renvagn

I am curious where people feel the boxster market is falling currently. The supply of cars is significant on the market. On line asking prices seem to be at or above Kelly or NADA values. Worse at P-car dealers. However these numbers don't appear to reflect current economic and real time market values.

Excellence magazine for example in 2009 rates and 05 S any where from $20,700 so-so to 31,600 excellent condition. The depreciation from 2008 to 2009 was on average @ $7,000. Being 2010 with the economy in the craper and despite what comes out of the DC/G.E. propaganda machine, do you think values are adjusted down by $7,000 from the spread?

Mike Murphy

Values will always be different among the different information sources. Excellence is always in its own category. Cars.com and Autotrader are more realistic. Ebay is different still. KBB has always been way off, whereas NADA is closer to the mark.

I think Boxster and Cayenne prices will have more depreciation than other Porsches due to being in the category of entry-level and SUV, respectively.

That said, it only makes sense to look at values in 12-month increments (summer of 2009 to summer of 2010) to avoid the climate variable.

The only way to know what values really are is to know what these cars have sold for after they've sold, and that's information that is highly valuable. Just ask CarMax, since that is precisely their business.

sjfehr

Are luxury car prices expected to rebound once the economic recovery is complete? The value of my 04 986S dropped $8k virtually overnight after I bought it in 2008; seems like that's just temporary and when the economy recovers, demand will push the prices back to about where they were in 07/08, and values of 986s and 996s might actually increase slightly over the next 2 years or so, despite depreciation.

00r101

I doubt it. Those cars keep getting older. In 2011 the most recent 986 will be 7 model years old. If you figure average high depreciation and the 2004 986 cost $50K then it will be worth $9500. Check out http://www.money-zine.com/Calculator...on-Calculator/

Mike Murphy

I agree. Look, 95% of cars out there on the road are just not good investments. A good investment is an asset that generates income. A liability is one that costs money. And a really expensive liability is a Porsche.

My advice for those who don't want to lose money on a Porsche is to not buy one at all.

Rojerlockless

A car, any car will always be a depreciating liability.

sjfehr

I dunno, when I bought my Porsche in early 2008, people told me I was stupid, that I should be driving a clunker and investing that money in stocks or real estate, and not a car with guaranteed depreciation.

Considering how my Porsche's value fared compared to real estate or stocks, I think I made the right investment

racer

Part of this question shouldn't be just on the "value" but on the demand for the product. I know several folks looking for 97-99 year cars, (in particular '99s) because they want to convert them to spec racers. They have noticed a slight rise in value because demand for the car warrant the price to rise.

Following the general porsche value trend is.. value will drop for the first 15 years after production. Somewhere in the 20 year range it maxes out and around 30 year range it starts back up again. Yes its vague, but I think its an ok assessment.

Mike Murphy

Correct, except 1 flaw in the thinking. My 401k lost 41% in 2008, but gained 29% back in 2009. Porsche values hardly ever rebound after they go down.

But really, it's hard to put a value on the satisfaction and utility of Porsche ownership. When comparing the "value," I don't start from zero. I start from what a different choice of vehicle will cost to run. Buying a Porsche can be a stupid or reasonable financial choice depending on the alternative vehicle.