Former keeper / Resid values

[lord n]

I would very much like peoples opinions on whether numerous former keepers on a 996TT would putt off the majority of buyers. I have found a car, imaculate condition 14k miles but it has had 4 previous keepers on the log book which would make me the 6th owner. I find this a bit worrying given its only a 2004 car.

This the only thing putting me off, I appreciate people "live" the turbo dream then wake up to the reality of running one of the cars, but I am concerned that I might never be able to sell with those number of owners.

Is there any way you can get a list of the previous owners ? Be interested to see whether they have all been private owners or ex demo, finance houses etc etc

The car is in superb condition, doesnt want for anything but with plenty of second hand exmples out there I am tempted to just keep looking.

Cheers
N.

 

[Rotorhead]

It's true that there is a stigma that affects cars that have had a high number of owners during a short period. Traditionally, this was because it was perceived to be a 'lemon'.

Many people will say that it doesn't matter, but for some reason it does. Like personal imports or cars with higher mileage, there are arguments why it shouldn't matter, but the market in generally seems to think it does. Conversely, the market seems to like 'one owner' cars.

In practice though, if had been re-sold by an OPC or reputable dealer each time, it should have been thoroughly checked and prepared before each sale, so it could be in well above average condition.

Best to check why it had so many past owners and use it in your negotiating.

 

[996_STEVO]

I don't want to sound cheaky, but if you are buying a Turbo just to worry about residual values, forget it!

 

[Dylan1]

i was told porsche owners change their cars frequently-ie every yr to 18 months(opc info)so 4 owners in 3 yrs isnt too far away to affect things too badly imho.
they prob couldnt live without one then found they couldnt live with one......their loss your gain


GO FOR IT[]

 

[Guest]

How long do you plan on keeping it for? If you say keep it 2 years then at 5 years it would have had 6 owners which isn't too bad. I owned a BMW M3 CSL and these cars changed hands frequently early on. I bought mine being the 5th owner which did slightly concern me. When I came to sell it a year later quite a few buyers weren't interested due to the number of owners but bottom line, someone did buy it eventually and the no. of owners didn't worry them. If the car is tip top and the history is fine then the only thing you need to worry about come time of selling is that you might need to be a little bit more patient than if you had a 1 owner car. Also, the price you are buying at, are the number of owners reflected in the price or would the price be the same if it was a 1 owner car. Also, one final thing, bear in mind that the 1st owner may well have been Porsche as it may have been a demo.

 

[SCOTJC]

My Humble opinion. I had a carrera 3 year old, that due to a major mistake by dvla/opc ended up with five owners instead of 3 (took me 9 months and loads of letters to try and get it sorted to no avail) and when i phoned around dealers etc to get a market price a few knocked quite a bit off for the owners and some said they weren't interested at all. I eventually got a dealer to settle on what i thought was a fair price, so to some it probably doesn't matter but for the majority i'd say it did. But if your planning on keeping it for a couple of years or more it will matter less surely? As for residuals i just try and get the most for my money with as little risk as poss for the future but i still feel for someone of my income its something i have to consider carefully, sometimes it works sometimes it don't! (depending on what age of rs4 you have you might be finding that out yourself just now steve!)
ps the funny thing was the car was immaculate, easily the cleanest and most original one i'd seen upto then or since for its year.

 

[lord n]

This car is the same, its an absolute minter, by far the best I have seen. Just had an 1800 bill from OPC including warrantly renewal, service, tyres, everything done. There really isnt a mark on it and I am guessing at 14k miles its barely run in. Current owner put on 4k miles in 13 months, he just doesnt use it as he walks to work !

I am not one for changing cars every year, so would prob hold this for at least two years. I am not worried about the residuals as such, I have a 15 month old Cayman that I bought new which has depreciated like crumbling massonery [] My worry is more that a OPC wouldnt touch it say in a few years if I wanted to trade up to a 997TT. Its apparent the seller is struggling to sell it which surprises me given its condition. Can only assume the no. of owners putting people off.

How do you get a list of the previous owners ? I tapped up my contact at my OPC to see if he could let me know the history but becasue I wasnt buying the car from him he wouldnt play ball - data protection act blah blah blah

N.

 

[Mark Elder]

DVLA will give you a list of all the previous owners if you write to them with a good explanation as to why you need it. BUT it takes weeks, so is not much use for your purpose.

Does the seller not have a good documentation pack (I've worked out who all the owners of my (11 year old) 993 were just by looking at addresses on invoices in the documentation pack).

 

[lord n]

Full documentation pack, but as its only done 14k there isnt a lot in it !

From what I can gather its had 4 owners in its first year which I would say is abnormal. However I am sure there was a 997TT for sale on here with very low miles (4k ?) with 3 owners already wasnt there ?

N.

 

[jdpef356]

Lets think - Has this had four private owners? Could it be that it was registered and then used as a demo from a OPC?
In the front of the handbook and service record should be the name of the first owner - check this out, then look for the next date in the service log - which garage carried out the service ? You need to track the history from start to end. Ring the garages.
If it were me and I had even a smidgen of doubt about number of owners (or anythng else) Walk away now.
Its no good buying and then trying to sort things out. Another car will be round the corner with all the elements esential for
your peace of mind .

John

P.S. Also in the service log /owners hand book should be the list of owners/address - you could put a returnable deposit on the car subject to you contacting owners etc.

 

[964RS]

Bear in mind that many people buying this type of vehicle put a cherished plate on it. Unfortunately: this been known to be logged as a change of owner. Therefore the number of recorded owners may not be as bad as it looks.

 

[Rintoul]

Whilst there seems to be a view that there are lots of 996tts out there for sale, I found it really quite hard to find exactly what I wanted (X50, aerokit and sports suspension...in the end I had to forgo on the heated seats!!) If you are worried the warranty should cover any major issues and at 14K miles it should be immaculate. What you are saying is last owner 13k miles & the previous 4 owners 1K miles? I would want to know why. Where did he buy it from? I agree with previous threads,You must be able to get some idea as to the history of the car from the supplying seller. As it only needs servicing every 2 years, I don't suppose there is a lot of service history. Haven't the owners put their info in the service book? I also agree that they are much, much more expensive to run than a normal Carrera, (both day to day running expenses as well as depreciation.

 

[Rintoul]

Sorry, ignore the bit about mileage, last owner 4k in 13months, misread it, it is the senile dementia setting in. (Must be frightening for other road users when I am out on a blast).

 

[jason]

If the V5 document means its condition is worse than it appears or that it drives any worse than you are right to be concerned.

If its actually just a bit of paper you file away after purchase and you actually drive the car then buy it and get on with life!!

No idea how many owners any of my cars have had tbh....can't read the V5s while I'm driving them as they are all filed away somewhere...they are no use to me whatsoever apart from helping generate more paper and little round discs

[]

 

[jdpef356]

If its actually just a bit of paper you file away after purchase and you actually drive the car then buy it and get on with life!!

Quite true, you file it away , forget about it, then one day you want to sell the car and out comes the V5, and guess what - A lot of people
who may consider buying your car wont because it has high owners.

John

P.S. My investment (when I purchase a car) is not just the car but all the keys, books, invoices and V5 the completeness of these records tells the cars life story - ie the history.

Only then do I buy it and get on with life with peace of mind!

 

[lord n]

Ok then, update time. To give the exact predicamanet , seen two cars that I am interested in, spec is right, colour right, both X50's etc etc

2002 32k 2 prev keepers 50k
2004 14k 5 prev keepers 55k

When you right in down like that its a no brainer but I just think I am going to struggle to sell the 04 plater with all those past owner as and when the time comes. Might never want to get rid of her I dont know but just not 100% confortable with it.

N.

 

[Rodney Naghar]

I think the 2002 car is overpriced. Have a look on Pistonheads/Autotrader, you should find a few cars of similar mileage and age for low to mid 40s. Not sure how many owners though.