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

[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.

[svandamme]

Man, i hear you... My first one i bought, i dumped more then the buying price in parts in it, "it's gonna get better , it has to!!" and then sold it at the original asking price just to get rid of the pos and stop hemorrhaging money

[Tervuren]

When it comes to the 944, the buy in price reflects the cost of ownership. If it was no trouble, they'd be worth a lot more. Because there *always* seems to be some little tidbit you'd like to fix, they *always* cost a steady stream of money, and this shrinks the buyer pool to either those ignorant of these facts, or to those willing to spend the time/money. The second group is savvy to what it costs to own, and are not likely to spend a lot on something that is going to cost a lost.

Odds are, the 'Vette has lower ownership costs. Easier to make a profit on it.

Personally, its the car I enjoy driving, I don't mind working on it. I do not plan on selling it outside of a life emergency, so the "sell value" doesn't factor in the picture. Perhaps it does factor in a little, in making me NOT want to sell it.

[gamin]

Your piece of crap unreliable money pit 930 is for sale, right? For cheap, right? PM me if so.

[Laneco]

If it's got tits or tires...

angela

[onewhippedpuppy]

I assume 9## = 944?

Unfortunately there's not a huge market for the 944, despite them being good cars. There are a lot of neglected $4k cars out there which makes it difficult to get much, even for really nice ones. Because there's not a big following for the car and there's a ton of cheap ones for sale, they're not really appreciating in any way, with the exception being nice examples of the turbo and S2.

Why aren't you driving it? It's never going to be a good investment, so you might as well enjoy it.

[aigel]

tonypeoni - tell us more about your car. A 930 did go up in value since 14 years ago, I am sure. Just not as much as you have spent on it.

Cars are depreciating assets 95% of the time. You can only hope to ease the depreciation by buying wisely. Not sure what Corvette your buddy had, but those are generally not in the same league in terms of performance and fun if they are from the classic period (say 15+ years back).

I really am not worried about it - having a nice sports car to enjoy is my way of rewarding myself for my hard work.

G

[carrera84]

Buying a 3.2 carrera 12 years ago was one of the best investment I ever made.

But even better was the investment in porsche shares.

[GH85Carrera]

Because a car is almost always a horrible investment. They are cars not investments. Some people get lucky and buy a car and keep it long enough to see the value go up. My brother has a 1955 VW Bug as his daily driver. It is worth many times what he paid for it 35 years ago.

[boba]

A couple of thoughts.

If you are buying for investment you must buy an investment grade car. This is both in condition and desirability. Not many RS's have lost value.

You make your money the day you buy.

There were too many 944's for those to ever be investments. Same with 911's and 356's. Yes, you can sell these for more than the price you paid, but after cost of ownership and ROI they suck as investments. Cash under your mattress could be the only worse investment.

Cost of ownership is not a barrier for many high dollar exotics, so it comes back to the desirability and rarity.

BTW, guys do lose money on Corvettes, they may not talk about it but more than you would think.

For Porsche, buy them to use them and count the smiles.

[MMiller]

Originally Posted by Laneco

If it's got tits or tires...

angela

Ha.... good stuff there

[McLovin]

Well, they're not "investments."

But they can be very cheap fun. Gotta buy right (you make or lose your money the second you purchase the car), and do your own work, though.

[911dean]

I was way upside down in my Corvette, of course I didn't need to modify the hell out of it. I bought my Porsche and then sold the vette.

I'm now thinking about hot rodding the 911. Not the best financial decision, but I plan on being buried in it. I just love the 911.

[redstrosekNic]

Cars are expenses, not investments.

[szyzygy]

Originally Posted by redstrosekNic

Cars are expenses, not investments.

agreed, generally speaking. Unless you are a huge car buff and spend a lot of time looking for deals.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by redstrosekNic

Cars are expenses, not investments.

...unless they are investment grade cars, but that is something different altogether.

I know of a guy who flips Lussos for example. Only Lussos. Nothing but. Sometimes only one car a year or so. But he makes serious coin on every one.

[RANDY P]

There are better ways to net a return. Cars are a terrible investment tool in general.

They are hobbies.

Remember what JWW says when he advertises his swap meet

"BUY PARTS, SELL PARTS, TRADE PARTS, WHO KNOWS YOU MIGHT BREAK EVEN!!"

rjp

[RANDY P]

PS The guys to feel sorry for are the guys who spend six figures on domestic muscle cars.

You're done. For instance I'll bet there are more 69 Z28's today then in 69.

rjp

[herr_oberst]

^^^^^True. And those Mopars that sold for nosebleed money just a few years back are not getting anywhere close to that now. The Hemi fad is over, at least for a while.

[Rapewta]

It would be nice to own a car and have it appreciate but with me, not going to happen.
Oh, I have owned stock corvettes (1965 & 1967). The 65 I bought for 1,650 dollars and the 67 for 1,900.
Both were perfect with no mods. I sold them for 1,600 and 2,200 back in the early 70's. Today they would be worth major cash. Did I know or want to wait for them to become great investments? No. I drove them a lot with many good memories and mental images.
My 911 has already depreciated some because in the 28 months I have owned it (paid cash), it has been driven 17,000 miles.
I got it to drive and in doing so, I have reflections in my mind of those fun trips.

The money required to keep it on the road and knowing that it is slowly losing it's value don't come into play.