Good News For 986 & 987 Boxster Owners

[husker boxster]

I follow this guy and he's pretty accurate with his analysis. He's done many videos on the various Porsche markets - 911, GT3, Boxster, Cayman, and special models, etc. BTW... he has an accent and many times shows European models, but his data is from the US mkt. Spoiler alert: he says the 986 and 987 markets have hit bottom and are trending up.

Enjoy.

[Stl-986]

In all honesty any "data" from 2020-2023 should be completely discarded. The market was very different than normal. When a used Honda Accord sells for more then what a new one is, you know the market isn't normal.

I dont think the market has stabilized yet. Throw in the recession now and it's going to go the opposite of the pandemic years. Prices are going to drop for higher valued cars for at least a year. Prior to pandemic the 986 was selling for an average of $12k. The pandemic also had the impact of cars not being removed from the market (accidents) which impacts their value overall due to supply. I know of at least 6 986 & 996 owners who are trying to sell right now and they can't get anyone to buy cause their asking prices are what they were selling for a year ago.

Overall the 986 is still a good buy under $15k, but anything over that is getting into over priced. The only exception is the Spyder as those had limited qty to start with so they will already command a higher value.

One downside to the 986 is the early models (up to 99). Porsche pushed these as company lease cars so they were sold like crazy. Basically no options, just a base model. These can be very cheap. The 2000-02 models have better value due to bigger engine & the S model with the 03/04 getting better value with their glass rear window.

Usually the value doesn't start to level off until 25 years and then sometimes go up in value.

[rick3000]

I would argue the 986 market bottomed out 3-4 years ago, at least in my area. I agree that the market has been very wonky the last few years, but it really doesn't change the longterm outlook. The people buying cheap Porsches and then cheaping out on maintaining them properly will thin the supply and increase the value of the ones that survive. Good, properly maintained cars and/or special editions will continue to command a premium.

The 986 is interesting because about 70% of the Porsche's ever made are still on the road, but they made a lot of 986's (about 200,000). I think it will take longer for the 986 supply to decrease and more than 30% will end up in junkyards.

[PaulE]

Hopeful good news for me, as I’m about to put my 2003 S up for sale!

[Stl-986]

Fall is a good time to sell usually, but if not sold by end of october, hold on to it till April. winter is never a good time to sell a convertible (except jeep wranglers). Spring is better right after tax season.

But this is also now changing into a buyers market. a year ago it was a sellers market. Whatever you do though, dont expect to get what you were seeing them sell for a year ago. Consumer spending is already on the downward trend in part because of interest rates but still contributed to pandemic & supply chain issues. October is usually when people also start to set aside money for Christmas.

Long term, I think the 986 will stabilize in 2-3 years and then start to hold steady for a few more years after that. The average price for the average 986 will prob end up around the $11-$12k range, maybe a little lower.

[husker boxster]

I think the YouTuber was speaking in generalities, not necessarily basing his overall 986 projections strictly on data from the last 2 yrs.

Originally Posted by Stl-986

In all honesty any "data" from 2020-2023 should be completely discarded. The market was very different than normal...

I dont think the market has stabilized yet. Throw in the recession now and it's going to go the opposite of the pandemic years. Prices are going to drop for higher valued cars for at least a year...

Usually the value doesn't start to level off until 25 years and then sometimes go up in value.

Defn agree that recent past and near term future will not be good data when considering trends. Too many anomalies and outliers from the last 2 yrs and may go the other way in the next yr. I think prices are about to drop presipitously as people wait to buy to see how low the mkt goes or are tightening their belts and don't have discretionary income to spend on a toy.

But the 97 Box is now 25 yrs old. Time flies.

Originally Posted by rick3000

Good, properly maintained cars and/or special editions will continue to command a premium.

The 986 is interesting because about 70% of the Porsche's ever made are still on the road, but they made a lot of 986's (about 200,000). I think it will take longer for the 986 supply to decrease and more than 30% will end up in junkyards.

Also agree that good cars will command top $$$ to the informed buyer. But the early Boxster numbers are being thinned out by age and by club racing. Porsche sold a lot of 944s and no one ever thought they'd be rare. But I have a couple friends who club race 944s and they say it's getting harder to find parts. Boxsters may be 5-10 yrs from that same situation.

Originally Posted by Stl-986

Fall is a good time to sell usually, but if not sold by end of october, hold on to it till April. winter is never a good time to sell a convertible (except jeep wranglers). Spring is better right after tax season.

In my Wheeler Dealer activities, I've found it hard to sell convertibles after July. Not impossible, but harder as buyers aren't looking for sports cars. I've had better luck selling cars in mid-Feb than late fall or winter. Maybe it's spring fever or knowing they have a refund coming, IDK. But these next 6 mo could be choppy due to the economy. And the highs of last spring are long gone in the rear view mirror. If you didn't sell this spring, you missed the high tide.