Sales Debate: Can the 996 Carrera follow in the 3.2 Carrera’s track?
We’ve caught RPM Technik’s sales director, Greig Daly, reminiscing: “I remember being sat at a table five years ago and one of my partners said, ‘3.2s will never go up.’” The tide has well and truly turned though, with RPM currently selling a 3.2 for close to £50,000.
That exact car was last in the specialist’s showroom in 2012 when Daly sold it for £25,000. Despite being built in significant numbers, an abundance of 3.2 Carreras hasn’t dented its investment potential. So could the equally popular 996 Carrera eventually hit similar heights?
What once seemed far-fetched now doesn’t seem so crazy according to Daly and Autofarm co-owner, Mikey Wastie. “Ultimately, I think there are 996 Carreras that could reach £50,000, but that would probably be for a special car,” the latter explains. “I think we are some way from a £50k Carrera unless it has history or a prominent owner,” the Autofarm proprietor continues.
On top of a general reappraisal of the 996 Carrera, Daly feels the upturn in the early water-cooled market is being driven by rising values at the top end. “The RSs are leading the way and, as they continue to go up, it makes a humble 3.4 or 3.6 look astonishingly good value.”
That’s why, in Daly’s mind, good Carreras have gone from £7,000-£10,000 to £12,000-£20,000. “Between £25,000-£30,000, you used to be able to get a Turbo. Now the game has moved on and people are looking for what else they can get for around £20k,” Daly continues. “Porsche isn’t making any more of these old cars so everyone is thinking, ‘If I can get a low mileage 996 C2, I might just stick it away.’”
The Carreras most likely to hit the £50k mark are, according to Wastie, those with “low mileage, in excellent condition and with great provenance.” In the Autofarm expert’s opinion, he’d bet on “an original spec, manual Coupe in a subtle colour”, if he were looking for a 996 Carrera with investment potential (although his main advice is to “enjoy it”).
Daly points out though that despite the huge number of 996s built, those desirable “driver’s spec” Carreras are actually in shorter supply than most imagine, with only 20 or so on the market at any one time. The problem is, ironically, exacerbated by “the IMS issue that has seen some more leggy cars broken,” explains Wastie.
Price rises in the market have slowed down recently, meaning both Daly and Wastie expect that 996 values won’t inflate at anything near the same rate as the 3.2 Carrera did. However, with Daly recently spotting the first “£40,000 996 C4S for sale”, maybe we’re closer than we think to the first £50k 996 Carrera…
For market advice on any generation or style of Porsche 911, check out our full selection of sales debates, where we ask the 911 experts the pertinent market questions so you don’t have to.
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