Marv

Depends on the economic market, but side by side my money would be on the 993 returning a better price than a 996 over the years.

The exception might be a 996 GT3.

911Dreamer

I remember a time when the 964 was the redheaded child of Porsche and now even those cars are bringing in a prem...I could care less about resale value....its more about getting myself into the best 911 I can for a price that I feel is worth it and not what investor or crazy markets are at. 996 for the price is that car...

Capt. Obvious

If you want a weekend toy, I'd go with a 993. If you want something for daily driver duties, I'd go with a 996.

The 996 is a better car, but the 993 is a better Porsche.

relinuca

As a former 993 owner (a '96 and then a '97) and current 996 owner, I kind of agree with what everyone above has said.

But the bottom line? These are very different beasts, and the differences become ever more apparent if/when they are used on a daily or near daily basis.

So 993 vs. 996...it depends on many factors. There is no consensus on this.

relinuca

911Dreamer

Test drove a 996.2 today.....Wow... I wanted to get a 993 before ....I wouldn't even go there anymore....The coupe I drove had punch and a precise feeling all in one but with a rough ride still....reving that engine is a different feel than my 80s SC and I could care less about the SC now...Im hooked...Have a test drive in a cab planned this weekend....Looking forward to it

Marv

I would not rule out a 997 if you have the funds available to stretch that far. There were a number of improvements made to each new model and as always, the general rule applies - get the newest car you can in good condition, of course.

perfectlap

drive it very little.

my watching of 996 prices lately seems to indicate that the non-GT3/Turbo 996 are losing roughly $10-15K in value as they go from 50K miles to 90K miles. So a $30K 996 with moderate mileage will be a $14-$20K car by the time it its high mileage territory after 4 more years of driving. If the 996 has well north of 100K miles it's can be had for $10-$12K right now.

The resurgent 993 pricing is simply a matter of too few cars for their particular market of interested buyers. They barely made 2,700 993
s in the whole U.S. in its final year. OTOH I'm not sure if 993's hold such stellar value if the owner actually uses it for what they were intended for (driving) and starts pushing the odometer nearer and nearer to 100K. If the 993 can still hold high value with that kind of six figure mileage, then that'll be something else.

The market for second hand, out of warranty Porsches is not remotely large enough to asborb the number of 996 produced. Ditto for the 997. My last visit to Autotrader pulled up over 1,000 water-cooled Carreras, that's 100 on each page... times ten. insane.

911Dreamer

That means I can get a very good deal and a great effin car!!!

perfectlap

and next year, you'll get an even better deal. It will be a buyer's market for water-cooled Porsches for the indefinite future.

Add up all the Caymans, Boxsters, 996, 997 and 991's....we're talking so many cars its just getting to ridiculous levels of attrition that would be required to hold water-cooled Porsche values. Hopefully the 9A1 engines will plummet in reslae just like the 996 and 997.1.
987.2 and 997.2 are pretty high -- for now -- mass production will fix that in due time though. It seems to me that the new motors are going to be the 'go to' Porsche engine for years to come and based on what those who've torn them apart have noted, they are substantially better than what's found in the huge supply of 996 and 997.1 for sale. In other words you might want to sell your 996/997.1 now if you don't intend to keep it forever.
Even the 996 Turbo's are dipping into $30K's with nothing near high mileage so even the Mezgers aren't all safe from the bargain bin.
But as you say, this is a good thing for second-hand buyers...Porsches were meant to be driven and not meant to sit in a garage like a baseball card with four wheels.

buzztt

where did you get this figure from ?

bzliteyear

i'm very happy with my 996 C4S and i bought it as a fun toy because i it brings me LOTS of smiles every time i drive it, and that other than the ims/rms/clutch(which i just got done), it should bring me years of joy with less depreciation than a new honda accord(notice how i am not comparing it to 993, which has its own o2 sensor issues which can be quite expensive to repair).

to me, the 993 is a collector car and i'd love to have one(and wished that i kept both my previous 928 and 89 carrera cab), but overall my investments have done waaay better than owning the 993. besides, collectors wouldn't do it to make money as much as they enjoy "owning" it.

lastly, i do think we're close to a price floor for the 996s, especially clean and more rare ones, ie. C4S or some nice cabs and turbos - perhaps not quite there yet, it is especially close to bottom for the C4S, esp those who are buying them for around $25k.

Patrick