When Ilko listed his c4s with an asking price of 42k I thought to myself "hmmm, a bit too aggressive for a 100k+ miles car." Don't get me wrong, I wanted him to get it because, well, I had a very similar car. He did. In 12 seconds or something like that. So I wondered if it was an unusual circumstance.

When my 11 year old son, a short time later, started to really complain about the small back seat (and I actually looked back there with him in it and saw how cramped he was), I went through machinations on what to do (keep c4s and buy a beater? no, could find a beater I liked and, anyway, I go through cars quickly instead of wives -- not sure which is cheaper, but it's easier on the kids this way. sell the c4s and find a sports sedan? yes, an Audi rs4).

Coy musings in other posts on rennlist about maybe selling got me PMs from a few, but nothing that resulted in more than some tire-kicking (maybe serious tire-kicking, but tire-kicking nonetheless). So, I scanned my CARFAX, key receipts, took a million pics (my daughter took the photos) and put together a decent ad on a Friday morning. That night one of the tire-kickers came and looked at the car, left a non-refundable deposit (he left for a business trip Sunday). Another rennlister came by and is in backup. More have PM'd me asking to be in line if everyone falls through....

In other words, I could have sold the two or three times, if not more, and probably for thousands more than the asking price of 42.5k. For a 100k mile car (granted with tasteful mods, but still).

Where is this market going? Will that car, with 150k continue to appreciate? Hold it's own? Ever go down? I guess at some point miles actually become irrelevant, as the BMW 2002s I used to restore are sold based on condition but miles are irrelevant....

 

I wish I knew someone with a crystal ball... We just paid stupid money (as in HI) for a 14K mile example. Since I feel we are a little ahead of the curve, I don't expect to get our money back out of it for a few years... if at all! We just liked the car and where willing to pay to get it.

Gary

 

Yeah, miles ARE pretty irrelevant once you get into the collectible phase of the market. Are we there now with widebody (NA and turbo) 993s? Who knows. But probably.

If you've left $2-3K on the table, is it going to matter next month, next year? Not to anyone who has one of these things, since it shouldn't be more than a rounding error of your net worth.

Question is, will you buy same/similar down the road when they're going for who-knows-what. Most don't. Saw it with the longhoods. Even if guys can afford them. Kinda why I said to park the car, put it in semi-retirement for the time being.

 

Enjoy the RS4 Josh, it's a great car! It would be sad when 993s become too expensive for those who own them to actually drive them. I'm personally not afraid of mileage. I'm afraid of lack of receipts

I subscribe to the you only live once "philosophy." Drive as many cars as you like, own as many as you like. Since I don't have the means to keep several cars at the same time I can only own one at a time and try to have as much fun with it as I can. I've put over 5K miles on the current one since I got it in April

 

some cars are desirable, others aren't.

My high mileage turbo (89k miles) isn't worth the paper the title is printed on.

Your car must have caught someone's fancy. Ilko's car did not sell quickly as I recall it.

 

It did.

 

my mistake

 

It happens

You up for a drive to NC in October?

 

I don't see why not.

where did you have in mind?

 

It does feel like there are people chasing 993s, but then again, recall that LOTS of people bought houses in 2007 also...looking back, not so smart.
No matter how you look at it, cars are depreciating assets.
During my driving enjoyable and ownership, I'm happy if the car stays near flat and/or depreciates less than a new honda accord
PL

 

Check out RennSpaß. And sorry for the OT!

 

Agree with this. Whether or not the 993's (and all older air cooled models) hold/increase value is up to future population demographics and their subsequent desires. You see where the early 911s are today in relation to where they were just 10 yrs ago and it's not hard to mouth the word "bubble". Who knows.

Here is a my post from another thread this morning on the subject:

Originally Posted by tcsracing1
the two vintages porsche are great! Surprised you didnt attempt to keep the 993TT as it too will follow suit as a 911 classic.


I agree with your statement re the TT going down the classic road, along with the C2S and RS (obviously). My opinion is that the air cooled cars in particular are being driven by a few interesting drivers, be it:

1. the Gen Xers (my generation) coming in to disposable income and wanting to finally have the car that was on their bedroom wall.

2. the Magnus Walker effect - bringing a "cool" new edge to the marque

3. current monetary policy which makes hard assets more desirable

4. 964/993 specific - classic looks combined with basic safety features (abs, air bags)

5. the 1973 2.7 RS effect - massive price increase over past 10 yrs, which has lifted all long hood prices substantially, thereby displacing some potential buyers into the later yr 911s.

I'm sure there are other reasons. As to why I sold, simple answer was that I wasn't driving it. With less than 20K on the odo, I knew it would have more value to someone looking for a garage queen. I like making "patina" and this car was too nice for that. As an example, the all original 67S that I have has over 140K on the odo and gets flogged annually to the tune of 5-6k miles (i'd put on more but w/o A/C, the Texas summers blow right thru my Brut deodorant.

With all that said, I am of the belief that the current fixation on mileage with the 993 family will fade somewhat once we get around the 25 yr mark, similar to what has happened with the previous series. So, one day I'll hopefully jump back in again.

Sorry for the long winded answer.....John

 

Sure, there's that. And then I remember how many guys, when I was racing the RS America, chatted with me about how much fun they had with those cars, compared to the expense, expense, expense when they moved to (then new) 996 Cups.

Anyway, I know I'm the outlier. Can't really see moving from the air cooleds for two reasons--they don't cost me anything to keep going, and I just don't believe in having more than about $40K tied up in a car. I've got about another year of earning any kind of an income, then it's just me piddling around in a hobby/race shop doing what I can to keep busy. And golf. Lots of golf once I'm out of the craptastic Bay Area muni scene........

 

This is an indication of how in-demand widebody cars are today. I'm still on
the fence about listing mine, it's also a driver with 100+K miles.

 

I just went thru this with my car. I put a good ad together, and within 1 day I had a list 5-6 long of people wanting to put down a non-refundable deposit; about 15-20 people contacted me indicating strong interest. I ended up selling it to the first guy who could fly into town. No haggling, no negotiation. I might have been able to get 1500 more, but once I post a price, I stick with it. Wish I had 10 more to sell