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Uncharted Waters?

So the big question is: Have the 996 prices bottomed out?

The problem is that it's predecessor (993) is a different animal and because it is air cooled or the last breed of the air cooled the prices are high and are in-fact climbing up. So where does that leave the 996? Are they eventually going to be only as expensive as the engine core? How does the future look for us 996 owners?

Look back into Porsche history and you'll find in almost every case that the newer model Porsche was rarely perceived to be 'better' than the then current offering. From the 356 on, the newer models were not recognized as being better than the one that preceded it. Time has altered the values and as Porsche models get older they seem to increase in value, like the current SWB cars of the 60s and the SCs etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rubik (Post 11877871)

Car prices are like stock prices. One can offer an opinion prices have bottomed out but it is not until some time in the future one can look back and know where the bottom was.

Hindsight is 20/20. Foresight not so much.

Find and buy a good example. Avoid if you can overpaying for it. Take good care of the car, service it in a reasonable manner, on a reasonable schedule, take care of the little things when they appear and just as important enjoy the car.

If the car is to increase it in value it has a better chance of doing so with the above in its past.

Or you can just shove the thing into a barn somewhere and wait 50 to 100 years. Pretty sure 996 prices then would be up, for all one of them still around.

I find the 996 maintaining between %15 and %25 of it's original retail value to be quite amazing. Just compare that to virtually any other sports car in the same time frame, including the Boxster. These cars are not investments and they probably won't be for many years if ever. They maintain their value because of what they are. Just great freaking cars for the money. I think what will eventually kill the value even further will be the inevitable improvement seen in the low cost segment, BRZ, pony cars, etc. When econoboxes can do 0-60 in 5 flat then our beloved 996s will depreciate down to Jaguar XK money :crying:

The prices will fluctuate with the market and the economy as a whole. Right now 996s are excellent cars at bargain prices. So were the 993s a few years ago...and the 964s. Did these cars change? No, the times and economy changed. Now one could say they are worth more than they are worth...in terms of basic mechanical fundamentals compared. Not only are the last of a model often highly coveted...so are the first. And sometimes the last of a model (think VW Beetle) are the worst examples...and sometimes so are the first (think the 6 cylinder Corvette).

In terms of the market, the base C2 is almost always the last to rise in price...the turbos and the S and 4s will all make their moves upward first. And the beaten up beaters and salvage titles have to decompose into parts for scavengers. I paid probably top dollar for my car in September of this year. But I think that even as I add miles to it, the car's retail price is still close to what I paid. Consider that a 2015 version of my car has an msrp of about $95,000.

Every day I drive the car I appreciate it more. At this point in time I have no interest in resale value because I have no interest in selling it. It is a great car. It was great when it was new, and it is great now, 11 years and 42,000 miles later. Period.

Prices are about supply and demand. What is never mentioned when talking about the relative price of the 993 and the 996, is that Porsche was going broke during most of the 993s production. Porsche only made 68,029 993s over a six year production run. That means Porsche sold on average about 12,000 993s a year. In contrast, Porsche sold 175,000 996s over a seven year production run. Porsche sold nearly half as many 996s in 2002 alone (33,000) than they did 993s in total. So there is a ton more 996s to be had than 993s making the 993s more valuable.

It is funny how the "purists" all claim that the 993 is so superior to the 996, yet Porsche couldn't sell them to save their lives. Either Porsche had the worst marketing in the history of the world or the 993 is not all it is cracked up to be.

There is always going to be a market for 996s because they are amazing cars. They are not going to go the way of the 928 or the 944 because they are still 911s and they are just a ton better than those cars. The value of 996s, however, will never be as high as the earlier generations because the numbers are so much larger.

I think the values are going to stay about where they are for the next five or ten years. People are starting to figure out what a bargain they are. You are talking about getting a car that has real super car performance for less than 30K right now. No amount of "but the headlights are ugly" or "but but the IMS bearing" is going to keep people from taking advantage of that kind of a bargain. But the huge numbers of available cars will keep the values from rising too much. Eventually as more cars finally give up the ghost due to wrecks or other catastrophic failures, the numbers will start to decline and the values will start to go up.

The thing about them being affordable is that you see people who don't have the knowledge or money to properly maintain them buying them. Those people are just going to trash their cars and move onto another further reducing the supply.

I'm betting the MkI 996's are about bottomed out. I see lots of them at around 17k, and some even cheaper. Don't see them going much lower.

I looked at 993s a long time, for lots of years, but they were never under 20k. When they bottomed out, even high mileage cars were $25k. "S" models at $30+ of course. All said though, I'm glad I got a 996 instead, it's just a way more useable car IMO.

Normally, we look at the history of the predecessor and say well how did that turn out, then expecting a similar depreciation curve. But 996 was the beginning of a new era for the 911, hence the title of my thread. When I look at how difficult it is to find an engine replacement, I realize that my car will probably not go lower than $15K, as long as the engine is in good shape. So on-going maintenance is a huge factor. Also, yes, there are owners out there that may be clueless about CEF, etc., so I expect they would exit the sector sooner along with their car. But looking at the numbers, it is reaffirmed that the 996 is a long way from becoming a classic.

On another note, I am amazed at how much the E30s are now craved after. My brother has an E30 M3 and he is holding on to it. I'm afraid my 996 will not be as desirable in the near future.

When I finally decided to buy, the thought of future resale or investment potential never even crossed my mind.

I would take a 996 over a e30 any day! And I am a BMW guy!