What should I buy with my budget?

Hi guys.
Advice please. I will soon be in the market for a used 911. I will have one of two budgets, £50k or £70k. I would aim to keep the car for 2 to 3 years. On either budget, what would be the best car to go for that would lose least money after 2 to 3 years?
I certainly want a car with a good warranty and it seems to me that the OPC's have the best warranty. If I didn't go down the OPC route, how could I go about obtaining an OPC warranty or should I be looking elsewhere?
Thank you in advance

991 then find the time to search

:welcome: to 911uk

Yours is an interesting question.

The answer very much depends on what you want from 911 ownership experience over that 2-3 years.

A newer car would give you that 'jump in and drive' experience but would cost you more in depreciation.

An older car may end up costing you more to get right and keep maintained but you might end up recouping your initial outlay as most of the depreciation has already occurred.

In your position I'd be looking to spend either budget on a 997 Turbo. £50k would get you a decent Gen1 car. £70k would get you into a Gen2. In that time you'd have immense fun driving one of the most iconic versions of the 911 model and should sell either without too much of a hit in a few years time.

Buying from an OPC with the 2 year warranty included will cost you more than buying a similar car from a Porsche specialist and even more than if you buy privately.

If the car is standard and well maintained after 90 days of ownership you'd be able to put it in for a 111 point inspection at an OPC (cost c£220) and subject to everything passing or being made right a 2 year warranty would cost about £1900.

A final note to bare in mind, especially when buying from a dealer, is that there's a big difference between the price you pay and what you'll get back. The trade value to retail price spread on these cars can be significant.

Good Luck :thumb:

A decent budget but you need to decide with generation you want, and once decided then in which guise!

I went 991 C4s, a good mix of modern all year round drivability with the wet weather here in Wales!

Time will tell on how much it will depreciate but I've factored that in, I wanted the newest low milage naturally aspirated 3.8 I could get and this ticked all the boxes.

220e, im with T8 a turbo is solid and you wont lose a fortune, a very good point on pricing though- trade in v retail is 10 k or so, so you stand to lose that in the real world before any depreciation when you sell on, selling private for those sums isnt easy, something to factor in, but if you could the 10 becomes closer to 5 i suppose.
The only other thing id consider is a 997 Gt3 but your looking mid 70 as a minimum there. But surely the most solid place to put your dough.

Looking at your lower budget (raised a bit :grin: ) id also consider 991.1 they are a total hoot, and personally like the 997 they will level out at a minimum, im not sure theres a whole massive lot to lose on a good low miler circa 53k.

If you don't need rear seats.... GT4 would get my vote

The OP did say 911 .... so perhaps best not muddy the water for him ......

madalaa said:

The OP did say 911 .... so perhaps best not muddy the water for him ......

Click to expand...

:yeah: and GT4s are only just creeping below £70k so not may to choose from.

If you buy a Porsche OPC warrantied car you will pay top dollar and will suffer the dealer sell-to-buy spread when you sell privately or trade in after 2-3 years.

The Porsche Approved site lists 52 911's in your budget range, of which only four are pre-2012. So it really limits your choice; for example you won't find any 996 GT3's at an OPC, I imagine.

However, what you could do is trust one of the top rated indies to sell you a car that they have carefully chosen and warrantied. I'm thinking of 911Virgin, JZM, RPM Technik for example. It still won't match the official Porsche "peace of mind". But you'll have much wider choice.

OK, here's my opinion, FWIW, of the low depreciation choices in your budget:
Any 996 or 997 turbo
996 GT3 (997 GT3 if you can stretch to it)
993 C2 or C4 manual coupe
991 C2S
997 GTS

Me? I'd go for a 997 Gen 2 PDK Turbo, in fact I think I just might!
Happy hunting! Regards, Mike.

If you want the most car for your budget the £50k then 997.1 Turbo or if you can stretch to £75k then 997 GT3,

If you a warranty and modernity then OPC 991 but as others have said you face more depreciation from, at least, the dealer's margin and possibly some newness still wearing off.

There isn't much one could say is a bad buy in that range though. Arguments could be made for all models. Nothing in the that range has inherent floors.

Some really good advice guys, thank you, plenty for me to consider.

There is some great advice on here already. I was in a similar position at the start of the year to you. In a nutshell I think you need to get out and drive a few different cars to narrow your search. Whilst a 911 turbo is a good place to put cash, I think most of the models in the range do well depreciation wise when compared to other cars. The other thing to note is what you have come from car wise and what you want from your new 911 purchase other than lack of depreciation. With that I mean do you want turn key reliability, do you want naturally aspirated or turbo boosted performance. Modern or older car and all the little things like bluetooth, Apple car play etc that you may take for granted from your current car.

I drove a gen 1 997 C4S and loved it. I spent 3 hours driving it and I did not stop smiling. ( A friends car ) Manual box, very tactile to drive and sounded lovely. It made all the right noises , looked great and drove really nice. However I wanted a tad more power than the 350 mark, I wanted a newer more modern car especially interior wise and thats where a gen 2 997 came in for my initial searches. However as I started looking at cars the price of a really good 997 gen 2 car (2008 -2011) with the spec that I liked came closer and closer to the even newer 991 model. The 997 gen 2 holds money well as its the last of the mechanical steering and it has leas issues engine wise compared to the gen 1 cars, has improved PCM / navigation etc and combine this with the financial crisis 2008 onwards and there are simply far fewer gen 2 997 cars about. So prices hold very well ( at present )

I test drove a manual 991 C2S and loved it. Mere mortals wont really tell the difference between the steering and with a more modern interior I felt the 991 was a better place for my money. The S model 3.8 engine with 400BHP is just a gem. You can get a nice 991 C2S for low/mid 50's with low mileage and main dealer warranty. I came very close to pulling the trigger on the 991 C2S manual, but a stint in traffic on the way home pushed me towards a PDK and eventually into a C4S 991. Also the slightly different handling characteristics of the C4S with AWD and less front end bobbing was what sealed the deal for me. My budget went from £45-70k but I could not be more happier. Its enough power to enjoy on the road without pushing crazy speeds or going at warp factor 9. A 991 is modern and the .1 (2012 -2015 ) with the N.A 3.8 engines are starting to hold values having lost most of their depreciation, certainly when compared to the 991.2 turbo cars.

So with the wide budget you have make a short list of spec, colour then go drive some. I bet you end up in a totally different place to what you first thought! As others have said there is a big difference between retail and re-sale and if this is your first step in its worth getting a car with a warranty to ensure you have peace of mind. Whatever model and spec you end up with I have no doubt you will enjoy it, just don't jump head first in without driving a few different cars.

All the best
Jungle

These cars are quite mileage sensitive on the second hand market. If you use it, you'll lose money. The only really depreciation proof cars are the GT3's, but my first point still stands. Turbos are a bit fickle, but depreciate very slowly. I've not tracked the 997 market that closely, but the 996 turbo prices have softened a bit. Any other model is liable to fall over time. The more modern non-GT cars have not reached the bottom of the curve by any means, but compared to other marques are still quite cheap in terms of depreciation losses.

What kind of driving are you planning to do? Long Euro road trips would be perfect in a turbo (even dare I say it a Tiptronic!!). Weekend B road blasting and track days would definitely be GT3 at this money.

Just one observation to add, if I may, regarding depreciation. Which is that no-one knows what the UK economy has in store for us over the next couple of years. Don't worry, I am not veering into politics! Just pointing out that the future contains uncertainty one way or another.

One view is therefore to simply pick the car you like best and drive the thing!

Counter Of Beans said:

Just one observation to add, if I may, regarding depreciation. Which is that no-one knows what the UK economy has in store for us over the next couple of years. Don't worry, I am not veering into politics! Just pointing out that the future contains uncertainty one way or another.

One view is therefore to simply pick the car you like best and drive the thing!

Click to expand...

I think we are all bracing to lose serious cash on our cars in the next few years, but then again, we said the same a few years back! Although normally a prophet of doom, Im not so sure anything will actually change, although recently for the first time there has been a (small) downturn.