Originally Posted by mdosu

Hello everyone, Long time lurker, first time serious poster.

I am the buyer of the now infamous 08 Speed Yellow 997.1 GT3 on BaT. A quick background, I'm a traditional BMW owner, having owned (still own) a E90 M3, F06 M6, E70 X5 and probably many more BMWs in the future. (Prior to this I owned Japanese performance car) I am very well versed on the depreciation and comparable math. My depreciation history with the M cars have been amazing and treated me well (average out to $130-$260/mo lifetime depreciation).

First of all I've read all the comments and analysis on my car. An quick informal summary polling the reactions are (numbers may be a bit off or overlap):

1. Two Rennlisters were comfortable paying (or actually have placed bids) between $65k-$70k

2. Two Rennlisters understood why the car stopped at $73.5 + fees and can be deemed "reasonable"

3. Two Rennlisters simply could not wrap their heads around a 92k mile car and/or such a car with such a history at such a price.

As one RLers said, for an average example with average miles and average condition, it's easy to know the price. We all know TYPICAL .1 sells anywhere (or should sell) between $82 to $95. We all know that the moment a car is outside of "typical", it's impossible to extrapolate value. And this car was in no-man's land.

My rationales (not that I have to defend this, but I will) for the price are the following:

- I saw this as my value entry into GT3 ownership.

- I don't want to pay $80s or $90s + fees. Those who says, "well another $10k will get you etc...", may I please come over and pick some money off your money tree? A budget is a budget.

- This car is local.

- There are easily 4-6 people (those who bid and those who posted here) by my count who were all in the same mindset that this car is valued at somewhere between mid $60s to low $70s. Including myself.

- I too valued this car at $68 like many interested parties who showed their hand. Ultimately, it came down to who valued it "marginally" more than the next guy, and at what marginal amount does it cause you to fold and drop out. My marginal buffer was up to $73 + fees.

- This car got alot of attention in local car groups. My friend told me his group had intense interest on it. Two of his friends were in the $70s themselves, but they got cold feet when the number hit $70 and they had to bid the next increment.

- I got indications that there were remorse from some interested parties in bay area that they "let this one go". In a sense, they didn't think clearly where that marginal amount was. Surely it sounded like someone would have been happy to take it for $74.

- Ultimately, with enthusiast cars, you're buying the buyer. The buyer was transparent and the car was clearly taken care of. The mileage is in rarefied air. Sure we know of GT3 owners in the 60k or 70k, miles, but in my M car ownership experience, once you get to the 70k-100k mile area, it all comes down to maintenance and care. There is no direct linear discount you apply per mile for an enthusiast owned car.

- My projected ownership horizon is 5+ years.

- My projected use is 50% canyon carving - 49% street.

- Speed Yellow. Do I need to say more? (not sure I agree that it's a $10k premium by one RLister's valuation, I'd say about a $5k premium in my book)

TLDR Version - My valuation of this car, a 1 of 8, 1 of 58, well cared for, non-tracked, clean DME, PCA member-owned, maturely-driven car was well within (3%-5% of pricing) the 6-8 legitimate buyers' (vs "keyboard buyers'") pricing range of mid-$60s to low-$70s.

Based on the trajectory of what we all believe is what's happening with GT3s, and the trickle down premiums we're now seeing to the 997/991 Turbo's, GTSs, 6MTs, etc, I'm pretty sure if/when I'm ready to sell, my depreciation, if any at that point, is well countervailed by the smiles/mile/year of my ownership.

Originally Posted by pissedpuppy

don't sweat the BS, it's a great looking car that was maintained and suffered a little bump (and repaired well, or so it looks, and I see metal - not mud).

it's averaged roughly 6500 miles per year (which is nothing for P-cars, albeit seemingly high for a GT....a reality, if not BS in and of itself).

it has one of the best engines ever made by the marque, and they aren't making anymore like it

enjoy in good health, it's an awesome car - I bet you're gonna be pleasantly surprised! O-H

Originally Posted by Therosser77

Congrats! I saw the car in person and was a bidder. I was hoping the millage and paintwork would scare everyone away, but no! haha!

Enjoy, seemed like a very well sorted car.

Originally Posted by mdosu

Thanks! Just curious, what was the number you had in your head for your limit?

Also, I did a similar thing a few months ago for this car: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...e-911-turbo-5/ I was hoping accident damage and mileage will scare the weak hands and depress pricing to $70s-$80s. Boy was I a fool.

Originally Posted by idk_alex

I spoke with every dealer that serviced this car since it originated on RL back in 2013. Everyone had awesome things to say about the car but it came up that there was paintwork and no one knew why. Long story short I was able to get ahold of the owner and he gave me the full story and was very forthcoming. If you want this car deal with him directly and your expectations will be inline vs dealing with the dealer.

Long story short, car hopped a curb in Mar 2020 which resulted in an insurance claim in the low to mid 5 figures. Body Work on Right and Rear of Car + Suspension + Wheels + Undercarriage, etc... You know the normal things that happen when you hop a curb in a GT car... It was all repaired by a local Porsche Dealer and does not appear on the Car Fax.

I live on the East Coast and never laid eyes on the car so I really have no opinion on the condition at this point. It could have been repaired awfully or it could be brand new car on the undercarriage / right side / rear end and the new buyer gets a good deal. The big issue with me is the dealer set an expectation that was so out of line from reality that I lost any faith in the transaction and the whole transaction was extremely high pressure until dealing with the actual owner / consignor.

TLDR - Car hopped a curb in 03/2020 with a massive repair bill; talk to the present owner directly if you want to move forwards.

Originally Posted by Robocop305

You did good. I rather have a GT3 than a Turbo any day. There is no better sound and engine smoothness than a normally aspirated Mezger Engine.

Originally Posted by mdosu

Yeah, the Turbo tries hard to be a straight line performance car. Problem is, I would be coming from a 600 horsepower turbo car myself. It was very underwhelming power-wise when I drove it. Still a good combo of short wheelbase, power and weight, but at $90k, I definitely would prefer the driving feel of the GT3 at that price.

Originally Posted by mdosu

Pass, my infamous old yeller with parking lot damage and sky high mileage is better!

Originally Posted by XrussianX

I’m waiting to hear what the wife thought after you broke the news😆 I bought my RS and the first time my wife saw it was when I pulled in the driveway. She’s looking at me like 🤨?!?!?!?
Congrats on the win. My RS is of the higher mileage and I’d prefer it that way. I drive it without worrying about the monetary value lost cause I gained all the real value she could give on every drive. Enjoy

Originally Posted by osu s2k

ahhh. Go bucks. This is my only yellow car, looks better on the gt3. Im another mdosu ‘97. Congrats on car!

Originally Posted by mdosu

So basically it went down like this...

Background: Since summer, I've showed wife ads of various cars I told her I was making offers/bids on. Needless to say, my offers all came up short. *Note this very important for those taking notes! By coming up short numerous times, it gave her an sense that I have lots of restraint about the budget etc. In fact, there will be days where she asks "so whatever happened to that _______ car?" To which I would reply, "pricing didn't work out". Also note, never are numbers ever used. Just words "pricing".

Also, wife is a "numbers person", so I got to bring my math game.

T-1 day
15 hours before auction close, I introduce her to the car. Shrug it off and said: "there's an outside chance I might buy this one tomorrow". At this point, she's preoccupied with something, she glances at the ad and just asks "you sure you like yellow?", to which I simply shrug and mutter something inaudible and walk away.

T0 + 2 hours after auction close
I break the news to her. Everything is silent and I feel uneasy. Initial reaction is always shock. Porsches are always something that I talk about, but never anything she thought was within reach, not desirable Porsches at least. And she knows what a GT3 is versus some poverty spec Macan for example.

Then she questions how I got it for $73 (I never mentioned the $500 part of it, for those reading this is key to always round down!), To which I reply about the mileage.

At this point I'm playing full defense. I break out all my numbers. I lean on how my M car ownership has shown that I have a good track record of estimating and managing depreciation on expensive cars. And that I'm almost sure I'm driving this car virtually for free. I make empty assurances that I would not be buying a Lamborghini or a Ferrari anytime soon. She simmers down.
.
T+1 day
I get lucky and I find a local buyer for my M6 at a good price. I tell wife about the reasonable depreciation that I ate on the M6. Things start looking up for me at this point.

I then give her some examples of cars that I was looking at back in 2017. 997.1 Turbos, 997.2 GTS, a M6 6MT, and then I quote her current values of those cars versus what they were worth back in 2017, leading to the conclusion that if you find the right car that the depreciation would treat you well.

I cook dinner this day, and put the kids to bed by myself.

T+2 days
I'm still alive. Deal is going down Monday.

Originally Posted by GT-HP

Anyone know this GT3 2010? Seem like a decent deal

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=282049105

Originally Posted by GT-HP

Anyone know this GT3 2010? Seem like a decent deal

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invent...ting=282049105