986 as a future classic

[Perfectlap]

^ I agree on the 944 being dated. At the time it was being sold I much prefferred the 944 design over the Carrera. The 944 and the 928 had a sleek forward-looking designs. In my book there was nothing else on the road that captured that flair. But the funny thing is even then people were denigrating anything that wasn't a 911. One guy at my school had a 944 and the haters would say "the poor man's Porsche". I didn't get it, to me the Carrera looked like a VW Bug. Why does everyone have such an infatuation for a car that reminds me of Herbie the Love Bug? So when the 996 came around with a much more aggresive and futuristic design I was one of the few who welcomed it.

The 986 is now a 20 year old design. That's kind of crazy when you think about it. When I first mounted my 997 Turbo replica wheels and added the PORSCHE side decals my neighbohr came out and asked me if I had traded in my old car for the new model! He took a closer look and said "oh ha ha... you tricked me!". That sort of impression would have never happened with a car whose design does not stand the test of time.

p.s.
The level of Boxster attrition that will be needed for the values to ever come up so that a 986 or 987 recoups (inflation adjusted) original value is beyond possible. First, the 996 and Boxster were too expensive (Porsche tax) from the start to hope for price-boosting attrition. You would have to be REALLY in love with the 986 over later versions like the 981 to reject a newer, more powerful, more reliable, less mileage-beaten Boxster. In other words Boxster production would need to shut down now, ideally in 2004 (which probably makes the case for a strong Honda S2000 market some day). In order for something produced in high numbers to be a hit, what comes after must be viewed as subtantially inferior. Quiet the contrary, the 981 is proving to be a huge hit in the sports car world, it has the looks and the performance and they will sell a metric ton of them before we are into the 6th generation. And the other issue is that at the $10-$20K mark, the enthusiast pool that look after Boxsters and 996/997 Carreras will be perhaps the largest one Porsche has ever had. It won't be that hard to find a well maintained Boxster or water-cooled Carrera, most will not survive but those that do will be large enough to make finding one a simple matter of logging onto Autotrader and Ebay and voila you've found a high mileage but well kept car. One can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands of water-cooled Porsches will be rolling around on the streets by then.

However if you bought either a 996/997 or Boxster used, it could stand to reason that you might one day sell it for the used purchase price, but that's really moot because there's no such thing as owning an old Porsche that isn't burning a big hole in your wallet unless you are part of that small % of drivers who can replace their own water pump or shocks. 99% of all driven Boxsters and Carreras (as in not low mileage garage queens) purchased new, will ultimately be net losers or barely break even. Air-cooled engines have very expensive rebuilds that few know hot to do anymore and the water-cooled Pcars have over-priced parts that can easily surpass the purchase price.

[fatmike]

Is the Karmann Ghia considered a classic/collectible?

Do we think the Boxster will viewed similarly over time?




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[southernstar]

I too loved my 944, but the build quality on it was also questionable: as has been pointed out, various electrical problems, the huge rear windows/hatches becoming unsealed, corrosion problems where the front fenders met the bumpers and eventually in the rocker panels, lousy air-conditioning components, etc. I was not suggesting that the 986 will fetch what it cost new ( $50,000. or more in many cases), only that the prices have virtually bottomed for good examples and that over time they will start to rise.

The fact that new Boxsters remain popular does not mean that the price for an older one will always be depressed: there are a number of older 911's that are now selling for as much or more than new ones, even though their performance and comfort are worse in every respect. Within 7 1/2 years the 996 Boxster will be 25 years old and I fully expect there to be retrospectives on the car in various international automotive publications (just as with the 25 year and now 50 year anniversary of the 911). This should not only operate as a reminder of the incredible impression the car made when released, but it should also generate more interest in the cars as collectibles.

AS indicated, due to the huge inflationary rates of the 70's through 90's, I do not expect the 986 to fetch their original purchase price in the forseeable future. Simply put, while the original purchase price of Porsche 911's in the 60's and 70's seem ridiculously low if we do not adjust for inflation, due to almost historically low inflation rates in the last decade, the same cannot be said of cars purchased in that era. Still, just as the original Mustangs (which were produced in much higher numbers in the first 2 1/2 years of production than the entire model life of the 986) bottomed and started rising by the late 80's, I anticipate that we will start seeing a rise in price for the 986 within the next 7 or 8 years. For those who plan on hanging on to their cars, that is good news. And for those who don't, enjoy your car while you own it, run it into the ground and thereby reduce the supply of good examples, helping those of us who do!

Cheers!

Brad

[southernstar]

Karmann Ghias are certainly 'collectible' - especially the original 'low-light' that was built through 1959. In fact, I believe that one particularly fine example recently sold for about $60,000.00. Heck, even early Beetles have become collectible in spite of the fact that they were sold in incredible numbers and continued in production (in Mexico) through the late 90's.