Late 80's 911 future values
Discussion
I am looking to buy an older 911 I've seen a few on here advertised at about £26-£30K which is my expected budget.
I was thinking low mileage, full service history in immaculate condition I've seen a few 87,88,89 year cars that are within my expected budget. I'm looking to buy an outstanding example which I will only use on nice days. A couple have had full re-sprays etc and wonder if this will have any effect on it's future value.
I want to buy in the hope of it gaining in value, I don't really want to go silly on price but want to buy something I can really enjoy with the possibility of it gaining a bit in value and not losing value.
Is now a good time to buy one of these type of cars or will values decline or gain in the future.
I was thinking low mileage, full service history in immaculate condition I've seen a few 87,88,89 year cars that are within my expected budget. I'm looking to buy an outstanding example which I will only use on nice days. A couple have had full re-sprays etc and wonder if this will have any effect on it's future value.
I want to buy in the hope of it gaining in value, I don't really want to go silly on price but want to buy something I can really enjoy with the possibility of it gaining a bit in value and not losing value.
Is now a good time to buy one of these type of cars or will values decline or gain in the future.
I think a safer bet would be one at £20,000 (that stacks up as being worth that much), there's more chance of getting a decent amount of pleasure from it and finding it not too difficult to sell on again when the time comes, for a similar price or possibly a slight increase (although I wouldn't expect that to fully offset other ownership costs). Moving on a £30,000 one will mean there's lots of other options for potential buyers. A £20,000 car should be pretty much perfect with very low mileage (which affects value but little else on a 25 year old car), say below 100,000 (i.e. circa 4,000 miles per year) whereas paying more will get you a garage queen with a lower number on the dash, say below 50,000 and should be in more of a time-warp kind of condition. I think there's usually a very good case for spending closer to £20k than £10k but when you get beyond £20,000 it's very much a law of diminishing returns.
I've seen three that have low mileage between 55-85K and seem to have a full service history which I'm guessing will be a better long term bet and paying the additional figure ensures a totally immaculate one is bought from the offset.
I have an RS60 Boxster which I will use for more regular use/thrashing and the proposed 911 is purely for buying, keeping long term and to be used on the odd accasion to make sure it is kept up together.
Does it make sense to pay for an absolutely faultless example now or are prices for these cars dropping or rising at the moment.
I have an RS60 Boxster which I will use for more regular use/thrashing and the proposed 911 is purely for buying, keeping long term and to be used on the odd accasion to make sure it is kept up together.
Does it make sense to pay for an absolutely faultless example now or are prices for these cars dropping or rising at the moment.
Crimp a Length! said:
Buy a garage queen and you'll be bored due to fear of using.
I've been there and made money yes, but did i enjoy the ownership experience?
Probably not.
Buy a nice 3.2c for late teens and use it and look after it. Just make sure you don't buy a tin worm one.
That was exactly my thinking, when I bought mine (3.2 Carrera) a couple of weeks ago. Just back from a wee run of 50 miles to buy screenwash (as you do) without worrying about piling on too many miles. Its value to me, is what I get out of it, not just how much I get for it when I sell.I've been there and made money yes, but did i enjoy the ownership experience?
Probably not.
Buy a nice 3.2c for late teens and use it and look after it. Just make sure you don't buy a tin worm one.
As for the tinworm - well it looks ok but we'll just have to wait and see...
I can see the points, from my perspective I am buying the car from the profits I've made through wise careful buying of shares so my taking the £30K profit to buy a car has in my opinion have to satisfy two main criteria that is to enjoy the car along with not losing a penny. This path I believe is much more enjoyable than getting bugger all for saving the money in a crap deposit/saving account.
BIRMA said:
I can see the points, from my perspective I am buying the car from the profits I've made through wise careful buying of shares so my taking the £30K profit to buy a car has in my opinion have to satisfy two main criteria that is to enjoy the car along with not losing a penny. This path I believe is much more enjoyable than getting bugger all for saving the money in a crap deposit/saving account.
I think your route is valid...to buy a very special 911 and keep it that way. You should be looking for a proper low mileage car with everything original including paint and panels. For this kind of car I'd say any paint let alone a respray is detrimental.However I think there are a couple of flaws to your plan. Firstly finding one. You may never find the car you are looking for. Secondly using it is always going to be very hard. It's an original immaculate low mileage car that you paid top dollar for and it's important that you don't lose money. Every use will compromise that.
I think that thegoose has very wise words on the alternative approach.
Bert
BertBert said:
I think your route is valid...to buy a very special 911 and keep it that way. You should be looking for a proper low mileage car with everything original including paint and panels. For this kind of car I'd say any paint let alone a respray is detrimental.
However I think there are a couple of flaws to your plan. Firstly finding one. You may never find the car you are looking for. Secondly using it is always going to be very hard. It's an original immaculate low mileage car that you paid top dollar for and it's important that you don't lose money. Every use will compromise that.
I think that thegoose has very wise words on the alternative approach.
Bert
Thanks for all the constructive comments to date.However I think there are a couple of flaws to your plan. Firstly finding one. You may never find the car you are looking for. Secondly using it is always going to be very hard. It's an original immaculate low mileage car that you paid top dollar for and it's important that you don't lose money. Every use will compromise that.
I think that thegoose has very wise words on the alternative approach.
Bert
I'll strike the re-sprayed one off then. It is a difficult task admittedly but my thinking and plan was based on not spending a fortune and being able to get one which can be used on the odd occasion without the worry of my use de-valuing it. There is a red convertible near me which only has 55k on the clock I was thinking about that sort of car.
How does a Carrera of this era differ from the standard 911 if at all?
Edited by BIRMA on Saturday 23 March 18:58
The convertible and targa are less popular than the coupe.
The 3.2 carrera was the standard 911 of its day.Unfortunately Porsche devalued the carrera name when they introduced this model in 1984.
A wealth of info on these cars can be found on www.impactbumpers.com
The 3.2 carrera was the standard 911 of its day.Unfortunately Porsche devalued the carrera name when they introduced this model in 1984.
A wealth of info on these cars can be found on www.impactbumpers.com
Gulf911 said:
The convertible and targa are less popular than the coupe.
The 3.2 carrera was the standard 911 of its day.Unfortunately Porsche devalued the carrera name when they introduced this model in 1984.
A wealth of info on these cars can be found on www.impactbumpers.com
Why was the Carrera name devalued then?The 3.2 carrera was the standard 911 of its day.Unfortunately Porsche devalued the carrera name when they introduced this model in 1984.
A wealth of info on these cars can be found on www.impactbumpers.com
For what its worth, I feel you should be looking elsewhere.
Certain Porsche 911s go up in value, but that does not always mean its a low mileage immaculate example that will. Just look at the 964 911 RS. Ten years ago they struggled to push 25K (I know of someone who paid 21K for a low mileage immaculate one in 1999), yet look at prices now.
With the greatest respect, I really think you are not seeing the wood for the trees wanting one and expecting to make a profit in the long term.
TR5s, E Types and original Mini Cooper S were the way to go, but alas that chance has gone now.
IMO certain older impact bumper Porsche are still undervalued compared to other marquees, but there are few, I only see the rarest making you money over time, ie something like a Carrera 3 for example. Prices of which haven't really gone too mad yet.
Certain Porsche 911s go up in value, but that does not always mean its a low mileage immaculate example that will. Just look at the 964 911 RS. Ten years ago they struggled to push 25K (I know of someone who paid 21K for a low mileage immaculate one in 1999), yet look at prices now.
With the greatest respect, I really think you are not seeing the wood for the trees wanting one and expecting to make a profit in the long term.
TR5s, E Types and original Mini Cooper S were the way to go, but alas that chance has gone now.
IMO certain older impact bumper Porsche are still undervalued compared to other marquees, but there are few, I only see the rarest making you money over time, ie something like a Carrera 3 for example. Prices of which haven't really gone too mad yet.
Who knows about long term values - all I know is that good 3.2s and 964s are selling in hours at the moment. Assuming well priced of course. Market for good air cooled Porsches is electric at the moment if my failed attempts are anything to go by. Missed 3 despite offering asking price within hours in last fortnight. 993s slower but good ones still going v quickly.
I will stick with buying a decent 911 as a new convert to the marque I am warming to them. As with my shares I took a bit of a chance and landed up well over 30% better off after tax and accountant deductions so I am hoping I can apply a similar vein of luck with a 911 but with a private purchase and sale in the end there is scope for a bit of wriggle room but I don't want to loose money if I can help it. I think the cars of this era manage to be practical with a few modern luxuries.
Gulf911 said:
The 3.2 carrera was the standard 911 of its day.Unfortunately Porsche devalued the carrera name when they introduced this model in 1984.
Devalued the Carrera name my arse. 964 Carrera, 993 Carrera, 996 Carrera, 997 Carrera, all 'standard 911's of their day'. How can you say the 3.2 Carrera devalued the Carrera name. And yes I've got a 3.2 Carrera. 
I think it is a good plan David but of course there is no guarantee of future values. The Coupe would be the weapon of choice. 1987 on G50 gearbox car with low mileage and a good service history to back it all up. I think you'll struggle to find one with all original paint and I would not get too hung up about it if the bonnet has been repainted. Often done to eliminate stone chips. Rust is the killer so just make sure you get a thorough pre purchase inspection done by someone who knows what they are looking at.
graemel said:
I think it is a good plan David but of course there is no guarantee of future values. The Coupe would be the weapon of choice. 1987 on G50 gearbox car with low mileage and a good service history to back it all up. I think you'll struggle to find one with all original paint and I would not get too hung up about it if the bonnet has been repainted. Often done to eliminate stone chips. Rust is the killer so just make sure you get a thorough pre purchase inspection done by someone who knows what they are looking at.
Thanks, I think I'd be inclined to buy from a dealer as I have noticed a dealer near me with a few for sale.That's why I set my figure quite high so as to get a very good one and I'd assume one that has had any rust issues addressed. I thought original paintwork would be at least touched up due to stone chips unless I find one with only a few thousand miles on which would probably be out of my price range and I'd probably be too paranoid about using it which would defeat the object as well.
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