Why does a Porsche always end up being a horrible investment?

[ymmv]

Originally Posted by Trog

Well, my 911 has done a lot better than my City Bank shares.

Well, the 911 probably never contributed to the economic collapse of the USA and other countries, so it's a "win" in that measure. As for Citibank, whatever shares you bought were pure speculation of future value. The 911 was consumption of immediate real value.

Then again, if you bought C circa 1995, sold in 2000, shorted till '03, then long or traded in and out till 2007 then shorted the hell out of it till 2009, then bought it back and held it, you'd have doubled your money a dozen times ... coulda, shoulda, woulda ... : )

Bottom line: "buy and hold" works for Porsches, not for portfolios.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by ymmv

That's why my first paragraph states: "The arguable exceptions are the likes of the '73 RS or '89 Speedster or some rare examples of the 993, if undriven or with extraordinary provenance. "

If you've got a pristine '89 Speedster and it's still worth 75% of its purchase price, you're doing okay. But that's '89 dollars versus 2013 dollars. The purchasing power of the 2013 dollar is woefully diminished just since 2000, let alone trying to find an net present value we could agree on to equate '89 with 2013. Depending upon when you bought the Speedster, and suffered the ups and downs, the maintenance and the careful usage limits for a quarter century, it's either a very enjoyable driving experience and rewarding ownership experience, or an astutely timed purchase that can never see its profit realized without giving up the car! : )

I think he's talking 356 Speedster.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by tonypeoni

Before you get your sticks out.. Ive owned my Porsche for 14 years, Ive spend a small fortune on it and it still needs more. It hit me hard today when a friend turned a profit on a Corvette. Im underwater on my 9## and I know it. I don't feel so bad because I suspect that a lot of Porsche owners get nailed this way. Understand that I DIDN'T buy the car to make money. I simply wanted to drive it, enjoy it, spend too much money on it and maybe a little increase in value over 14 years. What has happened is I never drove it, I don't enjoy it, I spent way TOO much money. And of-course its gone nowhere in value.

Umm, the Tragic Porsha Story. Do no homework, buy on appearance and emotion, and find you have a problem car. Take the car to the first place that offers to take your money, and throw cash down the hole. Get stubborn about making the thing work without getting smart.

Rinse and repeat ad infinitum. Well, you aren't the first and you won't be the last. But HERE'S a Ten Thousand Dollar Tip. Do your homework first, and buy the best one you can afford.

Yes, buy the best. It's cheaper, and you get to enjoy them more. RIP Bruce Anderson. He taught me that, and said it every month in EXCELLENCE for 20 years. It turns out to be true.

Go figure...

Here's the happy part. It is never too late to figure it out. Because, while there are Porshas in Hell, you can also find them in Heaven.

So, what do you want to do now, and how can we help you around getting it done ? Seriously, we are much better at helping than giving advice. Ask away.

But what do you want ? Do you want to save the car, or move on ? Because a new Mustang is a fast car that would be easy to live with, and none of the hassles. Ask Paul.

[pwd72s]

Daniel...I'm not the only one here that went to Mustang...see post #59.

My Porsche hassles weren't so much with the car itself...which gained in value a bit. I got weary of 180 mile round trips, often two car caravans when the work to be done took more than one day. I also got VERY weary of the handful of a-holes the car attracted after it was deemed highly desirable after that June '95 EXCELLENCE article it appeared in.

So, people enter and leave the P-car fold for various reasons. To each his own...
I do know I'll never return to Porsches...I know I could never own one that I liked as much as I liked the old 911S.

The '09 Bullitt Mustang fills my needs well these days...

[Hugh R]

Bought the Aston Martin DB4 in 1971 for $1,750 when I was 18 in the USMC and shipped it back from the UK (about the price of a used Pinto at that time). Seriously ratty, bought it from a British Colonel who picked it up in the Sudan. Kept it for 35 years, paint (twice, not concours lacquer, but decent total re-sprays) leather, rubber, carpet, chrome, rebuilt (three times) sold it to the Prime Minister of Kuwait a few years ago for $250,000. If I added up all the receipts, which I kept, I probably dumped $20,000 into it over that 35 years. If I'd bought Microsoft or Apple stock instead during that time period, I'd have a lot more money now.

The cool factor was owning a DB4 at 18. I do miss that car, but realize it was crazy to keep it. The insurance for $250,000 was a couple of grand a year for a car I barely drove, and would not drive in Los Angeles any more. It also allowed me to pay off a whole bunch of debt like my daughter's college expenses, and do a lot of things to the house that I had been putting off. I still have about 1/2 of it in the bank.

[pwd72s]

I can only guess about Hugh, but I'd say it's a safe bet that he did NOT buy that DB4 as an investment. I sure didn't buy a 1972 911S as an investment back in '74.

Buy what you like and enjoy it. When it stops being enjoyable...move on.

It really should be that simple.

[Hugh R]

Paul, you are dead right. I almost sold it back in 1977-78 when a water pump (what's that?) cost me $175, when you could get one for most American cars for like $25. When I rebuilt it the last time the main bearings from the AM factory were horrible. There really are no aftermarket sources for those cars. I was supposed to have 0.75' to 0.125" of a thousands of an inch main bearing clearances. The factory sold me main bearings that had 3-4 thousands clearances. I ended up having the crank turned and hard chrome plated to get the right clearances. Ditto on pistons, and valves. Timing chain gears, NLA.

[fintstone]

So far my Porsches have been a good investment although I never considered them as such. Based on recent sales of similar cars, the two 911s I have would probably fetch more than I have invested in them. That is pretty good since I bought them for a fun hobby...and almost any other car I could have bought would have lost a significant portion of its value.

My used Cayenne Turbo has depreciated some, but most of the depreciation occurred long before I bought it, I have driven the hell out of it and it has required very little maintenance/repair. I have used it to tow cross country both cars and trailers...and it is a great daily driver. I would buy it again in a minute.

[KFC911]

I've had plenty of "new" sports cars that depreciated $4-5K/year, but what I love about the 911 is the economy of it...nary a one got more "smiles per gallon"

[manbridge 74]

Something should be said about the modification bug. Once bit, all the changes people make to their cars makes finding a buyer with the same tastes that much harder come resale time.

[cajun]

Every Porsche I have ever owned has turned out to be a good investment. Everytime I have a bad day, I hop into one of them and ride...

My sanity is priceless...

[ymmv]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

I think he's talking 356 Speedster.

OK, that makes sense, assuming it was a well-timed purchase of a prime example.
My mistake.

[redstrosekNic]

Originally Posted by cajun

Every Porsche I have ever owned has turned out to be a good investment. Everytime I have a bad day, I hop into one of them and ride...

My sanity is priceless...

This is true.

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by cajun

My sanity is priceless...

My 911 purchase is the best money I ever spent on myself. I sold a car I basically could not drive and bought my 911 which I have put 800 miles on since mid-December. Just getting in the 911 is exciting. The click of the door closing is one of my favorite sounds, as is the engine at any rpm. My plan is to avoid the modification game and keep it stock and drive the wheels off of it. Just rolled-over to 60K miles yesterday!

Not driving your Porsche so as to preserve its value is like not having sex with your girlfriend so that her next boyfriend can enjoy her that much more. (Or however that saying goes.)

[exc911ence]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Buy what you like and enjoy it. When it stops being enjoyable...move on.

It really should be that simple.

This.

[mb911]

Porsches are wonderful to own and yes they are expensive to own simply because of the cost of parts. I was lucky enough to have sources to buy parts at extremly good prices so I could drive mine for a couple of thousand miles a year and then break even when I sell them. My 964 I took about 1k bath on but I did drive it every day and put on about 5 thousand miles so I dealt with it. For me what got old is have all the money invested in 1 belonging. since I sold my porsches I probably miss the 914-6 the most but now I am building a vaction home up north and restore a 67 camaro for 1/3 what it would cost for a porsche. I will have another porsche someday because I miss the smell and the handling but I may chose a 944 or a 951 or another 914-4 or 6. Best wishes with your sale??