Air Cooled Prices Through the Roof - Panorama
05-16-2014 | 04:00 AM
#18
Pro
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 558
Likes: 5
From: Ventura
(It sure as heck is going to outlive me...)
05-16-2014 | 08:59 AM
#21
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2,286
Likes: 11
From: Nothern NJ
05-16-2014 | 09:58 AM
#23
Racer
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 492
Likes: 1
From: Bergen County, NJ
I must admit I dont get to drive as much as I'd like to but I'm not ready to cash in and to give another owner the satisfaction. For the little I drive and tinkering I do get a lot of enjoyment. I've put 5k on the odo the past 5 years, just under 53k total miles.
Last edited by pcarrera993; 05-16-2014 at 10:26 AM.
05-16-2014 | 11:47 AM
#25
Rennlist Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 7,214
Likes: 486
From: NC
You know, I don't look at this as good on any level. I didn't buy the car as an investment, I bought it to enjoy it. Because the value is rising I have to think more about insurance, pay higher premiums for higher coverages, be more concerned about theft, etc. And our sport / hobby is being negatively impacted and the barrier of entry is higher, keeping more enthusiasts out of the market. All for what - so some speculators can score or investors / collectors can add one more car to their private rarely driven or seen stable?
I always loved how up until a few years ago anybody with $15-20k could buy and enjoy an air cooled "driver"...
I always loved how up until a few years ago anybody with $15-20k could buy and enjoy an air cooled "driver"...
I'm so glad I got my butt off the couch and bought what I've always wanted. I've racked up over 50,000 miles and had such a wonderful time meeting people and driving some amazing roads.
The one good thing about the value going up on these cars it that my P-car obsession doesn't look so worthless to my wife anymore...
05-16-2014 | 12:33 PM
#26
Addict
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,095
Likes: 55
From: Maryland
Quite often, I'm asked if I'm selling the 964 whenever I take it out. No intentions to sell that or the 73 914 2.0 either. I bought a plain jane white 964 that was a twin to my 964 racecar. It was a happy coincidence that I had a fairly new interior in navy blue in storage that matched the street car.
I bought a Rolex when I was 19 because I compared the their mystique to Porsche. 28 years later, I still have that same watch (really the only watch I've owned since I was 19). I've had the 914 for 19 years and the 964 for 6. Much like the watch, they're used but well taken care of.
I tell my kids that they can fight over the air cooled street cars and watch when I die.
I bought a Rolex when I was 19 because I compared the their mystique to Porsche. 28 years later, I still have that same watch (really the only watch I've owned since I was 19). I've had the 914 for 19 years and the 964 for 6. Much like the watch, they're used but well taken care of.
I tell my kids that they can fight over the air cooled street cars and watch when I die.
05-16-2014 | 01:13 PM
#27
Pro
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 558
Likes: 5
From: Ventura
With the talk of your Rolex I'm reminded of an article I read when I was first drooling over a 993. It is a very worthwhile read but I'll highlight one paragraph for you guys.
My Porsche 993 is like my Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow. I bought them both lightly used for a fair price. I’ve maintained them, had them refurbished when necessary, kept them up to spec. They both appear reasonably new, even though they are not. I expect to give — or leave — them both to my son, who will take the uncomplicated ignition key of the Porsche and the polished wooden box of the Omega some time around his eighteen birthday, I expect. Neither is a simple machine, but they are well-understood and can be fixed correctly when required. Neither is a marker of wealth in 2012, and they will be even less so in fifteen years. There’s a simple, mechanical, tangible pleasure in touching and using them both. They exist as worthwhile objects in their own right, farther and farther away from sociological meaning as the years pass. They’ve also both stopped depreciating.
The full article is worth the read can be found here:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/avoidable-contact-the-watery-big-bang-the-32-step-power-steering-fluid-check-disposable-faux-ury/
My Porsche 993 is like my Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow. I bought them both lightly used for a fair price. I’ve maintained them, had them refurbished when necessary, kept them up to spec. They both appear reasonably new, even though they are not. I expect to give — or leave — them both to my son, who will take the uncomplicated ignition key of the Porsche and the polished wooden box of the Omega some time around his eighteen birthday, I expect. Neither is a simple machine, but they are well-understood and can be fixed correctly when required. Neither is a marker of wealth in 2012, and they will be even less so in fifteen years. There’s a simple, mechanical, tangible pleasure in touching and using them both. They exist as worthwhile objects in their own right, farther and farther away from sociological meaning as the years pass. They’ve also both stopped depreciating.
The full article is worth the read can be found here:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/avoidable-contact-the-watery-big-bang-the-32-step-power-steering-fluid-check-disposable-faux-ury/
05-16-2014 | 02:47 PM
#28
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,078
Likes: 39
From: Hurley, NY
Great article by Pete Stout in the new Panorama about air cooled Porsche pricing and where the ceiling might be. The Amelia Island RS car for $1.4 million looks like a copy of Seinfeld's "Dead Man's Car" (Comedians in Cars getting Coffee).
It's been enjoyable sharing some of my thoughts on this with Pete over the past few years. I had a 997, 997.2, 997 GT3, and in the end went "backwards" to a 993 C2S as my "keeper". I wanted a visceral car that I shifted myself and the 993 is the last of that breed.
The theoretical question of where the pricing ceiling is will continue to be debated for a very long time. When I purchased 3 years ago the pricing was pretty stable but trending up. A "base" car that might have been $50,000 then is $75,000 today (actual selling price). Asking prices for this "base" are pushing toward $100,000 already. While many see this as crazy, I understand it. For $100,000 you can get a CPO "modern" Porsche or you can get an "as new" 993 C2S. How "retro"! And if the purpose of spending $100,000 on a hobby car is to enjoy the experience, I suggest you would get as much enjoyment out of a 1990s air cooled 993 as you would out of a 997 or 991.
Well done Pete!
It's been enjoyable sharing some of my thoughts on this with Pete over the past few years. I had a 997, 997.2, 997 GT3, and in the end went "backwards" to a 993 C2S as my "keeper". I wanted a visceral car that I shifted myself and the 993 is the last of that breed.
The theoretical question of where the pricing ceiling is will continue to be debated for a very long time. When I purchased 3 years ago the pricing was pretty stable but trending up. A "base" car that might have been $50,000 then is $75,000 today (actual selling price). Asking prices for this "base" are pushing toward $100,000 already. While many see this as crazy, I understand it. For $100,000 you can get a CPO "modern" Porsche or you can get an "as new" 993 C2S. How "retro"! And if the purpose of spending $100,000 on a hobby car is to enjoy the experience, I suggest you would get as much enjoyment out of a 1990s air cooled 993 as you would out of a 997 or 991.
Well done Pete!
05-16-2014 | 03:39 PM
#30
Rennlist Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 164
Likes: 1
From: Hudson Valley, NY
Now, I can't just ignore the fact my car's value almost doubled and most likely will go up in the future. Every time I want to take it for a spin and drive it really hard there is that future value/investment thing in the back of my head.
Well, I guess I should get myself a used Accord...