Mileage Anxiety!!
Discussion
This is a tricky subject to answer.
I had a 997 C2S in 2005 which was only a few months old. I did 20k miles in 9 months. Car probably lost around £20 thousand in depreciation. Yeah i paid full whack at a dealer and traded it in at a low price. Did i enjoy it - yes.
Ever since I've tried to buy cheap to minimise the potential losses. I recently bought a 20 year old 996. Mileage is very very important to pricing on these. Everyone likes to talk about buying a car which is well maintained rather than super low mileage but the reality is no one will buy a 200k mile 996 no matter how well maintained it is. Even at 150k a 996 is considerably cheaper than 100k or the holy grail circa 50k.
People on here say that a low mileage car will cost more as many parts will need replacing compared to a higher mileage well maintained car but in reality when it comes to parting with their own money i bet they still want to buy a car which is lower mileage. Figure that out!
So everyone is trying to buy a well maintained, not too low, not too high mileage car for a cheap price. In reality these cars are not available so something has to give.
One interesting thing I've noticed on some of the ads for modern pork for sale recently is people servicing them more often than the recommended 20k or 2 years. I guess thats perhaps a good indicidation of a well looked after car and in reality is just an oil service for a couple hundred quid.
I had a 997 C2S in 2005 which was only a few months old. I did 20k miles in 9 months. Car probably lost around £20 thousand in depreciation. Yeah i paid full whack at a dealer and traded it in at a low price. Did i enjoy it - yes.
Ever since I've tried to buy cheap to minimise the potential losses. I recently bought a 20 year old 996. Mileage is very very important to pricing on these. Everyone likes to talk about buying a car which is well maintained rather than super low mileage but the reality is no one will buy a 200k mile 996 no matter how well maintained it is. Even at 150k a 996 is considerably cheaper than 100k or the holy grail circa 50k.
People on here say that a low mileage car will cost more as many parts will need replacing compared to a higher mileage well maintained car but in reality when it comes to parting with their own money i bet they still want to buy a car which is lower mileage. Figure that out!
So everyone is trying to buy a well maintained, not too low, not too high mileage car for a cheap price. In reality these cars are not available so something has to give.
One interesting thing I've noticed on some of the ads for modern pork for sale recently is people servicing them more often than the recommended 20k or 2 years. I guess thats perhaps a good indicidation of a well looked after car and in reality is just an oil service for a couple hundred quid.
Of course in the "normal" world of most other brands you buy, let's say a 330 BMW, you keep it for three years, then buy the next generation which is supposedly better. In this case you don't care you've lost £20k in depreciation as you're getting a fresh look and spec.
But think about what may be perceived as a future classic, my 981 Cayman perhaps. When it's done 250k miles and is "worthless" spending £20k over the same period to keep it in excellent repair would seem ridiculous, yet it's the same as losing £20k every three years with the bog standard car replacement scenario.
So, if you feel (as I do) that your current car will last you forever than SAVE money by driving it and paying for its upkeep instead of driving something dull and either driving a cheap wreck or losing as much, if not far more, through depreciation when changed every few years.
But you have to be happy with the classic spec, comfort, and ability and not go all gooey-eyed when the new fangled electric Porsches arrive in a few years.
But think about what may be perceived as a future classic, my 981 Cayman perhaps. When it's done 250k miles and is "worthless" spending £20k over the same period to keep it in excellent repair would seem ridiculous, yet it's the same as losing £20k every three years with the bog standard car replacement scenario.
So, if you feel (as I do) that your current car will last you forever than SAVE money by driving it and paying for its upkeep instead of driving something dull and either driving a cheap wreck or losing as much, if not far more, through depreciation when changed every few years.
But you have to be happy with the classic spec, comfort, and ability and not go all gooey-eyed when the new fangled electric Porsches arrive in a few years.
I'm not sure if we have a good baseline yet for the likely costs of 981 maintenance as the years and mileages stack up. For all we know some known faults, weak points or expensive maintenance items may become internet fact. Lets say hypothetically that at 50000 miles some 981 cars need a new alternator, water pump and some expensive pdk related hydraulics parts for the pdk gearbox. The internet heroes will then propagate these as known weak points and start to price in the costs of these for cars over 50000 miles. This will then become a psychological barrier for used 981 purchasers. If you have a car approaching or surpassing this milestone and try to sell it privately then these well educated internet heroes will happily tell you why your car is worth much less than you think because these items are yet to be replaced. Buyers love to believe cars are worth less and sellers love to believe their cars are worth more.
When I picked up my 991RS at the factory I put 3000 miles on it in the first two weeks and took it to the Nürburgring. Every car I own has had the wheels driven off it though they are very well maintained.
I think there are many answers to the mileage issue - for me it’s about the experience of actually driving and not the depreciation.
I think there are many answers to the mileage issue - for me it’s about the experience of actually driving and not the depreciation.
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