Depreciation proof

[Guest]

I am trying to buy a Porsche that will loose as little as possible whilst having reasonable running costs and strong mechanics.

Having been stung by the depreciation on my Boxster S I am giving serious consideration buying a 993, as it seems to be emerging as a bit of a modern classic. My mechanical experience is non existent so I need a car that is going to be new enough to be reliable yet old enough to have taken the hit on its depreciation.

Does the 993 meet the bill?

 

[968er]

Yes!

 

[chrisr]

Yes, IMO the 993 has a couple of factors going for it over a couple of the other variants of 911 , firstly being the last aircooled engine gives it quite a following amongst enthusiasts , build quality if maintained properly ( like any Porsche ) is superb and the car doesnt have any massive achillies heel eg Seals on Boxster .. also they are a superb car although the interior whilst bomb proof in build quality is not that modern and not to everybodys taste , the other thing which really helps is that the car was not built in big numbers and not for a long period of time ..

Like any car buy on condition, I personally dont think we've seen the end on depreciation on the 993 front but a nice example is likely to be pretty solid on values compared to your Boxster for instance but like always buy a poor 993 that may need £££'s spending on it will hit you hard in the wallet , buy a good one and you'll struggle to remove the smile from your face and wont IMO suffer horrendous depreciation.

Chris

 

[Rotorhead]

Generally speaking, older 911s suffer less depreciation, but potentially higher running costs.

For any earlier 911 to retain its value, it needs to be as original as possible, with full history, in first class order throughout, low(ish) mileage and a desirable spec.

The very best buys would be the limited edition, lightweight, driver focused models such as the 911 Club Sport, 964RS, 993RS. Failing that, a really nice 993 C2 6-spd, Coupe should always be pretty desirable.

 

[968er]

It has been interesting over the past 4 -6 months to see a lot of new 993 owners, who have bought at the lower end of the price scale i.e. £20 - 25k and ended up having to shell out thousands for things such as clutches and replacing the suspension, because these are things that will not show up in a PPI but have a finite life. The number of 993's I have been in that have shot dampers is frightening, especially as the owners don't realise it!

Like everything buy wisely and you will have a rock solid car with very little depreciation.

 

[LK_991GTS]

ORIGINAL: 968er

It has been interesting over the past 4 -6 months to see a lot of new 993 owners, who have bought at the lower end of the price scale i.e. £20 - 25k and ended up having to shell out thousands for things such as clutches and replacing the suspension, because these are things that will not show up in a PPI but have a finite life. The number of 993's I have been in that have shot dampers is frightening, especially as the owners don't realise it!

Like everything buy wisely and you will have a rock solid car with very little depreciation.

Yes, possible (but not certain) depreciation experienced when you come to sell versus expenditure during ownership in putting things right.

 

[Alan Woods]

Just my opinion, but I think the 2S/4S cars - now that they are nearer the 30K (or below in some cases) - will hold their value better than the narrow bodied cars. I know a lot of people prefer the Kylies to drive though, but there are a large amount out there, so I think supply and demand will come into play.

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: chrisr

... build quality if maintained properly ( like any Porsche ) is superb...

... and the car doesnt have any massive achillies heel eg Seals on Boxster ..

Surely a bit contradictory...!

IMO low depreciation in an ageing car is balanced, unfortunately, by maintenance costs. Of course, any older car will suffer lower depreciation than a new one, and especially if there is a strong market for it.

Best Porsche bets for holding value are RS models (maybe not GT3 as yet, though) and maybe 993 turbos. Plan should be to maintain it impeccably via respected outfits and not to drive it. (Not ny idea of ownership, BTW.)

 

[angry]

We bought our 993 c2 1995 in mid 2002 for 27k it had done 70000 miles with a poor/patchy sevice history,my wife used it for work every day (winter/summer),it was a terrible 45 min 7 mile traffic jam there and back.Then at the weekends i would take it out and give it a thrashing,it has been serviced once a year until 2005 when we got hooked on the nurburgring.The car went 5 times last year and got serviced twice.
To cut a long story short,the car has not missed a beat and has now done over 100000 miles,its cost us 300 quid a time servicing(im lucky to have a friend who works for porsche) with no extra mechanical costs.
Mid 2005 i did lavish some money on new suspension and a roll cage and some bits and pieces.
Up until that point tho i think the car was still worth between 23 and 25k not bad deprieciation in my book.[]

 

[38F3E1]

ORIGINAL: cgreen69

I am trying to buy a Porsche that will loose as little as possible whilst having reasonable running costs and strong mechanics.

Having been stung by the depreciation on my Boxster S I am giving serious consideration buying a 993, as it seems to be emerging as a bit of a modern classic. My mechanical experience is non existent so I need a car that is going to be new enough to be reliable yet old enough to have taken the hit on its depreciation.

Does the 993 meet the bill?

An impossible question to answer without knowning how you intend to use the car. Is it a daily driver used for business or a fun car? How many miles are you going to do a year? How much are you prepared to pay for one? And most importantly how long will you keep it for?

One thing I can say for certain is that you can loose money on 993s. It's not a case of whatever you buy will keep it's value. It's a question of buying the right car and that depends on the answers to the questions above.

Ian.

 

[38F3E1]

ORIGINAL: oliver

Generally speaking, older 911s suffer less depreciation, but potentially higher running costs.

For any earlier 911 to retain its value, it needs to be as original as possible, with full history, in first class order throughout, low(ish) mileage and a desirable spec.

The very best buys would be the limited edition, lightweight, driver focused models such as the 911 Club Sport, 964RS, 993RS. Failing that, a really nice 993 C2 6-spd, Coupe should always be pretty desirable.

Spot on IMHO.

 

[38F3E1]

ORIGINAL: Alan Woods

Just my opinion, but I think the 2S/4S cars - now that they are nearer the 30K (or below in some cases) - will hold their value better than the narrow bodied cars. I know a lot of people prefer the Kylies to drive though, but there are a large amount out there, so I think supply and demand will come into play.

If the 993 follows the same path as all previous models, what will differentiate price in the longer term will be originality and most importantly condition. There may be some long term difference in price between 96 onwards VarioRam and pre Varioram cars (such as there is between 3.2s with G50 gearboxes from 87 onwards and pre-87 915 gearbox cars) but the various variants (Carrera, Carrera 4, Targa, 2S and 4S) will all settle at around the same value.

I am excluding Turbos and RSs from those comments as there'll be a different market for those.

Nothing but speculation. Wish I had a crystal ball.

Ian.

 

[Alan Woods]

I agree with all the comments so far pretty much, all good advice/informed speculation. Hey, I just didn't want to "big up" the Turbo too much as that'd be the one pour moi[][] Browsing thru autotrader.com occasionally it's surprising just how many 993's are Tip (I'd need 6spd) especially the later cars it seems. My problem is I love the early cars too much right now though []

 

[John Maddox]

I've only had my 993 6 months and already the list of jobs for little things to correct is a long one !! Also I have had a clutch in this short time that failed without warning signs - I suspect it's going to be an expensive car to own but great fun to drive.

If you wan't a porsche that doesn't depreciate buy a good 944 Turbo. That was my last before the 993. Owned it for 5 Years and only had servicing costs and tyres and I changed the belts etc. I lost £600 only when I sold it in 5 years - now that is cheap porsche motoring.

 

[Elliot Davies]

Im also in the same boat.
I previously owned a 964C2 for 3 1/2 years and lost next to no money.
I replaced it with a 2000MY BoxS which has lost me realistically £7k in depreciation alone in the last 2 years, this id say was more or less down to mass producing.
I would like to get myself another air cooled pref a 993 C4S but that would cost me about £13k more for a 3 year older car that will cost more PA to run insure tyre etc
The 986 models have depreciated so im calling it quits afor the mo and stick with the Boxster as its a great car much as id like a widebody 993

 

[Porker993]

Just my two cents worth:

What I've noticed with other cars (e.g. early 911s) is that it's a question of supply and demand. 20 years ago early 911s were common, underpowered and rusty and you couldn't give 'em away. Now they have historical kudos and everybody loves them. (rightly so in my view). There are now very few on the market as many were written off or scrapped, so prices are sky high.

I believe the same will happen with 993s as numbers of original, straight, right hand drive cars start to diminish. Prices may be in the doldrums for a few years, but hang on to it long enough and I guarantee it'll hold it's value. It'll always be a beautiful shape, fairly swift with masses of character. That's the reason I keep mine; I'm not too bothered about whether it goes up or down a few grand in value.

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Porker993

hang on to it long enough and I guarantee it'll hold it's value.

Thanks. Excellent! Contract will be in the post... []

 

[Guest]

Thanks Ian,

I'd be looking at spending 25-30k to try and ensure a reliable car. I would be averaging 7k miles a year comprising mainly short urban drives (supermarket etc) and the odd long jaunt (140 miles plus) to visit relatives. Also I would be attending trackdays 2 or 3 times a year. I would be intending to keep the car 2-3 years.

 

[Guest]

It's a very good idea to work out how much money you will have to set loose on your new purchase so you don't lose too much.

Maintenance bills are one of many reasons why we have depreciation, I'd recommend you chat to a good indie to get clutch, brake, damper ballpark quotes, even things like a top-end overhaul.

I must say my 930 seems to be quite proof against inflation, most money has gone on servicing and things like dampers, brakes, exhaust, tyres etc - all things you need to buy anyway so you do not need to loosen the purse strings too far! I only let JZM loose on that car because my OPC is used to mainly working on the latest cars (and cost more!).

I personally like the 993 TT quite a bit - that would be my 'step-up' car I guess although I might have less chance of losing the license with a cheap and cheerful boxter that has aleady taken the main depreciation hit already.

 

[willstatt]

Most 911's are desirable cars. I think if you really look after one, make sure everything works, the body is kept tidy, and it is properly and thoroughly serviced, then you will always find a buyer at a good price.

Tatty cars, with no history or service records, and with obvious signs of neglect, will rarely find a buyer at a good price.

My '97 993 C4 is in lovely condition: I reckon it costs about a £1000 a year to maintain. It's done 55k miles and I do about 4k miles a year (don't use it for going to work as I can't get me tools in it!!!). It cost £30k three years ago, and I reckon I would still get £27k now because it's such an immaculate; original; genuine car.

I don't believe it's rate of depreciation will increase, and as others have said, as good 993's get rarer, then it's value will begin to hold....that's bloody cheap motoring!

The servicing is a bit irrelevant in my opinion, because all cars need a service, and whatever we have is going to cost us. From my experience, you're as likely to have a large unforseen expense on a 4yr old whatever-car as you are on a 993/other Porsche.

I may need a clutch next year, and I may choose to put some better suspension on, but that could apply to any car, the pleasure of ownership however is something else!

Just my opinion of course

Will