Leeroy89

well, to be fair… I discovered after I bought it that mine had tons of deferred maintenance to catch up on. I had to do IMSB, get cam deviations sorted, and a bunch of other things that cost a pretty penny…

bdronsick

Cam deviation: biggest elephant in the 996/997 market room. Takes five seconds with DME to know them. Every one of those seconds will save you two thousand dollars!!

Mike Murphy

A used, base, stock, or otherwise average non-special 911 will often have achieved full depreciation at the 15-yr mark. Those are the cars that no normal (sane?) person wants, mainly because they are afraid or uninformed (and unwilling to invest time) of what could loom ahead for repair bills. There might be some deals at the 10-yr mark for the low mileage examples, especially in a down market (I bought an 8-yr old Boxster S with 20k miles in 2008). But wait too long, say 20-yr mark, and the car is a classic.

So anyone who got rid of their 996 and made a ‘killing’ might consider doing the same with a 991. Plenty of people did this same thing 15-20 years ago with the 911SC, 3.2, and 964. For the 991, you might find that prices for these cars are still a bit higher than expected, but have a look at the mileage. Some garage queens that have low miles can be driven for a few years and the car won’t lose much money because similar cars in a similar price range will be selling for similar prices. So you drive a nice, newer 911 and not lose much money. Repair bills might be super low as well for a cars that’s this clean.

And before anyone starts talking trash about a 991, please review posts between 2000-2004 where it was the same thing, although there was a LOT more hate directed toward the 996 compared to the ‘real’ 911s that came before it.

GC996

I bought mine when it was ~9 months old from the local Porsche dealer. I was searching for one for about a year. Looking at the 964, 993 and 996 new and used.

In 2002 we were coming out of the recession, dot.com bubble burst where the Nasdaq 100 fell 89% from peak to trough, 9/11 and the second Gulf war. Car industry was slow.

Decided on the 996 because it was just a better all around car and the price was right. Still is a better car today than previous models. Less weight, more structural rigidity, better performance, better aero characteristics, and better handling.

Dealership called me up and they had a customer that would buy a new 996 every 6-9 months and trade the old one in and get a new one (think he had a C4S on order). It was the middle of December 2002, 911 sales were slow and I ended up getting a great deal with an extended warranty thru 2008 that got me thru all of the RMS, IMSB seal replacements, go-no-go measurements, etc. Because of the warranty, I over serviced the car in the early days at the slightest sound, smell and vibration. Car had slightly under 10,000 miles when I bought it. Dealership told me that because the owner was a Porsche nut, he over serviced his cars. No one heard of a PPI back then let alone bore scoring.

Optionman1

Saw a nice BaT sale yesterday. 45k mile 01 C4 coupe 6mt for over $35k after fees.

Porschetech3

I think the rock bottom was 10 years earlier, around 2008. I remember the Dealership trading in 996 Turbo's one owners with under 50k miles for $30k .Clean low miles 996 Carrera's for high teens low 20's, , Clean rollers were $5k, and you could get Factory create engines for $7k..........

GT3's were beat up badly also especially if they had any track miles on them. But the word "Mezger" started to buzz around and the Turbo's and GT3's started to go back up, but not the Carrera's they hung around the high teens low 20's for ever.

GC996

Yeah, the 2008 GFC saw everything dip. 996 GT3s were as low as 45k. Turbos for 30k. Everyone was selling everything. Still kicking myself for not buying a Featherlite open trailer with front tire racks for $1,200.

bdronsick

I have a hard time believing rock bottom for a 2005 Turbo or GT3 was 2008

Maybe split the difference between us: 2013?

GC996

Unless you lived thru the Great Financial Crisis as an adult paying bills, not knowing if you would have a job next week, it's tough to fathom the devastation financially on the masses. Everything, and I mean everything was on sale.

​​​​​​Today's pandemic crisis is sprinkled with pixydust and ****loads of stimulus. Hence why everything is going straight up, and why we are going to have a big problem over the next 3 years as the Fed and the world's central banks take away the pixydust punch bowl.

Porschetech3

I remember the times very well.I'm sticking to 2008 being the low price point for 996 as a group.

I had bought my 99 in 2007 as a roller (and overpaid a bit) , but it was Polar Silver, full leather, Litronics, Aluminum package, ( and the engine was in a basket).

In 2008 when we traded in a Turbo one owner with 49k miles and the Dealer gave them $29k Trade-in on a new 997 Turbo. I talked to the GM about buying it ,and mentioned that fact that the $120k car was now only worth $30k in disbelieve, he showed me the market prices at the time. He said no one wants the 996, everyone wants the 997 . Soon after the "mezger" buss word started going around and questions from Wholesalers and customers ect, started being asked and Mezgers started to get praised while M96 got a black eye and the prices reflected the rhetoric.The Turbo's and GT3 got the prices lifted while the Carrera's remained low..

This is why I say 2008 was the Bottom because it was not only the bottom for the Carrera's but had brought down Turbo and GT3 also.

Sam-Son

Pretty cool to have that history with the car

bdronsick

My own experience from that time is I bought a 1999 in 2007 for $25K and sold it in 2010 for $16K. That was the only 911 I had ever lost money on I was shocked. That car probably continued its downward spiral several more years, and is now likely worth my $25K again (way over 100K miles). That was a good car too; all original incl IMSB and ran like a Rolex

GC996

Sure wish I had a crystal ball. Would have made life a he'll of a lot easier. At the end of the day all you can do is buy what's undervalued, hold whats fairly valued and sell whats over valued. IMHO, by any measure, the 996 is undervalued. Now it's just a matter of time.

Mike Murphy

I’m kicking myself for not buying a BUNCH of things in 2008. Mostly stocks and real estate, lol.

GC996

You and me both!