What devalues a Porsche investment?

[mgstu]

Hi Porsche experts,
I am considering investing in either a 996 Turbo or 997 Turbo. I have been looking for a while and seen a few that have had technical improvements made but not considered the car because of the non-Porsche updates.

My question is should I be put off a potentially "good" car because the OEM entertainment system has been replaced with a Pioneer head unit, for example?
Thanks for your thoughts

[Stunters]

Thinking of it as a financial investment devalues it as a pleasure investment. I'd buy the one I would enjoy driving and being in the most, if I could justify the outlay in the first place. For me, that's a Cayman of some description.

But in answer to your question, I suspect that people wanting to own the car as an investment would prefer it to be as OEM and standard as possible. Of the two turbos you're thinking about, I'd look for a 997.1 with a manual gearbox, ideally in GT Silver with a black leather interior and BOSE.

[yajeed]

I'd say the head unit would be immaterial if done tastefully.

After market wheels are almost certainly going to hit the value. Similarly add on spoilers/aero and lights.

[mgstu]

Stunters said:

Thinking of it as a financial investment devalues it as a pleasure investment. I'd buy the one I would enjoy driving and being in the most, if I could justify the outlay in the first place. For me, that's a Cayman of some description.

But in answer to your question, I suspect that people wanting to own the car as an investment would prefer it to be as OEM and standard as possible. Of the two turbos you're thinking about, I'd look for a 997.1 with a manual gearbox, ideally in GT Silver with a black leather interior and BOSE.

Thanks Stunters, I was looking at manuals only. I will be driving it when weather permits, and it is not to stick in the garage to appreciate and hide away 😊 But if spending a fair chunk of money rather than leaving it in the bank earning nothing, I want to make sure I am doing it wisely. It would be replacing a 997 Boxster S which I drive approx 5K miles a year, I would expect to use the replacement a similar amount.

I'll stick to the OEM ones! Cheers

[Pip1968]

I have to agree the with the last poster and say that the Porsche community are probably the biggest lovers of OEM only cars that I have come across on forums. If you modify your car then keep the original bits and if you come to sell return it to OEM would be my tip.

If you look at Rennlist or the Rennsport sites where a lot of Americans reside you will see the other side of the coin. They are big into modifications and improvement of Porsche for the task they want it for. OEM will always be a compromise between track and road and safety and every day driveability.

Enjoy the car and don't think about investment unless you want a garage queen.

Good luck.

Pip

[isaldiri]

mgstu said:

I will be driving it when weather permits, and it is not to stick in the garage to appreciate and hide away ??

But nothing devalues a car that is meant as an investment faster than actually driving it. If you really mean to invest in a Porsche you would be exactly right in getting a completely original one (with as low mileage as possible) but then it would only really work if then shoved into a carcoon or similar garage for all eternity (or until sold).

[Lox]

Sadly correct isaldiri. What a waste.

[mgstu]

isaldiri said:

But nothing devalues a car that is meant as an investment faster than actually driving it. If you really mean to invest in a Porsche you would be exactly right in getting a completely original one (with as low mileage as possible) but then it would only really work if then shoved into a carcoon or similar garage for all eternity (or until sold).

True so If I do "invest" I will need to reduce my driving to to. Couple of 1000 miles a year, I
M not sur I can have a dream car in my garage and only look at it! Thanks for you thoughts

[JonChalk]

What devalues a Porsche investment?

Sad people treating cars as an investment. Which consequently drives the market even further away from everyone else. And then creates the idea within Porsche and their dealers that their car are investments and owners are all rich mugs. Rinse, repeat.

[mgstu]

JonChalk said:

What devalues a Porsche investment?

Sad people treating cars as an investment. Which consequently drives the market even further away from everyone else. And then creates the idea within Porsche and their dealers that their car are investments and owners are all rich mugs. Rinse, repeat.

Yes thanks for your useful comment Jon. All the comments so far have been constructive and informative, in principle making the good point to buy in order to enjoy the car and to drive it - which I currently do with my Boxster and intend to do with any replacement car.

I'm not rich and I'm not a mug hence the question! Perhaps you've been bitten by buying without thinking. Have a nice day, enjoy the sunshine.

[200Plus Club]

My 993 S purchase was perfectly timed (unplanned!) to coincide with a big market jump. I had it 2 years, did 7k miles (Skye, Scotland, Wales, one trackday) and loved it. Spent 3k on it all in and sold for £19k more than I paid for it. At the time I bought it in would have been happy with it holding value or possibly increasing but I bought it to drive and enjoy.i probably couldn't afford to buy it back now lol, and if I did I'd be scared about whacking the miles on it due to the values. Strange situation with certain porsche models. Mine was tastefully modded (clear indicators, rims etc) but easily swapped back, which is what helped it sell quickly.

[JonChalk]

mgstu said:

JonChalk said:

What devalues a Porsche investment?

Sad people treating cars as an investment. Which consequently drives the market even further away from everyone else. And then creates the idea within Porsche and their dealers that their car are investments and owners are all rich mugs. Rinse, repeat.

Yes thanks for your useful comment Jon. All the comments so far have been constructive and informative, in principle making the good point to buy in order to enjoy the car and to drive it - which I currently do with my Boxster and intend to do with any replacement car.

I'm not rich and I'm not a mug hence the question! Perhaps you've been bitten by buying without thinking. Have a nice day, enjoy the sunshine.

And yet, still you asked the question............why ask, if you already knew the answer?

You ask silly questions on an internet forum, and you'll get silly answers.

Driving it devalues it. You know this and you still posted.

[mgstu]

I thought you had caught up Jon, my original question was related to non-OEM upgrades. The not driving of a car I own hadn't occurred to me until mentioned!

[SidewaysSi]

mgstu said:

I thought you had caught up Jon, my original question was related to non-OEM upgrades. The not driving of a car I own hadn't occurred to me until mentioned!

Then the title is misleading (though probably not). You mentioned "investment" hence the answers you got.

I would definitely buy a money counting machine in preparation...

[MDL111]

Not a fan of how cars are becoming investments, but in any case I agree with what most said:
- non OEM parts is a big no no, esp in Porsches and Ferraris. For me personally in this respect a non standard audio system / nav is worse than say a kw3 suspension or similar. In any case a collector would prefer to have everything original including the tyres the car came on from the factory
- driving it also not ideal for obvious reasons
- service history should be complete by the book and only done at Porsche. Keep all service receipts, mots, tax discs etc
- look for a car that has all the original parts with it (books, manuals, keys, tyre inflator kit, etc)
- obviously no new paint anywhere would be best

I am not sure I would put my money into a 996/997 Turbo - those are not partcularly rare I believe

[mgstu]

MDL111 said:

Not a fan of how cars are becoming investments, but in any case I agree with what most said:
- non OEM parts is a big no no, esp in Porsches and Ferraris. For me personally in this respect a non standard audio system / nav is worse than say a kw3 suspension or similar. In any case a collector would prefer to have everything original including the tyres the car came on from the factory
- driving it also not ideal for obvious reasons
- service history should be complete by the book and only done at Porsche. Keep all service receipts, mots, tax discs etc
- look for a car that has all the original parts with it (books, manuals, keys, tyre inflator kit, etc)
- obviously no new paint anywhere would be best

I am not sure I would put my money into a 996/997 Turbo - those are not partcularly rare I believe

Thanks MDL11, different people invest in many different things, wine, property, stocks & shares etc. Cars are just another possibility / option. As much as I like wine I'm not sure I will get as much enjoyment out of looking at a bottle of wine Investment I will likely replace my current car, have always wanted a 911 and after losing 50% of the value of a BMW 330 Convertible after only 2.5 years a few years ago try to not let heart rule head too much.

Regards Porsche model, I think I have missed the boat with the 993s as they are all rocketing at present and everyone knows this so are feeding the 'frenzy'. I read that GT'n's and Turbos are the next best thing, GT'n's being very desirable but out of my price range.

Thanks again for the advice / comments much appreciated.

[skinny]

MDL111 said:

Not a fan of how cars are becoming investments, but in any case I agree with what most said:
- non OEM parts is a big no no, esp in Porsches and Ferraris. For me personally in this respect a non standard audio system / nav is worse than say a kw3 suspension or similar. In any case a collector would prefer to have everything original including the tyres the car came on from the factory
- driving it also not ideal for obvious reasons
- service history should be complete by the book and only done at Porsche. Keep all service receipts, mots, tax discs etc
- look for a car that has all the original parts with it (books, manuals, keys, tyre inflator kit, etc)
- obviously no new paint anywhere would be best

I am not sure I would put my money into a 996/997 Turbo - those are not partcularly rare I believe

Whereas I'm the other way round. I changed the headunit in my car to a modern double din with satnav and it's a big improvement both in sound quality and looks (to my eyes anyway). I wouldn't be putting kw's on it tho as to me that becomes modifying or changing it from original as opposed to just improving it

But then my ropey old 996 will never be an investment as it's got 110k on the clock and investors think that cars blow up at 100

[yajeed]

MDL111 said:

I am not sure I would put my money into a 996/997 Turbo - those are not partcularly rare I believe

Surely the boat has been missed on the 996t? The 997t looks good value in comparison, often actually costing less than the older 996s.

I can understand the different between 993 and 996, but the 997 seems to be a better car in pretty much every way than the 996, without obvious downsides.

[Shewie]

yajeed said:

MDL111 said:

I am not sure I would put my money into a 996/997 Turbo - those are not partcularly rare I believe

Surely the boat has been missed on the 996t? The 997t looks good value in comparison, often actually costing less than the older 996s.

I can understand the different between 993 and 996, but the 997 seems to be a better car in pretty much every way than the 996, without obvious downsides.

I tend to agree. I bought my 997 turbo in 2014 at a time when 996 prices were on there arse. I could have saved £10k buying an earlier car but for me the 997 was better in every respect. I have never seen the car as an investment and never treated it as such. Yes it has risen in value but by the time you factor in running costs it just about wipes its face.

As for mods I've tried to keep it as OEM as possible but have added an aftermarket Kline exhaust and a TPC racing DSC module, both of which can be easily reversed. I don't like the idea of an aftermarket head unit so I've put up with the shonky PCM2 even though the Pioneer or Alpine alternatives are probably far superior

[RDMcG]

In general it's not an investment. However one additional item I would add is that it helps to have an unbroken history of dealer servicing and all the evidence.
I am very definitely from the OEM side and keep my cars precisely to original spec. But,as others have said,enjoy the drive. Porsches are a blast.