Do you ever have those moments where you look back 5-10 years and think of the cars you could have bought so much more cheaply than they appear on the market today? I think back to cars like a few I mentioned this morning – the M3 and Quattro – that could be had in great condition for under $10,000 only a decade ago. Then there are cars on the cusp of taking off – cars like the 190E 2.3-16 and 944 Turbo – that are currently still attainable, but one wonders for how long. Moving up a few leagues from the minors in the majors, though, and it wasn’t very long ago that Porsche 911s weren’t astronomically expensive. Think the E30 M3 is bad? Let’s talk about cars like the 930. In May, 2013 Hagerty valued an absolute top condition 1986 Turbo around $60,000. Today, the same estimate is $315,000 – amazingly, down slightly from last fall when $325,000 was the top number. If you pardon the poor pun, the 930 has simply outpaced the stock market many times over, proving it has supercar staying power.
The same can be said of the car that replaced it, the 964 Turbo. Even a standard 3.3 went from a top value of $50,000 in September, 2014 to a pretty steady $275,000 today. Are these numbers always being realized? Perhaps not, but it certainly gives us a value trend. And that leads us to the 996 turbo model. The 996 has been demonized left, right and center for being watercooled, ugly and even fragile, though at least the latter doesn’t necessarily apply to the turbo model. The result of that is it is, without a doubt, the most performance you can buy on a reasonable budget with a Porsche badge attached to it. There’s another school of thought, though – and that is that the 996 won’t remain a budget forever. It’s impossible to predict if there will be a similar bubble to these cars, but the rumor mill seems to be swirling that people in the know are picking up excellent examples in the anticipation that it just could take off:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Porsche 911 Turbo at Sun Valley Autos
Year: 2002
Model: 911 Turbo
Engine: 3.6 liter twin-turbocharged flat-6
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Mileage: 10,896 mi
Price: $59,995 Buy It Now
Here is an opportunity. Lowest mileage 2002 Turbo on the market. Single owner, no accidents, pampered Porsche. This is the time to buy these cars before they appreciate. This one is in excellent condition. Porsche’s flagship model in 2002 with 450 turbo charged horsepower you will enjoy the power under your foot. Thanks to a few choice upgrades this one sets itself from the pack. The tasteful upgrades include; HRE wheels that have been color matched, F1 Brembo brakes with drilled rotors, RUF turbo back exhaust, Replacement intercoolers, aftermarket suspension, chipped to over 500 hp. This Turbo also has an top of the line Alpine stereo system complete with satellite radio and back up camera, painted chin spoiler and rear spoiler. This is a factory sunroof 911 with a full black leather interior with heated seats. This Turbo has also been out fitted with hands free cell phone use. Excellent condition inside and out. Be sure to watch our walk around video that is attached to this listing. Contact Shep 208.721.1973 or Max at 208.720.8854
HRE wheels are always expensive but sometimes polarizing, but I like the subtle upgrade here. They mimic the design of the standard turbo twists, but take it up a notch with lovely polished lips and a stand-apart design. Arctic Silver Metallic over black leather is a safe bet and this one looks in almost new condition, commensurate with the mileage. There are upgrades outside of the wheels, but all are top-dollar units that don’t detract from the design in my mind. This is a car which can be bought and driven sparingly (yet, very quickly!) and should continue to appreciate in today’s market. I do believe there is a solid chance we’ll look back in a few years and wonder what happened to affordable Turbo prices!
-Carter
I personally don’t like the wheels nor the aftermarket stereo
Leave them original folks-
I am not convinced about the 996 Turbos skyrocketing in the future but the 996 GT3s for sure!
Nope, sorry. Still ugly, fragile and cheap. And my bet is they will likely stay that way.
It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you could do a lot worse with your $50-60k than that car
The mods kill this. The 996 TT WILL appreciate. It already is. The 996 GT3 is leading the pack, the 2005 TTS is following, the bulk of TT will follow. But bone stock. I’d take 3X the miles and no mods for 30% less. And that’s easy to find. Just no Tips!
Just because some 911 variants are in the midst of a bubble doesn’t mean all will follow suit. My thoughts are rather than the 996TT “naturally†following suit like its “bubble-fied†air cooled brethren, it is far more likely that their bubble will burst and that the 996TT will remain relatively stable for years to come.
Lol, tough crowd. I guess I come from a different scene, because a couple bolt ons, a stereo setup, and wheels are hardly what I would consider drastically modifying the car. If you can return something to 100 percent stock in your garage over the weekend, then its not fair to say they’ve done anything out of line IMO. Obviously it is preferred to be bone stock when dealing with low mileage examples, but as far as mods go I thought this thing was extremely tastefully done, only Porsche purists would complain. Porsche folks don’t seem to like changing anything, even if its better. Call me crazy, but I would much prefer the Brembo F1’s over stock, as well as the RUF exhaust and intercoolers.
996’s went down for a while, but then they started climbing back up in value. My theory is that when they became affordable to guys that normally built highly modded but cheaper imports, demand started increasing. Once in the hands of non Porsche purists that modded the hell out of them, they became desired by a lot more people that would not have thought of them before. I know several highly modified Supra owners that got into 996’s because of their modification potential. Since the purists seem to dislike the 996, and the 996 happens to respond incredibly well to mods, the stars aligned and the 996 has found a whole new demographic of buyers.
You guys must shit a brick when you see a Rauh Welt Porsche, those things are over the top with modifications even for the import crowd.
Supply and demand… they made a boat load of 996’s and 996 turbos compared the the turbos that came before the 996TT. The wheels are ugly but they’re easily swapped. The market in the air cooled stuff is about to roll over, especially with the US equity market in the dumps. There were a lot more air cooleds around Scottsdale this year then last and very few hit the low side of the auction estimates. I number of 930’s sold for well under the low auction estimate. The sellers probably had the cars for a while and said …. hey I’ll take the $125k on a car that I own for peanuts and that 5 years ago was a $40 to $45k car.
When you start hearing about collector cars being considered as an asset class its time to sell your collection. I have been hearing way too much of it for the past couple months.
I agree Howard S. The collector is being driven out of the market by the investor; the buyers are not in it for the car so much as the money now, which is not a good sign to me.
Agree with the investor/collector sentiment.
If there is anything in your collection right now that you don’t love it’s time to sell it. Once the market rolls over you’ll be stuck with it for a few years. If you love them, the market price really has no correlation to you other than possibly insurance valuation.