My 2007 black on black 997TT tip 60 month lease is up the first week of June. I built her with nice options incl. PCCB, sport chrono, sport seats, yellow seat belts, yellow dev. stitching, carbon multi-function steering and other carbon bits. MSRP was approx. $150K in 07. Due to how I structured my lease, the buyback is only $56,845.30. I have close to 52K miles on her from daily driving her to Court for the last 4 and 1/2 plus years (mostly highway miles). She was even CPO'ed by Porsche NA for me in writing in February 2011, which means I have a factory warranty until June, 2013. As prices on our cars have literally plummeted with no end in sight, I was wondering what the "real" value of my car is. Specifically, does it pay for me to buy her at $56,845.30 ? If the wholesale auction type price for my car is basically what I have to pay then why bother purchasing her ? I can't be emotional about this decision and need some objective financial advice from my 6speed colleagues. What say you ?

 

if this car was a 6 speed i would offer you cash to sell it to me tonight.
that should answer your question...

 

No question in the secondary market that more buyers want a 6 speed. That being said and considering that this is a less desirable tip, is it still a good deal ? I thought that the auction prices for my car were already in the high 50's because of the miles.

 

Manheim shows your car is worth a hair under 60k with these mile.

 

How long do you plan to keep this car if you purchase it?

I think there is something special to being the orignial 'owner' of a vehicle. Knowing everything about the car and it's history since day one is unique.

Have you considered turning it back in and waiting to lease the next turbo model?

 

If it were a manual I'd offer you $60K today

 

Given that the car is to your liking and the buyout price, I would keep the car a few more years and fully appreciate it for what it is, which is a great performing car.

 

Yes, that's a good deal. I had a similar deal, should have done it myself.....

 

It is a good price for a CPO car you know.

 

56.8 is a good price for the car. Yeah the miles are high and it is a tip but the car is worth more than that. But if you just want to be done with the car walking away is not a bad option. You didn't mention if you wanted to keep the car or if you are ready for something new.

 

I would buy it for the reasons listed above as well as the car being on a flatter part of the depreciation curve. For the first five years and ~55K miles, it went from $150K to $56K. Say you keep the car for two more years, it'll have ~70K miles and say have a value of ~39K. So for first five years, it averages $19K depreciation in. For the next two years, it will average around $8.5K per year.

70K miles sounds kinda high, but it will still be a freaking supercar with the highly moddable mezger engine which is why I think the car will settle in the high 30s range.

 

But you want to be spanked by tips and PDKs

 

Thanks for the responses. I could have gotten out of my lease last June and gone with a 2012 TTS coupe (or even waited for the 991 Turbo) but I decided against it. The plain unvarnished truth is that I'm bored with the 997TT. The 458 Italia I ordered should be here by Oct. and I intend on using the 458 as my DD. I have an 05 Wrangler that is my true winter beater car when it gets really nasty out. My only thought was that if I bought the 997TT I can use it to supplement the 458 as a DD. Like I said, if I wasn't bored with the 997TT this would be an easy choice. I also think that if I keep the 997TT that I'll drive the 458 much less which really isn't my intention. At this point I'm leaning towards buying her as all responses uniformly think that its a fair buyout deal. Thanks again to everybody.

 

I think you made a good decision. The price is fair, you know the history, and it's not like you can't change your mind and sell it after a few months. Per the CPO, I wasn't aware dealers would sell you a CPO warranty. Can you provide any more information? My 2009 Porsche runs out next year and I would consider keeping it if I could purchase the CPO warranty. Thanks and congrats on the decision.

 

Any authorized P car dealer can "CPO" the car for you. It's just a checklist of items that they need to go through and vouch for with Porsche NA. I don't know what Porsche NA charges for the CPO process/designation, but between extending the new car warranty to 6yr./100K miles plus roadside asst., the CPO designation has significant value to me.