hillsdonsmith

....and like Vancouver real estate prices, the surface tension of some bubbles allows them to get ridiculously bigger than we ever thought possible.

See www.rsamerica.net for some silly asking prices!

Mark

Boober

I'm not necessarily sure I agree that, specifically, the 993 turbo market is being driven by low interest rates. Though, on a whole, you're referring to the favorable rates freeing up cash for luxury goods...or I could be wrong?

Others have touched on factors that make sense to me because several were reasons for me to take the leap:

The garage queens are driving the price hike since collectors are going after museum pieces, thus driving up the entire market. This also means there are fewer and fewer of the most rare and coveted cars available. I know that just under 6,000 total production world wide might not SOUND rare but in comparison to most, it surely is.

The RWB, Singer, and Magnus Walker types are bringing air cooled Porsches back into the public eye, while at the same time taking more unmolested cars off the market.

Those who were kids or those who were otherwise unable to afford their dream car back in the 90's are finally at the income level to afford them.

The European market is hot for these cars as well and some US models are being snapped up and shipped out due to the favorable pricing.

Porsche have been steadily moving away from some of the elements that made the air cooled 911 so loved. PDK and electronic steering and all of the gee gaw gizmos in the newest cars seem to be driving away some of the old time enthusiasts. (This is not my opinion by the way, just repeating what others have said on the matter)

In a nut shell for me, it just clearly means that there is far more demand than supply. Folks seem to be panicking a bit and its causing them to pay more.

From my own personal experience, I had owned a few newer 911's but always pined for a 993 turbo ever since 1996 when I was a poor college kid. I could finally justify a purchase right as the market started really taking off. My search was pretty specific (under 50k miles, arena red with any interior color except for light grey) and it was almost a year of very frustrating searching. Let me tell you that after about 10 attempts at just getting a LOOK at a potential candidate only to have it snatched up before you could get a shot, it was pretty easy for me to feel the sense of panic and decide to open my wallet a little more. You can see it happening now; cars that are priced about where they would have been a year ago aren't even lasting a few days.

ocelotfilm

This may not even be close to relevant to the 993TT market. This market theory is accurate only for assets that are conventionally leveraged, where cheap borrowed money makes for easier acquisition.

So while this is true for, say, real estate and securities, its not true for collectable cars. Most people pay cash for these, certainly few are fully financed, if at all. So the 'cheap money' theory probably doesn't apply.

Sure, money is fungible and the last 7 years have been disproportionately good for the wealthy and their disposable incomes --- which is almost always what is used for luxury acquisitions like these cars.

And yes, there is a l lot of cash sloshing around right now in certainly income brackets -- possibly more than any other time since the 1920's. An overall market correction in ALL other markets, might have an impact on the market in these specific cars.

But its incredibly unlikely that it will be a bubble bursting. More likely, in the event of a correction, the 993TT (and all 993s) crazy appreciation we have seen in the past couple years will level off, return to a more normal 10-15% annual appreciation. But I'll bet against, and give odds, that the market will actually come down.

Can anyone point to a collectable car market that has burst as a bubble in the past 30 years? I mean something relevant to these cars. Has it ever happened before and what did it look like when it popped?

TT Surgeon

In Dec 2011 I sold my midnight on marble 993tt with 38k miles for 69k, and that took 6 mos!
Dammit.

rlme36

Took mine for a drive today. Worth every penny

96PorscheTwinTurbo

And I bought mine in June 2009. Paid $67k with 30k miles. I think I overpaid at the time but I've long forgotten about that. 34k miles now and I wouldn't let it go for anything under $125k. Good thing is that my wife won't let me sell it for any price! She's a good woman.

OverBoosted28

After leaving "Werks", I drove thru Carmel then 17 mile drive to PG. Stopped to take a couple pics. A gentleman was walking his dog and asked if I was "auctioning it off" and "did I know what "those things are going for now"? Told him I'd never sell and could never afford to replace it.

Basal Skull

at the track today, being a little bit faster than my friends' newer p cars - priceless.

Targa Tim

well, you got close to 600hp...

Basal Skull

And worth every penny!

FC356

Just spent about 90 minutes with a steamer and scraper taking old stone guards off before installing new ones on my 97TT. Not selling mine..there is no newer Porsche that I would rather drive. Bought it in 2004 with 11K miles to replace my 96 C4S and now have 36k on it. Runs better every day.

Getting it ready to take to Rennfest in North Ga. Labor day weekend.

Frank

solomonschris

I just watched this year's Mecum Auction @ Monterey. A 1997 tt exactly like my Avatar, that I sold last summer, get bid up to $190,000 not counting buyer's premium. The reserve was higher, and as of this moment the car did not sell. It had 8,000 miles, while mine had 28,000 miles, but still!

overrestored

A buddy and I saw this car at Mecum... it was hard to fault. Basically it was as new... needed a bit better detailing to be perfect.

Boober

The owner is on crack!

For me, it's a real shame that the car probably won't see any significant driving ever again. A 97' model car should NOT be relegated to a "museum" collection, no matter how special.

997rs4.0

These cars are amazing! I drove my 996rs and 997 4.0 last weekend and then jumped straight into the 993tt! I would actually sell the 996rs before I would even consider to sell the 993! These cars are so special....

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