The used Porsche market has been unaffected by the snap General Election and continues to demonstrate appetite and energy for the right cars at the right price. The evergreen question is just what the right car and right price might be.
We inspect many cars every month and reject the majority of them. This is not marketing speak: we even installed a special inspections lift in the showroom due to the number of inspections carried out week after week. What passes muster are genuine Porsche cars in the very best condition we can lay our hands on.
The earliest water-cooled 911s now go back twenty years, but they emerged at a time when a reliable network of trained Porsche specialists had evolved around the air-cooled cars. Once the cars left dealer network servicing, owners tended to hand the cars to their chosen specialists, so it is easier to find a water-cooled 911 with good service history. This is especially true for Turbo and GT models, as their values never dropped to the point where they would not have been maintained professionally.
This service history audit trail is harder to find on air-cooled 911s, so we are often left relying on what we can see. Looking in the hot spots of an air-cooled 911 will tell quite a bit about how it has been used and maintained, especially when that inspection can be compared to hundreds of similar inspections carried out over our thirty years of working on air-cooled 911s and 930s.
The point is that we inspect everything and question-mark cars are simply not brought into stock. When a car does arrive in the showroom for sale, our customers know that it has met expectations and it is very likely to pass their own inspection. We do not retail models with engine trouble concerns, and all of our cars are warranted. Therefore we have the best stock available – all cars we would like to own personally. So our view of the market is based on retailing the very best cars available.
Our approach may be summed up in six words: “buy fair, sell fair, be fussy”. We are very fussy and sensible (bordering aggressive) on price: that is why we sell cars. In the last seven days we have sold ten cars, including a paint-to-sample RHD 991 GT3 RS, paint-to-sample RHD 997 GT3 RS 4.0, RHD 3.2 Speedster with 10,600 miles, Martini Edition 930, Gen II 997 GT3 Club Sport and a Boxster Spyder in Black.
These cars had a number of things in common: they were presented in perfect condition and passed JZM inspection. This proves that if you buy the right car and sell at the right price, there is a healthy market ready and waiting. Some may claim this market for the best examples is purely collector driven, but that is simply not the case. We sell cars to first-time buyers, overseas customers, track day clients and many other people who are keen to own a high quality used Porsche. It is not all collector activity.
And the market is not all 911s. Caymans are doing well, especially Cayman GTS with the right spec. GT4 is a little harder to move as there are simply so many cars on the market and many are well and truly overpriced. There are no buyers out there for overpriced GT4s and there have not been for many months. Our superb Cayman GT4 with less than 500 miles from new is priced almost £20,000 cheaper than the most expensive GT4 currently for sale – it is time for other sellers to have a good look at their prices and bring some energy back to this corner.
The fine weather has brought Boxster into sharper focus and we have sold a number of very nice Boxsters so far this year, including a selection of beautiful Spyders. Spyder is a good seller but only when presented with the right specification. These cars are super sensitive to spec, so it is important to be aware of what fits best. When it comes to Boxster Spyder, bucket seats are an important part of this formula.
From the 911 lines, everything has potential when in the right condition. Our upcoming part exchanges include a nice 997 Carrera 4 S Coupe and a 996 Turbo S Tiptronic Cabriolet with special order leather trim. We have possible buyers for both on our books. GT cars continue to be where most of our business is done, but all models are of interest to us.
As May 2017 begins, the weather is good and the mood is upbeat. Top condition cars are selling and that is correct for this time of year. If you are considering selling your Porsche, why put it anywhere else? Contact us to discuss brokerage or an outright purchase.