Another pricing question....

What is the typical selling price these days for a 2003 996 with "average" miles and "average" options? This would be for a manual coupe with around 20K miles and some options but not over the top in terms of body kits, leather *****, etc. It looks like the timing might be right for me financially to jump into another 911. Prices seem to be all over the place so I'm curious if anyone has a feel for the current market.

In California, I would expect to pay around 50-52k for a very clean 2003. Nearly everyone is asking to much for these cars. If you watch the trades, they are not selling anytime soon. Rather it be from a dealership, or more then likely a private party with a dealership asking price, these cars are simply not moving. What I would call a buyers market. Depending on what part of the country you live in, how many cars are available in your general area, I would use Kelly Blue Book "private party good condition" as a guide to value. If you want to pay for a CPO vehicle from a dealer, then maybe as high as private party excellent condition. Many of these cars can be had for quite a bit less then Blue Book good condition, if you are willing to work a little bit harder, on a seller that has been in the market place too long. Good Luck, Tom L 2002 C2

Thanks, Tom. With a 2003 going for around $50K I wonder why everyone talks about the big depreciation hit and the big drop in resale value? If a 2006 997 (non-S) can be had with decent options for mid-$70k's and a used (but virtually new) 2005 997 can be had for mid to upper $60k's then I'm not sure that I see where a 2003 at $5X,000 is out of line. I would expect a 2003 to be in the $4X,000 range to really be showing the big drop in value. Maybe it's not as bad as the pundits like to think? Am I missing something? Granted, I wish I still had my 993 C4S shown in my avatar. It would still be worth what I paid for it 4 years ago. However, that car is from a different era at Porsche and the low build numbers and mystique helped keep the resale values for Porsche high. Those days are gone so we can't expect the same market dynamics for the 996 and 997.

Nearly everyone is asking to much for these cars. If you watch the trades, they are not selling anytime soon. Rather it be from a dealership, or more then likely a private party with a dealership asking price, these cars are simply not moving. What I would call a buyers market. I agree. There's an ad in my local newspaper for an '04 low mileage 996 convertible. The guy is asking $80K. I don't think he'll get many calls.

The price should be somewhere in the low $50's for an average 2003.

Low $50's for a 2003 seems to be a pretty good retention of value. I have seen several C4S's with under 20K miles running around $60K. Based on these numbers, have the C4S's taken a bigger depreciation hit than the "regular" C2's? Wouldn't that make them the better deal?

"Wouldn't that make them the better deal?" Drive a C4 and a C2, see which one you like better. I personally prefer the C2. Tom L 2002 C2

Having just bought an '03, I agree with the lower 50's for a C2. I fail to see how deciding between a C2 and a C4S has much to do with value, however. There isn't enough difference in price to make it a financial decision on long term resale value. Might you get more for your money with a C4S? My answer is that it depends on whether you wanted that car in the first place. Good luck on your hunt!

Having owned a C4S before (albeit a 993), I am partial to the wider rear of the car and the stability of awd. My question of value was in terms of comparing original MSRP numbers. Wasn't the base C4S sticker about $20k higher than the base C2?

It was about $13K. www.renntech.org has the Porsche order guides used by dealers to order cars. It has pricing in it. You will have to register there to get the order guides, but it's a good website. Using the order guide is really helpful in figuring out options and what they cost. The option codes don't always match up with the order guide.