Resale Value Question

Greetings,

I was asked an interesting question today that I found somewhat difficult to answer, so I thought I would post it here to solicit your opinions.

Question,

Are there differences in resale value between a replica 356 Porsche speedster and coupe?

Best regards,

Peter

That is an interesting question, Peter.
Before the JPS and SAS coupes, there was Envemo. It was a Porsche licensed replica of a C coupe and cabriolet. Those have maintained a relatively high resale value, I suspect, because of their connection with Porsche.
According to John Steele, the coupes are actually easier to build than the speedsters. Of course, he might feel differently now because of the difficulty in making them water-tight.
There are only a handful of replica coupes out there, so one could say that they're more valuable on the resale side because of that. However, there are a lot of real coupes around and one could argue that there isn't enough of a price difference to warrant the purchase of a replica vs. real. I would have to say that it would be very hard to find or restore an original for the amount of money you could buy a replica.
But to answer your question, I would say that you probably would get closer to what you paid for the coupe than a speedster because of the current novelty factor. It is subjective, however, because the draw of the speedster is the open car feeling and the "look at me" presence, whereas the practical "four season" individual would favor the coupe.

It also depends on the amount of personalization you decide you need in your car. I bought mine for pretty much exactly what it cost the guy before me to build it, and then went a little overboard with my personalization efforts.
I'm pretty sure nobody would want my car except me. And you could buy a pair of IMs for the money I've spent.
Okay, maybe an IM and a Vintage ...

Peter
I think the depreciation issue will have more to do with how the car was optioned when purchased new, than whether or not it is a coupe or convertible. I have noticed that the heavily optioned cars, air, big motor, leather, custom frame, etc, take a beating at resale time. Also, any widebodies, or for that matter, any cars with non-standard body mods seem to sell for a lower amount than comperable standard bodies. The modified bodies also seem to have a more limited buyer market. If someone is buying new and only plans to keep the car a year or two and have resale concerns, they are probably better off buying a minimally optioned standard body, whether it be a coupe or convert.

Peter -

FWIW, in my bizzaro world, there was no consideration for resale value when I bought my Speedy. I saw it, I wanted it, I bought it and then proceeded to enjoy driving it almost everyday.

How do you put a price/value on top-down driving along Hwy 1, the positive reaction from other motorists, being the desire of all women and the envy of all men (OK, maybe I embellished that last bit!).

I figure that for the past 10-years and 65K miles, I've had the opportunity to drive the most fun car I've ever owned. That alone is worth whatever the depreciation cost!

Down the road, the car will be worth only what the next owner is willing to pay for it!!

...I'm just saying...

I figure that by the time I'm ready to sell my car, I will have gotten at least my money's worth of enjoyment out of it. Whatever resale there is is gravy.

There is certainly something to be said about those who purchased new keeping these cars a few years before turning them over. At least for Vintage and JPS cars the break even time period looks like 5-7 years; that is, getting your original purchase price back when you sell the car. Keep it longer and take care of it and you can probably even make a profit. I sold my 78 IM in 1979 for $7500. In good shape today it would fetch $12-13K. Jim Ignacio is probably the best example of buying smart. He bought a lightly used one at a bargain price, drove it 10 years so far, and could probably sell now for a couple of grand profit.

It is not so much resale value as "replacement cost" and that is up to each person. In this price range, $7-20,000, it is hard to think of many other cars that "hold" the value, are cheap to fix (parts are ridiculously cheap)and draw so much attention, "What is that?"

I went out trying to find a relatively new one that had been allowed to decay. I bought it at a good price, I am adding a lot of "sweat equity" (which you should not value but just enjoy.......or not), and I will be driving without depreciation in my mind. I have a high mileage Boxster which costs on average about $2.50 a mile ( I drive about 10,000 a year) factoring in routine maintanence and part replacements $$$$$$$$$$$$$ not counting gas it is $2.00 a mile on an 80,000+ Boxster, a 914 which fits in a catagory like the Speedster and the Speedster. The Speedster AND the 914 cost $260 a year to insure 'together' and I am allowed 3,000 mile on each. The plan, keep the Boxster for when I need airconditioning and use the 914 and Speedster for "free miles" or at least darn cheap ones.

By the way, 914's never seem to go up in resale even if they are magnetic. They just keep running and running and the parts are as available as any Type 4 VW.

Just drive it and smile when people envy it.

"Just drive it and smile when people envy it."

Every once in a while someone finds a succint way to capture the joys of owning a Speedster. Fred, today you are that person.

condition, condition, condition, If you didn't drastically overpay when you bought it, and you kept it in good condition, you will get your money back, or close........you can't beat that....