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Sadly as it is, I must end my dream of ever owning a 911. It has been festering in my blood since is was 16 and my Aunt threw me her keys to her beautiful triple black 911. I was instantly hooked and dreamed of the day when one would be in my garage. After putting my kids though college I was finally able to start looking. Then Covid hit. Now I find that any 911 I look at is “very rare” and with it the prices have exploded. I’m stunned that I almost have to pay sticker or close to it to find a 10 to 12 yr old car. So I must abandon my dreams and move on. I hope that every 911 owner realizes what they have and enjoy the ultimate car rather than worrying about what it’s worth. Good luck to all and enjoy your ride. I’ll be in my Toyota dreaming of what could have been as I watch you blow past me. I’ll also be giving you the finger so forgive me.
Sorry for your situation, Trm—I came really close to the exact same fate.
I stumbled into a little bit of money and bought my 2008 C2S in June of 2020, right before prices went haywire.
It was a stretch for me then, and would be completely impossible now with how prices have changed.
So while I am happy that prices are rising (ensuring I'll always be able to recoup whatever I put into the car) I'm really just grateful that I got in while I still could.
Sadly as it is, I must end my dream of ever owning a 911. It has been festering in my blood since is was 16 and my Aunt threw me her keys to her beautiful triple black 911. I was instantly hooked and dreamed of the day when one would be in my garage. After putting my kids though college I was finally able to start looking. Then Covid hit. Now I find that any 911 I look at is “very rare” and with it the prices have exploded. I’m stunned that I almost have to pay sticker or close to it to find a 10 to 12 yr old car. So I must abandon my dreams and move on. I hope that every 911 owner realizes what they have and enjoy the ultimate car rather than worrying about what it’s worth. Good luck to all and enjoy your ride. I’ll be in my Toyota dreaming of what could have been as I watch you blow past me. I’ll also be giving you the finger so forgive me.
I feel your pain. I was planning to buy a 997.2 C2S this year, just as soon as I moved out of another car. Starting late last year the prices started to go up and the writing was on the wall. Eventually the 997.2 was all but out of reach so I opted for damned near everything I wanted on a 997.1. Yeah, I made some compromises and I still need to move out of my other car. But I have one and I’m not worried about future value. Personally I think the entire COVID price boom is obscenely out of control, but that’s the world we live in now. Either a lot of people are going to lose money, or a lot of people won’t be getting into those special older cars. 1Ms, NSX’s, and our beloved 997s are selling for ridiculous money. COVID, FOMO, BaT, impending EV take over and whatever other acronyms are ruining the enthusiast scene for a lot of us. For our sake, I just hope people lose a lot of money so we can have an enthusiast scene to participate in.
Last edited by TerrestrialFlyte; 12-02-2021 at 08:28 PM.
Sadly as it is, I must end my dream of ever owning a 911. It has been festering in my blood since is was 16 and my Aunt threw me her keys to her beautiful triple black 911. I was instantly hooked and dreamed of the day when one would be in my garage. After putting my kids though college I was finally able to start looking. Then Covid hit. Now I find that any 911 I look at is “very rare” and with it the prices have exploded. I’m stunned that I almost have to pay sticker or close to it to find a 10 to 12 yr old car. So I must abandon my dreams and move on. I hope that every 911 owner realizes what they have and enjoy the ultimate car rather than worrying about what it’s worth. Good luck to all and enjoy your ride. I’ll be in my Toyota dreaming of what could have been as I watch you blow past me. I’ll also be giving you the finger so forgive me.
Don’t give up your dreams. You just never know when things might change to your favor. As someone already suggested, buy a Boxster or a Cayman in the interim, as they give you a great driving experience too.
Trm55, I don't know what your budget is but don't give up on your dream. Trust me owning a 911 is worth the wait. Even if it is a higher mileage, or older than you want. There are still some great cars to be had between $30-$40k. It might be a higher mileage early 997 or a nice 996 but there are still good cars out there.
I like this guys videos. The stock market is for investing. Cars are for driving.
I just got a dust cover as a gift for my 911 daily driver. Made me laugh. That car has so many rock chips, been keyed etc... like I'll wax it but it belongs on the road not in a museum. Just got it back from some work at the dealer and they always wash it. The cleanest my car will be until next summer. Doesn't make it any less fun though.
Sadly as it is, I must end my dream of ever owning a 911. It has been festering in my blood since is was 16 and my Aunt threw me her keys to her beautiful triple black 911. I was instantly hooked and dreamed of the day when one would be in my garage. After putting my kids though college I was finally able to start looking. Then Covid hit. Now I find that any 911 I look at is “very rare” and with it the prices have exploded. I’m stunned that I almost have to pay sticker or close to it to find a 10 to 12 yr old car. So I must abandon my dreams and move on. I hope that every 911 owner realizes what they have and enjoy the ultimate car rather than worrying about what it’s worth. Good luck to all and enjoy your ride. I’ll be in my Toyota dreaming of what could have been as I watch you blow past me. I’ll also be giving you the finger so forgive me.
in April of last year I bought a 2010 c2 manual with 92k miles for 41k. It’s not perfect and I did have to put a new clutch and flywheel in but man It’s awesome. I was in the same boat as you. Kept saying wait a little longer and then you can buy etc. don’t be afraid of high mileage. Yes you might need to put a little money into it at the beginning but it’s worth it. Don’t give up the dream!
in April of last year I bought a 2010 c2 manual with 92k miles for 41k. It’s not perfect and I did have to put a new clutch and flywheel in but man It’s awesome. I was in the same boat as you. Kept saying wait a little longer and then you can buy etc. don’t be afraid of high mileage. Yes you might need to put a little money into it at the beginning but it’s worth it. Don’t give up the dream!
This!! It may not end up exactly as you dreamed it would, but get into one and love it and drive it and enjoy the experience. I mean, in a perfect world I would’ve bought a Speeed Yellow 911 in 2011 with all the bells and whistles that I wanted and been happy forever. But that’s not reality. Make what you can of it and live life. I got “stuck” with a high mileage 2006. But it has an aero kit, it’s yellow, has yellow belts, yada yada. Not exactly everything I wanted, but I am enjoying the experience. Compromises will have to be made, but don’t 86 the dream, man.
Honestly it’s paralysis by analysis. I figured I would have have huge S envy when I bought my c2. I haven’t even thought of it once since I bought the car. All I had to do was take one corner in my new ride and I was sold. The old saying still stands. Any 911 is better than no 911.
I sold my '92 triple black cab that I though I would keep forever and be my retirement car cuz 1) I had no where to keep it and 2) it had doubled in value.
Thought seriously about selling the 997 too and getting a turbo, but now they are cost prohibitive. A newer 997 is now cost prohibitive.
Crazy. Gonna just keep the 74,000 mile 997 and continue to enjoy it as my daily.
in April of last year I bought a 2010 c2 manual with 92k miles for 41k. It’s not perfect and I did have to put a new clutch and flywheel in but man It’s awesome. I was in the same boat as you. Kept saying wait a little longer and then you can buy etc. don’t be afraid of high mileage. Yes you might need to put a little money into it at the beginning but it’s worth it. Don’t give up the dream!
I second (or third, or whatever turn I have) this ... last month I bought a 2008 C4S with 75k for $44,000. I searched forever for one with a clean history, low miles, etc. and then this one came along (White was not my first choice, and I did not target a C4S). She obviously isn't perfect... has two small notes on the Carfax (front bumper replaced in an LA fender bender in 2009 but the guy kept it for another 18 months, and then owner #3 did a repaint of the hood when something fell on it a few years ago). BUT mine has had the engine rebuilt (IMS was the main reason), clutch, shocks, plugs, seals all replaced... about 30 pages worth of maintenance items. Did a PPI and she was in great shape (one minor leak that cost less than $200 to replace some more seals, and the front hood switch is poop).
I stopped obsessing trying to find a garage queen and bought something with a little higher miles that I can drive as much as I want without worrying about devaluing her. I had to fly/drive her back 9 hours away. Everyone has different priorities, so mine might not be your ideal situation... but if you wait/look long enough there are "deals" to be had (read as not overpaying 10k due to Covid). But it is not an investment, it is a lifestyle expenditure (my wife calls it my midlife investment in happiness). Treat it as such.
Obligatory car tax (detailer just texted me this after paint correction, ceramic, full detail):
I really thought I would someday have a 997.2 GT3, but just can’t stomach that much $ for a single car, let alone my “fun car”. The price I paid for my 997.1 makes it an easy compromise to do a FSI 4.0 and really build the car to exactly what I want, I will never sell it once I am done. Now I just need to get it done 😁
I like this guy’s videos and have watched this and the previous one from maybe 6 months ago.
Any idea what the new values have done as far as insurance valuation? Does that mean we need gap insurance to cover the difference between bluebook/NADA and what the car would cost to replace, or does the bluebook eventually reflect the current pricing?
I got a lot of crap from friends when I bought a 2010 Targa 4S in 2014 (fully Loaded PDK with 11k miles) for spending so much money on a car. Up until recently I always felt like it was my poorest financial decision, but now it seems like I will always be able to get more than I paid for it. Not that I plan on selling until I can no longer drive. The Targa fits my needs (only having one car) and allows me to even do film shoots out of the vehicle. Film crews are pleasantly shocked when they see my transport vehicle! l recently found a 4.5 foot rectangular case on wheels that fits inside between the seats I can load light stands, etc. I had the car fully custom wrapped last year in Stec film and made a short promo for the installer as a gift, you can see here.
My DD .1 C4S at ~115K looks like crap right now after driving through a deluge of three "atmospheric rivers" within a week here in the Pacific Northwest. I haven't given two cents of thought about the value of my car now or in the future.
I gotta second this whole way of thinking...my .1 has scratches on the flanks from kids bike handles and paint flaking off the front bumper cover after I hit an absurdly tall concrete wheel stopper in a parking lot, but I love the thing and will drive it into the ground...
12-02-2021, 05:07 PM
