mkhn

I was wondering whether you guys thought Kelly Blue Book values were a fair and reasonable point to reference for a value of a car when negotiaing with a private party. If you guys were to sell your car(assuming its completely stock), would blue book value +/- a few percent be reasonable? I found this one 993tt and he was asking some $9k above bluebook and said he wouldn't even consider blue book at all. Then he got within +4k over blue book. Its an excellent car and I entered the KBB value as having an excellent rating with all the relevant options. As each month goes by, the blue book value is dropping. I know that there is a point that these cars will basically stay above, but I was thinking blue book is still applicable to these cars like any other. Please let me know if I'm wrong. The owner has been sitting on this car for almost 4 months. The PPI came back excellent.

Thanks!

Frank 993 C4S

IMHO 993s are fairly unique cars and buyers feel quite strongly about their specific preferences for color, tech condition, options, etc.. In my mind, the KBB is somewhat irrelevant in a 993 purchase (unless of course quoting from it helps your negotiation) as the price of a car is only justifyable by your next best alternative (alternative car with same color and options and technical condition). When I purchased my car, I knew exacly what I wanted and it took me 6 months to find it and I paid close to asking price. I have looked at many cars with somewhat odd color combos that were priced very low - still passed.

Jeff 993TT

I agree with Frank. KBB is good for "commodity" cars, ie Honda, toyotas, fords, chevy's, etc.

adsc4s

KBB, edmunds, etc are all good starting points for many cars but do not take into account the collectability, rarity, etc of certain cars. It could be a good starting point for negotiations because the value will probably be lower than the ask, but I think the best guage would be real world prices that fellow rennlisters have paid recently for theirs.

clubrcr

I agree somewhat. If you are buying a car that you feel you want to keep for a long time, then the KBB is not very acurate. You need to use your judgement and base your buying price on the other cars that have SOLD (not the asking prices) with similar options as what you are looking for. People put cars out for sale for high prices and don't adjust the prices for the market. I am somewhat guilty of this as well. But when you read the updates in Excellence and see what cars are selling for on www.autotrader.com, then the KBB is not so far off.

Vreracing2

I don't think the Blue book value represents the price of exotic cars very well.

I've never seen it used reliably.

It would be interesting to see how they come up with their numbers. I doubt it represents actual selling prices.

It could be its merely a numerical calculation based on type of car and how old it is.

Pete K

From the NADA site:

"Our values are derived from the sales records collected for each vehicle; the vehicles are classified into one of three value categories based upon the vehicle's condition - low, average, and high. Once the sales data has been processed, N.A.D.A. editors are able to analyze current market conditions pertaining to each vehicle - determining accurate fair market values."

Used car guys use these everyday for all types of cars.

HTH's.
Pete

George 911-V8

What is the going price for a clean 95-97 993 twin? I have seen some 97's sell for 100K easy.

George

viperbob

George,

What swamp have you been living in??? Just a joke. Medium mileage (30ks) in good shape from my recent purchase where in the mid to upper $60Ks. It seems like 97s were a 3-7K diff in price over 96s. So low $60s to real low $70s will get you most of the 993TTs.....

My 97 in real good shape sold for $61K in Feb with 35K miles (but it was winter in NH when I bought it).

clubrcr

Bob:

I have been looking for a 97 993TT for sometime. I wished I had known about yours, I can't find too many of these cars at the prices you are quoting. I have looked on traderonline, autoweek, and various websites and still seeing "selling" prices in the high 70s to low 80s some as high as 100K for 97s. I know most of these are the seller's "pipe dreams".

Can you direct me on where to find one?. I really don't care about having a 3K mile garage queen, but don't want to spend $80K to finds out the next day it is worth $60K.

Thanks in advance anyone's help.

88clbsport

IMO I don't see the TT's going below 50k for the next 5 years! Buy one in the 60k range and have fun with it. Remember asking and selling price are 2 different things....80k is tubo S range with even some 996's now selling in that price bracket.
The last years of the 930's are holding strong in the mid 30-40k range. I am generalizing and there will be exceptions on both ends of the pricing spectrum due to mileage, color and options.

I just picked up a pristine '89 turbo cab that I will have fun with for a while and if /when I sell some of my other toys will be in the hunt with you for a 55-60k 993TT.

viperbob

Jim,

When I bought mine, I just missed a few 993TTs. One was a '97 white with factory Turbo S wing and spoiler. Perfect car with 25K miles. Sold for $72K. Another was a '96 black with 40K miles for $65K. You are doing the right thing in watching everywhere. Most of the dealers (Premier, some of the high end dealers in Texas) are asking WAY too much. Wait for a private seller that has a good history with the car. It took me several weeks of pretty constant watching, and ferreting out possibilities until I found mine...

It'll happen. Just keep looking. If I find anything, I'll PM you.

mkhn

Viperbob, I see you're from Los Altos, CA. Is that in the SF Bay Area? I know there's a Los Altos down in SOCAL. Anyways, I'm in Mountain View. Love to meet you and check out your 993TT if your up here on the Peninsula.

Just wanted to thank all those that replied to my original post. KBB or NADA are "pretty close", although the asking price for these cars are quite a bit higher. In the end, the cars eventually sell fairly close to that. Of course there are exceptions, but the ones I have seen come fairly close. I don't think I am that far off par by dancing around the blue book value. The person has already come down almost $9K, but I still feel in this mkt, its priced too high. Being a person that doesn't have a ton of money, I need to stick to my guns and find the right deal. Thanks all for your contributions and happy hunting...

pig4bill

There's no need to shaft yourself, unless you are in a huge hurry for some reason. 911 Turbos are cyclical in nature. There's an ebb and flow to the supply and demand, and thus prices. An earlier post said "930's are holding strong in the mid 30-40k range". Maybe they are this month. But last summer you couldn't swing a dead cat in the Bay area without hitting one offered in the mid to high 20's. They were nice ones, too. There will be a time in the near future when TT's will return to the mid 60's for nice ones, and you'll be able to find a bargain for the low 60's. I also think they'll drop into the 50's in a year or two. Why? Because of the disparity in prices to N/A 993's. They are common now in the mid to high 30's. 25 grand is too big a gap, and I think the TT's will be pulled down by the falling N/A prices.

clubrcr

I haven't seen but one Turbo "S" in the 80s. I have put a bid out for a Turbo "S" in the 80s. A 37K mile car. If you see any other "S" cars at a fair price, would you let me know?