My new(ish) masterplan..... your thoughts?
Discussion
Give me your collective thoughts on this for a plan:
I work away from home a lot, but want a Porsche. Understandable I'm sure you'll agree. My masterplan is to buy either an SC or a 3.2 and keep it for a year or so, by which time i will probably not be working away from home so much, and then splash out on a 996/997.
This has two advantages as I see it:
1. Little to no depreciation, in case I sell the old one before buying a newer one.
2. Mileage won't be astronomical, adding to (1.)
3. Gives me a chance to learn the intricacies of rear engined-ness without the worry of stuffing 50 grands' worth of metal through a hedge, backwards. Although in such a case I would invoice the owner of the hedge for the loan of my Porsche and the subsequent value increase of his hedge, recouping part of my excess.
4. Get to own a proper-looking Porsche. Not that new ones aren't proper looking but you know what I mean...
Okay, four advantages.
How well do you reckon older machines cope with storage? I'm talking about driving it every 2-3 months i guess. It goes without saying it'll be put away clean in a dry garage.
Do you envisage maintenance costs being higher or lower with a relative lack of use? Anyone got any experience of older models that don't see so much action? (fnar)
Cheers in advance chaps.
I work away from home a lot, but want a Porsche. Understandable I'm sure you'll agree. My masterplan is to buy either an SC or a 3.2 and keep it for a year or so, by which time i will probably not be working away from home so much, and then splash out on a 996/997.
This has two advantages as I see it:
1. Little to no depreciation, in case I sell the old one before buying a newer one.
2. Mileage won't be astronomical, adding to (1.)
3. Gives me a chance to learn the intricacies of rear engined-ness without the worry of stuffing 50 grands' worth of metal through a hedge, backwards. Although in such a case I would invoice the owner of the hedge for the loan of my Porsche and the subsequent value increase of his hedge, recouping part of my excess.
4. Get to own a proper-looking Porsche. Not that new ones aren't proper looking but you know what I mean...
Okay, four advantages.
How well do you reckon older machines cope with storage? I'm talking about driving it every 2-3 months i guess. It goes without saying it'll be put away clean in a dry garage.
Do you envisage maintenance costs being higher or lower with a relative lack of use? Anyone got any experience of older models that don't see so much action? (fnar)
Cheers in advance chaps.
My view is don't bother with the old car. Using it once every couple of months will cause a few silly little problems and for that amount of use I cannot see the point. A 3.2 and 996 comparison is chalk and cheese. Apart from the name and placement of the motor they have nowt in common. I would imagine that a 3.2 will still depreciate a little over a year but as nothing compared to a 996. Wait a year and buy a really good 993.
"1. Little to no depreciation, in case I sell the old one before buying a newer one."
Agree.
"2. Mileage won't be astronomical, adding to (1.)"
OK.
"3. Gives me a chance to learn the intricacies of rear engined-ness without the worry of stuffing 50 grands' worth of metal through a hedge, backwards. Although in such a case I would invoice the owner of the hedge for the loan of my Porsche and the subsequent value increase of his hedge, recouping part of my excess."
Newer 911's have the inherent rear-endedness engineered out of them, so are easy to drive. No one told Porsche they couldn't beat Physics. Older ones don't. So the 996 and 997 (although I haven't driven the 997) aren't about to chew you up and spit you out arse first in the same way the older cars might. So no harm in "learning" how they handle, but you're learning on the more difficult beast. And I would suggest there's no problem "learning" in the 996/7, as whilst they may be worth more, they are a lot less likely to bite.
"4. Get to own a proper-looking Porsche. Not that new ones aren't proper looking but you know what I mean... "
I believe "classic" might be the term you're looking for.
"How well do you reckon older machines cope with storage? I'm talking about driving it every 2-3 months i guess. It goes without saying it'll be put away clean in a dry garage."
Hmmm, not great. Use it every day, and it'll be fine. Use it every 2 months and you'll have problems.
"Do you envisage maintenance costs being higher or lower with a relative lack of use? Anyone got any experience of older models that don't see so much action? (fnar)"
Higher.
How about going for an early 996? £25k seems to buy a very useable car. It still won't change in value, but will be fewer mechanical problems through lack of use and it'll still start every time you come to it if you find you've not used it for 2 months. Then if/when you want more car you can still swap out of it easily enough without loosing a fortune.
Agree.
"2. Mileage won't be astronomical, adding to (1.)"
OK.
"3. Gives me a chance to learn the intricacies of rear engined-ness without the worry of stuffing 50 grands' worth of metal through a hedge, backwards. Although in such a case I would invoice the owner of the hedge for the loan of my Porsche and the subsequent value increase of his hedge, recouping part of my excess."
Newer 911's have the inherent rear-endedness engineered out of them, so are easy to drive. No one told Porsche they couldn't beat Physics. Older ones don't. So the 996 and 997 (although I haven't driven the 997) aren't about to chew you up and spit you out arse first in the same way the older cars might. So no harm in "learning" how they handle, but you're learning on the more difficult beast. And I would suggest there's no problem "learning" in the 996/7, as whilst they may be worth more, they are a lot less likely to bite.
"4. Get to own a proper-looking Porsche. Not that new ones aren't proper looking but you know what I mean... "
I believe "classic" might be the term you're looking for.
"How well do you reckon older machines cope with storage? I'm talking about driving it every 2-3 months i guess. It goes without saying it'll be put away clean in a dry garage."
Hmmm, not great. Use it every day, and it'll be fine. Use it every 2 months and you'll have problems.
"Do you envisage maintenance costs being higher or lower with a relative lack of use? Anyone got any experience of older models that don't see so much action? (fnar)"
Higher.
How about going for an early 996? £25k seems to buy a very useable car. It still won't change in value, but will be fewer mechanical problems through lack of use and it'll still start every time you come to it if you find you've not used it for 2 months. Then if/when you want more car you can still swap out of it easily enough without loosing a fortune.
Edited by willdew on Friday 29th September 09:18
willdew said:
Newer 911's have the inherent rear-endedness engineered out of them, so are easy to drive. No one told Porsche they couldn't beat Physics. Older ones don't. So the 996 and 997 (although I haven't driven the 997) aren't about to chew you up and spit you out arse first in the same way the older cars might. So no harm in "learning" how they handle, but you're learning on the more difficult beast. And I would suggest there's no problem "learning" in the 996/7, as whilst they may be worth more, they are a lot less likely to bite.
3.2 will be fine with this kind of use as long as you buy a decent car and keep looking after it. Old air cooled porsches are however a completely different proposition in almost every regard from the water cooled variety so don`t expect any great insights!
A very good 3.2 will probably hold its value if bought appropriately but slight gammy ones (and there are plenty) are going through their "old car" phase at the moment and may lose a little. 996`s are obviously depreciating at a merry old rate and will continue (IMHO) to do so for a little while longer yet.
A very good 3.2 will probably hold its value if bought appropriately but slight gammy ones (and there are plenty) are going through their "old car" phase at the moment and may lose a little. 996`s are obviously depreciating at a merry old rate and will continue (IMHO) to do so for a little while longer yet.
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