POLL: Ideas on Depreciation on 996's

Hello board..today I went golfing with group of great guys with alot of car knowledge and I was shocked that a new 986 would depreciate by 25K the fist year alone.......they all advised to never buy new even with the big discounts that are now being given.........your thoughts

are you talking about depreciation on a boxster or a 911. i can't see either losing that much in 12 months.

I got my C4S when it was one year old with 5K miles for 15K off the original sticker. I could see the turbo maybe losing 25K in a year. I wouldn't buy one of these cars new I don't think, unless I planned to keep it for a long time and not use it as a daily driver like we do now.

Depreciation of these cars are terrible, yes. $25K off the first year? I doubt it. What would these buddies of yours suggest you buy instead? BMW? Benz? Jag? The depreciation of these cars at the price range of the Porsche are even worse than the Porsche. All the sport/luxury cars take a big hit, for a multitude of reasons, during the first year. Thing is, I think Porsche depreciation is not as bad as the others in the same category. And, in cars that are up there in initial price, a percentage drop may look small in percentage numbers, but large in actual numbers. 20% drop in a $90K car is $18K, whereas a 20% drop in a $40K car like a Corvette is only $8K. Bottom line, in this era of relative depression, if you buy an expensive car new, expect a depreciation hit. Porsche weather's this better than the other marques in it's price range, particularly in the long haul.

All the more reason to drive the wheels off the thing. For those garage-queen P-cars out there, particularly those purchased new, I'd hate to even think what the $/mile is. Load the boot w/ groceries. Take it to Costco. You're paying for it in depreciation whether you use it or not. -DT

There are half-truths to your post. A depreciation of $25k in the first year for a Boxster would be from retail to the lowest wholesale--and for a car beat to sh*t at that. A 25k hit on a Boxster would be right for a 3-yr old car.

I find threads like this one humorous..... Using the word Cars ard Investments in the same sentence is ridiculous. Drive the hell out of it and worry about it then!

You can find the residual (wholesale) values that banks use to calculate leases in the "ALG" Automotive Lease Guide. Those values are available at: www.carwizard.com I looked up a 2003 Carrera 2 http://www.carwizard.com/reports/new...e&comparison=1 and you see that after 24 months it retains just 61% of it's MSRP value. My experience shopping leases and the wholesale auction market is that these ALG numbers are a very good estimate of what the market will bear. Given the availability of beautifully maintained low mileage Porsches that are 2 years old but substantially the same car as on the new dealer, you can come to your own conclusion about which is the best "investment". -jerry

Depreciation is a reality on most non-collectable cars. As much as we hold our P-cars in high esteem, most values are dropping like a rock. If you are looking for an investment, try trading cards.

Thanks for the great posts.....we were discussing Carerras and other 911's about my above original post......I agree these cars should not be bought for investment and drive the hell out of them and have fun... my point was as Redcab has in his post that the first year dep is really hard on new cars and my friends suggested that since I was looking for a new C203 that I look at other alternatives.........Thanks again for your opinions

Most of our cars are not investments. Perhaps the GT-2/3 or a one-off, if you need to look at it as such - you're wacked. Our P-cars future value is a function of the current year model prices (price increases), current year availability, and basic economics. There are regional areas of slowdown where you can't give your car away (maybe San Jose or the east coast after 9/11) and other areas where they stand in line for your lease return (well...no more lease returns) and demand is far greater than supply. Just ask a high-end wholesaler or your local Porsche used-car manager where a particular year and model is priced at in relation to "Book". That will give you an idea of how things are going in your neck of the woods.

I agree with those stating that it's somewhat dubious to be clinging on to concerns about depreciation. If your kids' college fund is tied-up in your motor, maybe you should be driving a Maxima. There's nothing more fun than getting a split new Porker. I've done it twice and had no regrets.

FWIW. Just sold my FEb '02 C2 2 weeks ago,O. Red w/ Factory Aero Kit, 18" Tech Wheels, Xenon/ Bose/PSM / Factory Sport Ex, B&M SS, 10K miles. For $64K! Buyers happy -I'm happy! Org sticker $84K-Leased. took a $4.5K hit. Tried since April( we never had spring this year!) Too Many P-Cars here in Fairfeild County CT! Dealer would have given $59K against my GT-3 Allocation! And I got my Florida Home Bill