SeattleAllroad

I "accidentally" bought a 98 993 C2s last year. I was actually in the market for a 996GT3 and got sidetracked. My obersavations of the 993 market as of last year 1) the depreciation curve on 993s tend to be relatively shallow compared to water cooled Porsches, 2) low mileage, clean examples have very strong values compared to the broader market, rare options or combination of options tend to be wild cards from a depreciation and value standpoint.

H.H.Chinn

I'd venture to say that I could probably get what I paid for my C2S four years ago today. But the fun that I've had with the car since "Priceless"!

race911

I've seen more POS 993s with 50K on them when they were 3-5 years old than those with 150K+ on them at 15 years.

Some of the worst ones were a 3 year old turbo I could have bought about the time I was ready to unload my '92 C4 in '01. 25K and absolutely in worse shape cosmetically than my 4S is in today. Another was a friend who got a new 4S right when they came out in '96. Car went straight to the track, was heavily modified, and basically didn't see anything other than redline for the 5 years he had it. It had about 50K miles on it when it was sold as part of his estate. Another racer friend had one he was selling for his sister just before I bought my 4S. Nice white with blue interior. Was "just a car" for her, and the condition reflected it.

I wonder how those cars look today, and if the owners have a clue about how abused (albeit in different forms) they were.

CP

+ a Million.

If you keep the mileage at 40k-ish max., you will hold value and relatively quick sale.

If you approach 80k-ish miles, you will possibly sell your car in the $20k range, and may take months.

If you're over 100k miles, there may be like 5 guys interested. And they are ALL bottom-fishermen. It'll take you a LOOOOONG time to even find someone willing to look at your car.

So here is the dilemma. Spend say $35-$45k and get a low-mile sample. Just look at it or risk loosing value, or drive it and take your lumps.

CP

race911

If you mean $20K (and not "range" including $29999), an 80K car will sell yesterday with anything but a salvage title. I'll be first in line, and no I wouldn't need a PPI.

CorrdoBrit

All good points. There are obviously many factors that go into the decision one makes when buying a particular car. One major one that clearly reflects what you'll get out at the end (assuming you will sell) is how it will be used. I bought mine with the intention that it would only be a fun, fair weather weekend runabout. I've put 3K on it in a year of ownership and can't see that changing much in the future. For that reason I was happy to pay the price premium that goes with buying a low mileage example. If it was going to be my DD then I would have looked for a higher mileage car that had had new clutch and/or topend and just driven it without any thought to what I'd have been getting on resale.

Ash

I suppose it's human nature to feel like we got a good value on the curve but I've never been preoccupied with it where these cars are concerned. Besides, at the end of the day when my time's up, I can't take it with me anyways. I'd hazard a guess that if one is concerned with dollar ROI, there's much better things to put your money into. Buy it, drive it, and the ear-to-ear grin reminds you of what living is really about...that's a ROI you can't put in a bank and a point that doesn't exist on the depreciation curve.

SeattleAllroad

To sum it up...in rare cases appreciation may occur. The rest of the time? Like death and taxes...depreciation.

FisterD

Well said

Cactus

I got my 95 w/26K on it when the market was at it's highest point. Paid a bit too much and the market crashed about a year later. I am attached so the only way I will sell is in an absolute emergency or a certain red Speedster......

bavarian06

in my humble opinion, best to pick up one now. i notice the trend is definitely upward, especially the later series models. if its under 50K miles, S model, with varioram, expect to pay at least $40K all day long.

my buddy just picked up a e30 M3 for $29K w/ 35K miles. what a beauty. was thinking of going that route as well but decided on my c4s instead.

fat_louis

Thanks all for all the thoughtful comments and not biting my head off.

They were all very informative responses.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking at any of these cars as an "investment."
I just try not to lose a lot of money in depreciation when I buy one to enjoy and lightly restore/modify with factory options.

If it ever becomes time to move on, then at least I'd like to know that if I took care of the car and did no more than 3K miles per year, I wouldn't be held over a barrel or get any unpleasant surprises if the day ever came to sell.

take care
Dr. Louis

cgfen

slowly declining for most examples
holding steady or increasing for first rate or "special" examples.

Most valuable ranking IMO

Turbo
98 2S
96 - 97 4S
C2s


Craig

bavarian06

the last yr of the c4s was '97? some rare examples of turbos are going for 70-80K, thats the price of a 997 turbo!

inkatouring

The depreciation/appreciation of 993s in general is nothing like an e30 M3.

The e30 M3 was not known (or appreciated) by many other than BMW enthuasists for the first ten years. Porsches are known by everyone; they never flew under the radar. And, there are enough 993s, that they'll never be rare like e30 M3s -- although there are rare ones within the 993 family. The rare ones within the 993 family may appreciate at some point, but generally 993s shouldn't too much, given how many there are out there.

That's the appreciation side. On depreciation side, they seem to have completed their curve on that and, because they are the last (and some think best engineered) aircooled, should hold their own, except for factors like increase in miles as you drive them and decrease in condition as they get worn.

In short, don't expect a big change in the price from what they are now (rarities like C2S and the such excluded).