freezing temps on my alcantara clad buckets without any discomfort. Many dont drive their spyders in temps below 50 degrees so I think seats not being heated is a non issue. When owners have the have heated seats in the spyder of course they use them and then say wow this is the only way to be comfortable in cold weather. Just like people these days get used to reverse camera and park assist. I get that.

Keadog

Like above, I would wait if it isn't what you really want, unless $100K doesn't dent your fun budget. And I wouldn't order anything like color based on resale (but I have not only a brown car, but a brown shade Porsche dropped right after I ordered it).
There's bound to be a couple people who get GT4s and trade them with 310 miles on them - that seems to happen with just about every model though it sounds like this Cayman will be a pretty hot item.
Unrelated: is the rear window glass or plastic?