I think the real question here is why haven't 951's increased in value beyond 6k for a driver? My car is mint but will probably only bring 11k? Why? The media. The media creates hype on cars such as the E30 M3. Not that the car doesn't deserve it, but you have pre-conceived notions of 944's (read some of the comments) and as a result, nobody takes interest. Nobody cares how much an NA is worth and that is what most are, and also they are not Camaro's, I have owned both and the build quality is much higher on the 951. I think the impression of a Poor man's Porsche is so engrained in people's minds though that it is hard to change.

I do think that in the next 10 years though that the 951 will increase in value just as the 928 has.

 

most people are correct in many accounts, I have owned 3 951s and my current version is a full Lindey racing set up from motor to brakes, i bought the car as is with more than 45k in mods, the price was on 4 th of that and this car simply out performs most everything i come across,

The BMW e 46 m3 I have owned as well and this car out performs it across the board.

but real world the BMW was a easy sale a relative market value my other 951 where a hard sell and had to keep reducing to even find buyers.

The reason people always say is the porsche is a maintenace nightmare and expensive, in poor shape this holds very true, in good shape this is not true, I got mine professionally tuned and set up and have not had a single problem very similar to all 951s I have owned, but the real problem is the shape that most sell the car at, most need work right from the get go and this deteres alot of buyer and brings down the price of good one. The fault lies with past owners and the lack of care for the car. In contrast a 308 does not compair to the 944 in performance but its owners keep that car in good shape, expensive to tune you bet, so expense is off the table, yes i know its a exotic but my point here is owners kept the cars in good working order and of course media TV coverage was great during the 80s The porsche did not recieve the hollywood pulp and got the moniker of the poor mans porsche, hum it not easy to tell what kind of car you may want, Magnum PI 308 or poor mans porsche 944 turbo, please dont bash the comparison as because it seems out there but really the two cars are quite compariable in performance. other words that come to mind is sexy vs poor, in sports car image is huge! and to be previved as " poor" is bad for markiting.

Bootom line really is image of yesteryear, poor equated to poor in keeping the shape and condition of the car, and how it was treated, poor is now what we must deal with, I love my 951 and it looks far from poor and at car shows and cruise nights it gets it far share of notible watchers and passerbuys. The future will set the price, it lines are sexy, its performance is great, gas milelage is great, it easy to park and parts are readlity availble, after market is strong. Thease are all good signs that maybe re sale my increase in the future as old perseptions die and new persectives are encoutered.

 

Well stated X50beast... My thoughts exactly. Here's mine.

 

 

That's a beauty FRPorsche!! What front lip is that?

 

Thanks. It's a custom splitter by Joe Toth, from Surrey B.C. I believe he sells to a couple retailers up in Canada, although I contacted him directly on it. I ended using undercoating on it for durability.

 

I have a turbo and I love the cars looks and power. It is called The Hulk for a reason, a beast and strong as all can be.

 

Please keep in mind that E30 M3 prices climbed up in the last 8 to 10 years. Before than, you could buy one for $7K to $9K (I was stupid not to buy when I had the chance to get a clean red one for less than $10K). So it is obviously supply/demand thing and building the expectation that it will keep climbing.

The problem with 944 is that there are too many of them out there in really poor condition going for very low amounts which doesn't give people the confidence that if they purchase a clean one, they will benefit from the appreciation ever. 944 is a great car but from economic stand point, it is irrelevant unfortunately.

 

Very true, it makes nice ones hard to pinpoint on value. Car's like mine go for anywhere between $11-$15k, which is ridiculously cheap considering I could dig up that much in receipts easily. Good ones are hard to find, and even more so, low mileage original ones have started to creep up in desirability and value over the past year or so.

As everyone knows this, these cars are expensive to maintain, especially if not sorted out. Your best bet is to get one that has had all the money dumped into it already, saving you the cost you will never get back in return.

I think a lot of people get burned thinking they can get into a 951 for $5k, and then end up spending triple that to get it up to their standard only to sell it at a big loss.

Is the E30 M3 that much better than a 951? I know of someone who has one, it's very nice. He also has a 930, and tiptronic 993, so it's more or less a Sunday driver. It's a nice car, but I wouldn't say it's better than my car is in terms of performance. The market is often driven by media hype and car culture trends. The 951 hasn't made the "trendy" list yet.

 

I was the original owner of an 1897 944 turbo, completely stock, never in an accident, and with 118k miles, until I was hit by a driver who ran a red light 3-4 seconds after it had turned red. This was in oct. 2013. I got $18500 from my insurance company (the other driver's company's final offer was $14800. My condition was certainly better than average. In my negotiations with the insurers, the key issue I found with the average 944 turbos on the market in the average $9-11k price range was that they typically have had 3-5 owners, which I think is a red flag for problems that were too expensive to address. About half had an accident on their carfax. The issue was even worse for the NA 944s, more owners more accidents. I know because some of the lowball comp cars that Ameriprise (the other driver's company) tried to use against me were actually NA 944s.

 

Agreed. Prices are going up since thread was created. Most 944 is god shape are over 12k now

 

924 Carerra's are kinda blowing up in value lately. Was not imported into the USA but here is a UK Spec import.

 

This is the car that made me a Porsche fanatic.
Love this car. Carrera GT is rare but GTS is even better.

 

Read Sheehan's article on the values of certain older Ferrari's. The 944/951 suffer from the same factors (poor ratio of cost of maintenance vs. car value), and values will always be limited as a result.

Article: http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages...=SCM_201107_SS

Sam

 

FRPorsche, That is a beautiful Porsche! I love everything about it. I am new to the Porsche scene and just purchased a 1988 944 Turbo. I am curious to what size wheels and brand are those? Did you use any spacers?

Also, is that a fabspeed exhaust?

Thanks