NiteJav

I am looking for a 997.2 or perhaps a nice 997.1 Turbo. Coupe and Stick are my two must have's the rest of it is icing on the cake. Not a huge fan of the 991 and I won't go into reasons why because I don't want this to side track into a battle along those lines.

After monitoring pricing pretty close for the past few months, it seems 991's are rapidly catching up to their 997.2 counter parts. So you know how I am doing my search, I am looking for sub 40k mile coupe manual cars only.

The price delta from 997.1 to 997.2 is around 15k. A few cars squeak in under that delta but those generally have some accident ridden carfax histories. From what I can tell 997.1's are averaging around 42k, the 997.2 is 57k maybe 58k. That seems like a pretty large gap. Shockingly the 991's are starting to show up at 60k even. (and thats from a porsche dealer with a clean carfax etc)

My only thought right now is Porsche leased the hell out of the early 991's and those are starting to come back right now in droves? Do people not like their 991's? Alternately are porsche owners reluctant to give up their 997.2's? I know not all cars are optioned the same I am just scratching my head over the huge price delta from the early 997's to 997.2 versus 997.2 and 991.

goofballdeluxe

Long gone are the days where Porsche was a boutique car maker, producing small batches of sports cars.

Under VW ownership, Porsche now cranks out as many cars as possible. Expect the 991 series to depreciate along the same lines as any mass-produced car from any automaker.

The longer you wait, the more they drop in value, barring limited edition "special" cars, i.e. GT3RS etc.

DC911S

Lots of people have gone from the 991 back to a variant of the 997. I see lots of used 991's for sale at the dealers now, but very few 997's. Now it might be they don't want to sell used 997's anymore, or they sell faster when they get them in.

Blu311

I want to be clear that I'm not in the group that thinks 997s or 997.2 will be collectables and go up in value - but there are less 997.2 than 997.1 and 991.1 - and the 997.2 is the best of both worlds in many peoples eyes.

The 997.2 came out as the economy was at its worst and was only produced for 3.5 model years before being replaced by the 991. I don't have the numbers in front of me but I have seen them many times on this forum and there just weren't a lot of 997.2 made compared to 997.1 and I believe 991. Add in the fact that they have the newer and more reliable DFI engine, updated electronics, updated LED lights, but still has the classic 997 lines = WINNER! (in my humble opinion)

That's why you see less for sale and that is why they are holding their value relatively well.

goofballdeluxe

DFI is a winner right up until one day you find out that you need to have the carbon cleaned out from all the build up, and VW, er, Porsche's recommended fix is to remove the heads and charge $5000 or something crazy like that.

Of course, they won't get clogged until right after your warranty expires

Say what you want about the old non DFI Mezger, but at least all the issues are longstanding and well known....

LastMezger

Subjectively the 997 feels like a more solidly built car than the 991 and I think the interior materials will wear better as well. JMHO.

Dennis C

I think that the 997 is considered to be the end of an era by many people, and that's probably helping to keep prices up a little bit. The normally aspirated cars with manual transmissions seem to be in demand as the market moves towards dual-clutch automatic transmissions and other electronic gadgets. In the turbo world, many people prefer the 997.1 because it's the last 911 turbo that you can buy with the GT1-derived engine designed by Hans Mezger.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, especially if you want a manual transmission. Looking at normally aspirated cars, I think the 997.1 looks better from the rear than the 997.2, but I think the 997.2 looks better from the front. The interiors are essentially identical, with the main exception being black plastic on the dash instead of gray plastic and an updated PCM unit in the newer cars. Ventilated seats from the 997.2 would be nice if you live in a warm climate.

I think you should decide if you want a turbo car or a normally aspirated car first, because they are quite different. Once you have decided on that, then decide what other things are important like colors, options, etc. Some preferences will obviously dictate a .2 car over a .1 car; things like LED tail lights or DFI engine. If you find what you want in a 997.1 then buy that. If you find what you want in a 997.2, then buy that!

Have fun hunting!

Tcc1999

This. And the worse thing is that, like the RMS/IMS issue, it is a stochastic problem. Could happen early, could happen later, might never happen (well, when I say "happen" I mean "need to be addressed"). I guess the good thing is, unlike the RMS/IMS failure, your engine won't grenade.

(This DFI problem happened on our old A4 with about 15K to 20K miles. Our current A4 with 81K miles seems to be starting to show symptoms similar to those the old A4 experienced, but no misfires or CEL yet.)

Iceter

Meh. None of this has to do with how desirable the 991 is over the 997 or vice versa. The majority of buyers of new Porsche 911s trades after three years. Porsche also has a relatively high percentage of buyers of new 911s that lease, so every year, you see a bunch of 3 year old 911s hit the used car market. Factor in that Porsche keeps its model updates on a roughly three year schedule and the better retained value of 911s over other high-Dollar sports cars and you can see why people lease these cars.

Most new cars depreciate in a decreasing slope line. 911s are no different. As a percentage of original price, the 991s are dropping faster than the 997.2. Barring negative publicity like the 996 got, you will see 991 prices approach but not go under 997.2 prices.

chuck911

The thing that has kept the 911 around and on top for so long is that it is just such a fun and satisfying drive. Yes it is fast, this is important and easily measured. But while its quick and easy to prove the newest 911 is always the fastest, its a lot harder and takes a lot longer for people to figure out if its really as fun and satisfying. Sure to the experienced enthusiast its obvious on first drive. Not for the masses though. Could be this is just starting to sink in.

Wayne Smith

Back to this again? The 9A1 motor injects against the back of the valve offering cleaning. See the attached drawing. This also breaks up the spray to avoid washing on the opposite wall. Does anyone know of a specific case where a 9A1 motor needed cleaning? While this has been brought up as a concern quite often, it appears the Porsche pretty well protected us against this problem.

OP, enjoy your search. I agree with others decide turbo or NA first. Then put together your last of must haves, nice to have, and don't cares. Good luck with your search.

jcsomerv

997.2 is a special car. Intersection of what is proved to be a fabulous NA engine and next-gen electronics and classic exterior. Resale prices are reflective of this and will continue, over time, to reflect what a gem this 911 is.

CAA

Kinda like SAI on the 993's?? How much does that service cost again?

(Rofl, lol, wtfbbq)

goofballdeluxe

Cost me my drill, $8 worth of guitar strings, $6 worth of solvent and a few hours of labor to drill my SAI ports on my air-cooled 993.

CAA

Well make sure you hang on to that 993 you big ole Goofball. Surely you'll be a billionaire by next Tuesday.