Who says 944 prices are down

[Neil Haughey]

Check this one out

http://www.pauldevyea.co.uk/cars/944s2/individualvisual.htm

 

[Wigeon Incognito]

That one has been for sale for a LONG time, and I'm not surprised.

I wouldn't want it even if the price was half that, as I dread to thing of the problems it's likely to throw up if you were to press it into everyday use.

 

[Fen]

It wouldn't be fair to use it anyway, but then again who wants a 15 grand S2 in their collection? Not many would be my guess, which is probably why it will stick around for a while.

I suspect it's the same car Shirleys of Meriden had some time ago with less miles - unless that was a Cobalt blue one?

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I suspect it's the same car Shirleys of Meriden had some time ago with less miles

Sounds like it, was for sale at the time I bought mine so four years plus. I'd bet that it was bought with the intention it would appreciate in value, and not that it's worth less now.

 

[colin smith]

Prices do seem to be all over the place, I just paid £3100 for a 91 cab with FSH , I need to spend about £1k on it. So it will stand me at £4100, I don't understand how some people value simlar cars at £7-10K.

If they are right I have brought a bargin []

 

[appletonn]

I would have said that £4100 for an S2 cab is a proper bargain

 

[Fen]

I sold mine for £5,750 (I think[&:]) in late 2005 (I think[&:][&:]) with 192k miles and a small dent in the wing, but mechanically in very, very good order and with a recent new hood.

 

[appletonn]

I must admit, I have seen some rather healthier prices being asked for S2 and Turbo models in the last couple of weeks - Pistonheads have a few. Hopefully a sign of things to come[8|]

The recent coverage of 944s & 968s in some of the motoring mags of late cannot do any harm either[]

 

[drummerboytom]

" being asked " is the key phrase here i think []

ORIGINAL: appletonn

I must admit, I have seen some rather healthier prices being asked for S2 and Turbo moelds in the last couple of weeks - Pistonheads have a few. Hopefully a sign of things to come[8|]

The recent coverage of 944s & 968s in some of the motoring mags of late cannot do any harm either[]

 

[appletonn]

For sure, although the choice is increasingly between 'cheap' cars that require many £000s spending on them to get them up a decent standard or dearer cars which are there or there abouts.[]

 

[Hilux]

I strongly believe we talk ourselves into recession.

A drop in house prices and the percieved value of housing is a big factor in individual spending patterns however if my house dropped 20% it wouldnt make any difference to me as I`ve been in it for years and have a small mortgage.

So do lots of people and we`ve seen steady growth for over 10 years.

Ergo not everyone is drawing in their spending, their is still money around

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I strongly believe we talk ourselves into recession.

Very true, I'd say it's mostly down to the BBC, and Robert Peston in particular, that the property market fell off a cliff and is now flatlining. Before he exposed the Northern Rock problems, and ruined the chances of a take-over or "on the quiet" support from the government, we had our house realistically valued. It's now on the market for 20% less and has no interest whatsoever, we could drop another 10% and still not sell. Nothing has changed except the banks closed ranks, the housebuilders panicked and the ripples have spread everywhere. I've got the same amount of money in my pocket, I just won't spend it if my confidence is low.

With cars and houses there is still a lot on the market that is wrongly priced, people won't believe that their precious asset has lost a big chunk of it's value. It would be interesting to see just how far from the asking price sellers are settling for and how long they are waiting for a buyer. The asking price is pretty meaningless in this market!

 

[Hilux]

the property market fell off a cliff and is now flatlining. Before he exposed the Northern Rock problems, and ruined the chances of a take-over or "on the quiet" support from the government, we had our house realistically valued. It's now on the market for 20% less and has no interest whatsoever, we could drop another 10% and still not sell.

In my honest opinion....................

The property market has not dropped off a cliff and your house hasnt dropped 20% overnight. Its all about standing back and looking at the bigger picture.

People are not moving as they do not want to incur additional cost in what `might` turn out be a recession. Remember we`ve only had this for a few months (not years). They still sit in their houses with incomes unchanged. Nothing has happened, nothing.

Estate agents were going bust long before the current fears became widespread because (ironically) house prices were so expensive they couldnt get enough on their books to make their bread and butter. Note that they sold all they had on their books because the market had slowed but couldnt get the turnover to survive.

Some people have experienced mortgage rises which their income cannot cover so they go to sell their house. Now no-one wants to take on additional expenditure so they cannot sell or can only sell at a reduced rate to people who buck the trend of doing nothing.

Our sense of security (in the UK at least) is based upon the perceived value of the house we own which (also ironically) we will never realise because we need a house to live in!! Madness I know..............however the perceived sense of wealth in the equity in our property makes us spend and not save..............................so we all sit indoors and spend a bit less and wait ................................ and wait ....................................... and wait

The final irony is that if your house is worth less (as is the equity you never really see) then so is the next house up the chain and with interest rates, fuel and food prices due to drop soon (ignore America they do not influence us as much as you think) now is the time to thiunk about getting a bargain.

Interesting times for those who dont wait []

 

[Suffolk944]

Hmm when I was pondering getting a 928 earlier in the year (yes I know, I know [8|]) I was going to take a look at that GT that garage has for sale. Was in the hands of a private owner then but it was snapped up by the garage before I had a chance to take a look. Lets just say that the price its now up for is at a considerable premium over what it was back then and its been sat there since March now I think. I would say that 944 would be in much the same boat. Theres top prices for top examples and then theres just wishful thinking...

 

[Neil Haughey]

Well I felt a bit of doom and gloom then looked on autotrader for the price of S2's and noted that there was only a couple below 3K, most between 3K and 5K which seems fair and sensible IMHO. I even spotted a car with less then 100K miles in what looked puka condition for 7K which is almost the same as I paid for my own S2 7 years ago when it was similar mileage and condition (now far better condition mechanically IMHO but 170K miles is a bridge to far for most)

My advice, don't look on ebay!

 

[944psi]

19,000 miles and a new camshaft?

Is that because it has been sat around without being used?

There's another S2 on Pistonheads at over £10k with something like 24k miles on it. Surely these will only go into somebody else's collection where they'll be MOT'd once a year and polished to within in inch of their D90s.

Still, us lowly S2 owners shouldn't complain. I'm just over 149k and probably still only worth about 1/10th of the first example, but I still loves it I do.

Phil

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

I strongly believe we talk ourselves into recession.

The media have a lot to answer for []

These modern times of instant communication, worldwide updates at the touch of a button and huge media moguls trying to sell their own particular publication simply panic the general populace from one extreme to the other.

I run my own small business which is ticking along quite nicely (touch wood []) but I do know that as soon as the media decides to report economical doom and gloom for a few days on the trot then my phone will literally fall silent. As soon as they go back to reporting on Iraq, Afghanistan, Barak Obama Wimbledon etc then my phone reverts to normality - 3 or 4 new enquiries every day. As soon as they go back to the economy again people are panicked and simply stop calling. I'm looking forward to the Olympics, it should be 3-4 weeks of sport updates and I predict my phone will go bonkers [8D]

The large majority of the population still have their jobs, they are not moving house so couldn't give a monkeys about perceived values and they have spare money in their pocket, but the media will quite happily report a recession until we jolly well have one.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

19,000 miles and a new camshaft?

No, it is poorly written but I understood it as "camshaft belt"

 

[sawood12]

The media do hype things up but the reality is that the economy is not in good shape as it's been propped up by massive borrowing over the past 10yrs or so which simply cannot be sustained and the number of banks that are now in major trouble just proves it. That's what happens when a country decides to decimate it's manufacturing industry over 20yrs or so - you stop generating money. The service and finance sectors don't generate money for the country, they just move it around, and in anycase most of the large financial companies based in this country are foreign owned so their large profits are going out of the country, not to mention the increasing immigrant population who are sending alot of their money to their families abroad. And this country treats its rich people so poorly (unlike every other developed county in the world) they flee to tax havens taking their vast wealth with them. So if you consider the UK as a discreet business it's a sorry picture of increasing cashflow out of the door and diminishing cashflow coming in. Why do you think Gordon Brown is squeezing the motorist more and more to prop up his coffers? Sorry to be so pessimistic but that's the way I see it. Were going down the tubes and I cannot see any way out of it. In a few generations time we'll be begging Europe to accept us into the fold and we'll be more than happy to ditch the pound and adopt the Euro and sign upto whatever constitutional changes we need to as we'll have no choice or leverage. Fen had the right idea to cut and run to the land of sheep and dagg's.

Anyway, regarding 944 prices. I'm not sure I want to see them appreciate in value too much. I bought my car relatively cheap at the bottom of the depreciation curve and if I get anywhere near close to what I bought it for when I come to sell then i'll consider that a fantastic deal given the number of years of enjoyable driving i've had out of her. With 911, Boxster &Caymen prices plummeting I can't really see 944 prices appreciating too much. Even 993 prices are not looking as bulletproof as they once were with decent early 993's regularly coming up for high teens/early twenties K mark.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

In my honest opinion....................

The property market has not dropped off a cliff and your house hasnt dropped 20% overnight. Its all about standing back and looking at the bigger picture.

Hmmm,

Won't quote figures as it's no-one's business. What I will say is that the identical house opposite us, and 7 in the same road with various differences, and me with 25 years in property and the agent - a long-term client of mine - led to a valuation of "x". This was a realistic price for the property at the time, and would have gone to bids as demand was strong. That was September last year.

In February the house went on at a "keen" 10% off, and is technically under offer, but the various interested parties can't sell their own houses. Since then we've cut another 10% off, and we know that other comparable properties are not getting any interest at 10% less than that.

So. Realistically the market for my house has fallen by over 30%. Not it's value, but the price that someone is prepared to pay. That doesn't follow all along the chain, as you suggest. Obviously there are types of house, areas etc. that are more desireable at different stages in the economic cycle. My house has a premium due to the catchmant for certain private schools, hence it's over-average fall in value as people decide that if they can afford the fees they will drive a few miles further rather than spend several £100k on moving near the schools.

So, back to the value of the cars! [8|]

A 944 is largely a "luxury" purchase. Or, an "impulse", "mid-life-crisis", "dream" or "what do I do with all this spare money" buy. It isn't rocket-science to work out that, under these conditions, supply of cars will greatly exceed demand. And, the value of all the cars wil fall. It makes good cars seem expensive, as you can buy a similarly shiny one for less than half the price. Of course, the cheap car might need £1000s spending on it to match the better cars. If you can tell me how to convey this message to potential buyers then PLEASE do! I get many calls every week from people who want to know why the £9K car with glass-out respray and total mechanical restoration is better than the £3k car with "a bit of rust and water in the oil". [][]

You make a good point about being ready to capitalise on a falling market by waiting to buy. That's all well and good, unless circumstances force your hand. I'm lucky in not having to sell the house until the market picks up, but I have friends who are divorcing, and inheriting, and re-locating through work who are all losing serious amounts of money at an already bad time. The quicker we work out a way of smoothing the ups and downs of our economy the better!