The Great Porsche Resale Value Myth

[Brian Halling]

When I bought my first new Boxster I was reassured to learn from the OPC salesman that, due to their reputation for engineering excellence, Porsches retained their value as well as almost any other marque. But now I'm not so sure.

In March 1996 I paid £19,150 for a new MGF VVC, and four and a half years later I was given an allowance of £9,500 for it against a new Boxster 2.7 - 49.6% of the MGF's new price. In February 2005 the same OPC has offered a trade-in of £19,000 for the 2.7 against my new 987 due in three weeks - 50.2% of the 2.7's new price.

Consider the facts:
- same single owner/driver from new
- same age and similar mileage
- same OPC, although other OPCs have offered as little as £18,000, but none more
- the MGF was showing its age; my 2.7 is in excellent condition
- Rover suffers a poor reputation for quality; Porsche is among the best
- because it was a new release, six month old MGFs were selling above list.

So is the legendary resale value of Porsches just a myth?

Needless to say, my 2.7 has already been promised to a private buyer at a more realistic price.

 

[jr2015]

Hi Brian.Is resale value a myth?
You described it as "legendary" ie the stuff of legend and it`s exactly that when there are so many on the market.
Us 944 owners know how you feel,we`ve always been told our cars are a bit on the common side particularly at resale time.
Sadly it doesn`t look as though there`s twenty years plus service in the Boxster judging by the posts on RMS and tales about corrosion around door fittings,so there`s not the option of longevity that owners of the older era cars have.
Porsche have had to change to survive and nowadays they are no better made than any other German car and just as commonplace.
commiserations
jr.

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: Brian Halling

In March 1996 I paid £19,150 for a new MGF VVC, and four and a half years later I was given an allowance of £9,500 for it against a new Boxster 2.7 - 49.6% of the MGF's new price. In February 2005 the same OPC has offered a trade-in of £19,000 for the 2.7 against my new 987 due in three weeks - 50.2% of the 2.7's new price.

So is the legendary resale value of Porsches just a myth?

Needless to say, my 2.7 has already been promised to a private buyer at a more realistic price.

[]Brian different times different values I don't think you can compare your 2000 deal and 2005 .. Market places change all the time and I would bet a 2000 MGF traded in today would have depreciated far more than your last example did.

My first 3 Boxsters between 1997-2003 cost me apprx £12000 in depreciation on £125K outlay over the 6 years. March 2003 Boxster sold last September 2004 cost £41K new sold for £34K to OPC Silverstone depreciation 17%. I don't think there is any other similar type of sports car out there that would show this little depreciation over the entire 7 year period.

 

[Guest]

I just got rid of a TT coupe (to make way for 987 S...roll on March 1st!!!) and was told the same thing..."design classic"......etc. etc.

Bought Oct 2002 - £30,000, just sold it for £16,500 (and I shopped around). That's 55% of it's original value after 2 years and 4 months.

So 50% at 3.5 years is pretty good i'd say!!!

Let's not forget dealers are there to make money if they don't they go out of business and then we are stuffed. You can and did say no to the offer. I was offered between £15,000-£16,500.

Like you said....someone else is buying it for more so there you go.

 

[Guest]

Brian,

I think that's quite good personally. I have a euro import and wanted to trade up to an S, the car is 4.5 months old. It's original purchase price was £35,000

Trade in values have ranged from £20K - £27.5K

The 27.5K was from a trader who was going to buy for cash.

 

[Yoda]

I think a large part of good resale is in the buying process. Tricky with new cars if you are paying list but if you are buying used then it opens up a lot of possibilities.

On my 3rd Porsche and the residuals on all have so far been astonishing.

Regards

 

[NicD]

Sadly it doesn`t look as though there`s twenty years plus service in the Boxster judging by the posts on RMS and tales about corrosion around door fittings,so there`s not the option of longevity that owners of the older era cars have.

I cant let this go without comment.

Repeat RMS failure affects only very few cars but is expensive to finally replace the engine. Single RMS failures do affect around 15% of Boxsters, though not so many of the 2.5's. Replacing the RMS is not expensive (£300 at an independent) and can generally be done at the owner's convenience.

Corrosion around door fittings sounds a very minor problem (don't know much about this)

Other common problems - none really. the plastic rear window on pre 2003 cars will crack eventually, but can be replaced.

Many Boxsters WILL be going strong in 20, 30 and 50 years. make no mistake. They may not be treasured like the very early low volume Porsches, but I don't see any difference to a 944 for example. Personally, I would far prefer a 20 year old Boxster to a 20 year old 944, but everyone to his own.

 

[jr2015]

Hi Nic,Good points! I was pointing out that as there are lots of Boxsters around, it`s the same as when there were lots of 944s about, they change hands frequently and its a buyers market .As they drop off the OPC radar the servicing can become patchy and sound examples become harder to find.
As far as the 20 years thing, as I was referring to the availability of spare parts as opposed to replacing entire units.I was told last week by an independant that if a gearbox is opened for only diagnostic purposes, Porsche wash their hands of it and its not possible to buy the individual parts..is this the case?
hope this clarifies my original comments.
cheers
jr.

 

[NicD]

John,

I don't know about the gearbox parts situation but would be very surprised if true because Porsche foster a strong ongoing, repeat buyer philosophy. Even if true today, likely to change in response to a need.

Porsche has changed the sort of company it is, but still is VERY strong on the heritage marketing approach.

I have just come back from a couple of days at the Factory working on their new internet offering for Clubs. They are really pushing repeat ownership, and look at the launch program for 997 and 987 - the continuous evolution theme.

They have just announced plans to build a superb, large museum opposite the factory. They want us owners to keep the old Porsches running and in fact, would be delighted if we owned a range from down the years.

 

[Andy Tims]

It never ceases to amaze me that people buy a brand new car & then moan about depreciation.
There are only 2 ways of avoiding big depreciation:-
1) Buy used & preferably rare(ish)
2) If you must have brand new, buy something that is only going to be made in fairly limited numbers & don't go mad on the options.

 

[jr2015]

Nic,I agree with what your`re saying, but the independant I spoke to is quite well up on these things and is becoming reluctant to work on Boxsters as the spares situation is difficult or unnacceptably expensive for the client.
The corrosion thing I mentioned in the earlier post was written up in 911&PW by Peter Morgan referring to his own Boxster and I believe to do with the rubber gasket under the receiver on the door jamb,I think there was a recall for redesigned gaskets to be fitted as there was a corrosion issue with the performance of the originals.
Porsche would be ill-advised to squander their hard-won reputation and the heritage side of their business with a few years of so-so reaction to customer problems, and having read some of the stuff on the 996 and Boxster forums I`m amazed, and they can build all the museums they like but it won`t restore their reputation once its compromised.
Do you remember the line-boring problems with the 928 blocks some years ago?I believe factory support was more forthcoming in that case.
regards
John.

 

[Andrew Killington]

John
I think the door issue only affected early cars - wasn't it the case that door catches bolted directly to the body; the fix was a plastic gasket between catch and body.
Andrew

 

[jr2015]

Hi Andrew, Yes, the gasket was the fix intended to cure the problem,thanks for correcting me.
regards
jr .

 

[Guest]

2 ways of avoiding big depreciation

The third way is don't sell.

 

[38F3E1]

The car world has changed a lot in the last 10 years. People are much more affluent, through the increased access to credit, and the price point of what people consider seriously expensive for a car has moved up significantly. The result of this is that Porsche now sell cars into the volume type of market. Think of all the options someone looking for a Boxster type of car has. People also care less now if a car will last ten years or not because they know they won't have the same car in ten years, probably not in five years.

As a result Porche cars now follow a more normal market dynamic. When buying a new car the old volume market adage of 50% depreciation over 3 years is as realistic as ever. Anything better should be considered a bonus.

 

[Andy Tims]

ORIGINAL: Stuart Martin

2 ways of avoiding big depreciation

The third way is don't sell.

Your quite right Stuart

 

[JCB..]

Sadly it doesn`t look as though there`s twenty years plus service in the Boxster judging by the posts on RMS and tales about corrosion around door fittings,so there`s not the option of longevity that owners of the older era cars have.

Well there's 5 in mine so far, RMS replaced and fixed, door hasn't fallen off (albiet one replaced after a Vauxhall Cavalier bounced off of it). I reckon there is a few more years in it yet.

So is the legendary resale value of Porsches just a myth?

I didn't know it had such a legend!

Each to his own but I've never in my life bought anything for myself whilst harbouring thoughts about selling it.

I was told last week by an independant that if a gearbox is opened for only diagnostic purposes, Porsche wash their hands of it and its not possible to buy the individual parts..is this the case?

I believe that this was the gist of an article in 911 & Porsche World.

JCB..

 

[Michael Downing]

I was told last week by an independant that if a gearbox is opened for only diagnostic purposes, Porsche wash their hands of it and its not possible to buy the individual parts..is this the case?

OK the availability of parts is an issue. But....

If Porsche can see that the gearbox has been opened, how are they to know it was "only for diagnosis". And even if they did, how could they know what that diagnosis consisted of? I bet if I had a dig around my gearbox to "diagnose" what was going on then all sorts of horrors could erupt.. As far as Porsche can see, the gearbox has been open and anything could have happened thereafter.

So why is that a ground for complaint?

 

[NicD]

John,

I was interested in your comments about spares so I contacted the principal of one of the bigger and most reputable independents.

This is what he said

"We've had no problem with availability or prices of spare parts for Boxsters, the only gearbox repair we've done was replacement of the end casing after a rear end collision"
He did mention they had more problems with 2.5 engines than gearboxes.

Perhaps your guys was voicing the concerns of owners who bought early cars for £16-20k and expected repair costs to be consistent with this cost? As we all know older Porsches of all models are not cheap to keep running, especially if not looked after.

 

[jr2015]

Hi Nic,Thanks for taking the trouble to check that out.You seem to agree that its the cost of running such a vehicle that is going to be crucial as it gets on in life and in a lot of cases corners will be cut; at least it seems unlikely there`ll be spurious parts available (small joke).
As far as depreciation goes, don`t sell it until its the last one standing,thats what I`m doing with my 944.
regards,
John.