When's the best time to sell??

Right now the market for P-Cars is wayyy too low, & right after I bought mine (2 months ago), it seems like they went down even more. Anyway, I love my car, I'm definetely going to die owning a Porsche, but seeing as to what a steal 996 Turbos are right now, I'm thinking of selling my baby to get a Turbo. Do you think selling prices will be up a little after winter? Or when? Because I could sell when the market is up, & then wait until next winter to get the Turbo. Thanks.

TT, so soon.... thats one hell of a 1st mod.

Lessee, you're 18 years old, have owned a Porsche for 2 months and are already ready to trade for a Turbo? Hmm. Nice! I wouldn't say there is a "best" time to sell. Winter is a slow time to sell a Porsche, but if you wait until spring, then your car is another year older and will be worth less - after all, it is a depreciating asset. A Porsche is not an investment and is guaranteed to lose value. The best advice I can give is that you should enjoy your car while you can. If a good deal comes along, then jump on it. As for selling your existing car, sell when you're ready and not when you think that you'll make more or less money on the sale - truth is that you'll mostly lose money on a sale.

I agree, selling = loosing money (for 99% of cars) The more you trade, the more you loose and the less of each loss you get to enjoy as your part of the deal... IF... I could sell mine for what i am in it, i might also trade to something with less miles and maybe a 3.6 if I could... then I get to thinking, and the fact is that the out of pocket would still be significant. I could do one heck of a lot of work on mine and still come out less out of pocket. SO I settle down, relax and focus on what I have. There are ALWAYS other cars, some better, some not.... stick with it a while and remember you have a lot of time.. since there is a sure loss of money, get the most out of it. IF another deal comes along, you will know....then its time. E's $0.02

Ya, well I'm in no hurry to sell it at all, I love my car. But of course I'd prefer a Turbo (like almost anyone who doesn't have one would) & I'm young & can afford it, so why not? I really don't want to lose on resale, although I really doubt I would. I got an amazing, & I mean seriously AMAZING deal on this car, & when I had it inspected & they told me about some of the things it had, I realized the used car dealer that sold it to me had NO IDEA what he was selling. He had told me it was completely stock, when in fact it had Fabspeed mufflers, Evo intake, aftermarket headers & cats (the guy at Porsche said "we forgot what brand they are, but they're aftermarket & are good quality" lol), factory side skirts, aftermarket decent looking 2-piece wheels, clear sidemarkers, litronics, comfort package for seats, Bose system, 6-disc changer, & a couple of other options, not to mention the Cobalt Blue Metallic color seems to be pretty rare & I get a lot of compliments on that alone. I've also painted my calipers red, am about to paint the center console with custom matched Cobalt Blue Metallic paint, & have ordered 997 colored crest center caps. Technically, on resale, all this adds no value & to most people all these things mean nothing, but to the RIGHT person looking for that SPECIFIC color car (in this case, Cobalt Blue Metallic), a car that already has aftermarket mufflers, headers, cats, intake, etc. so they save on mods, or just the right combination of options, then they'll most likely be willing to pay more to get my car. Therefore I'm just going to post it over & over again until the right buyer comes who is willing to pay the price so that I don't lose money. He gets the specific car he wants, & I can get the Turbo I want, & we're all jolly P-car drivers, lol.

That was quick. Maybe you should have thought this out a little before buying your NA Porsche. As most on this forum would agree, few if any current Porsche owners will be able to break even or make $ on their 996s because the market is in the tank. However, you may find that rare individual who just has to have your car, with your options and will pay your asking price.GL

If you want the Turbo, I'd sell your car now, today for as close to you paid for it as possible. You could try and hold out for a higher price waiting for that buyer who appreciates what you have to offer, but the odds of that person coming along are small. And in the mean time your car will be losing value. So sell, and wait about one year to get your Turbo next Fall at a great price.

Hmm, let me get this right. You are going to sell your car at the absolute high end of the market and then go and find a pristine Turbo at the low end of the market. While the concept of sell high, buy low sounds nice, it is not easily done. While I share your sentiment to find an foolish buyer, there are lots of really good cars out there for sale at low prices. It sounds like you have a really nice car now. Take your time and enjoy it. While a Turbo is nice, is it really worth all of the extra cash that it is going to take to make that transition.

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I'm not an economist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I think generally auto pricing, like everything else, works according to supply and demand. - Where there is snow in winter, convertible and sport car sales slow down. - Around X'mas time, people are spending $ buying gifts so they might not want to spend on a big ticket item like a car. - Where there are a lot of year end bonuses paid e.g. NYC financial district, sales might increase around that time. - Where a bunch of people just lost their jobs and the industry is in shambles e.g. NYC financial district, sales might decrease. - When the 2009 MY arrives in Sept, every car just got 1 year older. - When the 2005 997 MY 3 year lease returns hit the market over the next 12 months, it may decrease the prices, especially for 996 and prior models. Just like the stock market, trying to time the market is a fools game. Even if one could, there are transaction costs.

go for it!!! if it works we will all applaud your tallents, and if not, what did you loose? Nothing.... E

I can't imagine what the insurance on a TT would be for a young dude like yourself!? I guess if I have to ask....

I have...or should say, had a similar dilemna...bought my C4S back in March and have been watching prices drop since then...was talking to a buddy of mine and telling him that I wanted to sell mine and get a TT...he proceeded to laugh at me and said....you cant even drive what you currently have to its max potential...what the hell are you going to do in a TT? He said, take a few years, go to the track, learn the car and then make the move up...just my 2 cents...but you may be a better driver than I am and if money is not an issue...then do it!

I say sell and buy the turbo... The turbo is a real value now. You can find them in the low to mid $40's. It seems like most era's have about a 50% premium for a turbo (ie. 964=$20K, 964 Turbo =$40K, etc...) ...all but the 996. The 996 has more like a 25% to 35% premium...That makes it seem like a real value.

You have to remember that mods tend to <i>decrease</i> the value of a car to all but a very narrow group of modders, so you won't be able to sell as quickly, but hey if you're patient it might play. Selling to a private party vs. trading it in does have some tax consequences as well. And then you have the absolute loss of your tax, title and registration on the current car. The used car market in San Diego is more driven by the availability of credit than by the seasons (or lack thereof), and you can bet that credit will be less available as time goes on. Insurer should be willing to prorate your premium so you can scrub that from the loss side. However, if you have a torque itch, you're probably going to want to scratch it, and buying a turbo would be more sensible than not doing it and winding up spending money on all sorts of other mods on the NA car which you'll never get back. Just be careful, if you haven't had advanced driver education I think everyone here would highly recommend it prior to buying the turbo. Just keep cash around so you can jump on the turbo deal when you see it, and take your time disposing of the Carrera.

What really sucks in CA is re-paying sales tax and transfer fees...they add up to almost 10% here, and you get no sort of reduction for a trade in if you went that route. That alone is making it that much tougher for me to seriously consider doing what you are talking about.

TURBO...... If you have the paycheck, don't fret. You've tasted the brand and you like it, no reason to stay with something lesser than your two brains think you need. Of course, it can't be stock, needs lowering, gt2 wing with adder, exhaust, headers, turbos, tuning, and evo front end! $5k wheels too!