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Been thinking about this recently and curious to hear other perspectives...
Why do # of owners of a car make much of an impact? Sure, it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy when you are the 2nd or 3rd owner but why? When I was in the market for a 997, I considered a 06 C2S with 9 previous owners. Definitely high and makes you wonder if its a game of hot potato with a bad drivetrain, electrical nightmare, or a poorly repaired car. But a proper inspection of the car is all that really matters, right? And I feel like a 911 in particular, is not always a primary driver so that might increase the # of owners being that there are additional legitimate reasons why someone would need or want to sell their car and it might have nothing to do with the condition of the car itself. What I care more about than a low number of owners is how long (in time or miles) the seller has owned the car, if maintenance records are available, and if the car was subject to salty roads.
Agree or disagree?
That being said I ended up with a 997 with less than 9 owners
Agreed. Everybody wants the prom queen, not the one that has “been around”. My dad always bought every one of his cars brand-new for fear even a stray French fry being left under the seat. He was a Corvette guy, and had a bad experience with a few classic cars that were restored to look great but were all duct tape and prayers underneath. After that, he bought a 1990 Corvette and drove it home on a 3 hour road trip. Halfway through, the entire digital dash and HVAC system went dead. Nothing. Several fixes later, the car never behaved correctly again. Huge POS from day 1. He kept it for 11 years, driving basically to and from the golf course only and sold it with about 8k miles after that.
Low mile, 1 owner car. That’s a good thing, right?
I used to feel the same way, but no longer do. There are too many reasons why people own Porsches for a very short period - wanderlust driven trading (like many of us), to buying a “pretty thing” and then realizing the hard way you’re not a sports car type of person (happens all the time) to something as simple as a big event (COVID perhaps) causes a sudden lifestyle change. Not always enthusiasts punting on a lemon.
Do your diligence and buy without hesitation if it checks your boxes. If you change your mind, your just another link in the ownership chain...no big deal.
I’ll admit I’m old school in thinking that if I do buy a used vehicle, I want it with as low miles as possible (under 30k, as I don’t tend to keep any cars much over 100k miles), no more than one or two owners and I don’t like to finance my cars. If I can’t buy it outright, I won’t buy it.
People put too much thought into number of owners. If we could flip in and out of cars every year, financially, we all would. Maintenance records are key or proper servicing intervals. If you don't have that then judge by the overall condition and PPI.
In many ways I'd be more concerned with a one owner car coming off lease where the owner knew they would be turning the car back in, rather than a car someone owned for a year, realized they didn't have time to drive it, or it didn't fit their lifestyle. But I wouldn't judge a car by lease vs own either, or number of owners.
Think my car had around 3 owners before it came to me. Generally I agree, single owner or fewer the better. However, when it comes to specialty vehicles sometimes you have to pounce when a good example comes your way.
I think the rationale is that there are fewer variables. Provided you know that the prior owner didn't mistreat the vehicle. Generally, I trust the PPI, everything else is gravy. Knowing prior ownership history always good, but the PPI for me is the snapshot in time at the current moment that will give you the best current assessment. Choose a trustworthy mechanic that is thorough. Those with the budget to prioritize provenance, will.
As for buying outright, everyone has their own preference. Just because I have the cash to buy it outright, doesn't mean I should. If a bank will give me a 2.5% rate on a used car, why not? There's worse uses of car financing than a 997 (IMO). These cars are near or at the bottom of the depreciation curve. Rare in the car world that you can drive a car for the cost of maintenance.
I don't mind high-mileage cars at all....my only consideration is maintenance. The issue I have with multiple owner cars is that it's hard to know if the car was maintained consistently. That, and the likelihood of lack of mechanical sympathy from someone who didn't intend to keep the car for long. Those are my only concerns. Having said that, I'd still buy a 5 owner car if it checked out, and passed a PPI etc....but I certainly feel more comfortable with less owners (don't we all).
For example, for the same money, I'd buy a higher mile car with fewer owners, vs. a lower mile car with many more owners, all other things being equal.
You're "buying" the previous owner(s) as much as the car. If a 10-15 year old car has had say 8 owners, how well do you think the car was maintained assuming no documentation? Doubtful someone who intends to keep it 12-18 months will do much preventative maintenance, or even properly warm the car up before taking it to redline, etc. Just something to consider among other things.
The last car, I owned for a short time but that didn't effect the level of maintenance and care it got. But I do understand everyone is not me.
There are some really good points being made. I'm just pointing out that a high number of owners carries little to no weight when searching for a car provided you have maintenance and a trusted PPI. Often times, the older desirable cars end up in the hands of enthusiasts, whether it was purchased new by them or it had many owners.
I have had my car since new (15yrs) and have every record and can tell you everything about it - would you feel better buying my car, all things being equal in terms of your color choice, etc, or a car that was leased and / or had multiple owners with only some maintenance records here and there?
Understood that this is more the exception than typical and nothing wrong with that, but just making a point, I guess.
@Sporty To you point, yes, without a doubt I would feel better BUT only because I would get to talk to you, the owner, and gauge for myself how you treated your car. And in my first post, I mentioned how long the current owner had the car is meaningful. For me, its more about having records and a review of current condition. If I were debating between the same spec and condition car, 1 owner with no records vs 5 owners with records... I would likely side with the 5 owner car. Call me crazy.
And congrats on 15 years, the cool factor of a guy enjoying his car so much to not let it go even when something else shinny and faster comes up is pretty nostalgic.
I look at the bigger picture: a lot of owners means it could be a problem child car. And I look at things like service history to judge how well a previous owner kept up the car.
It matters because you buy your previous owners. All their bad habits, poor care, and lack of maintenance. Chances of getting documentation from 4+ owners is low.
'And congrats on 15 years, the cool factor of a guy enjoying his car so much to not let it go even when something else shinny and faster comes up is pretty nostalgic.'
Thanks. You so get me. Its like you know how you say oh I wish I still had that 19xx (insert Trans Am or whatever) . Well that's what I'm going for in another 15-20 years from now, but I'll still have my car. If I have to put in 30+k for a bad *** 4.0+ FSI motor and some light 3 customized Fuch like
wheels at some point, so be it.
I posted the same question on a different thread a few days ago and the consensus was that most people don't care about the number of owners but more about the condition of the car and service history. I personally am OCD about the # of owners and look for 1 owner cars WITH service history. Being able to talk the PO is icing on the cake
One owner on a 15 plus years cars are very hard to find, specially a 911. These cars normally move frequently from owner to owner. If you are lucky in finding one, get ready to pay nice premium for it.
02-07-2021, 12:22 PM
# of owners?
