Another reason early cars will keep going up in value...simplicity !

[Mr9146]

Well said Marco ! Do you Think we will see anyone restoring a 997, 991 etc in 30 years or so?

Run of the mill 996s, 997s and 991s will never get restored (and that includes the S versions because, let's face it, they're not that far removed from the standard versions anyway). Want a perfect example of what I mean?

I have an abandoned 997 at my shop for going on 3 or 4 years now (I can't even remember anymore). The customer had bought the car new - with cash - and took it to a Jiffy Lube-style catch-all mechanic at the recommended service intervals (so she claims) but the car still shat itself at 100,000mi (IMS bearing failed). She brought it here, we told her it needed a motor, and we never heard from her for 3 years. It was only after I put a mechanic's lein on the car that she got off her butt to do something. We had a few offers on the car but having PAID CASH for the car she was unwilling to sell it, regardless of what she was being offered. She paid the storage on the lein and then disappeared for another year!! So I leined it again and this time she got the hint; she brought me a bunch of money to buy her a rebuilt motor - with upgraded IMS bearing - and, as a courtesy because I want the job done and gone, I gave her a really good deal on the install. That was 6 or 7 months ago. We got the car running and driving a week after she brought seed money, but since it hasn't been registered since 2008 or 2009 I refused to drive it on the street. I emailed her numerous times to inform her that she needs to get the registration handled so I can test drive her car for her and finish the job ... nothing. Zero. No response for months and months. So the car is once again back outside rotting. The engine has a one year warranty and I can almost guarantee that it will expire before I hear from her again. How I met this lady was she drove the car in because the brakes were making noise ... they were making noise because the steel backing on the pads were hitting the freakin' rotors!!!!! And she was almost through the steel, too!!! How does that even happen? The damn car has a brake sensor with big, frickin' warning light that says you need to change the pads!! And this wasn't just the front ... it was ALL 4 CORNERS!!

If that doesn't illustrate my initial point about "owners who don't know, don't care or both" then I don't know what does. The part that I find to be the most odd is that this is something that she owns and paid cash for. It's not a lease situation so she can't even give it back ... it baffles me.

HOWEVER, I believe that the GT versions of the late-model cars will ALWAYS be collectible. Once they've passed through the hands of the people who buy them as accessories - people who buy them because of how they feel when they see other people's reactions to their car - the cars will find their way into the hands of true enthusiasts who will keep them in repair and/or restore them to their former glory because they love the car itself.

Personally, I'm looking forward to when the 996 GT3s drop below $50K for more than 5 seconds. That's when I'm a buyer. It's my opinion that the 996 GT3 will be viewed in 20 years as the most honest extension of the early 911 and will be the most sought after late-model, standard-production car with a Porsche badge. Minimal electronics, available without a sunroof - the 996/997 sunroof design is a POS anyway - straightforward engineering, tons of aftermarket and continuing factory support for parts and pieces (start stockpiling, boys), and comfortable to drive for extended periods of time...to me, that's a perfect car. I'll take mine in plain white with silver wheels and steel brakes.

[platas]

What a story Marco,

well we just had a gathering here, most cars who attended where new car, 996, 997, and 1 or 2 991,s, but the atraction was the classic cars, ours cars, i took Magnus old ST, and a 256, and the guys with the new cars where just drulling over the older cars.....

[sithot]

In 15-20 years maybe there will be a clever aftermarket company selling electric motors to replace the water cooled engines with all their plastic parts.

Comrade Gib. You won't have need a car. The State will decide how you travel as well as when and where.

Tom

[achisholm]

I had an ignition key made for the family MY2000 Chrysler today. $2.29 plus tax.

Thought of this thread while I was waiting for the woman in front of me to discuss the purchase of a key for her late model Accura. Big long discussion and lots of looking in books and screens by the locksmith. They mentioned "dealer only" and $450 for the key. I wondered at the time what a new Porsche key would be. Probably make that air filter service seem simple.

And another thing.....what the heck happened to wheel studs and lug nuts?

10-4 on the 996 GT3......

[sithot]

Andy:

Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar and the rest of the "high line" cars with "smart keys" will make it hard to sit down too after you pay for one.

Regarding wheel studs! Excellence (February 2012) has an article titled "5 Lugs or Bust" which is about an owner who changed his center locks to studs. Here is a pdf link to an Orange Coast PCA club magazine. Read "Rice's Ramblings". http://www.pcaocr.com/userfiles/file...2%20PandoW.pdf

Tom

[jeff eelkema]

I'm convinced car designers and engineers couldn't care less about the motor mechanic who has to service or repair a car. They look at what is going to make the car perform as intended, what features it delivers to the customer buying the car and what is easier/cheaper to build/assemble. These factors impact on the car company bottom line. Service issues are a problems for the dealer or customer or guys who make a living fixing cars.

ALL the car companies are the same in this respect, they are ONLY concerned with their bottom line.

[evilfij]

Stuff like this is why I passed on getting a 991 and stuck with my lotus exige S.

Having done a motor swap in my elise (failed oil cooler line), you (yes you, not the dealer or someone with a fancy scan computer tool) can work on a lotus and fix it for money you could never fix a 991 (or 996 or 997).

The problem with modern cars is too much stuff and too many complicated and expensive bits to fail.

[72targa]

I used make every effort to repair things like my dryer when they broke. Now, if the warranty is out and it breaks, time to just replace. I just threw out a $500 Denon receiver for the same reason. Sad to see our beloved 911's in the same boat...

[mrgreenjeans]

Peter,
I used to feel the same way about electrical appliances, having grown up in a farm home where Dad would attempt a fix on anything, and if he could not, he would take it into town and seek a specialist out . Repair--not replace was his motto. And alot of that stayed with me. A couple years ago, I had a gorgeous 30 year old Harmon Kardon stereo that quit functioning at our home. I took it to the dealer who sold them and requested a repair. He said it would be at least a month , the parts would be next to non-existant, and the labor and parts more than worth it to just replace it new.
I looked at him, then the beautiful wood cabinet, the wonderful blue/green backlit dials, then mulled it over for a second, and said.....FIX IT. I do NOT subscribe to that throw it all philosophy of thought. He did, it took about 6 weeks, it plays yet quite wonderfully, but I know in my heart it is a goner if it croaks again. Why ?
He closed his repair facility... undoubtedly because new sales were not there and his repair abilities were now an outmoded way of life. His body reached retirement level and the customer base had packed up and took the train for the west coast. With the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Day the music died.....

I could give another example on an electronic Pentax camera we bought before we left for our trip to Europe in 91. But you can guess the ending on that.........digital has rendered a 700.00 camera that was state of the art to the waste-bin of life.

I just cannot even justify the thought process it takes to register in my mind, the throw away mentality of purchasing a new Carrera S for 120 large , knowing it will not be serving me in the same way my 22 year old All Trac Camry still does today and is going to be a shreddable piece of recycle flotsem well before its time.
Tis rather sad ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Louie]

Marco is spot on about the 996 gt3s. Had one...regret selling it. It feels light, nimble and very...old school. Go test drive one..I bet you will agree. IMO the 996 gt3 will be the 73RS in terms of enthusiast support over the next 10 years. The 997 cars are heavier and more GT in nature.