Cayman 981 Inflated Pricing
Discussion
I am interested in buying a used Cayman 981 PDK (non-S) and have been searching using popular car buying websites, recognised specialist websites and auctions. After a couple of months of looking I am now worried that the prices for these cars are inflated and that a price correction may soon occur.
For example on the most popular car buying website there are always roughly 100 Cayman 981 PDKs (2013-Present) for sale. This number rarely changes, rising a couple then dropping back. Similarly the Porsche approved website does the same around 45-50 cars. The same cars have generally remained on each site for the period I have been searching. Most are well above CAP and Parkers guide price.
I can only conclude that dealers have initially paid a lot for these cars, they haven't sold and now they have too much money in them to discount so they have to hold on to them. This is backed up by the high Auction prices cars are going for, generally at least £3k over CAP.
A few private cars do come on the market at sensible money but these are snapped up quickly. I would rather buy from a dealer for the peace of mind/warranty.
I am concerned that dealers can't hold on to these cars forever and therefore there will soon be a larger correction when they cut their losses, worryingly this may happen after I have purchased a car. 😬
Do people have experience of dealers currently offering large discounts? The ones I have approached would initially offer ~5% before I'd even looked at the car.
Also do others have experience of this on Caymans or other models?
For example on the most popular car buying website there are always roughly 100 Cayman 981 PDKs (2013-Present) for sale. This number rarely changes, rising a couple then dropping back. Similarly the Porsche approved website does the same around 45-50 cars. The same cars have generally remained on each site for the period I have been searching. Most are well above CAP and Parkers guide price.
I can only conclude that dealers have initially paid a lot for these cars, they haven't sold and now they have too much money in them to discount so they have to hold on to them. This is backed up by the high Auction prices cars are going for, generally at least £3k over CAP.
A few private cars do come on the market at sensible money but these are snapped up quickly. I would rather buy from a dealer for the peace of mind/warranty.
I am concerned that dealers can't hold on to these cars forever and therefore there will soon be a larger correction when they cut their losses, worryingly this may happen after I have purchased a car. 😬
Do people have experience of dealers currently offering large discounts? The ones I have approached would initially offer ~5% before I'd even looked at the car.
Also do others have experience of this on Caymans or other models?
nickfrog said:
CAP and Parkers are useless when it comes to values IME - just look at the market itself yourself : that is usually what sets the market price...
Indeed, ignore these guides and go off what cars are selling for.I had a Cayman S PDK a few weeks ago, priced right, sold within days. The demand is there for these cars so they won't drop too much.
CAP and other trade price guides are always way off on premium / limited availability cars - especially ones that have extensive option lists that can radically alter the desirability of a car vs a stock one. There is always cases of cars fetching a 'premium' over book, and experienced dealers usually know what premium/discount cars are trading for over/under book. Bear in mind valuations are just a guide based on averaged aggregate sales data - you have to view them like investment price guides on stocks - ultimately the supply/demand mechanism determines pricing not the guide - a good case in point was Escort RS Cosworths being 'booked' at 8-12k when they were trading at 25k+. if they are fetching premiums at auction then that is a good indicator the car is in demand. While dealers do run conventional 90/180 stock turn plans on rare metal that is done on depreciating metal to turn the car before it becomes a loss. If you are holding cars that are appreciating or are likely to appreciate then its no different than holding a stock that is going up in value, why sell for a discount today when you could make more tommorrow?
And you do have to factor in that debt is silly cheap at the monent - dealers can afford to hang on to stock longer and resist discounting because the cost to hold is lower, and if there is a shortage of replacement stock in the market then its better to maximise the margin on what you have to sell rather than have empty forecourt space.
If you are waiting for the bottom to fall out you might have a long wait - thanks to no return on savings there is strong demand for assets as people are effectively having their savings eroded against inflation, in real terms a lot of top end metal is going up in value - the value of a early 997 turbo was about 50k several years ago and is still the same - the 50k in the bank earning base rate has effectively lost RPI in value over that period, so people are holding assets leading to firm prices.
And you do have to factor in that debt is silly cheap at the monent - dealers can afford to hang on to stock longer and resist discounting because the cost to hold is lower, and if there is a shortage of replacement stock in the market then its better to maximise the margin on what you have to sell rather than have empty forecourt space.
If you are waiting for the bottom to fall out you might have a long wait - thanks to no return on savings there is strong demand for assets as people are effectively having their savings eroded against inflation, in real terms a lot of top end metal is going up in value - the value of a early 997 turbo was about 50k several years ago and is still the same - the 50k in the bank earning base rate has effectively lost RPI in value over that period, so people are holding assets leading to firm prices.
I agree with most of the comments. I realise that the market dictates the price by what people are willing to pay, my point was as a large number of cars aren't selling it seems that it's dealers hanging on at higher prices rather than turnover of vehicles at these prices.
Still I'm somewhat reassured that residuals will remain strong.
Still I'm somewhat reassured that residuals will remain strong.
I have kept a close eye on 981 values these past two years having purchased a 2.7 early last year. I kept a close eye on stock and knew which models had been hanging around so was able to have a fairly decent conversation re discounting when it came to purchasing mine.
Despite buying my example I originally wanted to order a Black Edition so I have tracked their prices - they are not coming down very quickly at all which may give you confidence when buying that they do not loose too much.
Private sales are few and far between and they need to be priced very keenly, if you want proof of this check out any 981s being sold privately on ebay and then compare with the OPC pricing. Usually the only ones being sold are Cat damaged cars.
But to echo what's said above, these cars (especially those well-specced) are commanding a fair whack even after 4/5 years still around 50% of purchase. I know a few owners who have swapped form early 981 cars to the 15/16 models - I won't go into the whole 718 thing.
I've a vested interest of course, but I just cannot see values suddenly plummeting. They are fabulous cars - I change every two years and recently test drove a 981S; although I came away liking mine even more as the S engine just doesn't sound quite as nice at the top of the rev range, (big difference in power though...)
Despite buying my example I originally wanted to order a Black Edition so I have tracked their prices - they are not coming down very quickly at all which may give you confidence when buying that they do not loose too much.
Private sales are few and far between and they need to be priced very keenly, if you want proof of this check out any 981s being sold privately on ebay and then compare with the OPC pricing. Usually the only ones being sold are Cat damaged cars.
But to echo what's said above, these cars (especially those well-specced) are commanding a fair whack even after 4/5 years still around 50% of purchase. I know a few owners who have swapped form early 981 cars to the 15/16 models - I won't go into the whole 718 thing.
I've a vested interest of course, but I just cannot see values suddenly plummeting. They are fabulous cars - I change every two years and recently test drove a 981S; although I came away liking mine even more as the S engine just doesn't sound quite as nice at the top of the rev range, (big difference in power though...)
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