Man, what's with the used 911 market!

MotoSook · 10-01-2010, 06:57 PM

I've got my G50 Carrera out there for basically $16K with a built topend 3.2 with plenty of new parts and performance parts. I paid $15500 for this thing and have put over $5,000 into it. I didn't expect to get every penny back, but wow! Do people really think these things are only worth the price of a Hyundai or what?

What's the market like for a 130,000 mile g50 Carrera that's never been rebuilt or upgraded?

Are we talking $13,000!?!

stomachmonkey · 10-01-2010, 07:12 PM

You gotta hang in there a few years.

People with low 5 figure toy money are hanging on to it.

Don't even want to think what mines worth today.

MotoSook · 10-01-2010, 07:20 PM

It's bad timing with the economy, but I can't see anyone giving these things away and if th prices go up in a few years, you'd think someone would jump on a good deal, then sell it after a couple of years of enjoyment for no loss.

sc_rufctr · 10-01-2010, 07:24 PM

Just wait... The right buyer will come along.

If your car is desirable and in good condition there will be a buyer for it.
Do you have to sell it right now? Can it wait 12 months?

Why are you selling your 911?

MotoSook · 10-01-2010, 07:30 PM

I have another 911 and I could use the money as reserve after we buy our new house. We'll be carrying two mortgages for a while.

If I wasn't buying a house I'd never sell it. I've got it fixed up to drive coast to coast without a second thought. Like a lot of things I do, I do it for me, so this was built to not breakdown and to take the abuse of a turbo (had babies and never bolted a turbo to it).

So I don't want to sell it, but I can always buy another after the babies are a little older and I have time to built it up.

fastfredracing · 10-01-2010, 07:39 PM

Boy is it tempting to pick up something right now. I have been trying to be real smart with my money, and not blow it all on cars, but cars that I could only dream about a couple of years ago, are now within my reach. It has been pullin' at my strings for a month now.
Not just 911's, I think muscle cars are in the tank as well. My buddy who does pretty high end muscle car builds, is slow for the first time in 10 years. A lot of unfinished projects sitting around without the funds to finish them

MotoSook · 10-01-2010, 07:46 PM

You'd figured with money so cheap (if you have good credit) these days the deals would be flying.

Jeff Higgins · 10-01-2010, 07:49 PM

$13k for a 20+ year old car with 130k miles on it? AYFKM? People need to get realistic about the value of their old 911's. They are not in the least bit rare or hard to find.

A buddy of mine sold his G50 Carrera for about $10k after starting at $20k and sitting on it for almost a year. These cars are getting old, gentlemen, and remain pretty damn expensive to maintain. $10k will but a lot of car these days, in this market, and they will all out-perform our 911's while being much, much cheaper to maintain. The pool of true enthusiasts, who are willing to put up with an old air-cooled 911's quirks and expenses, is getting smaller every year.

MotoSook · 10-01-2010, 07:57 PM

Crap for 10k I'd keep it and take cash out of an IRA and suck up the penalty if it got that bad. 10k for rebuilt top end with all replaceable parts replaced or upgrade without cracking the case? And a rebuilt suspension with upgraded parts?

AYFKM? go find a Honda or Mitsu that'll do what this car can do for $10k weekend after weekend without blowing chunks.

Christien · Christien's Garage

It's a buyer's market, no doubt. I follow the market fairly closely, and in the 6 or 7 years I've been watching it, I've never seen prices this low. 3.2s going in the mid teens, SCs going for 10k, and good cars, at that. As a buyer, get 'em now, while they're hot. As a seller, hold on to it as long as you can, it's a bad time to sell.

Jeff Higgins · 10-01-2010, 08:14 PM

Hey, as an old 911 owner (or an owner of an old 911... or...) I fully understand. It isn't pretty out there. The market on our cars peaked a couple of years ago, when they weren't quite so old yet, and low milage examples not yet in need of major service were more common. Now that that fleet is coming up on major service, and this heretofore less than savvy owner pool is getting their first taste of the costs involved, they are dumping them as fast as possible. Yet they all still want to make money on their "investment", so they are sitting on them for prolonged periods of time while asking unrealistic prices.

So, now that the broader market (the less than die hard Porsche market) has had a taste of them, they have left a decidedly bad taste in those folks' mouths. $8-$10k for an engine rebuild when you can buy a big block crate motor for less than that, complete? When you can buy many competing, much newer cars for that, complete? Folks not familiar with the Porsche world do more than just balk at such numbers, they sell their 911s and run like hell. And, as a result, the word is getting out about these old money pits.

It's long past time for us to take off the rose colored glasses. Our beloved cars are old and long in the tooth. They are frightfully expensive to maintain for anyone who cannot do it themselves. We casually brandish about numbers that we have become accustomed to and more or less accept, while outsiders see them perhaps more clearly than we do. The market is speaking. We are returning to realistic values on these old cars. It sucks if you are selling, but it's great if you are a die-hard enthusiast looking for your next, or another one.

jorian · 10-01-2010, 08:24 PM

Money is cheap these days but credit is sparse. Lots of people drove up the market for these cars when money was cheap AND plentiful. Maybe today these cars are priced a little more realistically. BTW I own a pretty nice example but I don't kid myself about its value.

MotoSook · 08:42 PM

I've always thought prices for anything with the PORSCHE brand on was over priced. I was actually called a low-baller on a part I never even made an offer on once...you guys might remember the fun we had with that one. I don't expect to see 2005 prices on cars, btu wow! 10K for a Carrera! When's the last cylinder gonna lose compression would be my first thought.

Don't get me wrong Jeff. I agree with some of what you're saying. I just don't think (or haven't come to terms) that the aircooled 911 market is so bad. If it's truely that bad, and a Carrera with a good drivetrain and suspsion can't sell for more than 10K......I'll just turn it into a race car and damn if I care if it gets banged up.

jorian · 10-01-2010, 08:39 PM

Just looked at your car. Great rig with a lot of upgrades that experienced 911 owners appreciate and newer owners will come to appreciate. Someone will get a good buy but the market isn't what it used to be.

aigel · aigel's Garage

Souk,

I think the rust on your car is a deal breaker for many buyers. It would be for me, as there are a ton of cars out there without rust. Your argument that solid mechanics are more important than a solid body is not going to resonate with most DIYers. Most of us can do mechanical work. Few of us can do rust repair and body work / paint. The upgrades also never return anything. They are neutral - like a swimming pool in single family homes.

I would price this at $14k and move it. So you will be $6k out of your money. I easily lost that on on my SC and I never looked back ...

George

rnln · 10-01-2010, 11:27 PM

Aren't we all see these cars are around $20k, a little more or less? $10k for 3.2, something is wrong with it, or the buyer is too lucky. If your 3.2 doesn't have any serious problem, $13k is a little too low. I know selling these cars is not easy, but buying it is not easy neither. There are many of these on the road nowadays, but finding the 911 you like is tough. Wait for the right buyer. If there is one who likes it, hopefully he will pay the right price.
Good luck.

dewolf · 10-02-2010, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Why are you selling your 911?

To buy a true exotic .......a 928.....lol

fastfredracing · 10-02-2010, 02:18 AM

Seems as if the 993 has not taken too much of a dip though..

ODDJOB UNO · ODDJOB UNO's Garage

you should put a boatload more money into it, make it a PCA showroom stocker like mine(leave a/c belt on for those warm days-ask me how i know) AND RUN THE LIVING PISS OUT OF IT AND SCARE YERSELF POOLESS A FEW TIMES A YEAR at a good road course track. emphasis on a "few times" cuz as we all know.............entering a series will fer sure land you a wrecked/broken car or worse.

there is NOTHING BETTER THAN SOME BRAND NEW BFG-R-1's and working your BUTT OFF trying to break it loose!

my electrician amigo and i BROKE THE FUN BARRIER the last few times out at INDE MOTORSPORTS let alone at all the other tracks we have been to.

my amigo had so much fun he is prepping his 1970 matching numm-bers CONCOURS every nut bolt frame up resto camaro Z-28, to go flog the living hell out of since the market for about everything has plummeted.

aka he will NEVER GET what he has into it, so why in hells name NOT slap a roll bar in it, grab my spare fire suit, buy a helmet, install a fire system,

AND BREAK THE FUN BARRIER 2-3 times a year and scare the LIVING POO OUT OF US! and still keep it STREET LEGAL aka SHOWROOM STOCK!

i do (1) oil change a year, drive it less than 3K a year, $415 bucks a year full insurance(including glass coverage) for the stoopid thing, and pay 1-3 times a year entry fees.

werks for me!

and yes..........."my POS has RACING HERITAGE" hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

note jim patrick ( my co- dawg/pca instructor) hanging on for DEAR LIFE as i point the POS straight at turn 1 WFO mega warp speed at calif mtr spudway!

crap just noticed that pic was when we has "1 in-1 out" exhaust! crap we now have HEADERS/NO CATS/DUAL EXHAUST for 1-BILL-YON MORE ADDED HORSEPOWER and that REV REV RACEY SOUND! LOL! its a FREEKING MISSILE I TELL YA!

epbrown · 10-02-2010, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

The early cars are still strong, as good solid survivors are getting more and more difficult to find. I would say that someone considering one of these cars would not be looking at picking up a 996.

I was about to post something similar. The 1974-1989 cars are feeling the heat from the early 996s, which are dipping below $20k and have more appeal to younger, less-affluent buyers who didn't spend high school lusting for the earlier cars; they're looking for a cheap first Porsche, not a trip down memory lane.