Buying the right Porsche

Tiptronic · 13 Feb 2006

I have been thinking re this subject for a while, since reading all the soul searching that goes on re colour, extras, spec, etc etc

5 - 10 years ago, I dont think it would matter too much if the 911 you purchased wasnt everyones cup of tea, because you bought what was available locally, no internet in those days.

Few people travelled very far, and if there was a 911 in a local dealer and they fancied it, then they would have it.

Today this has changed completely, now with the internet you can be very specific and find the exact car that you want, which means the following:-

You have to buy the right car for resale as well as what you want yourself, because as we all know when it comes to moving it on, people will be very specific and good cars with the right spec will hold their value very well, (which was always the case), however the poorly specified cars, or not the prefered colours are going to hemerage big time.

Just looking tonight on the web, and some cars are so cheap, even with FSH and good condition. 1998 996's in dark blues, with tip and few extras are struggling to make 20k, whilst 1998 996,s manual with a sunroof and sound upgrade, nice leather colour inside, in silver with GT3 bodykid will fetch as much as £29k with the same milage, thats a huge diffrence.

I guess you really have to be careful when you buy for the sake of resale.

Sad but true.

Daz

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Parts · 13 Feb 2006

But it does mean there are some good deals to be had!

(coming from someone with a dark blue 911 with tip and a fairly dodgy interior colour) :wink:

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Tiptop Topcat · 13 Feb 2006

Can't say I've seen any 996's at sub 20K but I have been looking (again!!!) having seen several 98/99's at around 27K. That's what we are paying for BMW 320d's.

A millenium edition 996 would tempt me in to a coupe.

Oh god, here we go again.

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Tiptop Topcat · 13 Feb 2006

But personally the tip gearbox would be a bit of a turn-off.

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Parts · 13 Feb 2006

Previous poster said:
Quote: Originally posted by Anthony Corbett on 13 February 2006

But personally the tip gearbox would be a bit of a turn-off.

Personnally didn't have a choice ( destroyed a knee playing rugby) but they are brilliant - wouldn't write one off because of tip especially if you are going to drive it everyday.

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Tiptronic · 14 Feb 2006

Its odd, 60% of 911 sold now are tips, however on resale up to 3 years old this hardly effects value, however once they pass 3 years old the manual really starts to pick up value over a tip.

I think this reflects on the sort of buyer that purchases a brand new, and nearly new porsche.

Daz.

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Rob J · 14 Feb 2006

Previous poster said:
Quote: Originally posted by Speed Freak on 14 February 2006

Its odd, 60% of 911 sold now are tips, however on resale up to 3 years old this hardly effects value, however once they pass 3 years old the manual really starts to pick up value over a tip.

I think this reflects on the sort of buyer that purchases a brand new, and nearly new porsche.

Daz.

Didn't realise there were so many tips sold!

Sad really...the people that seem to really appreciate the cars can't afford them new & have to rely on hand me downs
. Or is it they are the smart ones & let the others take the big depreciation hit!

So the real enthusiast gets his car at a fraction of the price
. Porsche makes good profits and the poseurs in their status symbols pay the price. Hmmm sounds like everyone wins! :twisted:

Anyway back to the original gist of the post, I think you should buy the spec / colour combination you want, just buy at the right price. It's your car & if you are really worried about depreciation it's probably best to steer well clear of cars anyway!

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Tiptop Topcat · 14 Feb 2006

The only tiptronics I have driven have been on the 997S, which is stunning and the 996 turbo which is awesome anyway.

I personally found it hard to get aclimatised to the button controls but imagine this comes with practice. I test drove a GTi with the DSG gearbox recently and couldn't quite see the point of the manual overide but with more practice, realised that it gives the driver more control over the timing of the gear change and power delivery.

I suppose the same could be said of the tiptronic although it is marginally slower.

If Porsche develop a dsg gearbox (that I would have thought is inevitable now given the investment in VW/Audi) then I'd wonder what the point of a manual gearbox would be other than to save money.

And it shouldn't be a surprise that those that can afford new Porsche's opt for the tiptronic. If you can afford it the first time around, the extra cost is probably not an issue. Personally I don't mind stirring the cogs on Toy but then it doesn't go out in much of today's congested traffic. If I do, I'm often tempted to nick the fmaily bus with it's auto gearbox

Having said that I would still stay clear of the tiptronic on a used Porsche unless it had a must have specification.

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Tiptronic · 14 Feb 2006

Quote Rob J:-

It's your car & if you are really worried about depreciation it's probably best to steer well clear of cars anyway!

------------------------------------------------------

Hi Rob,

Whilst I would normally agree with you, I have to say no this time, as a result of changing times and the internet.

90% of people who buy a second hand car are going to sell it within 3 years. They may be enthusiasts etc however, had they been wealthy enough I would imagine most would have bought new and not second hand.

As a result I would imagine that not losing money hand over fist on their purchase on resale would be very important. Especially given that a second hand 911 is going to be an expensive purchase.

If you buy an 51 facelife 911, with a spec and colour that the used trade doesnt like for say £37k today and three years down the line you may find that you will struggle to get £20k privately for it. So you lose £17k in depreciation, also you may have financed a proportion of that car, say £25k, so you have also paid approx £4k in interest charges. Add on to that servicing, repairs, insurence etc and your total bill for running that 51 911 for 3 years could be as much as £26k in total or just under £9k a year.

Now that is a hell of a lot of money to spend on a hobby or a passion each year, you would have to earn £13k before tax just to afford that.

Hence my thread, which really is just saying that the advent of the internet and choice, puts you in a strong position when you buy, and a very weak position when you sell (unless you have something rare or unusuall).

If you buy right you could trim those costs of running the car substantially.

Not that many second hand car buyers even of 911's I would imagine can afford £9000 a year net to run a 5 year old car.

Feel free to hang draw and quarter me

Daz.

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Rob J · 14 Feb 2006

Wouldn't really disagree with anything you say, depreciation is the the biggest single cost in running cars (usually) and anything you can do to reduce that is smart. The internet certainly does open the market up, makes it easier to find the car you want & quickly compare prices. As you say this will generally drive prices down for the run of the mill stuff & drive it up for the rare &/or desirable.

Having said that personally I wouldn't get too hung up on trying to guess what the market would be after in a few years. Silver, black or grey are undoutably safe colours and will be easier to shift on at a better price than say lime green. But Guards Red, who knows?

It's an expensive hobby running a 911 or any sports car & as you say needs common sense & the internet to get the right price in the 1st place.

I think the biggest risk with something in either a poverty spec or weird colour will always be the time it will take to shift at almost any price. This ultimately could be the biggest problem if you were in th eunfortunate position of needing to sell quickly.

No hanging & drawing here!!

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Mark911 · 14 Feb 2006

I am contemplating buying a 996 artic silver with boxster red interior.

Whats the general opinon about this combo (my favourite BTW) as this thread suggests I need to be careful how I spend my money.

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Porsche · 14 Feb 2006

Previous poster said:
Quote: Originally posted by Speed Freak on 14 February 2006

Quote Rob J:-It's your car & if you are really worried about depreciation it's probably best to steer well clear of cars anyway! ------------------------------------------------------

as a general theory I would have to agree...... that's why people buy Nissan Micra's

and there are enough buyers of £40k to £100k + cars that seem to easily take depreciation hits as a factor of life

however what Daz (all the way from Aruba!) has said said raises the obvious question about the factor of real cost... and if you look at the real cost of most our cars, it seems a crazy decision to make to loose that much money !

911 with those £££'s or Nissan Micra

?

as it has been said that money has to be spent and one might as well enough life.

911

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Tiptop Topcat · 15 Feb 2006

Previous poster said:
Quote: Originally posted by Mark Greenwood on 14 February 2006

I am contemplating buying a 996 artic silver with boxster red interior.

Whats the general opinon about this combo (my favourite BTW) as this thread suggests I need to be careful how I spend my money.

This may be the car I saw Portiacraft had for sale. If not, there is one for sale there.

I've been off tyre-kicking again wondering whether I am doing the right thing by buying another 3 series when for the same money I could buy an early 996.

God knows how many silver and grey Porsches there are out there, but there certainly do not seem to be a lot that break away from the "safe" colour combinations and for me, the silver and red would be a plus.

Personally I think the boxster red interior is a bit of a shock but at least it breathes some life into what is otherwise a boring exterior colour. Perhaps its the combination of the colour and a rather indiffierent cabin that lets it down but again, it wouldn't stop me buying it if the car ticked the right boxes.

Apart from the old one about buying a car for it's provenance, I feel that the Porsche purchase is, certinaly for most of the members on this site, something one does with the heart. By all means use your head in checking the car over but otherwise, buy what rocks your boat.

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Mark911 · 15 Feb 2006

Thanks Anthony,

I was expecting a barrage of various terms associated brown jobbies.

I'm viewing one this weekend at an OPC, their 12 months warranty should give me peace of mind about the engine problems some 996's suffer from.

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Tiptop Topcat · 15 Feb 2006

Mark,

I'm sure people have different experiences of warranties but other than some haggling, the one offered to me by an independent did the job for 12 months.

I certainly wouldn't have chosen an OPC over and independent for the C4S I saw recently. It was about £4000 cheaper than the same or similar car at an OPC.

Research is certainly the key as stated all through this thread.

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