I have owned five 911's. The deprecation hit has been getting a lot more severe in the past five years. A turbo, for example, used to be special and hold it's value better than other cars. Not, you see Turbo's and other 911's with 30% hits in the first couple of years. It's getting worse.

 

All else equal, higher sticker prices + higher production numbers = greater depreciation

 

I've had a dozen Porsches over the years and enjoyed them all immensely despite the depreciation. I now have a '12 991S that I optioned the way I wanted, pccb's, full leather, etc. it was around $125k after a discount. I just test drove the new 991 turbo S and was tempted to get it. They ran the numbers and it was $100k over my car. The full leather and pccb's added nothing to trade in value. As nice as the new turbo is, it's just not $100k better to me right now.

 

I think that is definitely a major part of the issue. Porsches have always been expensive and I guess one could try and argue that in real dollars, they don't cost anymore now than they did 20-30 years ago. Not sure I agree with that though. For me anyhow, losing 50% over 4-5 years on a $70,000 911 is a lot easier to take than losing 50% over 4-5 years on a $140,000 or more, 911. Losing 70 grand or more in 5 years on a car is tough for me to swallow. New Porsches have just gotten to the point where I have to seriously consider my judgement in buying another one, since I already have a very nice one.

 

Get an early 911 and have fun with it. I bought a custom built 1973 911 T with 3.0L non intercooled turbo motor built by Rothsport (Jeff Gamroth) and the thing is the funnest car I have ever driven. The nice thing about the car is that the long hoods are appreciating like crazy. I still like my new cars, but the value I lost in my new BMW 550 x drive over the past year is too frightening to even consider. There is something to be said about the classics. I am considering as the next purchase either a 993 Turbo or a cherry late 70s 930. I wish I could put into words how fun a 350 hp turbo motor paired with custom geared 5 speed and a 2200 lb car sans any electro nannies truly is. Check out this video but use caution lest you be bitten by the bug:

Gratuitous pic of my baby:

 

I like every single response in this post!
We know we'll take a big hit but say wtf nonetheless as life is too short. At least when we're too old and arthritic to get in and out of a sportscar, we will have had our fair share by then.
As for the new vs used debate, well it's nice to get exactly what you want and if you keep the car for a 5-8 year period then it's all good. Pay the piper tho.
The question no salesman will ever ask is: "How much do you want to lose on your car in the next 4 years?".
Then again on Dupont Registry, you can find the 60 yr. old 356's for $150-$250k. Can't say I'll wait 60 years for mine to appreciate. Oh well....

 

I plan on owning mine for 20 years then dump it or me, which ever comes first.

 

exactly .

it will get worse.

 

there is no comparo vs a vintage 356. Plus as you said, any appreciation will be to your kid's benefit not yours.

 

Agreed... I also drove the 991 turbo s and it was intoxicating....I couldn't believe I was considering moving out of my '13 991S, but the numbers just didn't make sense considering I was still enjoying my current 991 so much. I have tried to chalk it up to my ADD, what I will continue to try to convince myself to do is be patient, drive my car for a couple more years and build some equity and then see if I still think the turbo S is worth it.

 

Everyone's situation is different, you only live once and enjoy life to the fullest. Although, I do have a disease and I need treatment since i switched cars so often!

 

I owned a '72 C2E that color and loved it.

ChuckJ

 

As a wise man once said, it's more fun to drive a slow car fast that a fast car slow.

Trust me, I should know -- my 912 SWT is one of the slowest cars Porsche has ever made and I love every second of driving it!

 

True, but CPO cars are always overpriced in my opinion. Only slightly less than a new car with the dealer still taking a big mark up home in their favour. When you look at how much they offer you for a trade-in vs how much they turn around and list that car for on their lot it's downright insulting.

 

I bought my 997.1 Targa 4S from the dealer CPO'd. 3 years old, 12k miles, $69,500 on a $112,000 sticker. Sure they probably paid the buyer $50k'ish, but that wasn't my problem -- I don't see how that's overpriced. As more 991's come onto the market, with more mileage, and definitely when we pass the mid-cycle refresh, I think we will see similar depreciation.

Certainly you can save some money by purchasing from a private party. I would be very comfortable buying that way as well on a one or two year old 991 (that still has 2-3 years of original warranty behind it). PPI'd of course.

I think the more difficult question is how do you sell your car when the time comes. Assume for arguments sake that the delta through a private sale is $10k, and put aside the hassle of selling a car yourself vs. just walking into a dealer. Here in NY, when you trade-in, you get to deduct the trade-in value from your new tax bill (which is about 8%). So that, $5-6k in value lost right there if you sell on your own. Of course dealers are well aware of this and it goes into the trade-in value they offer you.