mlincoln

IMHO cars, like skis, generally depreciate. Like skis, they should be used, and even used up. I suppose a few become classics and perhaps pay for those years of storage. Who knows whether garden variety 993s will become rare classics in the future? Probably not, given the build numbers, just like the average, hardtop, six cylinder, base level, 1965 Mustang is not particularly valuable. Perhaps some special variants of the 993 will do well. I suggest we just enjoy driving them now.

--Mike Lincoln

perrys7342

Afraid some of you aren't reading the "tea leaves" in my original post. Suggestions on what a 993 will bring in 30 years aren't an "apples to apples" comparison. Originally, a 1966/1967 911 Coupe sold for 60-70 percent more than a 1966-67 Chevrolet Corvette. Can any of you find currently an auction result where a 1966 911 2.0 Coupe sold for $165K or above...let alone 30 or 40 of them in a single auction? Equally important, are restorers clambering over each other to restore early 911's to the crazy standards lavished on the miserable quality original production Corvettes?

This is not a challenge to ownership of a 993 (and I've owned a couple) and their "perceived value" but a rather sad indication of what the Collector Car market currently has an interest in...whether it is Barrett-Jackson, Kruse, Silver, RM, or Mecum among others.

Any number of the Barrett-Jackson Buyers for those Corvettes or Hemi-powered MOPARS could have bought the 98 993 Cab just to use instead of a rental car during the auction. Buyers of those pieces obviously had far more interest in "bragging rights" about the price of their new "Garage Queen" than the pleasure of driving. Sadly, an ever larger percentage of Porsche owners seem to buy for the same perceived affluence it apparently denotes.

Perry (42 plus years of Porsche Ownership)

mjsporsche

Perry,

When I reflect on the reason why mid 60s corvettes are commanding triple digit numbers vs mid 60s 911s, it is likely because the vast majority of baby boomers wanted the corvette and muscle car back then and they can afford to buy it now. Also, a proven track record of 2x digit increases in value is helping the demand. Back then, the 911 passion was felt by a few special people and the demand in the good old USA for mid 60s 911 is just very very limited. With that said, would I love to have a 90+ point muscle car sitting in my garage.....absolutely. But it is the 993 that I will take out and drive.

Mark

Pzkw993

As far as I can tell, the total price paid for that car was about 80% of original dealer cost.

Would a 240-mile 1998 Corvette C5 convertible be worth $38,000 today,(80% of its original dealer cost) particularly after Kerbeck et al get done blowing new 04 convertibles out for $37K? Of course not.

The "993 bubble", for what it's worth, seemed to consist mainly of aircooled fanatics paying big money for enthusiast-oriented aircooled cars (end of line TTs, manual-tranny widebody coupes) well after the debut of the 996. By contrast, an unusual-color Tip Cabrio has to be judged on its posing value, which decreases with age.

Perry, I see your "tea leaves" but I don't think that as 993 owners we need to be concerned with them. The amazing prices brought by the Sixties Stingrays and Mopars is primarily due to the fact that many boomers see everything which followed as utter crap. Chevy went from the 396 fuelie or whatever to the 165hp smog-strangled auto-tranny '78 Vette; by contrast, Porsche went from the 130hp two-liter 911 to the 3.3 Turbos and beyond. The Porsche market has always held that the newest 911 is the best, with the occasional 964 or early 996 hiccup.

Heck, look at Vette ZR1 values. Everybody's waking up to the fact that any $27K auction rat Z06 is faster, better-handling, and better-built than the most carefully preserved ZR1 and the sellers are starting to visibly panic. Until something happens to blunt the performance and appeal of future cars the way the Seventies regulations did, there will never be another musclecar bubble.

You can't make money buying and storing Porsches, but that's true for all cars. That $5000 Vette is worth $125K now, but what would $5000 of IBM stock from 1967 be worth today? What about a $5000 investment in Manhattan real estate?

These prices are simply silly and they will fade. I saw a Daytona spider conversion cross the line at B-J for $175K or something similar. It was half what it would have brought ten years ago and it was, really, "all the money". Fads. Coming and going. But I sure wish I had a fuelie Stingray right now. I'd sell it and buy a GT3!

JPL 993-C4S

There is no 993 "bubble" and it is not bursting. Look at the average asking price for a 993 on autotrader, compared to last year (and adjust for average miles)... if anything I'd say they have gone up. I recently helped a friend buy a 993 C4S and prices were not cheaper than when I bought my 993 C4S in March 2003.

FLAT6FAN

Having seen pictures of that car. I am suprised it brought that much. The color scheme appeals to a limited group buyers.

Bradford

I'm amazed at the prices they are getting for the original muscle cars. Back in 1979 I sold my Shelby GT350 to buy a 75' Carrera. I was happy to get $3900 for the Shelby at that time. Oh well, live and learn.

DJD

Life is short, buy the car you love, and drive it, end of story!!

mrsullivan

i mentioned this in a previous post, but i am amazed at how the 993 is holding value compared to the late model 996s. Most 2003 996s w/ 5-7k mileage are going for low $60s. If the newest Porsche is the best Porsche, those are compelling prices for those cars. I saw an 03 with sport seats, porsche sports exhaust, factory short shift, xenons, BOSE, 18s, 5k miles for $59k. I wouldnt sell my 98 Carrera S for much less than that. Simply amazing. We must either be true air-cooled Porsche enthusiasts or dummies... or maybe both :-)

tlark

With respect to the "tea leaves". BJ is the worst example of any type of pricing on anything other than US born and born agains. Excluding early series Jags, Gulwings and a few others its not the correct market and a off-color tip/cab..........please.

Anyone catch the red 59 Impala that went through today for $105k. I know the owner of the shop that restored that car and 2 others that he took to BJ, he was the guy that was driving it on stage.... I went to school w/him. He did some minor leather work for me a few months ago and was showing me some of what he was taking down there. He said its like the flavor of the month crowd and American iron what sells and anythng else is a waste of time. All you have to do is look at the past sales history on their web site.

Trying to sell any type non-racing heritage Porsche in that place is like sticking a turd in a sugar dish.....it doesn't fit or look right and this particular turd was a green/cab tiptronic.

The only reason they got as much as they did was b/c some guy prob. knocked down a few Jack & Waters and thought it would be a cute driver for his 16 year old.

Monique

I suppose the Tiptronic did not help any...

Like comparing a 63-67 Vette with Powerglide to a Porker Tip; in collector terms, neither rate highly. Without offence to Tip owners.

24FPS

& what would a 1998 vette go for? nothin' close to $59k. immho.

btw: (almost forgot) a booger green vette...

carcommander

I owned a couple of GTOs and a 70SS 396 chevelle in the day. I recently decided I wanted a 69 Z28 camaro, I was driving it home when I came to my senses. I was slow, uncomfortable, rattled and handled like a pig on stilts. When would I drive it instead of my 97 C2S? Never. So I bought an 02 Z06 corvette and never looked back. The 60's and 70's muscle cars have lots of eye ball but that's it.
Barret Jackson gets prices for things that no other auction house can duplicate. You get 2 guys on TV with lots of money playing "who's is bigger".

kdurg

I am still baffled how a '98 Cab Tip selling for $59k compared to a '63 restored Vette selling for $165k suggests a "bubble burst" for 993 Pricing.

Maybe these "Tea Leaves" are of the decaffeinated variety ?? I hear the Orange Pecoe Teas are quite good. But then again the Apple Cinnamon sounds tasty too........

TheOtherEric

Hmmm let's see, bought for $96,000 and sold for $59,000. That's a $37,000 loss divided by 240 miles.... $154.16 per mile. BWAHAHAHA! That's what you get for not driving a Porsche!! And we thought we had it bad at $0.20 per mile depreciation. Poor guy