Reading the 996 track car thread got me thinking. Not that this ever would make any sense for me, but while we have more or less established that there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche, which one is the most affordable? Lets say that we have a few categories here:
Daily Driver
Weekend Driver
Track Car
1g Boxster just for purchase price.....beyond that, it's whatever one someone loans me and I get to give back when I'm done.
Most affordable Porsche is a Type 1 VW.
A rental. That being said the buy in on my 944 for cheap, and I incurred no outrageous expenses.
The one you don't own?
Honestly, I'd say early to mid 80's 911, if well bought. Not a low purchase price, to be sure, but they are rapidly appreciating and very well supported: great cars for DIYers. So far, my 964 hasn't cost me a cent if I look at purchased price vs current market value.
@OP
The one your best friend owns. 
924
Danny Shields wrote: 924
What does Danny know... well a lot. We were recently shopping cheap P-cars and the 924S seemed to be the one to look for (sorry, for which to look). But it's hard to find one that's not in rough shape. I inquired about two clean cars that sold within a week of the ad being placed.
We finally decided to get an early Boxster. They are at the bottom of their depreciation curve, they are plentiful, and they can easily out handle a 924S (and many other P-cars). We'll let you know how things turn out.
Boxsters around here seem to be taking a huge summer convertible bonus. I can't find anything but automatics with an ask under $9k. Six months ago, they were plentiful in the $6-8k range.
I'd say the front engine Porsches, particularly any 924, or 944 should be cheap. Most 928 cars are cheap, save a rare late 928GTS. It's rare to find a 968, and they're never cheap.
Early Cayennes are dropping below $10k.
A 914 in honest running condition is $4-12k, with variance based on a combination of condition and nothing at all.
Any Porsche with the engine all the way in the back seems to be expensive. Any 356, 912 or 911 will be fairly big money.
Caymans seem to be more expensive than Boxsters, so I doubt they ever become truly cheap.
Right now, for a cheap Porsche, I'd focus on a Boxster or 944.
Curse you all...each and every one of you be damned! I sold my Miatae before I moved a few weeks ago to avoid paying $1200 for transporting them. Planned to get another one later in winter when drop top prices come down. With my long commute, which is almost all highway, I'm rethinking the NA idea. Even my wife said I should get something that's a bit better on long highway runs.
<----now browing CL ads to see what good condition Boxsters actually sell for. Thanks guys...
In all honesty, to get in the Porsche game, it is like any other car. Find and Buy the best you can afford. The 914's used to be dirt cheap, then people realized the mid engine and ease to add power made them increase in value quick. The 924/944 range are the best cost effective way in. My '76 cost me 1200 Canadian, but I knew it was solid when I bought it and everything else be damned. I got a deal. For a great all around car the 944 is the best way in.
pres589 wrote: Most affordable Porsche is a Type 1 VW.
You can get a 944 cheaper than a Type 1 in similar shape, and as a bonus, you don't have to drive a Type 1.
Maintenance parts for the Type 1 are cheaper, but you never really fix one. You just keep working on it a lot.
Klayfish wrote:
Yep.
It occurred to me that another method of determining which Porsche is cheap is to consider which would allow you to buy it for a certain amount, use it for a finite amount of time, and sell it on in similar condition for at or above the purchase price.
For that angle, just buy any Porsche that doesn't have a radiator.
pres589 wrote: Most affordable Porsche is a Type 1 VW.
Find one with a kelmark gt body on it and with minor tweaking u have a 904 aka mid sixties Carrera gts with rear engine not mid 8o(
the beauty of the Porsche market is the value retention of the cars and the relatively slow cycle time for them to start appreciating in value again after they've hit their respective deprecation curve. The owners put money into the order cars, If you own a 964 a $3000 repair isn't a back breaker because the car is now worth 30-60k (where 10 years ago it was worth 18-30K). Most owners utilize better quality parts and products on the car, they know it's a commodity where the quality of care and parts that go into it will be reflected in it's ultimate value, having top notch parts always mean, in most cases, only needing to replace them once and also provide an added measure of protection. Porsche owners tend to own several Porsches, if not at the same time in succession often with 2-3 being owned at a time. Many pride themselves on purchasing a car, driving it for 5, 6, 7 13 years then selling it for what their purchase price was, or more, with the only real cost being operational or improvements. They also tend to look at what cars are at the bottom of the depreciation curve for the models to get which also happens to be the market of cars that will likely be finding their way into motorsports at the as well. This trend follows a pretty consistent curve over time. Currently if I were looking I'd look at boxsters, 944 S2 or turbos and 996s in that order.
As a weekend driver, a carefully bought 914 would be cheaper buy-in than a boxster, lower running costs and faster appreciation, but for better or worse, a much less refined car. As a daily, 924/944 is cheapest buy in followed by 914 and boxster, 912e, 912s, 74-77 911s, 911sc, 83-86 911s, 87-89 911s, 964s although 996s are about in the same range as some earlier a/c 911s.
Actually good 912s are probably more expensive than a decent SC. Don't forget that the 912 engine (not the 912e engine) is at least as expensive to rebuild as the 911 one...
996s out here seem to start at about 16k, that only buys you an aircooled car that either needs bodywork or needs to be trailered home (and then needs bodywork...).
What is the difference in a 912 and a 912e?
I believe the 912e is the later, "reissued" car with the more common VW engine.
912e is a big bumpered car from around 1975/6 in think.
Correct, it's the impact bumper car with the fuel injected Type 4 engine. The earlier 912s had the 90hp (IIRC) engine from the 356, which is a much more complex engine.
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