In a recent post, BMW550sport refered to the 996 911 as a Poor Man's Porsche. He has posted on numerous occassions referring to this model as cheap. Any feedback from the forum? Keep in mind, he doesn't have a Porsche and claims to drive a bimmer.

 

I don't get this guy. He comes on talks trash about his BMW, slams Porsche owners and has the ***** to say a 996 is a Poor Man's Porsche. No comment, it's not worth my time and energy. Not sure why he is even posting here, I would have cut him off a long time ago.

 

I agree with cmilam, BMW550 acts almost adolescent in his over-enthusiasm and rather sweeping and exaggerated statements: I give technical advice on the Camaro forum, where I guess the average age of a member must be, oh, 19, and I see a lot of similar stuff there.

But there is something in what he says: 996s are relative bargains, although hardly a "poor mans" anything. For whatever reason (and everyone has his own opinion) 996s have depreciated much more than many previous Porsche models and a bit more than 997s seem to be depreciating now (but I think that will change as soon as there is a 998 or whatever). Be sure to keep this in perspective: they aren't cheap, but depreciation to 50% of new value at a point where another car is at 60% does save you 10% of the new price, so it is signifcant.

For that, you get a car that is very similar to the current model (997): there is very little between the two: the 997 has some exterior styling changes some people prefer over the 996 (I'm not one of them) and superior finish in the interior (more stitching on the door panels and dash, etc. The 997S does have a larger and different engine (better and more powerful than its rating would indicate, too), but by any standard a used 996 is a hell of a bargain: a standard 997C2 is very close to the most recent 997C2for about half the cost of a new 997.

But remember, a used 996 will not give good satisfaction if you maintain it and service it like a "poor man" -- it will require maintenance and service that tends to be more $$ than many other cars (and insignificantly different than that for a 997).

 

Lee--you can pick up an 03 M3 for about $27K, that's about a 50% depreciation from new value. An 03 911 has about the same depreciation. Go on autotrader.com or cars.com and you'll find hundreds of used M3's for sale. A lot of the depreciation game is supply and demand. The 996 is hardly a poor man's Porsche.

 

Yeah, there are alot of both out there, and both are bargains if you like the particular type of car.

I really think the talk about 996s "depreciating a lot" is by comparison to the rate of depreciation of the prior model, the 993, and very few cars hold/increase in value like that model.

 

I agree

 

Gentlemen & Bimmer Boy--this isn't even about depreciation. That was a nice smoke screen bimmer boy threw out there, but it lacks credibility just like his other fictional claims. He knows that if he could he would own a Porsche and that's why he is on this Forum and not the BMW Forum. I've seen this many times before--Honda owners on Ferrari sites posting false claims and slamming their cars. It's all very funny and makes for good entertainment. It's commonly know as a "Wannabe"

Porsche owners are unique individuals, who like me, own their cars for the passion and excitement of the car and it's rich racing and perfromanceheritage. I love the look of the 996 over the 997and so do thousands of others. It's a personal thing. You can pick apart minor issues as you can any car--it's not perfect. How can you possibly compare the appearance inside or out to the BMW. Ugh, it's a fricken box on wheels. The Pontiac GT is much hotter.

By the way I prefer eating in a nice restaurant over McDonalds.

 

cmilam--I agree. It's also about personal choice and the reason we are on the Porsche forum and not the BMW forum is because we actually own a Porsche. For him to claim that the 996 is a piece of junk is ludicrous. I know enough about BMW and it's reliability record to know that I would never own one. They have never appealed to me. Don't take my word for it, go on line and read the horror stories. I feel sorry for these people who spend all of that money and end up with a lemon...and it's not isolated cases either.

 

Hot911TT--you can actually buy an 03 M3 for the low $20's and an 05 M3 for about $27k--that's much more than 50% depreciation.

 

To me, the bottom line on this subject is:

I know several M3 owners who, any time talk turns to cars of any type, always seem to steer the discussion around to theM3 vs. Porsche subject and make certain to mention howtheir M3 is "everything a Porsche is and more."

But I don't know any Porsche owner thatever brings up the M3,or even thinks aboutthem that much.

Sort of tells me everything I need to know about the cars, . . . and the owners.