Sales debate
What’s the best value aircooled 911 right now?
As good as the modern, water-cooled 911s are, there can be little argument against the fact there’s an added cache of owning an air-cooled example, representing the 911 in arguably its purest form. There’s no question the classic marketplace cooled off in 2018, but the upshot is there’s plenty of bargains to be had. But which air-cooled model represents the best value for money right now?
Paul Cockell, owner of 911 Rennsport, specialists in bespoke creations of air-cooled Porsche 911s, has witnessed the changing marketplace: “What has happened in the past few years is the typical ‘jump on the band wagon’. Every 3.2 Carrera and SC owner has seen the ones for sale at £50-60k and think theirs must be worth that too. Truth is it is an expensive car to put right. A proper engine build is £10k on its own. A proper strip down respray is at least £15k if it’s not too bad to start with. It all soon starts adding up. A lot of the cars are just coming down to what they should be worth.”
So what model represents the best value? Greig Daly, sales director at renowned specialists RPM Technik, believes there are several models which represent great value for money right now. “They’re all almost overlapping in terms of pricing at the moment. 964s peaked and then dropped back, as did many others.
Personally I think 993s look good value and tend to sell well with the right histories. They are the youngest aircooled cars and have always held a good price – unlike an SC, for example, which dropped to about £7-8k at their lowest. They seem to have resisted the ravages of rust and mistreatment quite nicely, probably due to never being a ‘cheap’ 911, plus with a modern feeling to them, they appeal to lots of buyers.”
The overwhelming evidence, backed by both specialists, shows that there’s plenty of opportunity in the marketplace for buyers. In fact, there’s arguably never been a better time in the last five years to acquire a classic 911: they’re better value, and the slower pace of the market means you can take your time to properly assess the car and do your due diligence without fear of it being bought by somebody else. The market may have slowed, but there’s plenty of value-for-money classic 911s to choose from right now.