Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi All,

During the festive period, I have been wondering as to when our vehicles will start appreciating in value & would you consider these vehicles to be a definite investment for the future???

Regards
Adrian.

I don't think many 944s will lose money now provided they are looked after, considering now virtually all 944s are enthusiast owned they should generally improve with age in common with most enthusiast owned vehicles.

There are some cars in the series which seem wrong price wise and I think they may drop a little, 944 turbo cabs are one, prices are so all over the place I can see them settling down at slightly more than the price of a 944S2 cab. Great car but when most Turbos are bought by people enjoying performance and handling the cab shell probably isn't the best choice.

968 Autos are probably going to be in the same category.

But in fairness they aren't really going to drop just stabilise around a true value.

Some models won't move much in price, 924 2.0 late models, 944 2.5 and 2.7NA latish models, average S and S2 models, automatics.

But I think really exceptional examples of early silver trimmed 924 2.0, 924 turbo, 924S, very early 944 models in original condition. I also think the 944 turbo will continue to be a strong performer and will naturally pull the S2 along with it. I also think the 944S might suddenly take a turn for the better. I reckon 968 sport and CS models could end up looking silly price wise in a few years, looking at how 964RS models have gone, all it will take is for one to be featured in a tv series or for them to somehow really come to the attention of modern Porsche buyers looking to throw a bit of money at a classic, if you have been driving 997/991 models then a jump to a 968 would be a lot easier than a jump to an aircooled 911, with Porsches latest move to Auto only on the new GT3 who knows it might set people looking to the past.

Basically with any series of cars you need to look at the highlights of the range, the bread and butter stuff that sold well may be a reasonable investment to use but it's never going to go stratospheric, 911s, the SC and 964 C2/C4 series sold well, ask most people to draw a picture of a 911 and they will draw an SC with a whale tail, but these aren't the valuable models, the early models that got bastardised in to SC reps in the 80s and ended up getting broken for parts, the rs models and turbos are the ones going sky high, people either want the flagship models or the early pure version. Same with MGs, I have a load of MGs the mid-late era MGBs are worth very little, but get an early pull handle roadster, early 3 synchro GT, V8 or MGC and you have a desirable car that is appreciating.

But bear in mind the above is the ramblings from some bloke on the internet, who knows what's going to happen.

Hi, that is difficult to assess, but it looks like prices have climbed a bit recently if eBay and other sites are to be believed. It also appears that the number of tatty project cars being advertised has decreased with the ones being offered now making more money. Too many 944s are now being, or have been scrapped or broken, mostly for the dreaded sill rust (MOT failure), but some really good examples have been stripped just for spares .

Anyway, the numbers are finite and at some point they will start to appreciate well in value, but it might take a few more years yet. I certainly don't consider my '44 a monetary investment due to the amount of 'hard-earned' that has been poured into it. I guess a lot of forum members can relate to that.

As far as the future is concerned...who can tell? Strange things go on in the classic car world...the 944 might just shine at some point!

The upshot is..even if our car's values don't appreciate, we still appreciate the cars!

Whilst the cheaper 924/944 'sheds' without MoT's all end up in the scrap yard in the sky the remaining better to top end quality cars will naturally give perception to the values going slightly northwards. And if you want a 944 you will have no choice than to buy a good one at a higher perceived price.

I don't see any 924 or 944 being an 'investment' opportunity. It may be comforting to consider the £hundreds or £thousands spent in upkeep or improvements may not be thrown into a huge black hole if their values increase slightly. But a £5k 944 will never be worth £25+ in our lifetime, I believe. A £5k 944 may be worth £10k in 10 years but a good percentage of that growth will be spent on annual servicing and maintenance in that period. The ceiling values of our cars will be dictated by the alternative Porsche on the market. The high numbers of Boxsters, Caymans and 996's will keep our cars values lower than they should be as the average potential buyers would view these cars as 'better' than a 924/944/968.

924 Carrera GT's and GTS along with 944 turbo cup cars have already made a strong jump in values recently and they may well climb some more, they are Carrera 2.7RS, 964 RS of the front runners. The best of the best 924's and 944's will always be desirable to some collectors willing to pay top dollar for low miles, low owner 'as new' cars. But these cars came off regular road use some while ago.

I doubt it. The 944 (along with the other front-engined Porsches of the period) will always suffer from being "not a 911" in the general public's eyes. To a certain generation the 911 was the ONLY Porsche and later generations have no idea what a 944 is.

Values may appreciate in line with inflation and even increase slightly but I think it would be a mistake to regard them as an "investment opportunity". [increasing] Rarity doesn't necessarily equate to increasing value. There are many "classic" cars whose surviving numbers in the UK are down to a large handful and still have no appreciable value.

Desirability and value are odd things. I love the 944 and would have it in preference to any number of more "valued" classics but the rest of the world doesn't (and probably won't) agree with me. This doesn't bother me in the least.

Let them stay low having been in the VW scene for years where cars and parts cost a fortune that are nowhere near the quality of 944's but can bleed you dry to maintain or buy it's refreshing to own a German sports car that can be run on a shoe string, I know it won't last Beetles and Golf mk1's were ten a penny not long ago but now can sell for silly money.

Even rotten cars can fetch thousands thanks to the rat look and look at the price of 944 scripted door handles just because they fit MK 1 Golfs

Ok if you want to get out of the scene and cash in but I'd like to stick around and continue to enjoy good cheap used cars and parts

My 'might just shine' comment was heavily optimistic! - should have added 'but I'm not holding my breath!'

However, your comment regarding not being a 911, etc. - spot on (unfortunately ).

i have noticed all pre 1991 cars have increased in value, i put this down to no need for a cat, easier D.I.Y servicing, cheap insurance and little or no depreciation! My wife has an 1991 escort she bought for £350 a few years ago, its mint and will now fetch £500 + possibly 1k on a classic car forecourt
As for my 944 cab, i paid £3500 for it a few years ago, it has 968 handles and mirrors, 18 inch Turbo alloys.
A quick look on ebay shows 5 cabs, 4.2 K for a shed ( sorry if its yours ) and the others range from 7 to £9995!
I am selling in april as i want to cash in and buy a 996 C4S, i believe they will go up next!

I had a lot of MK11 RS Escorts back in the 80's and the whole point of them was driving like you were on a road rally stage I bet not many of them are driven sideways now. At least you can drive a 944 without worrying what it's going to cost if you dent it.

You obviously havnt met me yet ? - lol

Take a look here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ZP02TQJgM

Pffft you could get 3 buses side by side on that tarmac, do it on a normal size roundabout .

That would be irresponsible to be filmed on the public highway

Oh and as for 944 values, after many fruitless searches during 2013 I finally found an S2 worthy of the Porsche badge, I say - Let values fly as high as possible now

The 944 could well be the last of the front engined RWD sports cars and we all like a RWD car

IMO 944 Values are still all over the place. But it is becoming harder to find a straighter car now than it once was. But then I have had people say to me (people I know, not potential buyers) that 'You can get a mint 944 Turbo or S2 for £3k, innit?' when this far from the case (OK a little more will get you a usable car, but not the £3k ceiling that people imagine there to be). I guess spares prices will also affect things.

As for the 'it's not an 911 they will always be low' yes that is true up until a point. If history is anything to go by I would say the 914 is a good lesson to look at. Sure they are not quite 911 money but they are no longer as cheap as they were. At one point you could get a rough but rolling and roadworthy 914 4 pot for around £2k, basically MGB money. Many years on and MGB values appear to have stagnated. But try buying a roadworthy 914 for £2k now (I believe that amount of cash puts you into the realms of a resto 914 these days). As for the 6 pot 914s forget it.

Other cars recently have had similar issues. Dolomite Sprints only a decade ago where cheaper to buy than a 'B. Now the tables have turned, quite dramatically in the Dolomite's favour (I guess scarcity plays a role there). I will not even mention Mk1 and 2 Escorts, or Minis.

You are so right about Dolomite Sprints and this one was mine until an American asked several times to buy it I had owned the car since 97 and was not bothered to sell so we set out to find him one a few years ago £2000 would have got a nice one.
Mine was track prepared and carried my own vented brake conversion that makes them stop as well as go, after 3 months and an offer I could not refuse I sold it to him in Sept 2013 to compete in Club Triumphs 10 Countries run in which they cover 2500 miles in 4 days!
After the run it was shipped to Ohio and I have gained 8 USA friends
With the money I bought my 87 944 lux for £2250 and had some left over for insurance etc.
I expect my 944 to go up slightly in price and be enjoyable to own but I will not track day it as I have more suitable cars for that.

Good to see a couple of pics of the Fradley Hairpin getting attacked in here!

I've been keeping an eye on 944 values for a number of years now and have just decided to buy my first one (picking it up in a week or two!..). It seems apparent to me that the prices of decent examples have certainly started to harden as it's possible that first time buyers have clocked on that it's far more sensible (and probably cheaper in the long run) to pay for a decent, well maintained car in the first place. However it seems that decent cars that are actually for sale are few and far between so demand is possibly outstripping supply hence why values are hardening slightly.

One thing I have noticed though is there are obviously plenty of decent examples around, but owners seem to hold on to these for a long time which as a newbie say's a lot to me regarding the ownership 'experience'...

I very much doubt they will ever shoot up in value a'la e30 m3 as to a certain extent they'll still suffer the foolish and BS poor man's Porsche stigma and will therefore sit in the shadow of the 911. But as the market for 996's eventually improves (as the poor examples get broken), there is a good chance that the prices of decent Turbo's and s2's will be dragged along with them as they will be viewed as the 'next best thing' at a lower value. But this is probably way off...

However going back to the old poor man's thing, it seems to me that the Boxster is the new version of this which can only improve the credibility of the old '44; instead of people buying 944's just because they want to say they own a Porsche, they're more likely to buy a Boxster meaning the 944 should be left alone to us proper car enthusiasts which can only help the good examples!