What is going on with 986 and 996 prices?

[Meat Head]

[QUOTE=

There's a chance 996 prices may come back up, eventually, but we're not at that point yet. I don't think even the 924/944 models are on the upswing just yet (then again, I may be very wrong with this as I haven't been checking prices on those).[/QUOTE]


924s and 944 will not be classics for a VERY long time. They do not posses classic lines (very dated) and are not convertible. I was never impressed with their overall performance (I've owned both). The 944 wasn't bad but the 924 was a total POS. The fact that the Boxster is a roadster will help it in the long run. Also the fact that the Boxster was intended to look retro gives it timeless lines (reminiscent of the speedster). For the most part roadsters always demand a higher resale in the classic car world. After the Boxsters that have been abused and not well maintained go to the junk-yard you will find the well maintained versions rebound (over the next few years). In 5 years or so, if a person wishes to find a nice representation of an early Boxster it will be much harder to find. Try to find a nice early 90s Toyota MR2. Now that all the abused MR2s have died a nice version will cost $$$ (and this is a car with a much smaller sticker price). Thats just my 2 cents lol.

To say that the IMS hasn't hurt the price point of the Boxster is crazy. Think about it.....I'm considering the purchase of a sports car.....do I want a car that has the potential of total engine falure that vertually totals the car or look elswere.....hence lowereing demand, hence lowering value. The IMS problem has hurt Porsches reputation. It is not the main factor in the decrease in Boxster values but it is a major contributing factor. Now that Porsche has released the true failure rates(and the word gets out) Boxsters are going to be considered a very good value wich will slowly increase prices. Again, just my 2 cents lol.

[pothole]

Originally Posted by Meat Head

To say that the IMS hasn't hurt the price point of the Boxster is crazy. Think about it.....I'm considering the purchase of a sports car.....do I want a car that has the potential of total engine falure that vertually totals the car or look elswere.....hence lowereing demand, hence lowering value. The IMS problem has hurt Porsches reputation. It is not the main factor in the decrease in Boxster values but it is a major contributing factor. Now that Porsche has released the true failure rates(and the word gets out) Boxsters are going to be considered a very good value wich will slowly increase prices. Again, just my 2 cents lol.

You're overlooking several things.

1. The Boxster is mass market. Most people don't know about IMS issues
2. If you claim IMS has depressed values, that means they'd be higher without IMS issues.

The problem with point two is that there's no space for this to be true. Increase the price of an early 986 and you have to do the same for a late 986, as the late car is always going to be worth more at this pre-classic stage.

But then you have to adjust early 987s up and in turn late 987s.

And that just doesn't work. If you observe used values you'll see there no huge drop off from 987.2 to 987.1. The 987.2 is worth more, but the gap is no more than you'd expect for a newer model.

If you stop and think about it, you'll realise that there's really no way an early 986 can be worth a lot more than it is. From early 986s through nearly new 981s, there are a metric tonne of Boxsters out there in numbers terms. Hundreds of thousands. A few hundred or even thousand guys talking about IMS on forums is irrelevant.

And that's why they're cheap.