[1JB]

The depreciation on a new Porshce is no worse than any other comparable car but please show me a comparable car. BMW's aren't comparable. I'm not saying they're better or worse they're just not a Porsche in any sense of looks, driving, etc. Mercedes are not comparable, Audis, and so on. All of the luxury sport cars depreciate, but they're each in a unique market as well. The biggest depreciation comes from the Porsche options. They don't provide any return at resale. None, zip, zero, nada. Some are a liability at resale, pccb, pasm and pcm likely candidates for costly failures with pccb being the worst.

If you're going to buy new get a car lightly optioned with the options buyers expect at this price level: halogens, climate control, top of the line sound sytem with a cd changer. Also look to a minor change within the same platform. I looked at used 986s and found a significant difference between the 987 and 986. I love the 986 but liked the 987 and potential increased reliabity, rms for example, much better. Buying a 987s at the end of '06 when Porsche announced the 3.4 for '07 was a good time to do so. There was a lot of hype of 15 more hp and vario cam plus which is really a big yawn unless you're Speed Racer at the track. I got mine for 15% below msrp. Now it's depreciated 30% but that's from msrp. A neighbor waited and got an '07 for list. He can't go any faster than me down the drive to work even if there are no cars on the road because you can only get 80% out of the cars performance on the street at best. Don't ever pay msrp. That means you need to be patient and time your purchase when the market is soft.

The used 911's that were in the same price range as the new 987s were completely different beasts. They just weren't my cup of tea and being out of warranty the potential maintenance costs were a real concern. I keep my cars for a long time and get my money's worth out of them. I'll seriously consider a RUF upgrade when the '06 is out of warranty. That'll be the bomb.

So it's a matter of choice and common sense. If an '02 turbo melts your butter go for it. You'll get a heck of a deal but not necessarily more bang for the buck of a new 987. If you want brand new, popular and highly optioned be prepared to take a bath on depreciation. The Cayman S when it came out is a very good example. They were selling at or above msrp when they first came out and the dealers brought in a few with options that put them well over $70k US. If you can't pick up a Cayman S for 15% below msrp right now you're in a completely different market than I am in the NE US.