Hi guys, I'm new to this forum. Sent here by some knowledgeable Porsche owners. Looking to get a garage queen with some character. always loved 911s. Fell in love with the 993s on first site. I'm slowly looking for the right 993tt. It would appear to me that with consideration to the current investment/stock/401K markets, one might actually break even with choosing the right car and maintaining it for a few years. the 993s seem to be appreciating at double digits lately. As actual owners, would you also tend to agree or maybe disagree based on cost of ownership?

Thanks, Brian

 

It seems that way so...The lower the mileage the higher the price, but they do go for a good chunk.

 

I'm not sure about appreciating at double digits, but if you find a low mileage car, really keep it as a garage queen and don't drive it, you'll probably break even after a few years.

 

I understand garage queens. They are like pieces of art that you look at on the wall and enjoy. As far as making money on a 993 Turbo, I am not sure. But I didn't see the big jump in the 356 or early 911S's either so what do I know!

 

As mentioned the only the way a 993TT will retain or possibly increase in value is if the car already has low miles and never driven from this point forward. So then what is the point of owning a 993TT. The other issue is that as the car gets older the market grows smaller and smaller for the car. This can be seen with the 964T market. The prices are falling because it is now an "old" car. Sure, super low mileage 964T's command a premium, but otherwise the market is rather thin for that car. 993TT's are now 16 years old and it takes a special buyer to pay 70K plus for a car of that age.

So I dont look at a 993TT as an invenstment but rather a transfer of assets. You can enjoy the vehicle and have very little downside. Win-Win in my book.

Craig

 

absolutely not.

An investment grade 993TT will run you at least $85k if not more. Right out of the gate you are out 5% or more on tax. Then you are going to pay for insurance, and fixing any issues.

Then, to retain any value, what you will have is an expensive poster that you can't drive more than a few miles for fear of rock chips, added mileage, problems, etc.

your best bet is to buy a 30k mile car, drive it for 20k miles, and hope to sell for a few grand less than you paid.

Cars make horrible investments.

 

what he said

 

Yeah, I agree, I do not look at these cars as "investments" at all - but if I can play the game of balancing cost vs. pleasure, and hit the sweet spot in order to minimize the overall cost, that would more than meet my goals.

WHy the 993TT is retaining sooo much value is unclear - there are a number of factors here, it's the pinnacle of the air cooled development, its fairly rare, its a very pretty car, and even after 15 years its a performance car no question.

What will happen in the next 10 years? I think there will be an adjustment, and any road drive 993TT will depreciate, perhaps not keep the insane $60k+ number, but settle to the high 40's low 50's. Why? Because the 964 seem to be very stable at $25K - $30K, and the 993 coupes are around $28K - $35K, and if the 993 S's are in the low to mid 40s, it stands to reason the turbos should not go below the high 40's and low 50's.

Anyways, I hope I am healthy enough to keep Scarlett for quite a while, and not find out her resell value of years to come. (But I sure am keeping my eye on the market though!).

Cheers,

Mike

 

but it pays big dividends in terms or smiles every time you drive her.
compared to other cars you could say it is a better investment.
if you can afford it you will not regret owning one of these cars.
if it is strictly an investment buy gold or silver bars

 

I agree with the advice you have already received above, especially Quad's. You might want to consider the 993 Turbo S too if your trying to preserve your initial investment/purchase price.

 

If you want to invest look for a good deal on a LOW mileage stock 993 Turbo S - huge$$ - and don't drive it. Bet it'll appreciate a bunch in 10 years. Can't see the fun in this though unless you're very young. I bought a low miles 993tt and am not saving it but am keeping it stock. Doing a little over 2K miles annually it'll probably always be a relatively low mileage example and retain it's value while being buckets of fun to drive. It just feels better if it isn't falling in value even if you never plan to sell it. Some of the high value '70's 911 S's, RS's, etc. have some miles on them but are in great stock condition so maybe you can come close to having a bit of cake and eating it too...

 

Awesome!!! This is the kind of feedback I was hoping for. The thought of it as an investment was relative to the fact that any stock/mutual fund investment has proven to be (on average) a flat investment over the last 15 years so if I already am pumping money into retirement as well as equity accounts, why not have fun with some of it and maybe see some small appreciation after 20 fun years of ownership. This is not the basket with the eggs in it, but as we all know that basket is not making any money either.

 

Of course, if you are trying to convince your wife that it is a good investment, that is another story. If you had bought a TT 2 or 3 years ago, you could argue that if you had not bought that car your money would have been in the market and we all know how that turned out. Hence, it would have been a good investment in relative terms given the alternatives. Let us know how that works out?

 

Lower production numbers are the way to go when looking for investment type automobiles. The TT's have held their value well in relation to anything newer, but don't think your going to yield more than 1-2%/yr inflation adjusted. I wouldn't say the 993TT's are any better than the 930's which have held steady around the 30k mark for years now.

If I were looking for an investment I'd find a low production vintage car with some historic significance like a 1957 Fuel injected vette. There were just over 1000 of those compared to 6000 or so 993tt's.

Even if the world goes to hell, I still think AAPL and GOOG will be better investments in the next 5 yrs than any Porsche or car in general. We're still going to need the internet and tools to access it.

 

Even the 356s were bad investments over the entire period. Since 1957, inflation alone has made prices go up 10x, and the stock market is up probably 30x. Some special 356 examples might have outperformed that, but if you incluide the cost of storage, maintenance, and insurance, I'd have a hard time believeing that more than 1% of the cars have outperformed throwing a dart at the stock market in 1957.