Actually I don't think this is really an off the wall suggestion. Wash it up and take it to Carmax - worst case you waste 30 minutes of your time and best case you may be pleasantly surprised with the offer.

 

Porsches depreciate about 50% in 5 years. Hold out for a few more years, the 991s are going down rapidly.

 

Sounds about right, you can get 991.1's for 40% off of original MSRP now. Quite the bargain if you are in the market.

 

You automatically need to add an additional 2k to that trade in offer due to sales tax credit(not sure what state your in)- haggle a bit more -

 

It's easy to trade a car - no hassle, don't have to deal with tire kickers, idiots, people casing your house, or other jerks, no concern over who will drive your car, you save sales tax, the dealer can take care of the loan if you need one, etc, etc. But you pay for that convenience with a lower value for your car. The dealer takes on all the hassles.

If your car is average, trading may be the way to go. If you not a real enthusiast and don't know that much about the brand, the details of the car, your maintenance, and don't enjoy talking about cars (and its OK not to care about this stuff but enthusiast buyers do care), trading may be a better choice.

Or, you can do the work to market your car and make a few $k more. You detail the hell out of your car and the space where you keep it and show it. Take a bunch of good pictures of every detail like the web dealers do -- put 'em on Google Drive to let prospects see your car in detail before bothering you in person. Organize your records. Write a good ad that highlights all of its positives and place it everywhere people looking for your type of car might look -- lots of free places like enthusiast forums or some paid web sites. Before placing your ad, look at all the ads out there to determine what price you need to offer in conjunction with your great ad to make your car compelling.

Then, make yourself available to respond to prospects when they contact you. In addition to answering questions, ask them questions about what other cars they're considering to see how real they are. Be specific so you can look up the competition and see for yourself. If the other cars aren't local, they'll have expense and hassle to arrange a PPI and ship or drive it home. Your car may be one of very few for sale in your area. When they see your car, make sure it's perfect.

Be prepared for lowballs and callers who aren't really serious. If your ad and preparation are good, a real buyer will call. Discuss if he is ready to buy if he finds the right car. Is his funding already set up? Be prepared to deal a little and know what your bottom line is.

I'm an enthusiast. I have bought and sold quite a few enthusiast cars. In general, car guys are great people and another car guy usually ends up being my buyer. Many times I get asked for my bottom line. I usually reply I put my price out there, it's their turn to offer. But sometimes I just have to tell them. Then they buy it.

An interesting or enthusiast car definitely makes a difference. Your buyer needs to be passionate about your car. If it has nothing to get passionate about...trade it.

For Porsches, documented service history is key, as is a good PPI and DME report to see overrevs. Know the situation on your car. You can have a DME to show a prospect. Accidents, interior condition...if it doesn't stand out, it's just another used car. Spend the money for a good detailing before you sell if it needs it. You have to be realistic about the value of your car as today's cars depreciate.

So, know your car and your ability and temperament to prepare, market and sell it yourself, and if you want to do all that work. Then decide to sell or trade.

Sorry about the long post, I got on a roll!

 

Jast,
Solid advice and sorry for the quick hijack but what wheels specifically are those on your avatar

 

No need to apologize for the long post, it's all good stuff. And I agree with you, and have already come to the conclusion that I am not going to let a dealership fleece me on trade value. I know what my car is worth, I have the records and DME reports, I take good care of it keep it garaged, don't even drive it in the rain and detail it often. It will be worth a little more time and a little more hassle to sell it for what it is worth, and honestly, this whole process has made me less enthused to sell it anyway. After test-driving a few of the cars on my Prospect list, I am not convinced they are worth $25k to $35k more to ME. I may still go through the trouble to put it up for sale to see what happens, but I kind of want to keep it now.

 

My local dealer wasn't terribly interested in my car as a trade - to them it's a liability. They'll certainly take it, but they would give a low offer to cover any risk. My trade-in 911 GTS has 52k miles, so it won't appeal to every potential buyer.


A Porsche will tie up more equity and take longer to move than a Camry or a Fusion, so the cost of selling it genuinely is higher. Retail vs. trade-in is not an equivalent comparison; if the margin between private party and trade-in value on a typical $20k sedan is $2k (10%), then $4k on a $40k sports car that's a slower sale might be very comparable from a dealer's perspective. If you could be confident the car would sell in a week, a smaller margin would work. But they aren't doing a consignment deal - the dealer carries all of the risk once they take it.


My dealer immediately offered that if I find a private party buyer, they'll do the sale paperwork and credit the purchase price to me as a trade-in on the new car to reduce my sales tax burden. That's what I expect to do. And while I'll probably benefit, I don't expect to make much more selling the car than I would just by doing overtime at work. (And I'm no hedge fund manager!)

 

There is tremendous value to some people to go to the dealership, hand them the keys and get in your new vehicle and leave.

 

Fuchs Performance FP-1. Came with the car. I love 'em. I like the classic look. You can see more pics by clicking the links in my signature. Thanks!

 

great thread!

Looking at this from a different side of the equation (private buyer), I'm in the market for my next pCar and specifically a 997.1C4S 6MT or 997.2 C4S PDK... I intend to finance the car and seek the best value. I'm open to higher mileage cars (in fact I'm currently inspecting a 113,000 specimen). I'll drive this car for the next 12-36mos before I jump to the next platform.

for me the challenge is to find a car that is priced within the KBB/NADA spectrum. Although those 'authorities' devalue contemporary cars they tend to more accurately reflect the value within the lineage of air cooled 911's.

I'm open to purchase from a dealer or private seller. What's key to me is to understand the vehicle's maintenance history and current condition with specific insight into welfare of the engine.

Of course, I want to pay the least and get the most car possible. I'm more inclined to purchase an '07-'09 as I think the value of those cars has reached the bottom of their depreciation curve...

I wish you well in your contemplation. If you opt to pursue a GTS or TT (so much more car than a base C2 in my opinion), I suggest you pursue a private sale and price toward the low end of KBB value. Commission a leak down test and computer diagnostic/report to share with interested parties. This will expedite the sale and fortify your position at your asking price.

otherwise get out and drive... 🏎

 

You really think a 2009 is at the bottom of it's depreciation curve? Seems a bit early to me.

 

Agree. I have sold one car to them and gotten quotes for others. They were always fair in comparison to trade in and private party sale KBB prices. Miraculously, the dealer would always match their offer after giving me a much lower initial trade in offer.

 

It is a bit early. I predict that when they start hitting the low 30s that's where they will stay for several years. despite what dealers are trying to have me believe, it isn't there yet. Maybe two years off or so.

 

I would agree. Not sure how you can lump 07-09 in the same group since 07/08 have a different engine than 09. The 09 is much more desirable but prices are still falling. In the 6 months I have been looking for the right car prices have came down.

What I have found regarding these cars, and really any sports car, is only 25% of private sellers are actually ready to sell the car. The other 75% have a high to ridiculous price that they would LOVE to get. There is a 09 C4S on autotrader for $70k right now haha.

Private sellers, unlike dealers, don't know what the cars are selling for (ebay sold listings is the only option) and only know what they paid 2-5 years ago. A dealer knows what they are selling for and what they paid for it a month ago, and how much it's costing them to sit on the lot.