It beggars belief that anyone would pay such a premium for a GTS over a well spec'd S, and here's why: Many S's came out of the showroom costing more than a GTS!! A GTS is effectively just an S + extra 10bhp, some alcantara /alcantara steering wheel. PASM, Chrono, sports exhaust, 20" wheels, PDLS lights, slightly different styling at the front, darkened rear lights and GTS badges. THAT'S IT!! It's just an "optioned" S. When sold, it cost around £5,500 more than the S. It was considered good value, as all those options would have come to more than £5,500. Many people went for the GTS to get those options at a reduced price, and quite honestly.. most GTSs have very few extra options above those listed above. BUT, and here's the deal: this is the reason many people bought the S instead of the GTS: The GTS colours were very limited (some people preferred different colours). Some people wanted extended leather (it would have been a waste to buy a GTS if you wanted leather.. better to buy the "S" when new). Not everyone liked the wheels that were spec'd with the GTS, so chose an S to have different 20" wheels, EG Classic 20" Carrera wheels. Not everyone wanted the sports exhaust.. it is too noisy and artificially "pops". The standard exhaust sounds great. Now, there are S's that come with at least the options above, and more - but for a much lower price... IT'S THE SAME CAR!! Look at the price difference!! Those "in the know" don't waste their money on overpriced second hand GTSs. Save your money and buy what is "the same car, but with an "S" badge which may very well be better spec'd (in some cases MUCH better spec'd) than a GTS (and there are many of them). An "S" may very well have at least the same options as a "GTS" and possible more.. but more importantly the options that YOU WANT!!... and for what will be a bargain compared to the overpriced GTS.
Very nice analysis. I was going back and forth between a manual 981 Boxster S and GTS until I drove both and could find no appreciable difference in performance, feel or dynamics to justify the $20,000 price premium. All you get for that is a different looking front fascia and a 3rd radiator on the GTS. I ended up with a very highly optioned 2013 S with 17,000 miles for $40,000 so I think I did pretty well. The car is SPECTACULAR!
The gts has all the big options selected and a few cosmetic extras. The S could be optioned to the GTS tech...pse, sports chrono, adaptive suspension but maybe not the diff
I looked at many 981s & was hoping for a nice S or GTS. However, the asking prices were so crazy high that I ended up choosing a 2011 997.2 for LESS $. What a nice blessing in disguise as I got a an awesome loaded cabriolet w upgraded exhaust for less than money Boxster S.
After I watched your video about Porsche 981 then I bought one with 2013 plate, so happy that the value has not depreciated since last year. Thank you so much for your video and I enjoy driving it very much! 👍
981 Spyder, THE Porsche to buy and hibernate… It will have best return by far in 10 years time… I am a no spreadsheet and graphs guy, but time will tell 😉
I made a video on preventative maintenance for the 981, if you own one of these I suggest you watch it. When you compare the 981 to the latest 718 6 cylinder offerings you quickly see that it's the bargain of the century. It sounds better and it's literally about half the price.
Great video! You've validated with facts and charts what I believed to be true right after the 718 was introduced with the turbocharged 4 cyl. I love my 12,000 mile 981s!
@@clu4u your color spec is probably the very best. Mine is Rhodium Silver on Black carbon buckets with yellow deviated stitching, which goes great with the yellow calipers. :)
Two quick points: 1. Only four model years were produced of the 981 (nine for 986 and eight for 987) so that may mean they will have less supply and more demand since they're the last flat 6's, thus helping depreciation. 2. The 981's and 982's have now been around eight model years, with the ninth year now being delivered; not seven as mentioned in the video.
Hi, thanks for your inut. Regarding the first point, wouldn't the difference in supply and demand already be reflected in the prices? I.e isn't all information priced-into the market? Regarding the second point, for the 981 and 718 there are four model year available (2013-2016 & 2017-2020)
@@fourwheeltrader the first point wasn't negating anything you said, and yes it's already affected and will continue to. Was just making that observation of another factor in the pricing of the 981 now and going forward. I believe in the video you said the 981/982 boxster is now 7 years old. I was only saying it's 8 years and going into the 9th model year. Anyhow LOVE your videos. Your analysis are really excellent and show a lot of hard work!!
100%. I think manual 981s are now a modern classic, and I believe that the Base with few options will do well in the long run (except for interior), as they present a purer, more analog car. And with Porsche putting options on everything, a Base with no options is probably the rarest car!
I hope so! I have a 2013 Boxster manual. I bought it in December 2014 with 12k miles. I had to look for almost a year for a manual. I can't see having a PDK. What is the point? You buy a sports car to drive it, not let it drive itself!
Love your channel and learning from your reviews. It wold be great if you could do an analysis of the 970 generation Porsche Panamera. I, personally am interested in the late model cycle GTS version. Thank you for considering.
Great analysis! My original assumption was the loss of $ would be about the same which had me thinking to just go for the 981GTS over the S. Presuming you have the cost of entry for either. However this analysis shows a far greater loss by buying a GTS over the S. So the S is where I should focus if I am looking to minimize my depreciation hit?
Any chance you could do the UK market please? I've been looking at the 981 market for a couple of years and i'm just not seeing these levels of depreciation for mileage or age. I'm very curious what's happening with it. Also the MX-5 ND UK market prices have gone up if anything due to a Mazda price rise and some scarcity.
This is great information. I yearn for a 981 GTS...I know it’s price is too high right now, but I like the added pieces you get with it...alcantara interior, red dials, some of the exterior looks...much which you can get aftermarket, yes, but still a great car. I’m hoping the GTS 4.0 makes their value drop to a reasonable range....
I own a 2013 981S with the manual and sports chrono package and have extensively driven a 2016 981 GTS with the sports chrono package and PDK. Although there is little performance difference I prefer the 2013 probably for the manual transmission. The GTS trim looks more bad ass but I suggest you test drive both models before you spend money. Ive never tracked either car.
@@tg-nu1xc Appreciate the input...I drove the 2016 GTS w/manual, but wound up buying a 718 manual...hated it...the 4 banger with the manual made shifting into first very unpredictable with the turbo lag...sold it after a year...I prefer the more unique look of the GTS over the base and S, and if I could find the right one, would get a Spyder.
Great analysis. I have a 981 S and was looking to upgraded to a GTS. The 981s are almost the same money as a 718! When would you forecast the new GTS 4.0 will push the 981 GTS prices down?
Have you done an analysis of 986 and 987 Boxster’s yet? I’ve had a 986S and a 981S but currently drive a 986 base model. I’m considering a 987 for my next car. It would be interesting to see how close to the bottom they are. I think the 986 models are pretty much at the bottom now.
Love the videos man, so handy for someone in the market! Quick question: would you say your analysis’s are applicable to other countries car markets such as the United Kingdom? I’ve heard the Ferrari market is quite universally applicable..?
In general, the relative depreciation rates transfer quite well. However, due to the LHD vs RHD configuration, there might be some differences for RHD countries.
Many thanks for uploading this! Cheers. I also see you used median haha very nice. When you look at the depreciation per 1000mi driven, is this factoring into the continuous depreciation per model year chart? Wondering if there’s any way to do a mileage normalized model year comparison or if the sample size would be too small... Thanks again
Model year and mileage are highly correlated so the depreciation per 1000 miles includes a part of the model year effect and vice versa. For the forecasts i pull them apart so it becomes clear which part of the value is affected by the mileage and which part by the model year.
Now Im about to get a 981 spyder. Compared to the limited production number,the fact this didnt come with pdk and the noise. You think this will keep its value better than the 718 spyder?. Thanks
I bought my 981 Spyder this year. I think it will hold its value as the produced numbers are very low and the sound is absolutely stunning. The 718 Spyder is a great car too but doesn't sound nearly as good as the 981.
great to watch this type of video as i own a 981 cayman base. i would say that your graphs are difficult to interpret as they should imo be the other way around showing new to old for each model. hard to explain. keep up the good work.
I’ve had my 2016 981 after my 2003 died. Had 9,700 miles on it when purchase 19 months ago. Now has 20,600 miles, but since March, I’ve only put 400 miles due to Covid as now I work from home. What a waste. Fun base car, but probably will work from home close to one more year. I did go with the PDK, but since I’m not stuck on 101 fwy for 11 mile commute, I wish I had the manual. Will this Covid thing go away! I might as well have a Corolla.😢
Funny I just purchased my 981 S 2014 in August because of covid, with everything locked down and no ware to go, I love being able to drop roof and getting on a back road and listen to that flat 6 but agree hope we will be getting back to normal sooner then later
@@trevorgarrett7602 well working from home caused my work week hours to go from 50 to 80+. I gave my notice 6 weeks ago and have 2 more left. Waiting for my visa for Spain. Unfortunately will be carless until at least summer 2022. My brother-in-law will now have 4 Porsche’s at his house. 😩
Can you compare/contrast the Macan v Cayenne? Wife wants new Macan, but I see 4yo 2016 loaded Cayennes S & GTS, Cayenne eHybrid S & Hybrid S for half original MSRP. Can't seem to wrap my head around what's going on here.
I don't have a video comparing these two cars. However, it might be helpful to watch my video on the macan and the one on the range rover sport (this includes the cayenne)
Now in June 2021, you can't find a base 981 for $39,000, if you can find one near you for sale at all. Looks like the medium prices for a Base, Manual 981 Boxster is now about $44,000. I bought a 2015 for $50,000 in March 2017, drove it across the county and Canada, and it's barely lost value. When I bought it, there was a similar video on RU-vid predicting that prices would drop like a rock. I kind of wish, however, that I had spent and extra $16k for a Carmine Red GTS!
Yes, I think all Boxsters prior to the 718 are going up, especially the first generation Spyder and very well maintained 986s. When they discontinue the 718 or come out with a radically different model, I think that those too will go up.
im struggling hard between 981 boxster/cayman base or s and audi rs3/ttrs. Please give me opinions guys...only have my wife, no kids planned. She got an audi a1 for shopping. I would daily it to my work etc., about 50km per day
I've had 981S for couple years now and I must say its excellent. I've tested RS3 and TTRS, and both have flaws and are rather boring in the end. Only problem with 981 line up is that they should have a little bit more power (+50 HP to each version).
