jaymo

All,
I'm debating whether I should purchase a 997 (~ $65K) vs leasing a 991 ( ~$90K).

If I finance the 997 it will be ~ $1K / month for 60 months which is about the same as leasing a new 997. Given, I'll have to finance the 997 at the end of the lease term but I'm trying to better understand the residual value / maintenance costs of a 2011 997 vs a new 991 4 years from now.

Clearly, the 991 will have a higher residual value because it's newer. But if the 997 (assuming CPO) will have minimal maintenance issues in the long run, it may be a better investment. Your advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Jaymo

PasPar2

I dislike long term leases. 5 years is a long time and things change... 2 or 3 yr leases make more sense. Do you really expect to drive the car for 5 years then buy it post lease?

anyhow, strictly financially its always better to buy than lease. if you buy the 997, it will be paid for by at the time that if you lease a 991 you will need to come up with a balloon payment for it or again finance it.

jpoint

It's hard to justify any car from a purely financial perspective unless you buy an older 911 that won't depreciate much or might increase in value if you buy the right model/price. Otherwise - I say drive both cars and get the one you love. The real value in a depreciating asset is the pleasure you get in driving it - assuming there isn't a dramatic difference in expense and/or you don't have an option of writing off the lease but not the purchase, etc. One more thing - if you're considering a tip vs. a pdk - I'd go for the pdk (991).

jaymo

I was planning to sign a 3 year lease on a 991 and then finance the balance. My goal would be to get at least 7-8 years out of whichever model I end up choosing. Am I being overly optimistic with a CPO 997? I am looking at 2010-2012 models.

stpatsday

Q: How is your cash flow? Will it likely improve in three years?

If so, the 991 gives you the security blanket of a warranty. Plus you get a newer car to drive in three years if you decide the keep it. When considering a daily driver, this will matter.

robh75

I recently went through this same thing. I put together depreciation and maintenance models and determined that purely from a financial perspective a late model 997 would be most cost-effective to own for 4 years. A 2011 seemed to be the sweet spot in terms of value, so that is the route I went. Cpo you get 3 or so years of warranty left. I personally got a late 2011 so my cpo runs through November 2017. With 2011/12s you get a significant discount for being right before the 991s came out while still feeling like almost like a new car inside.

Which model are you looking at in each case (mainly base or S?)

One other consideration is if you are considering a base 3.4 991, you may notice it to be less powerful than the 997.2. Yes, the Max BHP and Max Torque are similar between the 3.6 and 3.4, but that does not tell the whole story. If you look at the brochures for each, you will see the power curves - notice the power differences in the lower rev ranges. For example, at 4,500 RPM the 3.6 generates 390NM while the 3.4 generates 350NM. That is a substantial difference (>10%). It is not until you get over 5,500 RPM that the 3.4 catches up. For this reason, if I were going to buy a 991, I would buy an S. it is baffling to me why they would take a step down power-wise in a newer base model, but that is the case. However the 991S is out of my range at the moment. The base 997.2 is great though, it is on par power-wise with the 997.1S and has 997.1S level upgraded brakes too. So a 2011 997.2 3.6 is was what I decided made the most sense, from a max performance/value perspective.