The 944 Marketplace

[duncan_956]

Hi,

I continue to keep an eye on the 944's for sale, mainly on Pistonheads as it seems the best place to lurk, though i also look at Autotrader, and I was wondering what your views were on todays market place for 944 sales.

There seems to be a lot of cars coming onto Pistonheads recently, but not that many really selling, and a lot of what seem in the advert to be good cars taking a while to sell.

So, are people being very cautious about how the economy is going to pan out and being sensible with their money, or are there a lot of cars being sold that aren't that good? (Not that i can really comment on good/bad examples as i haven't viewed)

Obviously a lot more 944's were built compared to 968's for example, so i can understand supply and demand in this example, but have there always been a large number of 944's for sale, or are there a lot coming to market now? (For whatever reason..good or bad)

I haven't been to view any advertised (yet), but would like to hear your views about the 944 market.

On a seperate note, Paul thanks very much for wednesday night, it was nice to meet you, go for a spin in your car, and gleem some advice from you.

 

[djcla]

I too have been searching for a while, and i find it quite tough to get the exact spec required e.g. s2 or turbo 1989 onwards leather seats etc. People seem to set very high prices for turbos as much as 9k which to me seems well over priced and some around the 6.5 mark which is slightly better. You are right there are a lot of cars out there but most of them are lux's and s models and to me anything over 2.5k is a tad high but thats just my optinion. On a side note whenever i have used the mail seller option through pistonheads i find i get no response not sure about yourself. I am not sure if it is a buyers market or sellers market at the moment or it may depend on the spec.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

It's actually a very simple market out there - grim if you're selling!

There is currently an early Boxster for sale through the Club, low-ish spec, high-ish mile but full history and looks great. Asking £9999, so will probably fetch less than £9k. If you're looking for entry into Porsche ownership that makes a 968 look expensive at anything over about £7k, in turn the 944 is looking very overpriced at £5k on the face of it. Factor in the time of year, the economic uncertainty and a reduction in cheap credit and it's not rocket science to see that an early-'80s Porsche is not going to be top of very many people's list of essential purchases!

Of course, for those who are more knowledgeable the price of a Boxster is irrelevant, or you'd be buying a Boxster. Again, many people would not particularly care if they got an S2 or a 968 if it were the right car at the right price. It's just that the overall market is affected by many factors other than the real VALUE of the cars.

Last I heard there was still a near-perfect early Lux not selling because it seems expensive compared with the cr*p on e-bay, but that really good S2 was gone in minutes as it was under-priced. There are some really good cars out there, and some rubbish. You may have to look at lots, I did, and be prepared to be realistic about spending the necessary money to bring a car up to scratch. Don't forget that spending £3k on top of a £5k purchase price is not inconceivable over the first year, but you will have an exceptional car for only £8k that you should be able to say will be relatively cheap to run.

What I think a lot of people miss is that you can't get a really good car, do some work on it and then make a profit in a year. Ownership costs are far more palateable over, say, 5 years.

Personally, I'd be very happy to be in the market to buy a car now, but would hate to be selling!

 

[Gregson944]

Paul I agree with many of your points however I do dis agree with regards to ebay I think there are as many good cars on ebay than Pistonheads its just that people can bull them up far more on ebay for little to no cost on the advert. I went to see several from Pistonheads and they were rubbish . I think you have every chance of picking up a bargin in todays market and ebay is as good as any were to buy one. I brought mine from there and as yet have not seen one as good that as been restored .
cheers
Greg

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I think there are as many good cars on ebay than Pistonheads its just that people can bull them up far more on ebay for little to no cost on the advert. I went to see several from Pistonheads and they were rubbish . I think you have every chance of picking up a bargin in todays market and ebay is as good as any were to buy one.

I agree - certainly not meaning to say e-bay has no good cars for sale. The problem with the car in question was that it looked expensive by comparison with the many sub-£1k early luxes on at the time. Of course, they were all advertised as being great, so why should one be worth twice as much? It's difficult to seperate the decent cars from the scrap in any sales arena from the local ads paper to pistonheads. What I mean is that there are plenty of decent cars out there but you need to go through the "exaggerated" claims made by most sellers to find them. And, be prepared to invest in the cars as they are incredibly cheap for what they are!

 

[Guest]

Agree with Gregson i got my lux off of ebay pays ur money takes ur choice it litteraly depaends some luck of course and hard scouring of all the usual adds pistonheads is ok i find things seem to stay on there for quite a long time . As Paul says not realy the right sort of time if ur selling but hey what a time to buy if your lucky enough to have a few quid on hip its just a case of not jumping in i looked for 4/5 months before i saw what i thought was good for me
i think the looking is part of the whole experiance of owning a 20yr + car

Paul

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270201232803

 

[peanut]

I think the market for a 20+ year old car is simply dwindling.
10 years ago looking to buy my first 944 I knew already that the early dash was very undesirable and to be avoided at all costs .10 years later half the 944 Lux's on ebay are the early dash version and they are still the least desirable.

There are so many bargain second hand cars out there at the moment that are half the age of a Porsche with better specs and a lot cheaper , why would you choose to buy n elderly expensive 944 ? you'd have to be a serious enthusiast to take a Lux on when a Cleo or a Meganne would blow it away .Or a Mk2 Mondeo come to that !and all of them with air con and full electrickery

I think its a case of advance in technology .Most modern shopping cars will out-perform most 944, are cheaper to run and probably a lot cheaper to buy. Certainly cheaper to maintain and the insurance half the cost to most young motorists.

Lastly I would say that wheras 10 years ago you might buy a 944 as your first car today it would be your second or even third car for weekends or occasional track days.

With the way the economy is at the moment less money around to borrow I think a lot of folk are a little wary of spending money on a hobby car