As I’ve been shopping multiple generations of 911 it dawned on me. The prediction is sound in that every single generation before and after has round lights. So... in 20 years when they are on the Barrett Jackson or whatever auctions the announcer is going to say how this generation was once considered the dog. It was the 1st water cooled Porsche, Porsche also went decided to go out on a limb and lose the simple and relatively cheap VW bug round lights and try to go with a somewhat exotic/complex headlamp with integrated signal.

However the enthusiast backlash was so great they immediately went right back to round for the 997. Hence in an ocean of 10 or 12 generations of 911 floating around, there will be this single 6 year sliver of a generation that was different. How does history treat cars that were either mediocre or dogs but only produced for a short window and actually possessing many virtues? I think we all know the answer! Roadrunner, Split Window C2 Vette come immediately to mind.

Add that the fact that previous gens are always a bit more visceral and generally progressively more valued the older they get. Production The 996 is the one current exception where it’s not valued higher than 997. But that time IS coming... Course future values have no real bearing on whether I go 996TT as I never keep cars that long haha.

 

no..

 

Can I leverage against this future value boom to finance my trans rebuild?

 

 

 

Hey, I'm with ya... if you bury a turd, in a thousand years it will be priceless! I'm thinking about buying up all the unwanted Azteks out there. Wish me luck!

 

It's just a good car to drive, don't worry about the value. It will never be worth more than a 993 turbo, there are too many of them out there. The head lights were a bad idea and will stay a bad idea. They aren't the worst thing in the world though.

 

 

 

How many understand how the 996 lights came to be? Not many I bet. It was passed down to production cars from the GT1. Back in late '96 I read about this and thought one more reason to want the latest watercooled cars, first the Boxster, later the 996.

This was just one more thing at the time that was making the 993's much less appealing. I had looked at and drove several and was a buyer with cash. A mint '96 white C4 coupe 36K miles was going for $30K, '97 C4S 50K miles for $45K. This was in '01-'02, wife sold her Vette, bought a Boxster, she still has. I waited a year bought a mint 996 Cab, loved it for 7 years, sold it got the TT.

 

Yeah, I like the headlights; they look great on the GT1 and when they brought it to the road cars it was the first time I thought the 911 looked like something special. We get in an echo chamber of purists on forums and in Porsche/PCA events that the 996 lights are awful when in reality they were well received by the general public at the time...

 

"our" GT1 derived headlamps are CLASSIC and anyone that compares them to 986 or 996 carrera's from the same time period needs an eye exam

 

I think there may be a reasoning for this. I love all 911s altogether. I was a big fan of the 964 body when the purist hated it. Now that car is considered one of the best air cooled cars. I love the 996 turbo headlights. It just appealed to me and I think it matches the turbo body well. There is no doubt that these cars are going to appreciate, but I dont think they will he the most valuable 911 purely because of the volume of cars made.

I loved my old 964 and have regret selling it since the second I handed the keys over to its nee owner, but there are a lot of benefits the 996 has over its older more expensive generations. Air conditioning and heater for one, little extra room for big guys like me, parts availability and less worry about rust, etc.

To me, the 996 is the next 964. Formerly hated by purist and then eventually accepted as one of its best. Just maybe not at such an inflated price.

 

Umm.... Are you saying the original GT1's headlights are NOT similar to the original Boxster and Mk1 996?

 

You make some really good points. Personally, I think the hatred for the 964 was more directed towards the "slant nose" 964 turbo instead of the generation in general. People always need something to gripe about when a new generation is introduced in order to make their older version seem better than the new. And I agree, the 996 is affected by supply and demand... or is it? Over 68,000 Porsche 993 were produced and their values have skyrocketed in the last 5-10 years, but they manufactured almost three times as many 996 cars. (see attached pic) It's hard to even find a high mileage 993 Carrera for under $40,000. 1999 996 Carreras are being snagged up for as low as $15,000. Yep, I've seen it. Ask me how I know. IMHO, the 996 was a radical car that helped save Porsche. Ferry Porsche words, not mine. Unfortunately, the 996 series has suffered from a lot of bad press and forum hype - i.e. IMS failure, fried egg headlights, sub-par reliability, "It's not a real 911 because it's water cooled!" etc. etc. However, I'm willing to bet the more exclusive Mezger based cars (i.e. GT3, GT2, Turbo) will continue to appreciate. I can't say the same for the M96 based 996. Only time will tell.

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