Boxster depreciation?

[Nick-L]

Is it just me, or do Boxster's seem to depreciate quickly, severely, and painfully? The late model low mileage cars on the market seem to be sitting forever, and getting few offers all of which are far below what would seem to be "normal" depreciation.

Is there something about our cars that makes them loose value quickly? Or is it just the economy being harsh on luxury goods?

[Perfectlap]

I don't think the Boxster is different than any other Porsche.
Its simple economics, supply and demmand. Porsche has produced more cars in the last 7 years then they have at any point in their history. I've seen MINT condition 2002 911 Turbo's selling in the mid $50K's , a depreciation skirting the 50% mark after less than five years...crazy, that was considered an exotic at one point and now $50K won't buy you a CaymanS, and X5 or a lemon Mercedes.
All new Porsches are depcreciating faster than most of their owners have anticipated. But I have yet to see any data comparing Porsches to other luxury brands from Germany that would suggest that Porsche is depreciating a quicker clip than BMW or Mercs. If anything I would say that the improved reliabiltiy of Porsche is opening the door to a wider pool of buyers which helps a seller expand his target market.
Ask a Jaguar or Range Rover owner how quickly his 7 year old car is selling...

[racer_d]

Yes, they depreciate.. Heck, even a Mercedes can only hold about 30% of its original value. Porsche built so far, over 200,000 Boxsters. Every year, thousands more come off lease and flood the market. Panic over reliability means most who buy used search for CPO or an aftermarket warranty. All of which hurts resale value.

I think another unspoken element is people only want to buy "new". Used, Preowned, CPO etc all carry a bit of a stigma to those wanting to impress or validate their sucess by owning only the "newest" and "best", even if they aren't the best and money is being wasted.

[spark00]

Originally Posted by racer_d

I think another unspoken element is people only want to buy "new". Used, Preowned, CPO etc all carry a bit of a stigma to those wanting to impress or validate their sucess by owning only the "newest" and "best", even if they aren't the best and money is being wasted.

for people buying new to validate success, 'what are you trying to compensate for?' some used are great value but i would love to get into a brand new Porsche any day if i had the money.

[Techart Boxster]

To add my 2 cents, I actually have a 2006 RR SC and a 2005 XKR Cab both with low low miles (the XKR has 6900) and in the case of the XKR I would be hard pressed to get 55k. This from a car that sold for close to 100. The lesson, buy slightly used and get a great deal!

[rick3000]

They depreciate but in comparsion to other cars they do pretty good. My car was probably in the $54k range new I bought it a month ago, 8 years old for $22k so a little more than half in 8 years but it only had 17k miles. That seems pretty good to me.

[yellowboxster01]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

I don't think the Boxster is different than any other Porsche.
Its simple economics, supply and demmand. Porsche has produced more cars in the last 7 years then they have at any point in their history. I've seen MINT condition 2002 911 Turbo's selling in the mid $50K's , a depreciation skirting the 50% mark after less than five years...crazy, that was considered an exotic at one point and now $50K won't buy you a CaymanS, and X5 or a lemon Mercedes.

You are so correct, some pca members and I were talking out at the local track the other day about the depriciation of the 996T. there was a guy that bought a new cayman s for $60K off the lot with 2xx something miles on it and a guy would just bought an 01' turbo with 10,xxx miles on it for $70K. who's getting more bang for the buck, it just doesn't make sense to buy new nowdays or really ever in my opinion. i'd rather get a gently used porsche at a 50% discount than a brand new one at more than msrp.

[blinkwatt]

Hopefully as w/ ALL(except the 924) Porsches,the Boxster will hit a point where it levels out and still holds value,look at old 928s,924s,914s and 911s.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

In 30 years buying and selling Sports Cars, I've never bought new (though I almost always could have). I've usually bought a 2-3 year old model in as new condition and mileage, and drove a hard bargain on the Purchase price.

Over some 30+ cars, averaging 2-5 years ownership, I have always sold them for more than I paid.

The key is to buy smart - keep your objectivity in the forefront and your emotions in the rear. If you can't make the deal on the car in front of you, rest assured that there's another one just like it, just around the corner. Do your math and stick to it.

I bought my '99 Boxster 2 yrs. ago with 17k on the odo for $17k (asking $24). Given the fast depreciation, this may be the first car I actually lose money on. Whatever.

The key is not how much it holds it's value, but rather, how much under the current value that you can acquire it for...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[TriGem2k]

Last I checked you don't buy cars hoping to make money on them after years of ownership.

[r9i8c7k]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

In 30 years buying and selling Sports Cars, I've never bought new (though I almost always could have). I've usually bought a 2-3 year old model in as new condition and mileage, and drove a hard bargain on the Purchase price.

Over some 30+ cars, averaging 2-5 years ownership, I have always sold them for more than I paid.

The key is to buy smart - keep your objectivity in the forefront and your emotions in the rear. If you can't make the deal on the car in front of you, rest assured that there's another one just like it, just around the corner. Do your math and stick to it.

I bought my '99 Boxster 2 yrs. ago with 17k on the odo for $17k (asking $24). Given the fast depreciation, this may be the first car I actually lose money on. Whatever.

The key is not how much it holds it's value, but rather, how much under the current value that you can acquire it for...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

You make very good points...I don't always have the patience I should but my good friend does. He was looking for a used '05 Infiniti FX that were going for $40K at the time. He searched for about 6 months and got exactly what he was looking for $31K. He is ready to sell and he'll probably get $30K.

[BoxsterBob - CA]

Originally Posted by Nick-L

Is there something about our cars that makes them loose value quickly? Or is it just the economy being harsh on luxury goods?

Could be worse, you could own Chrysler!

[kelly1005]

Could be due to the fact that so much of the cost can be in options, and options don't necessarily price well in resale?

Just a theory based on the fact that I think a hard top sold as a $2500 option but only adds $500 to the value of a '98 boxster, which is a 80% drop vs about a 65% drop in the value of the base car.

Say the base car drops 30% in value, and the options value drops 50% in 2 years. If you've got a $40k base + $20k in options, you go from $60k to $38k. If you had a car (non Porsche) that was $60k with no real options (because it just comes with all the stuff) you only drop to $42k.