996 future values

Hey all! I'm about to purchase a 2002 996 cab with around 45k miles. I'm interested in what you thoughts are on what this car will be worth in about 4 years with 80-90k miles. Thanks!

Snarky Answer: If you're buying a 996 as an investment vehicle, I have a few Pontiac Aztecs I'd like to sell you. Slightly more serious answer: It's a Porsche, which translates from German to roughly "beautiful bank account torturer". Even if the value stays the same 4 years down the road, you're not coming out ahead on one of these. One step closer to a serious answer: Personally, I think the market is pretty much bottomed out on 996s at this point and I don't think the values will drop much more than where they are now. However, a car with 50k more miles on it is definitely going to be worth less than it was when you bought, but it's not going to be worth only its weight in metal if you take care of it.

Probably will lose about $5,000 in value. It will be the best money you ever spent.

easy to buy harder to sell, now and forever

Thanks for the answers guys. I think the Captain had the right attitude. I'm not buying for investment. If I wanted to do that, I would buy an early 80's. I am looking for something that has more or less bottomed out. I know there will be maintenance costs that are way more than most cars. Truth is that I really want a sports car again. I had a G35 years ago and it was a blast. Then I wound up with a huge commute so I bought a Jetta TDI. Commute is back to normal, so I'm looking for something that can be a "reliable" daily driver. They guys I work with that have 996s say they are some of the most reliable cars around. One guy has 250k on a 99 or 2000, and I believe he has only followed the maintenance schedule. Thanks guys, looking forward to joining in the fun. Jason

Read through lots of the posts here and you will see that there is alot of scare mongering that has helped in destroying the value of 996's. My feeling is that in time, that will subside, (failures more prone in lower mileage, and lots of enthusiasts preemptively replacing IMS), thus if you have a well maintained example, it is to your benefit... Porsche has been an iconic automobile name for over 50 years, and the 911 being the pinnacle, so I don't think that is going away... even if the 996 is considered the "entry level" 911. Also... if you lease a base Jetta TDI for $300/month, you will pay $14,500 over 4 years with nothing at the end to show for it... you can get a stripper 996 for almost that same price and even if the engine blows you can probably get $5k for it.

Considering that other 928 owners are circling this forum should tell you that the prices are now low enough that they will start buying them soom. When this happens the 996 community will become a real DIY cowd. Those that had them will move over to the newer model and the cycle begins.

Bought my 2004 40th AE from out of state in 2010 at a very fair price w/ 34k miles 3+ years later I am about to hit 70k miles and I could probably get same price locally or maybe even slightly more for it. Not that I would but just saying

If you like it, it will be worth far more to you in 4 years than it will be to the used car market. I bought my 996 to keep long-term. If I knew I was likely to turn it over in a few years, I probably would have gone with something else. It's impossible to guess where 996 values will be in 4 months, let alone 4 years.

I bought mine as an investment in me. I'm 60 and retired - my plate says it all ITSIT.

Here's your answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l91ISfcuzDw

One THOUSAND dollars! (pinky up)

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Also 944 forum. Think I saw a post here on the forum the other day, starting with "Me and my dad just bought this 996..."

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Yeah then we really won't have too many topics on stuff like what colors to paint calipers or how to remove the intake but rather, what kind of lift and duration should I spec for my cam regrind to go along with my ported heads.

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Small price to pay for something that makes your morning commute a treat. I look forward each day to my drive......I hope this doesn't mean I'm too passionate about my car.

Less

I had an IS300 with a 2jz gte swapped into it with a single, and was on MY.IS and the prices of them started dropping below the 10K point and all hell broke loose on the forums. Now, the difference is that these cars are still relatively expensive for what they are. I will say though, that the culture improves as more people buy the price falling cars and join the forum and get creative. It is kind of cool to witness but you want to be gone when the dust settles lol.

Went to the Manheim dealer auction Wednesday to buy something to play with then sell. 1998 Boxster, white over black, 5 speed, 41,000 miles, above average condition but nothing special about the car other than the low miles. Not a lot of curb appeal. Priced out at $8,850 on the Manheim price guide. Actually sold for $10,600. The dealers are loading up their lots right now getting ready for tax refund season. The seasonal price fluctuations of the used car market will increase prices (slightly, don't get too excited) starting in mid-February and lasting til early May. So, if you're thinking about selling, the next 3 months are your best time of the year. BTW, I passed on it. Bought a high mileage 2006 Saab 9-7x (re-badged Chevy Trailblazer), top of the line model with every option including DVD player, in above average condition (3.7 on Manheim's 5.0 condition report scale) for $2,900. It's almost baseball season, so needed something to haul my 14 yr old son's baseball team around in. Plus need something for him to drive this fall when he gets his license. You guys gave me such a ration of s*** a few months ago when I asked for opinions on handing down my 142k+ miles 99 C4 to him and upgrading myself to a 996TT - see what you made me do?

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Huh?!?

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Basically he had a Lexus IS300 car model that he swapped a Toyota Supra motor into in which he converted the twin sequential turbos into a single turbo setup. Mad JDM yo!

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I guess i could have explained that better lol. I bought my IS300 when prices where high and no one modified them, and owned it for long enough to see prices fall and people dig really deep into them. It was neat to see all the cool stuff people did with them. However I did witness a flood of ricers take over and start modifying them in bad ways as well. Hopefully they dont become the next e30 or civic in another 5-10 years.

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Been there, seen that, but in the B5 Audi S4 world (the old twin turbo ones). Prices dropped to the point where any flat-brimmed, tight pant douche rag could afford one, and they would subsequently slam it to the ground on wheels that don't fit and then compliment that with a bunch of Chinese-made "performance" parts off of Ebay. On a high note, because of this the price of a nice, unmolested B5 has started to go up. I predict something slightly similar to this will happen with 996s, but all the infamous m96 issues will actually work in its favor when it comes to this because it will keep people away who would rather spend their money on things besides maintenance.

I bought my 2002 a year ago for $27,500 w/62k miles. 4 years from now with 100k miles on her I'd be very happy to get half that. Around $13k. But I'm in it for the long haul so it doesn't matter.

^ For $13k Ill take it off your hands.

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In 4 years?

Ha. Reading owns me. I blame the newborn at home for my poor reading abilities.

As mentioned earlier, the combination of internet hype and Porsche in denial about IMS defect sent values plummeting downward. And rightfully so. However, now that the IMS has a fix thanks to LN Engineering's maintenance fix and Vertex's permanent fix, there's no reason why 996 values won't begin to move upward and stabilize with its other 911 brethren. Outside of that very serious issue (RMS is not deadly), there's no reason why 996 values won't rebound. One thing to always remember, its a 911. Cheers.

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I suspect that many Rennlisters underestimate the impact that the basic laws of supply and demand have had on 996 values. History shows that an easier to drive and live with sports car, combined with favorable lease and loan rates, created a tremendous bubble of productivity and sales, saving Porsche from potential bankruptcy or purchase by Mercedes or any of the other car companies hovering like buzzards in the early to mid-90s. The Facts and the Math: Porsche produced 68,000 or so 993 models of all types between 1995 and 1998. From 1998 to 2004 Porsche produced around 175,000 996 models of all types. Yes, there are a few more years of 996 production, but sales averaged 17K/year for the 993, and 29K/year for the 996. That is nearly a 70% increase in sales. Simply put, there are a whole lot of 996s available for sale. So, in addition to the possible (and unquantifiable) impact that repair problems and any lack of cache may have had on the 996, simple supply and demand tells us that values will be less.

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Pretty much nailed it with that one.

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Ha! I thought I recognized you...I was on the B5 S4 forums (fora?) on AZ for a long time (screen name audimeister) and built an RS4'd/Cayenne braked/coilovered monster. God, how I miss that torque. But, the handling of the 996 is soooo much better. Maybe I need a tt/Gt2 conversion... I always buy cars and motorcycles a gen or two old and fully depreciated. I pick premium euro stuff (mostly Porsche, Ducati, etc) and do a rolling restoration/upgrade program for a few years. In most cases, I have come out ahead or breaking even, even accounting for the upgrades (or the really valuable stuff that is easily removed gets sold separately.) I pay cash, so no real interest drain or depreciation occurs. I believe that the 996 is fully depreciated. I bought my aero (one owner, 130k fully documented dealer maintained and inspected miles) for $15k a year and a half ago. That's a lot of car for the money. Scarcity is one factor driving resale value relative to other Porsches. Obviously the M96 horror stories and rebuild expense will keep downward pressure on values. It's why '80s Testarossas and Audi RS6s can be bought for reasonable money: the owner is dependent on dealers (or expensive specialists) for frequent and dizzyingly expensive maintenance. The good news is that Porsche built piles and piles of Boxsters and 997s that share 80%+ of their hard parts with our cars, ensuring a near endless supply of good used spares in our interwebz-enabled world. It also means that DIYers can take advantage of all the R&D that went into the platform for the 15 years (give or take) that it was in production, and build a Mr. Potatohead car with exactly the features and performance they want. Boxsters will provide a backstop to 996 values. No matter what the books say, a solid Boxster (any year) will always find a buyer at $10k. They're just too f'ing good of a car at that price for someone not to buy it. So, I love 993s (when I see RS Clubsports, I feel funny in my pants) but may never own one because I don't think they are a good value. Does that mean that good 996 values won't level out for a while and even tick up in the next few years? I think that casual owners of 996s will scrap them when presented with repair bills (for collision or mechanical damage) that could equal the value of the car. This means scarcity will go up, as will a steady supply of parts. Look at the '74-'77 911's: styling condemned when they came out, horrible magnesium engine case problems, catalytic converters and air pumps that strangled and destroyed engines, tensioner failures, etc. Many were raced, crashed, scrapped. Now even those values are going up. Same thing will happen here.

A couple more thoughts: It's a 911. When I meet other enthusiasts even in a much newer, faster Cayman S, for example, they make excuses about why they didn't get the 911. The 911 (any year) will always be the iconic Porsche. That's good for values. A lot of folks underestimate the cost of depreciation and interest on a new car that is financed. It's staggering. I can blow up my engine tomorrow and still come out ahead of where I would be if I financed a new Cayman (not picking on Caymans, I like those too, just an example of what I might buy if I were in the market for a new car.) It's just a function of modern society. People look at the monthly payment and nothing else. They buy stuff they can't afford. I think the financial implications of this should be modeled on every new car finance contract. Everyone would be farther ahead. Rant off...

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15 yr old 996 with 90K miles? About the same as a 99 model today: $14K-18K depending on condition and options.

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+996 Even up until a few years ago, I didn't even think a 964 had a chance. Look at the values now. Even the NSX or Ferrari 348, 328, f355 from 10+ or so years ago, have rebounded quite significantly in the market today.

What I posted on a similar thread: I love all of this intellectual-ism. What is interesting is some of the first water-cooled porsches have also had a growth in value... the lowly 944. Hagerty puts a base (non-turbo, non-S) condition #3 "driver" at close to $7K... not sure if this is due the lack of enough non-screwed up examples/crashed/converted to race cars. April 2010 = $3,600... April 2014 = $ 6,700 http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtool...port?vc=883721 I think some will argue that the boxster will follow the 944s path. I think the 996 won't be far off that same trajectory unless you are fortunate enough to own a Turbo, GTx or something unique. So yes, enjoy the snot out of your 996... and then in 10 years... sell it, if you can bear to part with it.

Well... If basic economics is intellectual... And you are right; nice, lower relative mileage 924, 944, and 968s are definitely rising in value as they become harder to find.

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Yeah that's not even the nice ones... #2s and #1s... #3s are valued at that...