How can a 2 y car old have had 3 + owners
Discussion
Koln-RS said:
Whether we like it or not, and rightly or wrongly, there is a perceived stigma attached to high numbers of previous owners, relative to the car’s age. So, a ‘high owner’ car can be worth less than an identical ‘low owner’ car.
Even most of the checking agencies, such as V-Check, alert buyers of the risk of high numbers of past owners.
And, if you buy a car with, say, 5 owners, so you become the 6th, then, when you come to sell it, the next owner has to be happy with being the 7th - and that may put some people off.
On a 25 year old 993, fair enough, there was a time when these cars fell into the doldrums. But on newer models it raises questions - is the car a lemon, why has the novelty worn off so quickly......?
Concerns may be unfounded, but that’s why it raises some eyebrows
Yep this is correct.Even most of the checking agencies, such as V-Check, alert buyers of the risk of high numbers of past owners.
And, if you buy a car with, say, 5 owners, so you become the 6th, then, when you come to sell it, the next owner has to be happy with being the 7th - and that may put some people off.
On a 25 year old 993, fair enough, there was a time when these cars fell into the doldrums. But on newer models it raises questions - is the car a lemon, why has the novelty worn off so quickly......?
Concerns may be unfounded, but that’s why it raises some eyebrows
The majority of buyers will always pay more for a relatively expensive preferably 1 owner car say up to 3 years old compared to one with several owners. I wouldn't touch any car newer than 3 years old with more than 2 owners especially a £100k Porsche or similar. This is why 1 owner relatively expensive say £100k+ cars always sell well if priced correctly even privately because the buyer is assessing and 'buying' the owner as much as the car. Also applies to sub £3k cars too.
One of the first questions serious buyers ask is how many owners? And if it is more than say 2 on a 3 year old car they will invariably walk away.
Many would not be interested in more than max 2 owners on a newish car say up to 3 years old and this also applies to sub £25k mainstream cars too not just Porsches and for obvious reasons too. It is one of the reasons why genuine 1 owner fleet and lease cars even mainstream vehicles always command the highest prices by the trade in car auctions such as BCA and Mannheim.
Since the V5 no longer specifies the name and address of previous owners there really is no substitute for a genuine 1 owner car as it instantly removes the possibility that the car could have been ex rental ex hire ex PEC ex a 1000 drivers etc track slag etc etc. It also removes associated greater risks regarding the mileage being tampered with via a 'correction service' pre the 3 year MOT logging this data which is an increasingly onerous problem on late Ferraris Lamborghinis and Mclarens and to a lesser extent Porsches.
So a 6 owner 2018 Porsche that has been round the houses and tracks driven by all and sundry with all associated problems or a genuine 1 owner 2018 Porsche for a few thousand £££ more?
The answer is obvious for the majority of buyers.
Porsche GT cars seem to churn through owners, and I suspect part of that is that owners want to enjoy them for a short while and sell them at no loss (or even a profit) before the music stops. It’s risk management.
Otherwise - go with your gut. If it seems high, I wouldn’t write it off, I’d just need satisfying as to why. It could be a lemon, but it could be that sports cars are often just purchased to enjoy for a summer.
If it’s 10 years old and 10 owners and most of the ownership changes are recent, then it would appear to be offloading problems. If it was steady-ish along the way from a reputable dealer, then buy on condition.
Otherwise - go with your gut. If it seems high, I wouldn’t write it off, I’d just need satisfying as to why. It could be a lemon, but it could be that sports cars are often just purchased to enjoy for a summer.
If it’s 10 years old and 10 owners and most of the ownership changes are recent, then it would appear to be offloading problems. If it was steady-ish along the way from a reputable dealer, then buy on condition.
Koln-RS said:
I speak as a GT and RS owner - particularly in the U.K. there are better ‘road cars’.
There are but having regard to the focused ethos of Porsche GTs they are remarkably compliant and usable even on UKs poorest roads especially relative to any competition. Drive a Performante for instant evidence of this although to be fair I am a fan of the car overall.Dealer registered.
1st private/company owner.
Next owner...
Two schools of thought, each owner will want to look after car as its new to them. Or, I've got the car for 'x' amount of time so may as well enjoy it, and any problems are either warranty covered or the next owners problem.
For most people these are prized purchases, not flippant / throw away money / of no significance, and as such new/nearly new are treated in a certain positive way. IMHO, YMMV.
1st private/company owner.
Next owner...
Two schools of thought, each owner will want to look after car as its new to them. Or, I've got the car for 'x' amount of time so may as well enjoy it, and any problems are either warranty covered or the next owners problem.
For most people these are prized purchases, not flippant / throw away money / of no significance, and as such new/nearly new are treated in a certain positive way. IMHO, YMMV.
There is a big difference between a 2 year old car with 3 owners where one from new, one at 18 months, and then another at 22 months and now trying to off load it again vs like said, dealer registred, first owner for a year and then second owner for a year.
HPI will still show you dates it changed hands.
I do agree that lots of owners changing it very quickly sets off alarm bells though.
But a 3 year old car with 2 or 3 owners wouldn't put me off.
HPI will still show you dates it changed hands.
I do agree that lots of owners changing it very quickly sets off alarm bells though.
But a 3 year old car with 2 or 3 owners wouldn't put me off.
Fnumber1user said:
Dealer registered.
1st private/company owner.
Next owner...
Two schools of thought, each owner will want to look after car as its new to them. Or, I've got the car for 'x' amount of time so may as well enjoy it, and any problems are either warranty covered or the next owners problem.
For most people these are prized purchases, not flippant / throw away money / of no significance, and as such new/nearly new are treated in a certain positive way. IMHO, YMMV.
Exactly this. A lot of supercar buyers including myself wants to try as many cars as they can whilst still fit and mobile but can't afford to have multiples of them at any one time. I only buy used Ferraris and treat them like new cars which i'm guessing is pretty typical of others.1st private/company owner.
Next owner...
Two schools of thought, each owner will want to look after car as its new to them. Or, I've got the car for 'x' amount of time so may as well enjoy it, and any problems are either warranty covered or the next owners problem.
For most people these are prized purchases, not flippant / throw away money / of no significance, and as such new/nearly new are treated in a certain positive way. IMHO, YMMV.
Number of owners wouldn't sway me from a purchase from a main dealer although i would expect this car needs to be cheaper than a pristine one owner car.
Back in 2016 I bought a 5 year old Lamborghini where I was the 5th owner. Fortunately, the Dealer I bought it from knew the history of the car all the way back to when it was specced (no such word) and ordered. It also had an immaculate service history and fully verified mileage (10k at the time of purchase). They even told me who ordered the car in the first place, as it was a sort of somebody rather than Nigel Nobody and fortunately for me they ticked every available option.
I have now had it 4 1/2 years and continued the immaculate service history and this summer I am going to do a number of upgrades to improve longevity over OEM (braided brake lines, coolant/oil hose refresh, braided hydraulic hoses for eGear system, eGear system service for all the accumulators, attenuators and flux capacitors etc type stuff) as it will be 10 years old. Seems like a good time to put some money into some preventative maintenance.
So, at 10 years old, it will be 5 owners including current, probably about 25000 miles and in tip top condition, mechanically and cosmetically. Would that put buyers off from a number of owners perspective? I doubt it. It is a very rare car, especially with the high spec, so not exactly lots to choose from anyway. I would welcome someone doing a PPI, in fact I’d encourage it.
Whether the number of owners matters depends on 2 things:
1. Does it bother you? (Personal preferences)
2. Condition and service history provenance.
Oh, it’ll likely never be For Sale, so not really something I care about much in terms of my car.
I have now had it 4 1/2 years and continued the immaculate service history and this summer I am going to do a number of upgrades to improve longevity over OEM (braided brake lines, coolant/oil hose refresh, braided hydraulic hoses for eGear system, eGear system service for all the accumulators, attenuators and flux capacitors etc type stuff) as it will be 10 years old. Seems like a good time to put some money into some preventative maintenance.
So, at 10 years old, it will be 5 owners including current, probably about 25000 miles and in tip top condition, mechanically and cosmetically. Would that put buyers off from a number of owners perspective? I doubt it. It is a very rare car, especially with the high spec, so not exactly lots to choose from anyway. I would welcome someone doing a PPI, in fact I’d encourage it.
Whether the number of owners matters depends on 2 things:
1. Does it bother you? (Personal preferences)
2. Condition and service history provenance.
Oh, it’ll likely never be For Sale, so not really something I care about much in terms of my car.
a bit off topic but some buyers (tyre kickers) seem to be under the belief that the seller needs to sell a particular car which isn't the case if it's had low ownership and the current owner has had it a long long time so if you're in that position what you should do especially if it's a Special Porsche model and coming into motoring season when some dick'ead calls and says he doesn't put any stock on the number of owners it's had or whether it has a full OPC dealer service history or the fact the last owner had it for 14 years and that it's all original panels and paint (remember it's only ever original panel and paint once).......you put the price up £5k 
Edited by GT3-RS on Monday 8th March 09:43
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