FlatSix911

The Sales stats support the idea of continued depreciation for the water cooled cars ...

Selo

How do production numbers of the 997 compare to the 993? Low production numbers with a popular vehicle should favor keeping the prices higher, especially for specialty models and low mileage examples.
For instance, I'm lamenting that I'll never again be able to order a Turbo manual. The 991 turbo is a nice car, but no MT available. This is going to keep the price higher on the 997 Turbo 6 MT, I believe.

Edgy01

If you're obsessing over depreciation on cars go plunk your bucks down on real estate in key markets. Subsequent Porsches are better designed, and manufactured than their predecessor models. Thus, the depreciation on a 996 will continue to be higher than that of a 997. I wouldn't bother to factor in production numbers into that because there are plenty of buyers for a great car irrespective of its age. The 997 has proven itself better in both mechanicals and aesthetics over the 996.

jumper5836

I don't belive that. 996.2 vs 997.1 are basically a face lift but added with extra weight and gadgets. Both engines are terrible.

997_rich

Average sales price data from this year (granted this is for all 911s, no matter what the engine etc) supports:

• There is almost no difference in the price depreciation curve for 996 vs. 997 or 997.1 vs. 997.2
  
• There is something special about the later 993 years.
  
• There isn't a strong knee in the curve where the price is dropping dramativcally or where the price really goes totally flat.

It's fun to analyze but I certainly hope you're not making car choices based on depreciation curves. If you can afford a Porsche just buy the one that you love and you'll be happier than the one that has the best depriciation curve. A porsche is a terrible "investment" unless you're buying a museum piece 550a or something.

FlatSix911

The low annual production numbers of the 993 will never be seen again by VW/Porsche ...

Para82

How are these engines terrible? My 05 997S pulls like a beast and revs happy all day long!

CarreraX

They are awesome when they run. A percentage of them have issues with self destructing themselves. That's a whole different topic. Search, IMS etc. The actual % of cars isn't known. This is not to turn this into an engine topic. There are enough of those.
And regarding 996.2->997.1 just being a facelift, that is just funny. It is always the 996 guys that say that. If a facelift includes bumper covers, headlights, complete interior, rear quarter panels, front fenders and all the other stuff I guess you are right. Now back to values.....carry on.

Palumbo

I indicated no less than $25k because I believe there will always be at least a $10k difference between between a comparably equipped 996 to that of a 997. Similar to what we see between the 911 vs 993 market. I don't think the 996 will ever go below $10k unless you're going on wholesale value or a privately owned basket case with no documentation. The biggest fear among any future owner will be reliability and cost to repair anything which they wouldn't be able to do themselves.

I also agree with Mark. The 997 was a turn back in the right direction, that includes the interior styling as well, just a facelift umm.. no.

btw, if you want to talk about depreciation, just look at any AMG Mercedes, talk about a joke.

perfectlap

but let's not overly-romanticize the old stuff either. At least a 996/997 engine doesn't need $7-12K in front end work as part of "the deal".

The ratio of second-hand Porsche buyer to mass produced water-cooled Porsche is the issue. ubiquity. They could be better than air-cooled on every buyer consideration and still could not sustain their prices unless the number of people interested in buying out-of-warranty Porsche suddenly spiked. The average motorist fears the costs of running a Porsche and will continue to fear it.

The ratio of second-hand Porsche buyer to limited production 993/964/etc., will will continue to favor the seller unless the already limited number of buyers all became poorer at once (credit crisis) or decided they all want old Ferraris instead. unlikely.

The merits of mass-produced water-cooled Porsche are not nearly as relevant as are their production numbers. The second factor would be cost to operate, and like production numbers, here too the 997 has no great value-sustaining advantage in the long-term.

KNS

Interesting to note that US sales figures of 997.2 cars are similar to the US sales numbers of the 993. That may have an influence on values ten years from now.

perfectlap

not having a non-serviceable IMSB would help too.

KNS

Certainly will.

Mark Harris

+993 or uh..make that +997.2.

1997-6,187 units and 2009-6,839 units. Guess I will keep both of mine.

Amazingly close numbers as you point out.

Comparatively speaking 30,928 - 997.1's and 18,592 - 997.2's is a whopping 49,250 997's.

Compare that to 24,041 993's.

That's 23% more in just the 997.1's than all 993's brought into the US.

Stop reading this thread and trade your 997.1 for a 993 as they pass in opposite value directions with no turning back. (Only joking..a 993 is a very bad decision for a daily driver)

All air cooled 911's (911's, 964's & 993's) are leaving the US for Europe on a daily basis. A couple years ago I made the mistake of selling my 96' 4S to a German broker. His US shipping agent told me he was taking 30-40 cars out of the US per year. Then in Feb. I followed up with the owner of my old 88' Targa in Dallas. He had just sold it to a buyer in Italy for full asking price.

Both these transactions took place within 48 hours of ads placed. No PPI, no BS, just wire transfers.

Fishdoc

Mark those are great numbers comparisons on topic at hand. But let me ask and I believe your answer is sincere..... Which Porsche do you like driving the best?