Is the SC/3.2 market especially crazed right now?

[r-mm]

Or is this just how things are? I consider myself a good car buyer - always willing to stretch the budget for the right car, ask lots of questions and demand a PPI but never if I'm not serious and never ungraciously (I hope). But its brutal out there. Cars being sold within days sight unseen. Cars going for over asking price. Dealers snapping cars up. I don't begrudge any seller or dealer because after all money talks, but I'm just wondering if this is a bad or particularly frothy time in the market? Or maybe my expectations are off: these are quasi super-car market forces and I've hitherto been dealing with just plain sports cars. Some people have said just wait for summer to come which scares me ever more. Maybe this is the run-up to summer fun? Either way I'm having a hell of a time finding an honest coupe in a modestly interesting color.

[whiterabbit]

Buy the first decent car you find if the price is reasonable. These cars are going up big time as people finally realize their worth.

[techweenie]

Yes, 2-1/2 years ago was the beginning of the upward curve.

I find it's the decisive bird that usually gets the worm.

[r-mm]

Originally Posted by techweenie

I find it's the decisive bird that usually gets the worm.

Couldn't agree more. When I see a car in person this is cake, but with a nation-wide hunt its trickier. Still, I'm developing my spider sense about good cars and ready your PPI post with interest.

[pu911]

I can't remember last time I actually saw a car before I purchased it. It's always a roll of the dice, you have to get comfortable with person selling car.
Phil

[r-mm]

Originally Posted by pu911

I can't remember last time I actually saw a car before I purchased it. It's always a roll of the dice, you have to get comfortable with person selling car.
Phil

Does this have something to do with living in Bozeman, MT?

just kidding...
point taken.

[pu911]

Well yes and no, I've lived in goofy places from a car perspective- its mostly the crazy market. Very few of the cars I've sold ever get inspected either. As techweenie states first guy to say I do usually does. If a car even slightly under priced or very desirable they sell within the first few hours, just the lay of the land.
Good Luck!
Phil

[christiandk]

Not half as crazed as the longhood market, imo.

[sm70911]

+ 1 what Techweenie said. that Moss Green met over sage green interior Euro SC that was on Craigslist in FL was a great example. Well priced and a really god looking car. I saw it and called the owner, but because I was in the middle of a rebuild I didn't pull the trigger. Stupid mistake. I thought about it and when I called the next day it was gone. I have never seen that color combo and have been kicking my self since. If your looking for something unique you have to be willing to do what it takes to see it the next day, and know where the car can be inspected nearby. There will be some compromises but the unique colors are harder and harder to find. SCs are great cars, IMO they have been undervalued for a long time.

[1982911SCTarga]

I think the market's just getting going. The car corral at Hershey will be interesting this year.

Brian

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by sm70911

+ 1 what Techweenie said. that Moss Green met over sage green interior Euro SC that was on Craigslist in FL was a great example. Well priced and a really god looking car. I saw it and called the owner, but because I was in the middle of a rebuild I didn't pull the trigger. Stupid mistake. I thought about it and when I called the next day it was gone. I have never seen that color combo and have been kicking my self since. If your looking for something unique you have to be willing to do what it takes to see it the next day, and know where the car can be inspected nearby. There will be some compromises but the unique colors are harder and harder to find. SCs are great cars, IMO they have been undervalued for a long time.

My favorite term for that came from a long-ago girlfriend. She called it "Moscow shopping rules." In Moscow, if you find it for sale; you buy it instantly. You never know if you'll see another.

I was asked to help sell a G50 Carrera here in SoCal a couple years ago. It was extremely well cared for by a meticulous owner, but had had some things fall on it in the Northridge earthquake, so there were areas of repaint, and the hood had been poorly straightened. To further complicate matters, it looked like there were 9 coats of clearcoat all over. The seller wanted $27K which was beyond the car's value at the time. I checked in 4 months ago, when the market had come up to his price and someone had jumped on it a couple weeks before.

In the collector car market, there's an old saying: "you can't pay too much, but you can buy too soon." I don't think that's good advice, but I'll share some advice that I've earned over the years: the market price of the car is 85% of the decision. How the car resonates with you emotionally is 15%. And I'm talking price. IOW, if the market says the SC or Carrera of your dreams is $25K, max, and you lust for it, add up to 15% to what you're willing to pay. Nothing is as expensive as regret.

[vracer]

Originally Posted by techweenie

In the collector car market, there's an old saying: "you can't pay too much, but you can buy too soon." I don't think that's good advice, but I'll share some advice that I've earned over the years: the market price of the car is 85% of the decision. How the car resonates with you emotionally is 15%. And I'm talking price. IOW, if the market says the SC or Carrera of your dreams is $25K, max, and you lust for it, add up to 15% to what you're willing to pay. Nothing is as expensive as regret.

Once again, the 'weenerman' nailed it. My addendum to his theorem is: "When you are driving the car in two years, will you regret the extra $X.000 that you spent? If the answer to the question is, no; buy the damn car." Don't forget, useful extras like cigarette lighters, automatic trannies, and a color you crave - cost extra.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by techweenie

My favorite term for that came from a long-ago girlfriend. She called it "Moscow shopping rules." In Moscow, if you find it for sale; you buy it instantly. You never know if you'll see another.

I was asked to help sell a G50 Carrera here in SoCal a couple years ago. It was extremely well cared for by a meticulous owner, but had had some things fall on it in the Northridge earthquake, so there were areas of repaint, and the hood had been poorly straightened. To further complicate matters, it looked like there were 9 coats of clearcoat all over. The seller wanted $27K which was beyond the car's value at the time. I checked in 4 months ago, when the market had come up to his price and someone had jumped on it a couple weeks before.

In the collector car market, there's an old saying: "you can't pay too much, but you can buy too soon." I don't think that's good advice, but I'll share some advice that I've earned over the years: the market price of the car is 85% of the decision. How the car resonates with you emotionally is 15%. And I'm talking price. IOW, if the market says the SC or Carrera of your dreams is $25K, max, and you lust for it, add up to 15% to what you're willing to pay. Nothing is as expensive as regret.

This is true. I passed up an '84 Carerra because the guy just would not budge from $20k. As it turns out, the car was worth every penny of that, except that it was red over linen, and I didn't like either color. It absolutley was worth $20k, and it drove very nicely, and the guy had all the receipts. And. And. And.

Found my car all the way across the country with more miles, not in as good condition, but the car was EXACTLY what I wanted. It never fails to make me smile when I look at it, or drive it, or am doing something repair-like to it. The other car would have undoubtedly been a better investment. But I wasn't buying the car for my portfolio. I was buying it because I wanted to drive it.

I'll eventually fix every damn thing on the car, repaint it, rebuild it, and drive it, drive it, drive it. Now, tell me how much it's worth.

[Matt Monson]

Yes.

[creaturecat]

Wait till the 964's hit stride.
They are going to skyrocket.
My prediction; and one of the reasons i bought one.

[vracer]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

Wait till the 964's hit stride.
They are going to skyrocket.
My prediction; and one of the reasons i bought one.

If we're going to discuss the future of the 964, it should probably be in a 'new' thread. Be that as it may, I love the 964. It has the advantage of looking like an old car, and behaving like a new one. Porsche didn't keep building the same car for 25+ years because they got it right in 1963; they did it because they were a small, poor manufacturer that couldn't affford the re-design costs. The 964 is a hugh improvement in many ways.

BUT, we are interested in, and drive these old cars because of the historical feeling, and in my case the cameraderie and events that are open to us. I participate in a number of events in my '89 911 that would exclude me in an '89 964.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcasting - uhh - thread. SCs, will they go up? Yes; with the market. And this is kind of a 'no brainer'; the better the car, the better the percentage gain.

[Palum6o]

All you have to do is list your car and observe. There is a very high demand for these cars from all over the place including folks over seas and Canada. $20k is yesterday's rule of thumb, more like $25k now.

[maninblack]

Originally Posted by christiandk

not half as crazed as the longhood market, imo.

+1

[CountD]

Originally Posted by vracer

Porsche didn't keep building the same car for 25+ years because they got it right in 1963; they did it because they were a small, poor manufacturer that couldn't affford the re-design costs. The 964 is a hugh improvement in many ways.

Porsche built the 964 because they were forced to, not because they were booming and becoming rich and wanted to build a new car. Exactly the opposite: Porsche was hit extremely hard during this period (late '80s, early '90s), and with DOT and EPA legislation ruling over everything from noise, pollution, safety/crumple zones, airbags, air quality, etc all kicking in seriously in 1990-1991 (late) and OBD I in late '92 as the law of the land, the car (911) had to become something else. Which it did. Porsche was not poor in the '80s. The C4 964 is a landmark design for sure, but it didn't happen because they wanted it to - the 911 had to become something else in order to survive.

[pegasus9]

Just did a quick search using autotempest. Its a frenzy for sure.
I'm seeing 25 - 35k for a decent carrrera coupe. The window is closing.