Sadly, I think Porsche have got very greedy of late and have heavily prioritised profit over engineering. I fear that they may end uplike another Mercedes-Benz: cashing in on their heritage and good reputation of old and milking the company dry of the last little bit of goodwill from their loyal customers by turning out cheaply built, unreliable products, and shirking their responsibilities in terms of rectifying poor design and build.
I was hugely impressed in 2003, when my 993 was 7 years old, getting a letter from Porsche to get my engine wiring loom checked and then replaced free of charge (with a courtesy car provided) as it was below acceptable insulation tolerances.
Not only can I not see that ever happening with my 996, but I fully expect them to walk away from any liablity should my engine fail due to any of the well known, and well Documented, issues - ie. RMS, Intermediate shaft, cracked cylinder liners.
In addition, Porsche are chasing ever more volume, whilst 'gas-guzzlers' are becoming seriously anti-socal in many of their traditionally most profitable markets.
The result of all the above is an inevitable decline in residual values... IMHO I think the days of used 911s being worth any more than similarly priced (new) luxury cars are pretty much over (with the possible exception of very low volume niche models perhaps - eg. GT2, GT3RS). I don't even see GT3s becoming classics ether, as they have become reasonably high volume mainstream products now...
Depressing outlook maybe, but my hypothesis is based on 25 years experience within the motor industry, and I believe it is realistic I'm afaid.
Doesn't stop me wanting a GT3 though,or enjoying the car I've already got
it just means that I can no longer justify having a Porsche over a cheaper (and probably better built) car on whole life costs alone!
Just realised I haven't answered the original question with my great long rant, so here goes (brace yourself)...
£10k part-x, £12k private - and I think you'll struggle to sell it privately at all...
Sorry mate, but we are talking abot a 14 year-old car, in ready supply (they haven't rusted away such that good ones arehard to find), with outrageous
Insurance premiums for the the youngsters that it will most appeal to, high maintenance costs, and a poor build quaity/reliability record.
Finally, deservedly or not, he 'sword of Damoclese' hanging over the 3.4 in terms of a possible need for a £12k engine replacement long after a Porsche warranty is impossible!
Migration info. Legacy thread was 125072
