[Perfectlap]

well now that all the various segments of the 986 (96-99,00-02,03-04) are out there and getting their mileage racked up, I think we will start sifting the cars that you say are plagued with costly repairs from those which are plagued with anxiety. Maybe that will increase or decrease buyer anxiety. Seems to me, RMS and IS issue aside, that the earlier versions of the 986 have attributed for much of the problems. That's just my guess though. It just follows logic that a new model will have its quirks to work out. The IS issue is a huge hurdle (not so much the RMS, kinda overblown).... but will we see a rash of these detonating egines as the mileages start to climb? Or is it an issue that after a certain point the surviving fleet is mostly out of woods?

The other issue also (on depreciation) is that I don't really think this car is, well nicely preserved ones, are as common in the second hand market as people believe it to be. Sure they made a whole heck fo a lot of 996 and 986 vs. previous Porsches, certainly plenty enough to choose from NOW. But how many will be well maintained say 8 to 10 years from now? Several members on this forum have contacted me saying that its hard to find a well maintained Boxster, even in this economy, that a current owner is willing to part with at thse prices. Tons of high mileage, not so pristine cars out there just collecting snow and rain on used car lots. Who wants to spend a bunch of money on expensive paint, wheels and leather repair just to get a car back to stock? Sounds like track fodder to me....Generally speaking in the future I think folks are going to be much more demmanding with their limited toy car budgets in the future. The consumer is spending less and expecting more. That could be good news for enthusiast owned cars.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the long run.