How low can 996's go & is anything selling

I have my Carrera 4S up for sale in order to get a Turbo. In following the overall market (Ebay, Autotrader, Rennlist), it seems like nothing is selling. Maybe it's time of year or the general state of the economy, but it does'nt seem like most higher ticket items are selling right and those that are interested are "bottom feeding". Just my .02 worth.

It's probably not the best time of year to sell a car. My guess would be April/May being the best.

If you can hold another 3 or 4 months, things will pick up. Selling any kind of sports car is tough in the winter. Of course, we bottom feeders love the bargains that are out there this time of year.

viprklr, Can you post some photos? What are you asking for it?

PM sent to angelo1404

VIPR: You're not alone....Tim has had his up for sale for a long time, and its really a pristine car...so it's sort of a combination of the time of the year, season, and the ****ty economy. You'll also notice that the prices on these cars have been dropping dramatically....the 996TT's have taken a big hit. It's a buyer's market right now. I sort of lucked out when my 996 caught fire and insurance paid me handsomely for the loss and I applied it immediately to an X50. You are correct about the bottom feeders. With the economy the way it is, there are a lot of folks submitting rediculously low offers on cars...I see their signons repeatedly in auctions with lowball offers. Hopefully, next year will see a change in direction. Best of luck to you.

I remember back in 1979 when I sold my 1974 911. It was the same situation back then. Back then the bible in the east for selling a 911 was the NY Times. You would look in there and see outrageously high prices, but when it came time to sell, you could not find a buyer for anywhere near those prices. I finally took my car to a broker who sold it for me for a lot less than everyone thought it was worth. Still by todays standards it was not a bad deal. I paid $13,000 for the car brand new and sold it for $8500 after 5 years and over 90,000 miles. 65% of the original value would be considered spectacular today for a 5 year old 996 with that mileage, but back then I thought I had given the car away.

Well, the economy has slowed down in the mid-market, less re-fi cash floating around obviously. But on the other hand you should have seen Newport Beach Porsche last week, moving all the high-end cars, I couldn't even get someone's attention in the boutique area. On the other hand if you have the funds it's a good time to buy a bigger home -- or a more powerful pre-owned Porsche. Peace.

I put mine on Auto Trader and Craigs list a few weeks ago also and have had only three inquiries - one from Germany today! I think this is not the best time of year. I have until the end of March, so I will hang in there. My dealer said he could sell mine in a day and they will take it as a trade in, which I will do if I can't get the price they told me to ask. Good luck to all. Merry Christmas.

It really isn't the best time of year to sell a car, so I can't say I'm surprised that these cars aren't selling. Keeping that in mind, and as unfortunate as it is, the most obvious reason an otherwise sale-able car isn't selling is "price". What looks good to you or I isn't looking good for the buyers. Considering the hoops I had to jump through to get my 996 (family, finances, have a company car and don't REALLY need a personal car), I'm actually A-OK with the current prices--the lower they are, the less reason I have to ever get rid of it.

[QUOTE=tooloud10;4912509]It really isn't the best time of year to sell a car, so I can't say I'm surprised that these cars aren't selling. Keeping that in mind, and as unfortunate as it is, the most obvious reason an otherwise sale-able car isn't selling is "price". What looks good to you or I isn't looking good for the buyer. I would agree with this. I have been searching the market for a month or two and I think a big reason some of the cars have been sitting is the initial asking price, certainly dealer but also it seems private party. When I look up the prices on some of these cars on NADA, KBB, etc. the price discrepency is significant. I feel like I am low-balling these guys so I'll typically move on... Inventory on the 996's and to a lesser degree the c4s's seems favorable. I guess I just need to do some more research to get a better feel for what these cars are selling for. Chris

Quotes source post: 4912754

Eh, I don't think you DO need to do more research. Check out completed eBay auctions for "realistic" prices. Keep in mind that sellers would like nothing more than for you to feel guilty for "low-balling" them, mostly because none of them expected this kind of depreciation. Lastly, we've all got to remember that SELLERS don't set prices--BUYERS do. The car I paid $33k for a year ago is probably worth $25-30k now. I don't have any plans on getting rid of mine, so I don't really care. It would suck to be trying to sell one right now--I'd probably wait until spring at least.

Yes, the depreciation on the 996 and for most high end cars for that matter is real (99% of the time cars are NOT investments). As the buyer, I intend to take advantage of that knowing full well that when I sell it again down the road, it will be my turn to take a hit. I suppose it is all part of the cost of the "addiction."

What really sets the price is what they go for at auction, because that is what a dealer is going to offer for trade in. Of course they can sell for higher because they can offer a warranty and they do usually put some money into the car. When we go to sell we all try to ask retail price, but there is a reason KBB and others show three prices - trade in , private party, and retail. Unless you can offer a warranty, lots of luck getting retail. A smart buyer will know what the trade in prices are and try to get you down to that. Regardless of how nice the car is, a dealer is most likely only going to give you auction price at trade in. They know what a pain it iis to sell on your own. Because Porsche owners tend to be a bit more into their car than most other makes, we tend to be emotional about asking prices and forget that a Porsche is still just like any other cars and the laws of supply and demand dictate the true price. When Porsches were not so quite mass produced, they did hold their value a lot more. But today when many are buying them as status symbols, there are just too many P-cars out there on the open market, dumped like a first wife for that new trophy model.

with gas prices this high, not many ppl are looking to get into a sports car as well.