CP

Fishing for whales, I use planktons.

CP

h-bo

cp..
If you need to sell it you will get less than you want or feel that it is worth. Given the high mileage, the car is worth more to you than it will be to anyone else (because you know just how well it runs). This difference in price might be considerable. This is a very real loss if you sell it.

If you think about the depreciation on your cayman, then the running costs of the BTR are surely negligeable.

are you sure the cayman isn't the "toy" that should go?

you say that you are 58 and fast cars are perhaps not for you any longer, but you keep a cayman?.

I think fast cars are still for you.

In the BTR you have a car that is more than a decade old, which clearly still interests you. It will also excite in you in 10 years. Can you say the same for the cayman?

Ihave a 997gt2 and 993gt2, on paper the 993gt2 is worth more and would logically be the car I should sell if I needed the funds. I have however committed to keeping the 993gt2 until I die, so I have to write its value to zero. It is now only costing me petrol and insurance. the 997 gt2 on the other hand is going from the price I bought it at to the price I will sell it at alarmingly quickly. like your cayman.

write the value of your btr to zero.. look at your finances without it. is the cayman sticking out like a sore thumb?

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

993_Pilot

If you are serious about selling, I would consign it with RUF Auto Centre. If someone is looking, that it probably the first place that they would look. They probably have a fair amount of exposure with foreign clients as well. Getting the most exposure to potential buyers is one of the keys to getting top dollar. GL with the sale.

CP

h-bo,

The Cayman has been listed for sale for months. Listed at $2k below the lowest listed Cayman in our area. Not one single response.

In fact, we have 2 houses, 1 building lot and 2 cars listed for sale right now and nothings happening (we made sure that everyone knows that we will consider ANY offers). I think the economy in our area has ground to a complete halt at this point. We used to believe price will sell anything. This is NOT true at this moment. I work for a home-builder, and believe me, lowering prices did not garner sales.

The truth is we have sufficient reserve to last 3 years at this pace. We have 4 pieces of real estate, only two with mortgages. We have no car or CC payments. If we can sell any of our assets in a normal market, we'd be set for a long long time. Unfortunately my better half is the consummate pessimist. The fact that any home builder (I work for one) can close it's door these days truly worries her. The realization that we went from banking 30% of our gross income to now digging into savings bothers her to no end. We are making everything available for sale as we cannot control what sells, so we take the shot-gun approach. The fact that NOTHING sells (in the last 12 months) keeps her awake at night. That is NOT the life I want for my family, imagined or real.

CP

race911

I think one of the points everyone is missing, or being silent on, is the lack of fun factor an over-the-top street car has these days. (I hope to not speak out of turn here, but I'll go ahead anyway.)

The Bay Area USED TO BE a great place to drive briskly. Briskly with a capital "B". Now? With the overall traffic, the obstructionists (think Prius, used to be Volvo), and the stepped up revenue generation from traffic enforcement, it's hardly even worth it. And it does eat at you! If you're not from here, you don't know how good it was. If you're only here in the past 15 or so years, you don't know how good it was. I've run Hwy 13 (the whole length) near flat out when I was a teenager in my 2.0S. (I know, a V-6 Accord of today could do it faster, but it was all I had at the time.) I guess I reconcile this by having: 1. good memories of being an "outlaw", 2. fast enough, but not too fast cars that you don't get frustrated when going with the flow, and 3. being at the track frequently.

So that's where I see some of the melancholy. You've got this rare, extremely capable car that's incredibly tempting to do very illegal things with staring at you in the garage every day. And you're adult enough to know better.

CP

Ken hits it on the head. If I sold all my Porsches, I will buy a cheapo NB Miata as that is plenty fun enough for our current driving conditions.

I know we can always do track events. I am not track material: 58 years old, prone to motion sickness, baby my car too much to drive them flat out, and too cheap to bear the cost of the track-related wear and tear.

CP

Ed Burdell

Right there with you. We have been forced to lay low for four months now, with no end to the local construction industry malaise. I've had to say "no" to things that used to be "yesses" without a second thought.

At least our family has always been a bit frugal (well, except for me), so there's no outright hardship. Still, when my little girls wanted a bunny rabbit for a pet last month, it was no fun saying we'd have to postpone it for the foreseeable future...

Busta Rib

I think emotionally and psychologically, you are in the same space I was in recently with selling my M3. It's not something you absolutely have to do, but if you can get the right price, then it would fit in nicely with your personal plans for the extra cash. Here's the process I went through:

1. Whatever price you believe your car is worth, lower it by 10-15% if you want to sell in this market. That is the harsh reality. Determine if you really want to sell the car and what the absolute lowest price you are willing to accept, relative to the market conditions. Only you can answer this question. This is the most difficult part figuring out what you believe your car is worth to you. I recommend contacting Ruf in TX and getting their take on valuation. They should know what the buy and sell side of the market is for Ruf's.

2. List it up for sale with a firm price and explain your circumstances that you don't need to sell and anything less doesn't make sense for you. Posting your ideal asking price and asking people to make offers does not work as effectively as just cutting to the chase and pricing to sell, IMO. My philosophy is if you are going to sell your car, price it to sell and don't mess around. Yes, you may leave some money on the table, but in this market if you really want to sell and you truly determine a fair price for you, it shouldn't matter how much you left on the table if you get your price and sell your car. There's more than financial value you are getting if the sale of the car will bring you financial peace of mind, relieve stress on your family, etc. Perhaps all of that is worth a few thousand dollars. Will you really miss it in the long run?

3. Don't look back after you post your ad. If you are honest with yourself in Step 1, you will either end up selling your car at the price you want, or you will end up keeping it. The market will talk and speak loudly in the first week or two. Either way, you win and are not disappointed.

I ended up selling my car in 4 days after posting my ad and probably left $500-1000 on the table but I didn't care because I still got the price I wanted and it is sold. I still see comparable M3s for sale that have been listed for months that are only $1-2K more than what I listed my car for and I suspect they are not doing their owners any good by still sitting in their driveways/garages. What is funny is that the price delta was not significant, but psychologically I believe it can be huge, which can prevent a prospective buyer from making an offer. And that is all it takes.

Best of luck with whatever you decide. You have an amazing car and there is a buyer out there somewhere. You just have to have the right frame of mind and expectations if you decide to sell. Jim

Quadcammer

Honestly, on a car like that, the high mileage might be a bit of a turnoff for me.

I see maybe $20k over a well sorted 993TT with those miles (which goes for say $50k). That puts you right in the $70-$75k range in my book.

race911

Well, my cousin parked a decent enough 50K mile turbo in his garage last summer for $45K. A car that sat with a consigner for 3 months at $55K, so the seller basically netted nearly what he would have gotten anyway. And a 60K pretty nice one was pitched to me for $50K last September; and it sold for enough at a different consigner to net the seller the $50K I would have paid.

I have not been privvy to any other turbo sales transactions since then.

deep_purple

CP, I have seen your car at a Concourse event a few years back. Looked great!

Another question to ponder is the following. If you did not have the BTR right now, how much would you pay to get one just like yours?

h-bo

CP, I spoke a little briskly. I didn't realise the Cayman was going also.

If you have reserves to last you 3 years then set the price of the BTR at the level where it should be, not substantially below it.. You can always change the price a little going forward, if the market necessitates it. As most people suggest here I also think that this car it will be a matter of finding the right buyer. Once found, that buyer will know that the price can be discussed anyway. Keep the advertised price flexible.

for the cayman, there are definitely a few buyers out there really looking for a bargain, the cheapest cars will sell. the others simply won't.

In the next 3 years times will change , I don't think the current pessimism will last. I am not suggesting that the markets will recover soon but rather think that it is the sudden change which is really scaring the market right now. Once people get used to lower levels the pessimism and fear will gradually subside. I imagine that your wife may feel better than she does about things in the coming months (especially if you managed to unload the cayman). when everybody is panicking (your wife), keep your head tightly screwed on. She will appreciate it.

CP.I will keep my fingers crossed for you. I wish you all the best.

atan888

Hi Pong,

I suggest you put it on ebay with a reserve price and that would tell you how much its worth.

Peter R.

Since you do not seem to be in dire financial straits at this time, it sounds like a bad idea to try and sell it now.

The way I look at it : let's say by some incredible stroke of luck you succeed in selling it for 75K (although right now you'll be lucky to get 50K). It'll not change anything to your current situation, you'll be out of a great car, and you'll have to shift some of the proceeds (say 20K) towards a replacement. You will have temporarily secured between 30K (my estimate) and 55K (max) over the next three years this will depreciate to between 25 K and 45K. This money will, by your own admission, change nothing to your financial situation for the next three years.

When the economy starts picking up again in about 12 months (some people are making a killing on the real estate market right now), prices of the cars will start going up again.

If you really want to sell it, don't sell it now if you don't need to.

Now, about your question. I wouldn't sell it because I wouldn't have bought one. To me they are not worth more than a regular NB with the same mileage in good nick.

I do sympathise with your plight (I'm in the chemicals business which isn't exacly looking great either). But I think you will be hard pressed to find an enthusiast willing to pay top dollar for a 126.000 mile car in this market.

Maybe when the devil wears earmuffs to work. Stranger things have happened.

Best of luck to you !

Quadcammer

I guess that depends on when you think the economy will turn around. I certainly don't think the US economy will experience any significant growth for another 2 years or so.