Somthing I've noticed in my area over the past several months, the prices on 996 Porsche's have been going up. I check Porsche's for sale and have noticed this trend, and I'm not talking a few hundred here and there, I'm talking $2-$3K. And not many for sale so demand seems to be up as well.

 

I haven't been looking but thats great news. I read that the 996 has entered the "Classic" category no idea what that means. Perhaps because it's two generations old now?

 

Ive noticed it too. I bought my car two years ago. Last year, it dropped by ~3-4k or so and now it's gone back to the original price.

 

Same thing seems to be happening with 1st generation Vipers. Last year I saw several nice ones in the mid 20s. Now anything at that price seems to be questionable ones with high mileage, anything decent is over 30.

 

Funny you should say this as I also noticed it with the Vipers.

 

Spring time has something to do with it as well.

 

It's always spring time here in Florida

 

The folks on the viper boards had been grumbling for quite a while about how cheap the first gens were getting. And the car magazines kept saying that prices were going to begin to increase. I do not think it is a stretch to think that prices have bottomed out on the 996s, and they may rebound going forward.

 

When I had my 996 up for sale 4 months ago, the average price for one with 140k miles was about $15k. I check craigslist and eBay every once-in-awhile and noticed that prices are up between $1k-$2k. A bit more for low mileage 996's. I'm glad I took it off the market. It's too much fun to drive.

 

Here are a few in my area:
1999 73K miles - 18,995
2001 Cab - 79k miles - 34,975
2002 27k miles - 34,500

 

I think it's related to the same web-buzz that drove prices down.... Drastically increased awareness of the problem then leads to much more awareness of the solutions...
eventually turns into an awareness that it is a solvable problem:
And even though they produced LOTS of 996's, they are getting to the age that many of them have been beat to crap, interiors worn and dated, crashed, neglected, modified into hideousness, etc. that finding a good looking, clean, documented, well maintained car isn't as easy as it was a year or two ago...

What percentage of early 911's haven't been 'fixed' to minimize the possibility of exploding airboxes and snapping head studs? Same learning curve... "Oh no, avoid certain year 911's because their air boxes explode and head studs snap" becomes, "Most cars have this addressed already"

 

Just bought my first this past Saturday and it had been on the dealer's lot for a few months. 2004 cabriolet with 60K miles, one previous owner with a clean carfax. Finally settled on a little under $30K. The car is super clean with no leaks underneath whatsoever. I'm beginning to think I stumbled onto a keeper because there are private sellers here in NM asking a LOT more for lesser cars.

 

pfbz, best comment ever on the subject ! philthy57, I bought my 04 C4S Cab back in December with 106,000 miles. All original with deferred maintenance issues. I paid $26,900 out the door. So far I've had to replace the water pump, AOS, oil change, and a very good detailing and I still have to spend another $1,500 to put on a new convertible top. However, after saying all this, this is the car I really wanted. These cars were only made in Cab style in 04/05. I really did not buy it as investment, but something fun to drive in retirement, as I plan to keep this car for a very long time. Good luck to you philthy and welcome to the P-club world.

 

I think the rising MSRP of new 991's is helping keep the market strong for the older models. I think there will be a pecking order of among the water cooled of 991>997>996 that will probably be maintained for a while. As long as 997 prices stay strong, 996 should hold value. 997 only stays strong as long as 991 is significantly higher, etc. I can't see 996 being more valuable than a 997.

Air cooled is a different market, they have already passed both 996 and now even early 997s.

I think 996 has been beaten down far too much, and represent a great buy. All models, turbo, C4S, C2, etc...

 

Interesting thread. A few things I have noticed: the 993 has a much higher barrier of entry price wise. The look of the 996 might not be universally appealing but it is a 911, with the look of a 911. That puts it in a rare category vs. cars like a vette or Mustang or whatever. The same thing happened to the Acura NSX in recent years. Resale prices were going down, down, down, then recently started to spike up as they became more rare.