[craigawoodman]

Dubai,



I resemble that implication. Flash has already sold me two.

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[Dubai944]

lol...you should find a way to mount them both. dual stage supercharging like a Spitfire.

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[Rap]

I think that the rumors of the demise of the 968 have been greatly exaggerated! There will always be an intrinsic value to a low production car. Value of course is in the eye of the beholder. Maintaining a car will help maintain that value just as it does with other items. I got the sc to make my track car go faster. I didn't get one for my street car because it doesn't need to go faster and because of financial determinations. I can only drive so many cars so much and money spent would probably need to be aligned to the track car. Boy is that bearing fruit and I'm only in the beginning stages of a slippery slope. I suspect that there are more consumers that make financial choices on big ticket purchases than those who have the means to just make whimsical choices. The total 968 market potential is small. Just how many could Flash have sold given an even playing field and a better economy? We will never know the answer to that question. Would it have been more than he did? No doubt. But how many? Flash has reminded us many times that this was more a labor of love than a straight line capitalist adventure. Those of us who purchased the sc will enjoy it regardless of where and how we drive our car. Will we ever get our money back from that decision. Currently it seems not. That doesn't mean the future will remain the same. I suspect none of us put the sc in to increase the value of the car just the fun factor!

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[flash]

while some low production cars retain value, and it helps in some cases, it does not ensure that it will happen. there is a long list of very low production cars, far lower than ours, that have not retained value, and they had the advantage of coming from an era where cars were thought of much higher. for a car to be collectible, it has to be loved. i doubt that this group, as dedicated as they may be, will make the difference.



while perhaps a handful of owners bought it to hang onto it as a collectible, most bought it to drive it. since the driving experience is the primary motivator, and the cars were dirt cheap, i assumed that others, like myself, were merely using this as an affordable platform for development into a great road car. i would have much preferred a ferrari, but i would have been starting with a much more expensive car, and would not have had as much left over and available for development. like i said, i presumed that everybody was going to spend $50k at minimum on their car. i didn't factor in the guy who is squeaking to spend $15k just to get it, thinking they were the minority, and not what looks to be the majority.



as for the economy, i'm not sure if that played in or not. i hear people complaining about that all the time, but we didn't really feel any effects here. sure, the house is worth less, but unless you plan to sell, that isn't really a factor. in fact, the failing economy has worked to our advantage, as many things have become less expensive. now, i do know people who lost their jobs, but none of them were car people. with the exception of those on this site, all of the other car people i know were relatively unaffected by any change in the economy.

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[Cloud9...68]

You're right that most of use weren't impacted in a major way by the economy, but the purchase of something like a supercharger for many (maybe most) of us falls into the category of a luxury, and as such, tends to be funded by money that comes from sources outside of our primary paychecks, such as bonuses or higher-than-expected raises. The soft economy has resulted in these sorts of things being significantly cut over the last few years, which has pushed purchases like an SC off the table.

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[flash]

hmmm - i suppose. like i said, nothing much has changed for me, so i'll have to think on that. my mind is still where it was when i bought the car 9 years ago. like most of us, i tend to think of things like that, and am slow to adapt to changes. when i bought the car, it was $28.5k. i thought nothing of tripling that investment to get the car i wanted. now, the same car could be had for 60% of that, yet i still think in terms of the original investment amount, which would now be 4 times the cost of the car, and not 3.



perception is everything, right?

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[Chris Vais]

I don't know that there is such a thing as a "poor man's Porsche". I was making a 6 figure income when I bought the car 17 years ago and I'm still making a 6 figure income although it is 30% less than before the lay off, so I don't think of myself as being poor and I knew what I was getting into from the maintenance perspective. But taking a 30% cut in pay on top of 10 months of no work has forced me to readjust my financial priorities. There will come a time in the future where I would consider supercharging the car if the kits to do it are available.



As with most everything in life, timing is everything and I just got caught out.

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[biosurfer1]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1372339565' post='144988']

while perhaps a handful of owners bought it to hang onto it as a collectible, most bought it to drive it. since the driving experience is the primary motivator, and the cars were dirt cheap, i assumed that others, like myself, were merely using this as an affordable platform for development into a great road car.

[/quote]



I have spent most of my Porsche life in the 914 world (literally, 914world.com <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> ) and this sounds almost word for word the story of the 914, only about 15 years behind.



The 914 was the Porsche outcast, the every day "Poor Man's Porsche" for many years. When prices hit rock bottom in the 90's, anyone could buy them a dime a dozen. Lots were lost to rust, wrecks or just plain being forgotton. The ones still around were bought by die hards who didn't care about the prestige, developed, improved, updated, and saved. Since the early 2000's, these "vintage" Porsche's have steadily increased in price, partly because of their "rarity" and partly because people are starting to appreciate them.



Personally, I think the 968 will be more dramatic. The production numbers are FAR fewer than most Porsches, I feel they are the perfect "transition" Porsche from old school to new and modern. I say wait until the guys, who were 13-18 years old when these cars were new, start hitting 40-50 when they have disposible money and a desire to have the car they couldn't back in highschool. Thats when prices take off....of course, I could be completely wrong. Either way, I'll be driving mine the whole time <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rock.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

i understand about adjusting priorities related to income changes. we decided to slow down a few things a couple of years ago. this meant dropping our income by another $150k, since we also had done that a few years earlier when i decided to get off the road, with about the same effect. so, losing $300k a year definitely had an effect. that being said, our house was only $1 mil, and we don't carry a lot of debt, so we were fine. it just meant that i had to string out the remodel stuff, rather than do it all at once.



however, that doesn't change what i was thinking when i got my car, the plans for investment into it, and what i assumed others would similarly be planning.



i bought it at $28.5k and fully expected to spend at least that much, and likely twice that, getting it to where i wanted it, knowing its extreme limitations as it stood. i had that budget parked well in advance. i assumed that most people thought like i did. i've been doing the car thing for a very long time, and hobby cars like these always cost that much. it really doesn't matter what kind of car either.



i never considered that people might be satisfied with the power of the car. i never considered that anybody would buy one of these without doing so as a project, with the appropriate budget already set aside.



to me, getting into one of these, without already having the money set aside to set it up, would be like buying a house that was framing only, and having to wait around for the money to finish the house.



yet, we see people buy these cars at low ball prices all the time, even though we all know that it takes $20k just to get one that is roadworthy, whether you buy cheap and fix it, or buy it done.



i think, as time goes by, that people are going to realize that owning one of these cars will require a significant chunk of change, assuming that you really want to get performance out of it. it doesn't matter if you are setting up a race car (not to be confused with a what people now call a DE car), or building up a great GT. you're likely going to spend $50k. as time goes by, fewer and fewer clean cars will be out there to buy, and more and more the use of the car will split.



i already jumped to that point from the start. i tore the blue car completely apart not long after i got it (it had 25k miles on it at the time). perhaps others will also see the reality and go the same route. we'll see

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[Rap]

Money money money. Good lord can't we just talk about how much we all love our cars and stop this incessant chatter about money and how it decides and makes our decisions in life! Me I love my cars and the pure fun and enjoyment I derive from them. Anyone else out there feel the same? Lol

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[flash]

lol - i think that's the point i was making. i love the car too. that's why i have spent so much on it, and knew i would from the beginning. i assumed others felt the same, albeit perhaps not to the obsessive degree i do. as it turns out, i overestimated the degree.

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[Rap]

Or perhaps the obsessiveness!

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[flash]

lol - i'm this way with pretty much everything. classic type a overachiever. it's not done until it's perfect. that's why i knew what the car needed, and what it was going to cost. i knew it was below my standards in stock trim, and that it had a LONG way to go. so, i set aside what i thought was enough to do the job, before i even bought the car.



i presumed others would do the same, and consequently would have their own budget sitting in the bank waiting.



i overestimated the dissatisfaction of others with the car, as well as their financial positions. that's ok. i thought that this car was more of a status symbol than it is. that's ok too. i wasn't buying mine for status. i bought mine for a project.



it is interesting though, as this group flies pretty much straight in the face of the original porsche marketing for the car.

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[Rap]

What was that for those of us who don't know?

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[flash]

it's a whole presentation book that they handed out to the sales managers at the release show. pretty cool reading, if you're into that kind of thing.

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[tamathumper]

924 values today = 968 values in 15 years.

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[ds968]

Ferrari Dino values today = 968 values 25 years from now







Oops, just dropped my tequila sunrise cocktail ..

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[94SilverCab]

I wanted a fun car to tool around in on nice sunny days. I ran the gamut of Rx-7s, MR-2s, had a pretty cool collector Toyota Celica GT-S convertible. I fell into a windfall on a bio stock and had the money to buy a Porsche which I always wanted.



I would have just driven it the way it was, but I fell into a bad crowd <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/glare.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> (RS Barn and D1R) and once the holes were cut into the air box it was a mega-thousands slippery slope...at the end of the day I don't count the receipts and I have the car I want, and all I want to do at this point is keep it maintained. That said, I drive it 2-3,000 miles per year and there is no way I would spend $100k on making this car "perfect". I'd much rather have a better DD, something for the house, vacations, watches, wine, dining experiences, etc.



I'm glad that Flash/Pete were so obsessive, I benefitted from all the development, without paying for any of the failures...thanks!



Jay

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[Rap]

Perhaps we should warn new people of those bad crowd people who slide you into the perfect car addiction. That is not one of these addictions I treat so unfortunately I can offer no help or be of any value for this problem, other than telling my own sad story! Perhaps we should warn people away from tracking their cars because this is an even faster slope of addiction and expense. lol Whooossshhhhh. Help me I've fallen and I can't get up!

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[flash]

lol - i've often thought my car should have marine registration.

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