Whats it worth ??

Having looked on all the usual websites (KBB, Edmunds, E-bay), I thought I'd ask the real experts what I could expect for my ride in the marketplace. Here it goes: *2001 C2 coupe -seal gray -9500 miles -small carbon fiber package -litronics -18-inch sport designs -fabspeed exhaust -car in excellent condition inside and out. Garage kept Florida car. I know this is a commonly asked question but I am truly interested in any feedback since there seems to be a fairly wide discrepancy amongst the other information sources on the web . I would like to move into a GT3 but want to see if this is feasible without getting totally laundered in the process. Thanks!

i'd say you're looking at about $52K private party sale value. for a trade-in, i would expect you'd get about $43K.

Thanks for your input. Not really what I wanted to hear, but..... I suspect it will only depreciate further( and more precipitously) with the imminent arrival of the 997.

i'll bet your 2001 c2 it will depreciate much slower slower than a new 2004 gt3.

Ignacio-- I would be extremely interested in hearing your rationale on that. Are you referring to the fact that my 01 C2 has already experienced marked depreciation and the "new" GT3 wouldn't/hasn't yet. Otherwise, wouldn't the GT3 retain its value better over the long haul based upon exclusivity/desirability alone ??

scott, I think you can get a decent price if you be patient and find the right buyer. Alot of people thought I should get low 30's for my 99 c4 with 75K miles, to my surprise I got an offer and the car sold for $38K in less than 3 weeks. now I started thinking that I may have gotten more if i waited longer. a dealer offered 32K as trade-in.

i think you got an excellent price for your car raffi. i'm trying to sell my 2001 C4 with 33K miles and i'm having trouble getting $49K. tack on 40K miles and 2 years (plus 99 was the first year so the values are lower) and i'd say $38K is a pretty good price. i got offered $43K trade-in.

Raffi-- I'm curious to find out how (where) you advertised your car for sale and where you got the most feedback. (local, autotrader, PCA website, here, etc). Also, do you guys think that if I negotiate hard with me dealer (i'm a repeat buyer) that I may be able to get good value for either my trade (close to retail market value) or a sufficient savings off MSRP on the new car to justify trade in. Or should I try to sell retail and then negotiate hard for a new car that the dealer may be motivated in moving anyway with the new models coming ??

Scott put the car on ebay!!! List it with a reserve and really good digital pics and a fair buy-it-now price. This IMHO will open up your auto to the most diverse audience possible. I would then look at ebay and dupont registry for the GT-3. I have seen a couple in this past months isue with less than 400 miles. Give it a try but I strongly suggest going to ebay with your car. If you need any ebay assistance, feel free to email me at [email removed] and i would be glad to help you as I buy and sell a lot.... Dave

01-996, Thanks alot. I will certainly take you up on that. I have never bought or sold on that site. Any advice would be helpful.

Point of reference I paid $52.5K See below with 20K mi.

scott the gt3 is a $100k+ car that is generally bought by high performance enthusiasts. would you buy a used gt3 from a stranger in 3 years for more than $55-60k? i doubt it. in 3yrs will your c2 be worth more than $10k? of course it will! i'll bet it will be worth $25-30k. get a gt3 if that what you really want but don't delude yourself re depreciation. you will be depreciating a more expensive car with a more limited market.

Scott -- sent you a PM

Thanks teflon, after much research on these forums and ebay I figured 38K was a great price but the fact that the buyer didnt even try to bring me down on the price and bought it in 2 days made me think i could have found another buyer for the same or higher price. I think the prices have pretty much stabilized and I think I may have even held on to it longer without depreciation. FYI the original msrp was $100k+, I payed $50K 2 years ago and put 20K miles on it. Scott, ebay is great for advertisement but I hardly ever see a car selling on the site itself, from pictures alone I have never even seen a car close to mine even with less mileage sell for 38K or more. I put my car in all the free classifieds like rennlist, and funcars, and also autotrader. The only downside was that I had to give 5 testdrives, after I told the potential buyer I would not go below 38K I let them drive then I was offered 35K after they had their fun. The last guy who eventually bought it was very serious and was basically comparing my car and price to that of dealers, so for him it was a steal especially after a perfect PPI. In short, if you dont rush you will eventually find the right buyer. When someone goes to a dealer and sees the same car as yours with an asking price of 10K more they will quickly take your car especially with the remaining warranty giving peace of mind.

Thanks Ignacio. Where did your "serious buyer" find about your car ? Locally ? I am trying to determine how "global" I need to be in advertising this car. Is it even conceivable to expect someone from over say 300 miles away to be seriously interested in my car--- basically a pretty normal (albeit clean) example, when there are dozens of similarly optioned ( and priced ) cars all over the country ??

Sorry-- I meant Raffi

yes locally, i had a few calls from arizona and even one from florida. you are right, these cars are not in any type of shortage and i seriously doubt someone will pay extra for shipping costs, airfare or put tons of miles driving the car back home. that is why I don't think ebay results in many completed auctions but rather someone local ends up seeing and buying. if someone calls you from far away you can bet they are searching for a steal. The only serious inquiries i recieved were from autotrader, all within 50 miles. I never thought selling a car would be so easy, that is why I thought I let it go for a good price. if you don't mind me asking, how much are you looking to get and what did you pay for the car? You will be surprised to find that there are people out there that prefer the old-style headlights and would prefer the 3.4 engine in its 3rd year rather than the 3.6 in its first. Others dont even know about these differences. Since you will probably spend some time looking for the perfect gt3 I would recommend just putting an ad in autotrader and see what kind of offers you get. the asking prices are pretty high in the papers and mags so I don't think you will be offended by most of the offers.

Raffi- Interesting point regarding the potential interest in the 3.4 versus the 3.6 powerplant. Hadn't really thought of that. Most of what I have read is contradictory to that. Interesting perspective. To answer your question--MSRP 75k. I have seen similar examples ranging from 50 to low 60's with certified cars higher still. Really a wide variability, I think. I was thinking mid 50's probably. Still trying to determine what's fair and reasonable. I do wonder though ( like all of us with current models ), what will happen to valuations when the new cars come out. Irregardless, I am in really in no rush, love the car, and would have no problem holding onto it forever, its that good.

I bought my car on ebay and shipped it cross-country, but only because I felt like I paid much less than I would have locally. I paid $49K, $91K original sticker, 17K miles. Most cars depreciate, on average, about 50% in the first 4 years. The GT3 will probably hold it's value better than average.

How long ago did you purchase your car ?? If I am intent on purchasing a GT3 eventually (no real time line-- and don't mind buying used ), when do you think would be the best time to purchase considering market conditions / potential depreciation ?? Now ? Wait a year ? Two ??