Prices have certainly risen, but trying to buy a 911 right now is like buying a house (which I did in summer of last year). Too many buyers, not enough cars. Just today I reached out to a brand new listing for a 997.2 I saw on Autotrader and the seller replied that the car is already sold! That has happened to me several times already. It almost doesn't seem worth it right now (but will it get better any time soon? Probably not).

 

Reality. COVID happened. Everyone thought oh no, big problems for housing, cars, luxury goods, etc.
Take a breath, market recovered, wasn't the end of the world, AND couple that with, sorry but no one is travelling really at all. Not vacations. Not to Europe or on cruises.
But they still have disposable income, so suddenly the luxury car market went nuts. 992 allocations dried up and discounts went with them.
Trickle that down to the older generation cars. People want them, limited supply, and greater demand. This means a lot of cars are getting snapped up and values of certain models are going up, others are not going down as quickly, etc.
So a 996, 997 (.1 or .2) is sought after, and the market on these cars likely bottomed out 12-24 months ago and are now holding steady or due to this demand, actually rising if the sellers know the current market.

I don't expect it to get better for buyers.

 

Everything luxury is on fire right now. I have friends trying to get nice watches and they are just unable to get one unless they want to pay a large markup. Of course, even with things opening back up and allowing people to spend their money elsewhere, supply will remain very low given COVID disruptions.

Maybe I'll redo my yard instead

 

The Federal Reserve and the Congress are busy pumping $8.5 Trillion into a $21 Trillion economy. Prices are not coming down anytime soon. Best to hold your nose and buy what you like. They will be more expensive next year and even more the year after that. Meanwhile you are getting older, if you are lucky. IMHO: best to enjoy the car in good health, while you can. GLWYS

 

Bring a Trailor today - Sold

32k-Mile 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S 6-Speed

SOLD FOR $58,911 ON 4/15/21

 

https://finder.porsche.com/us/en_US/...rrera-S-311955


This is a certified car that fits most of your criteria.

 

I'm in the same boat. I'm looking for a well spec'd low mile 981 Boxster or Cayman S. Wasn't that long ago, $45k would get you a lot of car. That's what I was looking to spend. Better add $10k to that price to buy the same car today. I'm torn, do I wait it out for when sanity returns, or does it? Buy now and enjoy the car while it KEEPS appreciating. I might just do option 2 anyways and bite the bullet. Problem is though.....There just aren't any cars that fit what I'm looking for. When they do come around, they're gone in hours or even minutes... First world problems.

 

Figure out what you want, look for it on a consistent basis, and be prepared to move on it when the opportunity arises.

But remember, certain cars are appreciating and others aren't. So that is a factor.

 

Depends what you're looking for but I saw the below on PCA Mart. I keep resisting buying a Boxster as I think I get a lot of use out of a 2+2 configuration (which is what I've always had) even though the frunk and trunk are useful. They just don't have the length for things like golf bags, etc. Anyway, this one seemed pretty nice, though no PASM/PTV/PSE from what I can tell.

https://mart.pca.org/ads/49908

 

I was in the same boat, so decided to stop waiting for sanity to return and bought a medium mileage manual 997.2 C4S, it may not appreciate since I plan to drive it and enjoy, but I don’t think I will lose much or anything over the long term either.

 

I saw that one. I check all the sites multiple times a day. It's the only way to find what you're looking for. That's a nice car but I'm looking for specific options. Must have's include Sport Chrono, Sport Exhaust, PASM, and 14 or 18 way seats. I'm holding out until I find that car. Color doesn't matter except black paint or red interior. I may even take that if everything else checks all the boxes, maybe.

 

some of those options can be added still - sport exhaust as the best example. It seems to me that part of what is going on is that the options are returning to their original value. That is to say, if you’re going to spend a $2500 premium on that option already, might as well get something with the harder to modify boxes ticked and just have Porsche take care of the easy ones after the fact.

 

The simple reality is that we have more good days "behind us" than "ahead of us" the older we get.... If you find something that scratches the itch, buy it and don't wait or worry about getting the best deal. Owning is way more fun than waiting for the "market"....