[nibn968]

I was thinking about what makes one Porche more "valuable" then another. For example, I am thinking about how a 911 993 model can actually be way more pricey than a 911 996. They say it is because the 993 is the last of the air-cooled 911s. Then I wonder....who is "they"? I can't put my finger on who drives prices up or down. Is there a consortium of some sort? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/glare.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Conspiracy theories aside, our car, the 968, is a beauty and a rare one at that but prices hardly go north of 20k.



What are your thoughts on car values and perception? How do standards get set and by who?

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[94SilverCab]

Economics 101, supply and demand. 993 are "purist" cars that are the last iteration of the "highly desirable" true Porsche air cooled engine..more people want them so the price goes up. Performance and price are not tied.



968s suffer from low supply, but also low demand. They were never a flagship car for the Marque, and many Porschephiles still have not idea what a 968 is, or have even heard of it. 968s became a tidewater of Porsche brands due to the overwhelming success of the Boxster. Objectively, why would I buy a 20 year old car with no available spare parts when I can buy a Porsche for the same money with similar performance and tons of parts? If there had never been a Boxster, I suspect that the 968 would have become a much bigger prize.



JMHO,



Jay

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[JTP]

Why are talentless hacks like Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus so popular? Why do they make huge money while Nobel Prize winning doctors and scientists have to keep applying for grants to keep their research going?



It's like people paying $80-100k for a 1969 Camaro, they are technologically inferior to the much rarer 968 but people are still willing to pay it. The 968 is better in many ways over the 911 but can't command the price that 911s can.



If people bothered to look at things objectively rather than follow the crowd I'm sure the 968 would be more appreciated.

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[Cloud9...68]

I for one never thought I'd see the day when 914's, imho one of the ugliest cars ever made, would be worth anything, but I understand their prices have been appreciating fairly significantly. I don't get it. But price often has nothing to do with objectively measurable things like performance, or even subjective things like looks. It's all about perception, as you say, and the 968 was perceived to be an overpriced, mediocre car, and a failure in the market place. Plus, it doesn't have a whole lot of historical value - the front engine/rear transaxle layout never proved to be a real winner for Porsche, so they abandoned it. Doesn't bode well for future appreciation potential, but you never know.

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[Rap]

It's certainly odd that supply versus demand doesn't create more value for our cars. I've said it before and I will say it again, I constantly get people raving about my 968's at the track or out for a drive. All unsolicited. They tell stories about how sorry they were that they got rid of theirs or how they always wanted one or how it was always their fav. I smile nod and say thank you.



I didn't buy my car for it to appreciate. Wouldn't mind if it did though. I came in as a novice with zero knowledge of the 968, Porsche or even cars for that matter. I had a friend who was unloading his and I knew he kept great care of his cars. I lucked out. The second car was purchased for the track and I had plenty of help here from the Forum in deciding which car to get and if the one I chose was a good choice.



This path has been expensive and I could have bought two Targas for what I have shelled out for everything. But the cool thing is I own rare cars, have met and developed interesting friends, have a reservoir of knowledge to tap, and am having fun.



So perhaps in the long run the value in my cars has grown by virtue of all of these intangibles.

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[ds968]

+ 1 to JTP's post.

p.s. Bieber and Cyrus are bad enough, lets not even try to figure out the reasons for the Kardashians " market value " , <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

It's ok though, I love having the red headed stepchild of the Porsche world, and could not care less about its market value now or at any point in the future, that's not why I bought it. We ( the Forums collective ) know that we have one of the best all around Porsche ever made, in every respect ; from handling to practicality to performance to its near perfect balance of all those things. But above all, it is arguably THE best looking production Porsche of all time, inside and out. Although, to be fair I'm not factoring in the 918 Spyder as a " production " Porsche in spite of the fact that it is....that one might take the top looker spot , in my view.

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[94SilverCab]

The best part of 968 collectibility is that as the supply dwindles, people are beginning to recognize the characteristics of this car that make it great, and they are winning attention on the track as well as being an oddity at Porsche events, cars and coffee and shows. One day (I hope) the guys that shuffle by with their kids and say "cool car" will become serious buyers, and there will be so few left that they will be fought over (financially speaking).



JMO,



Jay

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[nibn968]

I am hoping to keep mine for the long haul and not necessarily because I think it will go up in value (although I would be happy if it does!). Eventually, I will get a respray and the interior redone and get the engine and other systems cleaned and polished. That will look awesome! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

Well, we can all hope that at some point in the future the 968 will become today's Dino ( 246 GT & GTS ) . Whaaat ? Ok, then how about today's DB 5 ? Fine, today's NSX ...maybe ?

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[94SilverCab]

DS, consider this, there are a similar number of NSX's and 968s, but NSXs have always been regarded as something special, therefore, it will be easier over time to find good, low mileage well cared for examples. 968s were not treasured, therefore it will be much more difficult to find a well cared for example.



My car has so many mods that it will probably never receive that kind of attention (unless someone is searching for a specific example of the golden age of 968s when RS Barn and D1R ruled the modification scene). but I believe a concourse perfect, low mileage 968 will hold it's own over time and may someday exceed the NSX.



Now I will roll over and go back to sleep,



Jay

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[ds968]

[quote name='Cloud9...68' timestamp='1419894903' post='164772']I for one never thought I'd see the day when 914's, imho one of the ugliest cars ever made, would be worth anything, but I understand their prices have been appreciating fairly significantly. I don't get it. .[/quote]



The prices for 914 are high enough as it is , not to mention the silly values for the 914 / 6 cyl , but there are two 914 / 8 cyl models originally made for Porsche family members ( the cars are currently in the museum ) and were never for sale, but I understand Porsche indicated they may now put up one of them at auction with a minimum reserve set at $ 10 million. So let's see - you can get a rare Ferrari GTO or a Dino for that kind of money, but instead you chose to buy one of the ugliest cars ever made ? Then again, anyone who spends that kind of money on a car would probably already have both the Dino and the GTO in their collection so I suppose it's simply a matter of owning one of only two cars of their kind in the world. Besides, a 914 with an 8 cyl in it probably feels like driving a top fuel dragster

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[flash]

i did a 914 conversion with a 350 chevy engine. was hard to keep the car from doing donuts.

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[paulzebo]

It's been 39 years since the last 914 was produced and "only" 20 since the last 968. Give it another 19 years and timing belt, cam chain guide failures, car crashes and general lack of maintenance will take a much large toll on the number of 968's left. At some point in between, the value should start to go up. That's provided we are not all drive electric vehicles by then. I never liked the 914, but with a v8, I may have!

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[JTP]

I had three 914s and loved them, the most I paid for any one was $1800. With the values going up so rapidly I wish I had kept them.

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[968Syncro]

Let's review the Porsches before and during the 968. 356, various 911 (911s plus 964), 914, 924, 944, 928 and then the 993 that came out in the later years of the 968. The 968 will always suffer from one perspective: no racing history. It will suffer because some think it is just an "updated 924" which was the worst Porsche in this list. And suffer because the 968 was always in the "entry level" category for potential Porsche buyers. Just like low cost entry level Chevy Nova and Ford Falcon are worth less than their brothers from the same year. The 968 may be the best car of all of them, but people don't know it. It will never beat the "aura" of the 911, for example given the 911 was the foundation for LeMans winners among many, many other champions.

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[ds968]

So when introduced in '92 the 968 was the entry level, lowest priced new Porsche ?! I thought one of the reasons it did not do well was because at the $ 40 to $ 50 K range it was more expensive than its flagship 911s contemporaries and in most people's minds the higher cost for a water cooled front engine " 944-ish " car was simply not justified.. What the heck did non-turbo 911s go for in the 92-95 era ?

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[986boxster1998]

This is what I was able to find for MSRPs

1992 Carrera 2 Coupe MSRP $63,900 (1995 (993)Carra 2 Coupes were $61,100)



1992 968 Coupe MSRP $39,850



1992 968 Cab MSRP $51,000

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[Cloud9...68]

The 911 was considerably more expensive than the 968:



http://www.cars.com/porsche/911/1994/snapshot



to the tune of about 20 grand.



The problem was that the 968 was ridiculously overpriced to its contemporary competition, like the Mazda RX7, Toyota Supra, the Corvette, and the Nissan Z. And it was the only one with a 4-cylinder engine. I was in the market for a new sports car in the early 90's (this was pre-kid), and the thought of the 968 didn't even enter my mind. I bought an RX7.

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[ds968]

The 944 was way overpriced compared to the so-called competition at the time but it still sold like hot cakes.. so can't figure out why the 968 had such a stigma attached to it. I blame it on clueless consumers, LOL.

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[Cloud9...68]

lol - like me. But the 968 was a good ten grand more than its competition, while I don't think the 944 was nearly so far out of line. Also, the 944 was much more competitive in terms of power-to-weight ratio with its contemporaries than was the 968.



But following up on the engine/transaxle layout theory, I decided tot ake a look at asking prices of 928s on autotrader.com. aha! While there are a few pristine, low mileage, rare examples north of $50K, there are a ton of them mired in the mid, and even the low, teens. Maybe this is the elusive common denominator of Porsches that have been laggards in terms of resale value. The rear-and mid-engined models have done quite well, while the models built with the long-abandoned front-engine/rear transaxle layout, not so much.

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