Sales debate Is the ‘flipper’ market dead?

A rather sinister corner of the entire Porsche community, the flipper market defines the highly controversial space where a customer is able to purchase a desirable vehicle

(in this case a GT 911) from the dealer at list price with the sole intention of selling the car immediately, for a tidy, tax-free profit of course. It’s a practice widely – and rightly – deplored by enthusiasts, yet it’s been in existence for so long now that, bizarrely, it’s almost become begrudgingly accepted as part of the norm.

The craze really took hold around the arrival of the 991.1 GT3 at the back end of 2013: insatiable consumer thirst for the car, not to mention a stunted production programme due to those infamous early engine recalls, meant some cars or even build slots were selling for tens of thousands above list price. The same happened with the 991.1 GT3

RS, which in 2014 reached its peak when a specialist in the UK advertised a Lava orange, RHD example with delivery miles for £300,000 – more than double its original list price of £128,000.

Flippers remained to take advantage of anything from the 991 GT2 RS, and Gen2 GT3 and GT3 RS, but margins are significantly down. Sigh. So is the flipper market now dead? “I think with electric cars changing the landscape, people will simply be too afraid to speculate,” says industry expert Karl Meyer from porschebuyer.com, who reckons it’s not only margins that are down, but also the time available to make a deal happen. “The window for people to make a premium mark-up on their GT cars is no longer than 30 days; it’s so small, I think that will really stop these cars from getting into the hands of people who have no intention of using them,” he says, welcoming the development.

Jonathan Franklin at Rare Car Finance largely agrees with Meyer’s sentiments too. “Things didn’t go so well for ‘investors’ in these cars at the back end of last year… in fairness the market’s not been great for a couple of years overall and it’s put people off. Also, Porsche made a lot of 991 GT3 and GT3 RSS, and it’s diluted the market somewhat. These factors are all having a say, making it extremely difficult for a car to be ‘flipped’ in the current climate,” Franklin says, though he does caveat by saying collectors are still willing to pay good money for the ‘right’ car. Good news for the enthusiast? You bet. Greater availability pays favourably into the laws of supply and demand, so there’s every chance your dream 911 can be had for a sensible (read: list) price once again.