In Porsche collecting circles, right now even a few months seems like an eternity. I originally wrote this article in 2011. In March 2016, I updated it to reflect the changes in attitudes towards the Porsche 996 Turbo. Buyers had realised that the engine was indeed pretty bulletproof and the cars were rising. I wrote with confidence, as you will see, that I thought the 996 Turbo was too numerous to become collectable……
Today, we’re seeing Porsche 996 Turbo for sale that were previously £20,000 cars in the UK being offered for over £50,000. Some low mileage cars with great provenance are now being marketed at over £70,000. Whether these prices are actually realised is unclear, but one thing is very obvious. When it comes to predicting Porsche 911 values, you really, really shouldn’t be listening to me.
So Should I buy the Porsche 996 Turbo for sale? Read the rest of the article below
It’s pretty well known that Porsche’s first attempt at a water cooled 911 didn’t exactly go down too well. Early reliability problems and a less than stellar 3.4 litre engine didn’t help. Plus, or course, the 993 that came before it was a truly superb car and became instantly collectable as “the last air cooled 911.” In the UK, that’s reflected in used car prices with right hand drive 996 Porsche going for very low prices, right down below even the scruffiest of 964’s.
This post was first published in 2011. A lot has changed in the Porsche 911 marketplace since then, so an update was overdue.
So take the Porsche 996’s alleged poor reliability, add in the perceived complication of four wheel drive and twin turbos and the casual observer will tell you that you’ve probably got a money pit on your hands. They’re wrong.
Since I originally wrote this in 2011, it finally seems to have sunk in to the wider Porsche buying population that the 996 Turbo engine is not the same unit as the normally aspirated engine. So if you see a Porsche 996 Turbo for sale, should you be rushing to buy it?
I wrote in 2011:
“996 Turbos in the UK are currently changing hands for £20 – 25,000. That’s for a 400 bhp, twin turbo, four wheel drive car and in my view a bargain. The key issue that renders all of the early non-turbo 996 engine woes irrelevant is quite simple.
It’s not the same engine.
That’s right, the twin turbo unit in the 996 is a different engine to the one afflicted with RMS bearing failures and an undeserved reputation for terminal engine explosions.
The Turbo engine block is based upon the original Porsche 930 Turbo engine, with the ‘Mezger’ block remaining air cooled and only the heads being water cooled. At a stroke, the single reason for woes has been removed. This engine block is bullet proof and failures are rare. OK, so the plumbing supplying fluids to the heads is a little complicated and can leak, but regular maintenance should keep it trouble free.”
This all still holds true, perhaps apart from the values. Right now, it seems that everyone is jumping onto the Porsche Collectable stage. Porsche 944’s that just two years ago would attract casual interest are being optimistically marketed north of £10,000 in the UK. Some are even beyond £20,000. Not for me thank you.
So why won’t the Porsche 996 Turbo become collectable?
It will, to a degree. If you have a perfect, immaculate, low mileage car with a filing cabinet full of paperwork, or you own a Turbo S, then yes, it will be collectable. But you won’t really be able to drive it.
I read in a classic car magazine just last month that the 996 Turbo was the one to buy as a future classic and that values start at £33,000. While that should get you a collectable, low mileage car, surrounding it are no end of more average 996 Turbos. These cars were very often bought as a daily driver, so ran up fairly average milages of 12,000 – 15,000 per year. Quite how they should become collectable, when there are literally thousands to chose from is an odd assertion.
But there’s one other issue.
Directly above it in the pricing ladder is the Porsche 997 Turbo. Again, a car in plentiful supply and more importantly, a car which is a much better drive.
The later, newer Porsche 997 Turbo has more power, a better chassis, certainly better looks and above all, a far superior interior in both design and quality of finish. Best of all, the Generation 1 997 Turbo 3.6 still has the ancestral Mezger engine and is good value.
Whatever the collectors and auction houses may say, the combination of 997 Turbo, the excellent best selling 997 3.8 series and the plentiful supply should mean, in my view, that the cars should be a good car to buy, own and drive, but are unlikely to become truly collectable in the next few years.
Should You Buy a 996 Turbo? Yes You Should.
Quite simply, look after the basic common sense items and they’re tough, reliable and have an engine with true character.
So, how do I know that they don’t break?
Over a four year period, I worked on track instructing in a black, 2002 Porsche 996 Turbo 4. This particular car had the Porsche factory X50 pack option comprising different turbos, intercooler and a remapped ECU. Add in the heavily track based lifestyle and you have a very fit engine, but one that is driven hard.
Yet apart from the normal items you’d expect to wear – brake discs, pads and clutches – it never missed a beat. It happily lapped at a rate far in excess of more flamboyant and exotic machinery, chewing it’s way through tyres with a prodigious appetite. For reasons that remain an utter mystery to me, the company sold the car. Right at the moment that the values began to climb.
Somebody, somewhere owns that car today.
So for around the price of an average 993, it’s perfectly possible to buy a car with supercar performance that once had a price tag of up to £100,000. Find yourself a factory option X50 Pack car and you’ve got a serious piece of kit.
In 2011 I wrote – “Whether you’re buying into a car that will continue to rise in value is open to debate, but the worst case scenario is you’re buying a car that gives more power for the money than anything else I can think of right now and at the current values, they must surely have bottomed out now?”
My view is to buy a Porsche 996 Turbo. People are realising just what amazing value they are. Buy an average milage car with a good history and don’t just park it up. Drive it. That’s what Porsche built it for.
This article was originally published in 2011 and has been updated to reflect the changes in the marketplace
SO! Should I not sell my 90,000kls (55,000 mis) Lapis blue Tipo Turbo after owning it for just on ten years?
I have other cars (about 200) but every time I get into this car it excites me. As I say owned lots of cars in my life but not many for ten years.
I just can’t make up my mind.
Thanks.
Keep it Roger.
Sell and you will forever regret it. They’re a superb car, will never let you down and still deliver great performance. Enjoy driving it!
Hi , I just recently purchased a 2003 996 Turbo black on red manual & i love it. I also have a 997 Turbo manual great car aswell but i find the 996 to be a little more mechanical , raw & easy to whip around. I have had many other cars in the past & i must say the 996 turbo keeps up with the best of them. Great Car. Mo Marquis Richmond Hill Ontario Canada.
Thanks, Mo.
Cool that you found the article. I agree, in many ways the 996 turbo is that little bit more ‘mechanical’ and it a tough call on which I would buy. You’re very fortunate to have both, keep them and enjoy them!
Neill W
Neill, it is a very usefull article. Thanks for sharing. Recently sold some of my collection and looking to invest into a Turbo Porsche…what do u recomend? Have 50k in my pocket.
Thx
Balazs
Hi Balazs,
Right now in my view it’s a difficult market to predict. The dealers have been talking it up for so long that it has become overheated.
There are a lot of unsold cars around right now that were bought at the wrong money, with the wrong intention.
Right now, if I was buying a turbo Porsche at that price point, I would try and find a really good 997 Turbo Gen 1, 3.6 litre, manual shift. For me, that is the final version of the original Mezger Turbo.
And I would try NOT to buy black, silver, grey unless the car ticked every other box. Why did Porsche new car buyers have so little imagination at that time? 🙂
And then I would drive it. A lot.
Hope this helps.
NW
Should I buy a 996 turbo even though my wife says no?
Do you love each other? If so, explain to your wife how much it means and how much she will enjoy driving it too. Also, financially it’s a pretty safe place to put your funds right now as long as you buy sensibly.
Your wife is probably a lovely person and doesn’t really mean it…
Good luck! 🙂
Hi looking to dip my toe in the 996 market. Have found a rather nice 996 turbo S but think it’s overpriced but has low miles and history.
The dilemma I have is do I sell my 944 cab to fund a 996 T S or stick with what I have?
Value your input.
It depends…. 🙂
That’s not a cop-out on my part.
The 996 Turbo is ballistic, Turbo S is superb in my view. And quite rare. For me, if I could only drive one car every day fro the rest of my life, it would probably be a 911 Turbo, 996 or 997. They’re that practical, yet crazy fast when you need them to be.
If you have emotional attachment to the 944, fond memories, have owned it for decades, kids grew up in it etc then there’s a case for keeping it. If you see it as a stepping stone to 911 and turbo ownership, then go for it. It will feel like a jet fighter after the 944.
Hope that helps.
Thank you and yes helps. Where would I get a good idea on a turbo s value so I know I’m not being stung? The prices vary so much on autotrader
Stephen
It’s very hard. They were cheap for a long time, probably too cheap. Then they went crazy as the dealers drove the prices up.
Then they maxed out as people could not see any future for further gains. So they stagnated. There are probably quite a few cars out there that have values that reflect what the owner paid recently, not the true market value.
I’ll try and write a follow up blog post ion the state of the Porsche marketplace this week, it’s probably an good time to do it.
Ok thanks… that would be a great help
Ok, so here’s a link to a fresh post on where I see the collectable Porsche 911 marketplace right now. Nothing to see here, just a personal opinion….
https://www.neillwatson.com/porsche/the-state-of-the-collectable-porsche-marketplace-in-2020/
Hi Neil
I have a 996 turbo. It is a 2004 model in pristine condition with 31,000 miles on the clock. It has full main dealer service record. It is silver automatic. Slightly ok number plate X11 TBO.
I have had 8 911s since 1984 but as I am now 68 I almost always drive my Range RoverSport nowadays so the 911 just sits in the garage.
I suppose I hold onto it for sentimental reasons but also because I thought it might turn out to be a decent investment. Now I am not at all sure with all this talk of phasing out petrol engine cars.
Obviously it costs me to keep it what with insurance, service etc and I’m not sure it’s great for cars to sit around.
In view of what you say do you think it probably won’t really appreciate? If so, I may make the painful decision to sell and let someone else enjoy it.
Thank you.
Stephen.
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for the comment, here’s two reasons to keep it:
1. The sentimental one. What’s wrong with that? So it costs a little to hold onto it, so what? If you don’t need the money and you enjoy seeing it in the garage, then why not keep it?
2. The mileage is exceptional and it’s a good colour. Therefore this is one of the 996 Turbos that will be collectable. Quite how collectable nobody knows, however it certainly isn’t going down in value and will certainly give a better return that the bank ever will right now. And you get the pleasure of owning it too.
Owning a Porsche doesn’t have to be about the money. If you still smile every time you see it, then that’s a good enough reason.
Neill
Thanks Neil. Very sound advice!