Mike Murphy

The E46 and the 996 comparison is a darn good one.

Plenty of other BMWs have become "collector" or at least have gone up in cost significantly over time. Yet the E46 is one of the greatest M3s to date. And yet they are still "cheap" like a 996. They are as fast as a 996, very reliable, and aren't cheap to maintain.

Plenty of folks think that an E46 might go up quite a bit as well.

What it comes down to is how many good example are left. They are dwindling fast and availability is becoming more and more difficult.

Flat6Music

The only reason that the paint on 996 roofs fade before the paint on the rest of the car, is because the roof is closer to the sun by about 18," and even the sun hates 996s.

Everybody knows that.

gnat

To be fair the passenger C pillar and upper part of the quarter panel look like crap too, but the roof is the worst. The sun also trashed the finish on the rear passenger "chrome" turbo wheel.

Dennis C

I read the article in the original post, and I must say that I agree with much of what was said. I don't appreciate the writing style or the obvious bias against the 996, but I do agree with the overall sentiment of the piece.

I think that most of the people who are rennlist members are Porsche enthusiasts. The people on the 996 forums are generally 996 enthusiasts. They take care of their cars, and they appreciate the finer points of Porsche ownership. That being said, there are many threads on the 996 forums that discuss the possibility of values going up, like it's a forgone conclusion. I don't think it is a certainty. I believe that certain models (those identified in the article, and perhaps others) will appreciate. At some point in the future, I believe that ANY porsche that is in outstanding condition with very low miles will appreciate.

The main takeaway for me is that we shouldn't expect the 996 to appreciate the way the air-cooled cars did. I think that's reasonable. There's no need to bash the 996 to make that point though.

This type of article and logic would interesting if applied to the 997 series cars. The 997 was produced in large numbers and it's water cooled, like the 996. Sure, it has some improvements (some significant), but will it appreciate like the air-cooled cars did? It's hard to say. There are many 997 owners who believe that the 997 is the second coming of the 993, and therefore guaranteed to appreciate to ridiculous values in the future. Time will tell....

gnat

This

Tlaloc75

I don't think even air-cooled cars are going to appreciate like the air-cooled cars have. To try to ride an appreciation wave with a used car is folly. Buy the car you want, enjoy it, drive it and if your total cost of ownership is better than you expected - you win!

911Syncro

When I bought a '82 911SC in 1995, the early 911s (65-73) were all seen as junk and nobody wanted them. They were the first of a generation (65-97), and it took from 1970 until 2010 (40 years) before prices went up.

Now the 996 is the first of the next generation, the modern design, water cooled cars. It will take time for the prices of 996 to go up, probably happen by 2040.

Dennis C

I couldn't agree more! Buying a car as an investment is rarely a good idea. Porsches are meant to be driven!

Streetfighter

I have read the article twice and think it's pretty on point. I will say I am a fan of Jack and Road & Track. Being a Porsche nut like most I have never been a fan of the 996 styling. That said, to me it's the most affordable 911 out there. As much as I would like to get an air cooled model the prices are way too insane. These days I am thinking the 996 offers a great package at pretty reasonable price. Take it with a grain of salt. There is a lot of attention being paid toward the 996 model.

Volkert

If you want to buy a car to see its value appreciate there are surely better choices then a 996. Maybe you should invest in wine or gold or whatever. Who cares. Maybe the guy just got irritated by a bit too much of that discussion. Fine. But why bash the 996? I guess there are better ways to convey that message then just to be negative.

Volkert

Mike Murphy

Great point. Some 997s have the same engines as the 996s and are prone to similar risk. Which means bynthe time they are 18 years old, they might sell for under $20k too. The same thing happened to the SC/3.2/964 and it will probably happen again for the 996/997/991 cars, IMO

wildbilly32

I wasn't going to comment but: A car is a car. Some are nicer than others. Some are more fun to drive. Some are better looking. Some are more expensive. I do not see a car as an investment in anything but my fun or my transportation or both. If I want to invest in something I call my financial advisor.

P.S.: He thought it was questionable that I bought this car! Apparently he doesn't understand...

I love my 996 with all it's warts and detractors.

I agree drive it. Enjoy it. Life is short. Have fun.

Sue Esponte

Ummm...dude, it was hyperbole.

You authored an article that took aim at a model of car with a vast following and didn't think enthusiasts of the model would take issue with your criticism?

Moreover, is the irony of the tone of your response to my post lost on you? You've chosen to angrily attack my post because I've disagreed with you. Your contempt for my hyperbole is a red herring at best; a thinly veiled attempt to skew the intent of your response.

I have owned and do own a Porsche as a daily driver. In terms of maintenance, it's cost me no more or less than my Mercedes, Audi, Volvo, or, for that matter, my wife's fleet of Honda Pilots which, ironically, have required the most work (all covered under warranty) of all of our cars.

I did read your full article and, in fact, I'd previously read the earlier articles that R&T published about the 996. Your apology is unnecessary. You're entitled to your opinion. Unfortunately, I clearly take issue with the quality of the analysis you've applied to your argument.

I'm sorry to have offended you, Jack, but the evidence you presented in your article deriding the value on the 996 is apparently about is thin as your skin.

-Eric

Sue Esponte

The title of the thread is where my comments about Mr. Baruth's career ended. As you pointed out, it was pure hyperbole with which, as you also noted, Mr. Baruth should be solidly familiar. As someone who has subscribed to R&T for the better part of 20yrs, I didn't whine about cancelling my subscription or send a note to the editor criticizing the quality of his piece. Respectfully, if something was childish, it was his response.

This. It's clear that the purpose of his response was to drive more clicks to yet another article. Kudos, Mr. Baruth.

-Eric

P.S. Jack, feel free to follow me on Instagram @sueesponte.photography.

docmirror

While I'm not a fan of intentionally smug elitist writing style, I think the article was relatively accurate. I just priced a wheel bearing(cuz he used that example) and the rear bearing for my 996 is about $100. For my Subaru it's about 47 for the rear with AWD. It should be noted that the Subie takes a bearing and hub and I get the hub with bearing pressed in already. Bolt off, bolt on. The 996 requires a serious bit of bash and smash to repl the bearing.

The 996 has a stigma from the IMS, and that will never, ever go away. Doesn't matter if it's the last 439 chassis on the planet, it will still be at risk for advanced failure from IMS.

I also think there's a disconnect between what the focus of the article was, and the responses here. The article focused on the financial gains possible of the 996, and most of the blowback seems to be about the driving characteristics, fun-factor, etc. Some have even opined that they would never consider selling their cars. Which is fine, there are people who keep cars until they die. But - your offspring, or whomever gets the Porsche love of your life will more than likely want to put a dollar value on it. In that case, they may be upset that your pride and joy is only worth a small fraction of the 993, or 930.

I tend to buy and sell cars relatively often. The trick is in the purchase side, not the sales side. I'm ahead on my car financially, but hoping that the prices will pick up more before I let it go. I believe we are at the nadir of prices on the 996, but it may go down slightly more. Having watched the excitement of the 928 values for 15 years, it amazes me that there can be such a wide disparity in pricing. I can still find rough but complete 928s for under $5k, but the top of the heap are getting close to $100k for a pristine example of the GTS with manual. You can't touch a rough but complete air-cooled for under $15k.