Value over time Carrera 3.2

[Robbbyg]

Hi looking for thoughts on what you think the future holds for 84 to 89 cars
will they depreciate more? or do you think that they will start to rise in value?
when i do valuations online they only give you a current valuation so i cant research what the same model sold for last year or the year before.. so have no idea if prices have risen or dropped


Any thoughts on this matter appreciated


Robbbyg

[GH85Carrera]

The nice ones are going UP in value. The magazine Excellence does a different model of Porsche for an evaluation each issue. The Carreras are going up overall. I am lucky enough to have an insurance agent that subscribes so I don't even have to copy the article for him. My policy is for an agreed amount that is spelled out. We recently raised that $3,000.00

Overall it is the best toy in the world, it makes me happy every time I drive it, and it is worth more money than I paid for it.

[jwetering]

Well.....I remember similar conversations ten years ago when I bought an SC for $20K. I can buy the same car now for $12 - $15K.

Good low mileage garage queen types will always be worth mony, but anything used and driven will depreciate.

Sorry - the cars are kind of a niche thing, and there's lots around to satisfy teh demand for that niche.

[vintage guy]

My sense is that prices were steady for the past few years but have dropped a little lately. I would not expect much long term increase as there are quite a few of these cars around. Also, keep in mind that maintenance costs on any 20+ year old car, especially a Porsche, can be substantial. Bottom line....buy one because you like it not because you want to turn a profit.

[Dixie]

They need to double or triple if I'm going to see a profit. In the three years I've owned my '88, I've put $5,000 in the suspension, $2,500 in the top-end, $1,700 in the clutch, and $800 in "small stuff"...

[dw1]

I don't know if this is a good indication, but according to NADA's classic/collector car pricing, the value of my '87 has gone up a little bit in each of the last 2 years.

Overall, I have to agree that condition, mileage, and records become more & more important to the value of the vehicle as the car gets older. And low-mileage 100% stock garage queens will always demand bigger bucks.

Yes, there are a lot of 3.2's around, relatively speaking, but it's getting harder & harder to find one-owner cars, unmodified cars, and/or cars with a verifiable low mileage.

It also appears that there may be notable regional differences in pricing. Here in the NY-NJ-CT area, prices may be a bit higher than in some other parts of the country.

As expected, the G50 cars also seem to be doing a bit better, value-wise, than the earlier 3.2's.

[Robbbyg]

Interesting stuff, i was browsing the aussie car sales site the other day and a 1986 carrera with 139000k on the clock was asking $52000 , the lowest priced car i could find was a 1985 Carrera Targa for $36500, im thinking different countries have different prices, we seem to pay more of a premium over our US couinterparts, in US you can buy the same car for half the price.

Then again i only saw 4 cars for sale both privately and trhrough dealers for sale, thats Australia wide!
I think we have a lot less cars here or the owners are hanging onto them, which would also dictate the price.

Our Glass Guide here (Standard Car Valuers) lists the price of an average 1985 Carrera 3.2 Targa based upon 20000kays or less yearly for age of car

Estimated Valuations:
$37170-45430 private sale
$34900-41300 trade in value
$48000-57600 dealer price

this is aussie dollar about 95 cents to the us i think but still!


Another interesting example
My first porsche a 1977 Carrera 3 Targa , 1 of 14 in oz , i paid $34k for
since then not a lot of growth, but on the site i saw 2 going 1 at 55k and another at 75k respectively, both coupes

on the same page theres a 1977 carrera 3 targa just had ground up restoration with baremetal respray, carrera chain tensioners etc rest factory, for $37500
(could have been my old car)

On the other hand I think a lot of people who own them (some anyway) have no idea on values and you can pick up a real bargain, you know the type, a young banker eyes a porsche , buys it drives it 5 times over 2 years gets bored with it and sells it for half the price, doesnt bother to service it etc

[GH85Carrera]

It would interesting to find out how many left hand drive Carreras were made. There has to be a lot smaller pool of them. That may will be why the prices are so high in OZ.

[Robbbyg]

i think it would be interesting to know how many of each Engine type were made as well
ie: 930/20, 930/26 both in coupe cab and targas,both US and Row and swiss mkts etc, how many were sent to each country??
maybe a breakdown on it for each year, there doesnt seem to be anything on this anywhere

[dw1]

Holy dooley!

For those kind of $$$, it's almost worth shipping my car to Oz to sell it.

According to NADA, which seems to be fair dinkum, a good '87 like mine has a high retail price of 26k$ US or so. If I get lucky, some whacker might give me more, but nothing like the prices in the Glass Guide.

[Robbbyg]

Originally Posted by dw1

Holy dooley!

For those kind of $$$, it's almost worth shipping my car to Oz to sell it.

According to NADA, which seems to be fair dinkum, a good '87 like mine has a high retail price of 26k$ US or so. If I get lucky, some whacker might give me more, but nothing like the prices in the Glass Guide.

i did look into that but Oz laws make it extremely difficult and expensive to import a car more than 20 yrs old..

Anyone got a boat?

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Robbbyg

i did look into that but Oz laws make it extremely difficult and expensive to import a car more than 20 yrs old..

Anyone got a boat?

Just ship it as a bunch of parts

[tcar]

Originally Posted by dw1

Holy dooley!

For those kind of $$$, it's almost worth shipping my car to Oz to sell it.

According to NADA, which seems to be fair dinkum, a good '87 like mine has a high retail price of 26k$ US or so. If I get lucky, some whacker might give me more, but nothing like the prices in the Glass Guide.

I think he's talking Aussie dollars...

$40k A is probably about $30k US... (don't know current exchange rate, but...).

So, it's not THAT much more...

[Nickatnyt]

Originally Posted by Capt. Carrera

They need to double or triple if I'm going to see a profit. In the three years I've owned my '88, I've put $5,000 in the suspension, $2,500 in the top-end, $1,700 in the clutch, and $800 in "small stuff"...

Consider that normal. My initial $13K cost of my 82 SC is now inflated by the $11K that I have put into it.

I could have bought a 2000 Boxster (at the time) for that. But then again my red SC commands 10x more attention and adoration than a lowly boxster does.

I probably have another 4-5K to sink into my car but that is ok compared if I sold my SC for another fun car.

[dentist90]

No need to travel to the land of Oz. Just sell it to a Canadian! California alone has way more
911s than all of Canada. When I paid $25,000 for my '84 you guys were talking about $15-18,000 for the same car. And our dollar is pretty close to the Greenback. If/when I get in the market for another 911 I will certainly be looking south for deals.

[DanielDudley]

This is a good time to buy a 911. Eventually they will swing up again, and the good ones are still getting top dollar. These cars are not an investment, but if you buy right you will be able to sell well, or at least easily.

[3.2 CAB]

Some cars will always be given more attention, thus more $$$$$$. The ones that stay healthy, and get taken care of properly, will also get the dough. I should be shot for not driving mine but about 1,800 miles since 6-03, when I had the speedometer serviced. I guess it might be one of the "garage queens" but with only one of me, with all of these different cars and trucks, nothing gets much seat time. I'm not complaining, but I am trying to get my OCD of acquiring vehicles under control, I have not bought one in almost a year and and a half now. But... my insurance guy loves me, never misses a holiday or birthday, with a card and a hand written note, thanking me for my support of his children's college fund. I hope they keep going up, or at least do not take a nose dive, so if one day, mine needs to be sold, there won't be much work getting it done.

[hcoles]

given all the time and $$$ I've put into my 89 it is no investment $$ wise. It is an investment in being happy, I like working on it and going with friends and my sons to the track and AX. That's the payoff for me.. Be happy you found a really fun car to drive.

[gregwils]

Excellence magazine, as someone mentioned, does a five year trend on different models. I have some older issues in addition to being a current subscriber, so I have data for about the past eight or nine years.

Generally, Carreras have been appreciating at about the same rate as inflation - 3% per year since the late 90's. This is for Carrera's in general. If you look at low mileage, limited production examples that are very clean, they have been moving at a faster rate. In some cases, much faster. At the other end, an high mileage, hard lived Carreras are rocks with little appreciation potential. The differences can be extraordinary - $10k - $35k or higher.

If you are looking for an investment, there are better choices. The insurance and maintenance costs will more than offset any appreciation. The better thought process is 'how do I not get buried by this car'. Bruce Anderson has the best advice and that is buy the best condition, newest 911 you can afford.

If you sell, you will probably recover $0 - $.50 for every dollar of maintenace you spend. The amount of time and mileage passed will determine your recovery when you sell. A new clutch last month is worth something, a new clutch 3 years and 15k miles is great, but not going to bring much premium. The best way to make a bad investment is to buy a car that needs a lot of work and you don't do it yourself.

[wolf]

here in holland they go up a bit. a good 3.2 coupe will go for 18-19K € private.
in deutschland prices are considerably higher, up to 30-40K.