When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
The 996 won't appreciate. There were enough of them made and enough 997s made where the price difference between a 996 and a 997 would have anyone who could step up a little bit in the money department buying the 997 because of the better IMS bearing (from mid-05 through 08) and the so much better interior and exterior aesthetics. 996s will continue to be bought by those that can't afford the 997 model of the same car.
997 values are flat or rising slightly. If that trend continues and the gap between the 996 and 997 of a comparable model continues to grow, then maybe 996 values will rise just a little to reestablish the current price differential, but since cars get bought within a $5,000 range or so depending on options, condition, time of year, etc it will be very hard to gauge a increasing value trend.
I'm in south florida, I do see some real clean 996 cars down here but they're not worth anything. It's worth more to the owner because they know the history and that comes with peace of mind, than to the market or a potential customer. I see a lot of 997.1 turbos down here. I would almost feel comfortable saying the .2 c2s/c4s cars are more rare than the .1 turbos. I could be full of it but it seems that way on the road. Either way I'm just truly happy enough to buy a reliable one, thats one of the biggest factors in my book. I pay the money it better run. Porsche was a risky company for a while i wasn't rich to do business with but when they got it right the prices and markets held strong, they made cars worth buying again with the 997. 991 separate topic. How many 997 gt cars did they make? I could see that being the guiding light at some point.
I wonder if all the bashing of the 1996 (deserved or not) might actually impact its future value in a positive way. Compared to what came before and after, the 996 is not as desirable and does not have similar cachet. So prices and values sink, they get bought, driven and end up as scrap metal. Eventually, there will not be many good examples left and those that remain might enjoy a surge in value and prestige simply on account of scarcity and the fact they represent a particular chapter in Porsche history. I do not mean to imply the 996 is a great car, just that naysaying may, in the long run, revive its image by helping to shrink the inventory such that those that remain may be very good, well cared for, examples. Contrast this with the 997 that has an abundant loyal cadre who care for their cars and plan to keep them for a long time. So the 996 and its owners, probably not soon but eventually, may have the last laugh. As Dennis stated above, who would have figured the Aztek would ever have collectible appeal!
The current role of the 996 as a very critical one at this point. It allows the younger guys to drive and own The 911, building brand loyalty and ambitions of progressing. It drive just like any other 911 but at the end of the day we park our 997s. There is a reason for that as many have stated above. IMO the 996 is a car to be enjoyed and not speculated about future collectability or value.
From my research the 997 actually bottomed out around the same time as the 996. The only reason the 996 is on the way up is the value proposition currently and IMO will never be a collectible compared to 993 or 997. There are many factors that are in play but namely the 996 just didn't age as well as other 911s. I will agree on the price though - late last year you could get a low 100k mile car for 10k and those are sitting around 13-16k now.
The 996TT will continue to hold value too imo but honestly a 997 is a better investment (again in my opinion).
E: For context, I drove my base 997.2 to test drive a 996TT in the same price range. Outside of straight line acceleration my 997 outweighed the 996 in every measurable way for me and was extremely happy with my drive home in the base.
I too cross shopped a 996tt but in the end the 997.2 just looked so much nicer so I went with that. I bet the tt is considerably quicker by a large margin, I am only assuming based on the 997.1 tt I drove. That thing was scary fast.
I think the production numbers for all the water-cooled 911s make it difficult for any of them to be collector cars. The relative rarity of models like turbos and GT cars keep their values higher, but I don’t see base model or S model cars being anything special for the 996, 997, or 991 series cars. It has been interesting to watch the used 911 market. The 993 was once considered the ultimate air-cooled 911, and prices reflected that. It now seems to be slowing a bit in terms of appreciation as people want an older, more classic 911. It’s so hard to speculate with cars though. I’m sure nobody knew that a television show like Breaking Bad would turn the lowly Pontiac Aztec into a collector car, but here we are. They are actually appreciating now.
i think what happened with the 993 was they bottomed out a while back, maybe similarly were perceived as a strong value prop then? Not sure... then journalists started writing about them, they became “the cool car” as the Pontiac Aztec did! Big difference was this was driven by the p car fanatics saying this is the last of an era and the successor having ugly headlights and (gasp) water running through the engine! These factors all make that era “the special one”
Once this pop in value happened, everyone who had one flooded the market but a bit too late where the original buyers who wanted one all got theirs. Now we see where the market has softened due to an influx of supply of 993 cars.
I think the production numbers for all the water-cooled 911s make it difficult for any of them to be collector cars. The relative rarity of models like turbos and GT cars keep their values higher, but I don’t see base model or S model cars being anything special for the 996, 997, or 991 series cars. It has been interesting to watch the used 911 market. The 993 was once considered the ultimate air-cooled 911, and prices reflected that. It now seems to be slowing a bit in terms of appreciation as people want an older, more classic 911. It’s so hard to speculate with cars though. I’m sure nobody knew that a television show like Breaking Bad would turn the lowly Pontiac Aztec into a collector car, but here we are. They are actually appreciating now.
Well, if what many consider the ugliest car ever built is now appreciating, which car would you bet against possibly appreciating going forward? And the Aztec wasn't even a limited production car. Almost 120,000 sold in the US alone.
I think anything can happen. All you need is something/someone comes up with a brilliant idea with the 996 and viola, the price goes up. Case in point with the 964, for many years people shy away because it was ugly, oil leak, mediocre transmission etc. Then comes Singer Porsche. They started to chop up the 964 to re-imagine the old 911 and all in a sudden people started to pay attention to 964 again. Now the price of a decent 964 becomes as much as a decent 997.
Pretty sure this bubble is temporary, overall, but regardign 996 and 997s you get people who were 10 years old when these cars were out get to their late 30s, they start buying them up. So that 20-30 year gap stops these cars losing value. You still losing in maintenance costs of course! But price probably stays ok. 20k for 996, 35k for 997, 45k for 997.2 (or whatever it is, mileage may vary).
what is curious Is I saw POrsche now letting you spec a 992 with all these retro trims - wood, houndstooth fabric, etc. Basically selling you on experience of driving a porsche of 40 years ago, considering they cant compete on performance (because Model 3 Tesla eats you). So that's may be what Porsche is already pivoting to, selling you that special car your dad used to dream about, and trying to connect to that generation when things were a bit simpler and less gender neutral, bla bla. So to me it means some kind of appreciation or flattening of depreciation curve, but only because people in 40+ year old range are buying them. Enough money to benefit from last 10 years of bull market, and also avoid the sustainability Tesla push that younger guys are on.
Pretty sure this bubble is temporary, overall, but regardign 996 and 997s you get people who were 10 years old when these cars were out get to their late 30s, they start buying them up. So that 20-30 year gap stops these cars losing value. You still losing in maintenance costs of course! But price probably stays ok. 20k for 996, 35k for 997, 45k for 997.2 (or whatever it is, mileage may vary).
what is curious Is I saw POrsche now letting you spec a 992 with all these retro trims - wood, houndstooth fabric, etc. Basically selling you on experience of driving a porsche of 40 years ago, considering they cant compete on performance (because Model 3 Tesla eats you). So that's may be what Porsche is already pivoting to, selling you that special car your dad used to dream about, and trying to connect to that generation when things were a bit simpler and less gender neutral, bla bla. So to me it means some kind of appreciation or flattening of depreciation curve, but only because people in 40+ year old range are buying them. Enough money to benefit from last 10 years of bull market, and also avoid the sustainability Tesla push that younger guys are on.
That might be the case, but a new Porsche is always going to cost big dollars.
Along with the 996 Turbo, the 996C4S has always maintained it's value and increased over time. C4S much much nicer body style design than the narrow body 996 and IMO better looking than the Turbo.
Can't stand those rear fender vent openings.
I think the Turbo and C4S will always be desirable and probably the only model to appreciate.
02-04-2020, 10:16 AM
