Good idea to buy a 996 just for 1 year?
Discussion
Hello I am new here
I need to come to the UK for almost 1 year and then return home (will not be working and so will have lots of free time). I used to live in the UK and whilst there owned a 944S2, an early Boxster 2.5 and then a 2005 2.7 Boxster. That was a long time ago now. I never got to own a 911 and its an itch that needs scratching.
The idea is to come to the UK in April and buy a 996 for c£20,000-25000 from a known specialist with warranty. Then sell it after 9-10 months and return home. My thinking is that I will have a warranty and hopefully will not lose too much on a sale. Is this a good idea or with unseen problems eg things not covered by warranty or that I will lose more than I think on sale? Was hoping to lose maybe 15-20% on sale. Or maybe even keep it and take it home to Portugal (RHD isn't a problem)
Or should I just buy a recent whatever mainstream car that is unlikely to have problems?
I need to come to the UK for almost 1 year and then return home (will not be working and so will have lots of free time). I used to live in the UK and whilst there owned a 944S2, an early Boxster 2.5 and then a 2005 2.7 Boxster. That was a long time ago now. I never got to own a 911 and its an itch that needs scratching.
The idea is to come to the UK in April and buy a 996 for c£20,000-25000 from a known specialist with warranty. Then sell it after 9-10 months and return home. My thinking is that I will have a warranty and hopefully will not lose too much on a sale. Is this a good idea or with unseen problems eg things not covered by warranty or that I will lose more than I think on sale? Was hoping to lose maybe 15-20% on sale. Or maybe even keep it and take it home to Portugal (RHD isn't a problem)
Or should I just buy a recent whatever mainstream car that is unlikely to have problems?
I think you’ll lose more than 15-20% in just under a yr if you’re buying a 996 from a dealer. You should also remember the youngest 996 was potentially a 2004 (so approaching 17 yrs old) & that if you want peace of mind on the major mechanicals, you should be looking at cars from the likes of 911Virgin etc. who will provide a mechanical warranty themselves rather than an insurance backed warranty product (or find one with a recent full engine rebuild from the likes of Hartech).
You'd pay a handsome amount to register any imported 911 in Portugal as taxes are based on engine size, not worth it for a 20k car imo.
As for selling it the UK and not losing much, buying private is the way to go. But it might not be a quick sale as potential buyers will want the engine taken apart before taking the plunge.
There's always people willing to flip a coin on the cheap stuff and your best bet might be to get the cheapest 996 privately and resell it for probably not much loss. The gamble of course is that it'll give you lots of hassle free mileage for 9 months.
PS: sort of curious about what you (don't) do for a living
As for selling it the UK and not losing much, buying private is the way to go. But it might not be a quick sale as potential buyers will want the engine taken apart before taking the plunge.
There's always people willing to flip a coin on the cheap stuff and your best bet might be to get the cheapest 996 privately and resell it for probably not much loss. The gamble of course is that it'll give you lots of hassle free mileage for 9 months.
PS: sort of curious about what you (don't) do for a living
I don't understand any of your man-maths.
If you want a 911, buy a LHD one when you return to Portugal. Nothing else makes any sense.
The weather in the UK is so good that in your position, in April I'd buy a 986 2.7 cheap privately, and hope nothing goes wrong. If it does, just set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
If nothing goes wrong, set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
If you want a 911, buy a LHD one when you return to Portugal. Nothing else makes any sense.
The weather in the UK is so good that in your position, in April I'd buy a 986 2.7 cheap privately, and hope nothing goes wrong. If it does, just set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
If nothing goes wrong, set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
OP, there’s a LHD 996 convertible listed (with hardtop) on A/T although it’s a Tiptronic & has a Nephrite interior.....on at £22,995, I reckon it’ll struggle to sell even with low miles given it’s LHD & the interior colour although at that level or less, you’d have a decent maintenance fund if you needed it.
I don't think any dealer or specialist offers a 12 month warranty on a car that old. I bought my 996 from a dealer and it only had a 3 month warranty. Looking at the market now, contrary to what one of the posters above said, I think I'd actually make about 10% profit out of it rather than a loss. In saying that, buying at £20/-£25k I can't see how you can do anything other than lose money.
I think what you do depends a lot on how you plan to use the car. If you're going to be doing lots of miles and need it to be faultlessly reliable then buy some sort of hot hatch like a fiesta ST. If you do go 996 then I'd say buy the cheapest one you can find. There are a few guys on the owners groups that have bought high mileage rough cars under £10k and they always seem to be pretty strong. Almost like they just work better when they've been abused.
I think what you do depends a lot on how you plan to use the car. If you're going to be doing lots of miles and need it to be faultlessly reliable then buy some sort of hot hatch like a fiesta ST. If you do go 996 then I'd say buy the cheapest one you can find. There are a few guys on the owners groups that have bought high mileage rough cars under £10k and they always seem to be pretty strong. Almost like they just work better when they've been abused.
icekay said:
You'd pay a handsome amount to register any imported 911 in Portugal as taxes are based on engine size, not worth it for a 20k car imo.
As for selling it the UK and not losing much, buying private is the way to go. But it might not be a quick sale as potential buyers will want the engine taken apart before taking the plunge.
There's always people willing to flip a coin on the cheap stuff and your best bet might be to get the cheapest 996 privately and resell it for probably not much loss. The gamble of course is that it'll give you lots of hassle free mileage for 9 months.
PS: sort of curious about what you (don't) do for a living
Maybe buying privately would be the way to go. I doubt that I would bring the car back to Portugal but in any case would not have to pay their illegal and EU criticised car tax as a new immigrant.As for selling it the UK and not losing much, buying private is the way to go. But it might not be a quick sale as potential buyers will want the engine taken apart before taking the plunge.
There's always people willing to flip a coin on the cheap stuff and your best bet might be to get the cheapest 996 privately and resell it for probably not much loss. The gamble of course is that it'll give you lots of hassle free mileage for 9 months.
PS: sort of curious about what you (don't) do for a living
Orangecurry said:
I don't understand any of your man-maths.
If you want a 911, buy a LHD one when you return to Portugal. Nothing else makes any sense.
The weather in the UK is so good that in your position, in April I'd buy a 986 2.7 cheap privately, and hope nothing goes wrong. If it does, just set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
If nothing goes wrong, set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
I don't know what man-maths means but have you any idea how much a Porsche costs in Portugal? A 986 Boxster that I could buy for £5k in UK would cost £25k in Portugal. I have owned Boxster before and am far more interested in a 911. If you want a 911, buy a LHD one when you return to Portugal. Nothing else makes any sense.
The weather in the UK is so good that in your position, in April I'd buy a 986 2.7 cheap privately, and hope nothing goes wrong. If it does, just set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
If nothing goes wrong, set fire to it outside Downing Street as you depart these shores.
Edited by amigolisboa on Monday 22 March 11:00
MrC986 said:
OP, there’s a LHD 996 convertible listed (with hardtop) on A/T although it’s a Tiptronic & has a Nephrite interior.....on at £22,995, I reckon it’ll struggle to sell even with low miles given it’s LHD & the interior colour although at that level or less, you’d have a decent maintenance fund if you needed it.
Thanks but not keen on a convertible nor tiptronic.nunpuncher said:
I don't think any dealer or specialist offers a 12 month warranty on a car that old. I bought my 996 from a dealer and it only had a 3 month warranty. Looking at the market now, contrary to what one of the posters above said, I think I'd actually make about 10% profit out of it rather than a loss. In saying that, buying at £20/-£25k I can't see how you can do anything other than lose money.
I think what you do depends a lot on how you plan to use the car. If you're going to be doing lots of miles and need it to be faultlessly reliable then buy some sort of hot hatch like a fiesta ST. If you do go 996 then I'd say buy the cheapest one you can find. There are a few guys on the owners groups that have bought high mileage rough cars under £10k and they always seem to be pretty strong. Almost like they just work better when they've been abused.
I realise that I will get a variety of responses and I was sort of hoping for more response like yours. Thanks for the heads up on warranty. I have found that higher milage cars often work better than older very low mileage cars. I am curious how easy it would be to sell a well maintained higher milage/low cost 996?I think what you do depends a lot on how you plan to use the car. If you're going to be doing lots of miles and need it to be faultlessly reliable then buy some sort of hot hatch like a fiesta ST. If you do go 996 then I'd say buy the cheapest one you can find. There are a few guys on the owners groups that have bought high mileage rough cars under £10k and they always seem to be pretty strong. Almost like they just work better when they've been abused.
Selling them can be very hit or miss. Some people really struggle to sell what seem like good cars while others sell almost immediately. There doesn't appear to be any pattern to what sells fast and what doesn't but it does seem like the cheap ones go fast no matter what spec they are. For one to sell fast over £20k it needs to be red or yellow, possibly aero kit, manual, coupe. Those cars are rarer than rocking horse s
t.
t.nunpuncher said:
Selling them can be very hit or miss. Some people really struggle to sell what seem like good cars while others sell almost immediately. There doesn't appear to be any pattern to what sells fast and what doesn't but it does seem like the cheap ones go fast no matter what spec they are. For one to sell fast over £20k it needs to be red or yellow, possibly aero kit, manual, coupe. Those cars are rarer than rocking horse st.
Thanks that really helpful.t.Gassing Station | 911/Carrera GT | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff