996 is it all doom and gloom ?
Discussion
Have read all the perils about 996 s I bought one last November at the cost of £14.500 and in the last year spent another £6000 ims ,rads clutch rms , tyres etc the list goes on ,and now with massive deprecation the car is worth about £10,000 on a good day ,but what the hell the pleasure it gives me driving it is priceless so can we be a bit more positive ,stop worrying about all the downfalls and just drive the damn thing and enjoy that's why we buy these cars in the first place FUN FUN !,
Ian58 said:
Have read all the perils about 996 s I bought one last November at the cost of £14.500 and in the last year spent another £6000 ims ,rads clutch rms , tyres etc the list goes on ,and now with massive deprecation the car is worth about £10,000 on a good day ,but what the hell the pleasure it gives me driving it is priceless so can we be a bit more positive ,stop worrying about all the downfalls and just drive the damn thing and enjoy that's why we buy these cars in the first place FUN FUN !,
My wife bought a brand spanking new Alfa Romeo 147 Lusso with extras.Price new £17.5K
Trade in value against another new car £2.8K with 66000 miles. .... 5 years old.
Loan (she paid it off early) 12.5 Plus about 1.8K interest. = 14.3K
Servicing over the last 5 years (excluding tyres, ins etc etc) 1.8K. 14.3K + 1.6K = 15.9K + 5K deposit = 20.7K.
20.7K - trade in of 2.8K = cost of onership over 5 years = nearly 18K.
Ian58 said:
Have read all the perils about 996 s I bought one last November at the cost of £14.500...
A pal of mine who runs a business a few doors up the road from my office has a 2002 996 cab in lapis blue. He was telling me the other day that he had paid £78000 for it when it was new. 
Been there and done that too!
Bought a 996 3.4 in late 2007 with c.90000mls for 20k did c.15000mls and sold early 2009 10k (adjusted trade value against 997c4s).
Great car and only required 2x rear tyres, handbrake cable, 2x coffin arms and a water pump c.1k in my ownership.
Depreciation is a curse though
but the cure is to drive them
Bought a 996 3.4 in late 2007 with c.90000mls for 20k did c.15000mls and sold early 2009 10k (adjusted trade value against 997c4s).
Great car and only required 2x rear tyres, handbrake cable, 2x coffin arms and a water pump c.1k in my ownership.
Depreciation is a curse though
but the cure is to drive them Just sold my 03 C4S at 49,000 miles bought at 29,000 miles 2 years ago so around 10,000 a year, I was the 6th owner which is not so unusual for this type of car,but the car was immaculate when I first saw it with new tyres and brakes all around.
Other than routine serviceing and tyres it was totaly reliable other than acouple of coil packs, and was run without a warranty for most of that time- which was possibly a risk but the saving paid for the service costs!!!
Average MPG around 23 normally 29 on along run
Traded in for an approved 55 plate C2S with only 21,000 on the clock and 2 owners, which is 30- 40% nicer to drive and quite a bit faster but with a touch more wheelspin this time of year!
Other than routine serviceing and tyres it was totaly reliable other than acouple of coil packs, and was run without a warranty for most of that time- which was possibly a risk but the saving paid for the service costs!!!
Average MPG around 23 normally 29 on along run
Traded in for an approved 55 plate C2S with only 21,000 on the clock and 2 owners, which is 30- 40% nicer to drive and quite a bit faster but with a touch more wheelspin this time of year!
I'm considering getting a 996 next year as a daily driver to replace the boxster and it got me thinking about all the supposed terrible depreciation and how much of a bargain 996s are now. In theory it will be an ideal time to buy. But when I look at the figures and what they're selling for, I don't see any doom and gloom. An 02 C4S is seen as a bargain at circa £20K and an early 996 3.4 even more of a bargain at circa £10K. However the former will soon be 10 years old and the latter 14 years old!
Let's say the average new price was £75K for both. That means the C4S has only depreciated £5500 or 7.3% per year and the 3.4 only £4642 or 6.2% per year. Even my basic spec boxster which probably cost £38,000 new, will be 12 years old and worth no more than £5,000 now and therefore will have only lost £2750 or 7.2% per year.
In my book that's pretty strong performance. My own maintenance costs have averaged about £2,500 per year which I think is more than reasonable for a performance car. So I can't see where all the doom is coming from. Or am I missing something?
Let's say the average new price was £75K for both. That means the C4S has only depreciated £5500 or 7.3% per year and the 3.4 only £4642 or 6.2% per year. Even my basic spec boxster which probably cost £38,000 new, will be 12 years old and worth no more than £5,000 now and therefore will have only lost £2750 or 7.2% per year.
In my book that's pretty strong performance. My own maintenance costs have averaged about £2,500 per year which I think is more than reasonable for a performance car. So I can't see where all the doom is coming from. Or am I missing something?
Edited by boxsey on Wednesday 21st December 22:42
Ian58 said:
Have read all the perils about 996 s I bought one last November at the cost of £14.500 and in the last year spent another £6000 ims ,rads clutch rms , tyres etc the list goes on ,and now with massive deprecation the car is worth about £10,000 on a good day ,but what the hell the pleasure it gives me driving it is priceless so can we be a bit more positive ,stop worrying about all the downfalls and just drive the damn thing and enjoy that's why we buy these cars in the first place FUN FUN !,
£10,500 in a year or roughly £900 per month?You can lease an M3/C63 AMG/other brand new car for about £600 per month with no worry of costs. having said that you have big bills out of the way and if looked after you shouldn't lose too much more of the 10k its worth.
great cars, but not 10k fun although you probably earn enough so it doesn't matter
a 996 turbo with warranty for say £28k would have still been worth similar to that now, that's the trouble with buying cheaper cars, but all credit to you.
you are not here on this earth for that long so enjoy
Hi yes it was a lot to spend in the first year but some of the cost was preventatif measure ie ims now hopefully the cost should drop and now it's on a maintenance plan so no more labour charges .
I have no plans to sell ( unless a lottery win should come my way) so hopefully and I say again hopefully all should be well
I have no plans to sell ( unless a lottery win should come my way) so hopefully and I say again hopefully all should be well
I have purchased 3 996 models in the past only ever inspected them myself and never lost a great deal on any of them and I am not an expert but If you never pay top money the drops are smaller.I got one off a guy who paid 91k and gave him 18.5k yes it was 10 years old but he took the main hit. I used for over a year and sold it for 20k in 2009 Dont think it is so easy now though!!
jonah said:
a 996 turbo with warranty for say £28k would have still been worth similar to that now, that's the trouble with buying cheaper cars, but all credit to you.
you are not here on this earth for that long so enjoy
Agree with the sentiment but the 28k turbo will have lost a bundle in the last 12 months.....as prices have fallen drastically.you are not here on this earth for that long so enjoy
6C4GTS said:
boxsey said:
An 02 C4S is seen as a bargain at circa £20K and an early 996 3.4 even more of a bargain at circa £20K.
Can you show me an early 3.4 which is a bargain at 20k???Edited by 6C4GTS on Wednesday 21st December 21:14
I'm confused?
It appears that over here on the Porsche forum people have discovered that cars cost money to run? Is this correct??
Are you trying to tell me that once I buy something, that it won't be worth what I payed for it after a few years of use?
It's really complicated, but is this because they keep making more of what I bought? & people generally want newer things rather than older worn out mechanical objects?
Wow. You've blown my mind, you really have!
It appears that over here on the Porsche forum people have discovered that cars cost money to run? Is this correct??
Are you trying to tell me that once I buy something, that it won't be worth what I payed for it after a few years of use?
It's really complicated, but is this because they keep making more of what I bought? & people generally want newer things rather than older worn out mechanical objects?
Wow. You've blown my mind, you really have!
laingy said:
In my opinion when running a 'prestige' car you either buy new and it costs a load in depreciation, or you buy used and it costs loads in maintenance.
Which is not necessarily borne out in reality of course. I've had many new cars that sold really well due to them being very well looked after (pampered really!). I've also bought many second hand cars that have needed little beyond routine maintenance, again due to buying only well looked after (pampered really!) ones. Buy a new car and not care for it and depreciation will be steeper; buy a second hand car that has not been looked after (thus cheaper) and costs will inevitably be higher. Simples!Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff