Number of owners?

[dozzer]

This came up in discussion (bar talk) with some friends. For example one talked of a great 993 he had seen right spec, very low miles etc all checked out its in fantastic condition, top end on price but 6 owners so he did not buy it as he would be number 7.

Personally cant understand his thinking and it got a bit heated as it does. Ok its been a garage queen at 29k miles(now sold)but first class condition, whats the general consensus on the number of owners. Would it stop you buying a confirmed top condition 993, when he said its could greatly affect a future sale I gave in []

 

[szklarek]

Personally I'd have thought the condition far outweighed the number of owners - from what I've seen it's not uncommon for Porsches to have a lot more owners than other marques. So I can't see how that would affect the price significantly. Of course if you had two identicals vehicles one with 1 owner and one with 6 you might get a price premium on the one with 1 owner, but your example (of a good 993 with 6 owners) would have a higher price than an average 993 with 1 owner. Plus, don't forget that 993 are 13-17 years old now - they're going to have had lots of owners!

Sounds to me that your friend missed out on a great opportunity!

Regards
Anton

 

[dozzer]

Exactly Anton, ok it was a garage queen and 6 owners but so what just how many top class 993's of any variant with fewer than 30k miles are there left out there. To top it off he would only use it on weekend"¦ []

 

[cristel993]

My 993 has had seven previous owners and it's a 1996 with 45,000 miles and is in amazing condition. I bought her privately within two days of being advertised, so I don't think there is a need to worry about the amount of owners. JZM Porsche just sold their Violet Blue 993 C4S and I think that had around eight or nine owners. It was on at £37,900 and I bet they didn't drop the price by very much. I think your friend is mistaken about the number of owners greatly affecting a future sale.

I guess it's down to personal preference, but when the right car came up, the number of owners didn't bother me.

 

[verysideways]

You'll find that there's an awful lot of Porsches, Ferraris, Lambos etc out there with roughly one owner a year. Many people buy these things as a treat, keep them for a short period of time, and then buy the next treat.

So for a 15 year old 993 to have only 7 owners is pretty good going i'd say, but then 993s are a bit special

 

[JB 3.2]

IMHO its how long the previous owner has had the car. If its less than 12 months then I would walk away, more than that as stated earlier its based on condition and history.

 

[Spy]

Interesting discussion. I had a similar hang up about large number of owners but have realised the error of my ways. In some cases, more owners is better.

As you will all know, when you first buy a car, you lavish it with attention, maybe getting it serviced straight away to ensure everything is "right", fixing any reported issues etc. As time goes by, people become more lax with the car as the novelty wears off.

So, if a car has had 9 owners, it will usually mean it has gone through that care and attention 9 times - can't be a bad thing.

As some have said though, I think if the previous owner has had the car for less than a year it should start ringing alarm bells and would warrant a comprehensive inspection. Of course there may be legitimate reasons for this but I think you would need to be more wary.

Case in point, there is a silver 993 on PH where the current owner has only had it for 1 week. Their reason sounds plausible, but you never know !

 

[dozzer]

ORIGINAL: Spy
As some have said though, I think if the previous owner has had the car for less than a year it should start ringing alarm bells and would warrant a comprehensive inspection.

On this point Spy I would personally never buy any Porsche without a comprehensive inspection, pirvate, specialist or OPC although I know a few who have []

 

[Spy]

ORIGINAL: dozzer

ORIGINAL: Spy
As some have said though, I think if the previous owner has had the car for less than a year it should start ringing alarm bells and would warrant a comprehensive inspection.

On this point Spy I would personally never buy any Porsche without a comprehensive inspection, pirvate, specialist or OPC although I know a few who have []

I agree. What I meant was that you should be additionally wary and ensure the car is checked for previous accident damage, clocking etc which some of the inspections may not pick up.

 

[dozzer]

Well we met again last night and he admitted he now thinks he missed a really good opportunity and should have bought the car.

To be fair its his first Porsche (w/e car) has read all the mags,books and posts on forums so no wonder he ended up confused[]

 

[cristel993]

ORIGINAL: dozzer

Well we met again last night and he admitted he now thinks he missed a really good opportunity and should have bought the car.

To be fair its his first Porsche (w/e car) has read all the mags,books and posts on forums so no wonder he ended up confused[]

If someone was totally new to the prospect of used/classic Porsche ownership, they might need a trip to Bletchley Park to decipher all the information that is on here, Rennlist and 911uk etc!

You can't go wrong with Adrian Streather's 993 Essential Companion book if he wants a 993? I've got a copy but I think it's just gone out of print?

 

[dozzer]

ORIGINAL: cristel993
If someone was totally new to the prospect of used/classic Porsche ownership, they might need a trip to Bletchley Park to decipher all the information that is on here, Rennlist and 911uk etc!
You can go wrong with Adrian Streather's 993 Essential Companion book if he wants a 993?

To be fair Sam he is comming with me to R7 Harewood, Silverstone Classic and other events this year, I can introduce him to some owners and see a number of quality 993's. Just think it was information overload that confused him []

 

[cristel993]

Des, I'll be at Prescott, Modern Porsche Day, Silverstone Classic and Porsche and Polo, so if he wants to have a chat no problem.

 

[n8ony]

Porsche ownership is a funny thing, with many ownerships being annual events.

I bought my 1984 3.2 Carrera Cabroilet 2 years ago from the original owner, so he had it for over 24 years. On that basis it will be 2032 before I can sell it !!

 

[Johnny C]

I'd be more inclined to buy a car witha few owners than one with just one. When you go to sell a car, you tend to have the niggles sorted out that if you've had a car for a few years you've lived with, as no-one's going to buy a car with obvious faults or if they do they'll want a serious discount. I'd say it's better to have niggles sorted out regularly than left to mount up.

An example: I recently saw a 993 which had had paint bubbling at the rear window. It had been left. When I saw the car, the window and seal had been removed and the whole inner sill has rotted away, the only way to fix it now is to fabricate a new of bodywork and weld it in. If that car had had an owner per year, I'm sure the bubbling would have been sorted before it had a chance for the rot to spread as far as it had.

 

[roygarth]

ORIGINAL:
has read all the mags, books and posts on forums so no wonder he ended up confused[]

Absolutey..LOL!!