Some truth in that. However, there are some generational differences which may be more desirable to some which go beyond just price; nostalgia being just one. Using some other makes/models as example: 1.) I personally prefer the E46 M3 to anything that has come after; yup...newer ones are faster no denying. If I wanted an M3 again, I'd be looking for an E46. 2.) I'd prefer a 1991/1992 NSX to a new one; yes I've driven both and a 1991 extensively. Just attempting to illustrate that generationally different cars provide a "different" experience; for better or worse. Horsepower is cheap today; a complete and unique driving experience is not. A number of factors are propping up mid-late 90's to < 2009's values but one main one is that some damn good drivers cars were manufactured during this time. And 997.2's are, from my personal experience, are a challenging car to find and some have really shot up in value as well. If the buyer/bidder is the "get the newest you can afford", regardless of other factors, type of buyer then I'd agree that some 996 auctions/sales are getting quite close to 997 territory.

100%. I also get the sense that the typical BaT bidder, removing the collectors and dealers for a moment, may not be the most savvy used car buyer; no offense just a sense. Before BaT, the typical approach was to do a country wide search (Porsche, AutoTrader, Cars.com, Rennlist, 6speedonline, etc.), PPI it & evaluate it, and buy it. Basically you had to go find the right car for you and the general rule of thumb was not to let distance be a limiter; at least that is what I had learned. With BaT, don't get me wrong as there are MANY fine examples, but you are bidding on what is served up to you; it's a little different even though you could say "wait for a 4S" auction or similar. That is not to say that some may be chasing leads on the private/dealer sales sites as well but...

The 2000 911 that went for $46,996 yesterday was won by the same bidder that was in, but did not win, on the 55k 40th from the day earlier. And although this is an isolated example, clearly this bidder seems to have just "wanted a 911". I also found some comments interesting on the TT auction that ended yesterday afternoon; a losing bidder made a statement that the comments in the last 2 minutes of the auction were VERY distracting and could enhance/reduce the ultimate result....I'm sure BaT loves this as I think that aforementioned 2000 that went for $46,996 was pumped up by the comments section.

Anyway....I never like to say never but I do not think I would ever buy a car via BaT.

 

Well...

If the buyer of the silver 2000 996 was a bidder for the 2004 996 40AE which is also silver, then what we have here is a guy that wants a silver 996 in great shape, independent of any other bells and whistles. If he was looking for bells and whistles, he would have won the 40AE.

 

I hope in 18k years all of our 996s are being shown in various museums throughout the galaxy, describing the sheer enjoyment we all got from driving these things!

 

When I was looking, I actually wanted to find a car on BaT. In the fall of 2020, my GF at the time wanted a 911, and we found her car on BaT, a gorgeous blk/blk Targa 6spd. Even at that time I thought I had bid right to the very top of what I would consider remotely "reasonable," but the car was immaculate. That said, there is no doubt in my mind that it would sell on BaT today for $5-$8K more that we purchased it for. Maybe more.

Anyway, back to me.... The majority of examples are nice cars and well documented, and there are some extremely reputable dealers, 1600veloce being one of them. Obviously, there are some 996s that show up that are rats too, I wasn't bidding on those cars. However, at the end of the day, the pricing on every car I had interest in crept beyond what I felt was a reasonable buy, even in this market. And that was typically before the 5% buyer's premium. Ultimately, I knew I had to expand my search and literally went to every major on-line car classified site (also keeping an eye on C&Bs, Pcarmarket, and eBay) and put in my specifics, nationwide, in order to be alerted when one popped up. I broke a promise to myself that I wasn't going to buy a car that I had to ship (have already done that 6 times), but guess what, i found my car almost 2000mi away.

I love seeing the prices of what 996s are fetching on BaT because it definitely impacts the entire market, and for any 996 owner, that is a good thing. At this point however, I would say that (most) savvy buyers aren't buying there (non-GT car) 996 on BaT. The premium paid for the BaT experience is a hefty one.

 

He's actually one of my college buddies. Great guy all around. We've been chatting about getting in some track time together soon.

 

Anthony is a great guy, and Lorenzo too. My ex-GF's Targa came from them, and their shop does all the service on my Z06 and Chevy SS sedan. Top notch. I would use them for the 996 too, but SST is closer, just a convenience thing.

 

You guys watching the "dead cat bounce' conclude?

 

This auction (https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...-carrera-4-44/) has only supported my BaT findings/opinions from earlier. This auction was FILLED with unanswered questions and potential major pitfalls, yet the bids go on. An "educated" buyer (911/996) would rarely engage in this. I just find it interesting.

 

The red Targa that went for big bucks a while back had a bunch of ignored red flags, but they presented the car well, sold high, and it went boom on the new owners drive home across the country.

 

Well.. it just sold for 35k.. and if you read the comments on it.. apparently it was a "steal"...

 

Fair enough. You'd see that it has a replacement engine, that was not disclosed to be a true Porsche replacement (AT) until late in the game. Also, the engine replacement was NEVER documented, huh? In addition, some of the "turbo twists" appeared backwards in the pictures. Also...there were paint questions... Shall I continue? :-) You are telling me an "educated" buyer would engage in "bidding" on a car like that?

I'm only trying to support that a big market brings market and many have no idea what they are doing.

 

Ha! I'm totally with you.. I can't believe it sold for 35k and apparently considered a "steal"..

 

That's because everything on BaT is well bought and sold. Duh.

 

Totally...not debating that. I had made a comment earlier, in this thread, RE the "competence" of BaT winners. It was pseudo contested. ;-)

 

Seems that the animal spirits are alive and well. These folks want a 996. Not necessarily a "well researched" or "fundamentally" driven set of purchases. With the exception of the 40AE yesterday. Maybe the buyer knew what he has, or maybe it was just a pretty shiny 911 that the owner just had to have.

Let's see what happens with the next 2.

one thing is certain, most 996 buyers and owners unfortunately don't know much about what they own. They bought it because it was a Porsche. They may have a rough understanding, but not anything significant. I was no different in 2002 when I bought mine. Took me 20 years of trial and error to figure it out.