Is the 911 market affected by generational shift?

My 2 cents is that the 911 has always been a flagship car of the brand and an aspirational purchase by enthusiasts. Thus, I don't see 911s falling off a cliff soon. However, the generational shift appears to be real and EVs might be the ultimate undoing of 911s.

Earlier this month, Hagerty published an article on 4 early-era sports cars that seem to be losing interest by enthusiasts aging out of driving. The 4 models cited were a bit startling. Yes, the MG-T-Series were inexpensive and in a class far-removed from 911s. However, the Jaguar, Porsche, and Corvette models once possessed the cache of the 911 line. Times do change.

Image Unavailable, Please Login
https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/these-4-iconic-classics-just-arent-attracting-young-buyers/?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MED_UN_NA_EML_UN_UN_DailyDriver_Wednesday&hashed_email=8e43f6a5abf43ff70e0771781e4993de6c08fd1510eadb1414b4ce6b84c34e12
​

 

Are you talking about new 911s, or old ones?

The new ones are clearly attracting more buyers than they can make cars for... that said, when they go to hybrid or electric will that still be the case? I'm thinking no, and certainly in my case I would never buy a hybrid or electric 911. Period.

Old ones, I think are a different story, inasmuch as old cars have never particularly attracted "young" buyers. Young buyers weren't buying 1930s cars in the 1960s either.

 

The MG T series are a quirky, weird thing-- hardly mainstream. The good news is that in relative terms, there aren't that many of them in the US, so even if the population interested in them is quite small, it still means there will be some demand. But keep in mind they were cheap when they were new, and they're fairly cheap today.

Old 911s definitely have an appeal, as do other old Porsches I have driven-- my 928 attracts a lot of interest. Even the 914 I drove a while back got people curious. I think old Porsches in general have an appeal, and once again they don't have to appeal to everyone. That said, I think the runup in mainstream 911 prices is probably unsustainable. As with many other things, though, in comparison to the total population there simply aren't that many long hood 911s around, which is what keeps prices up.

 

As a collector of mid range European / Japanese sports cars I truly think the 911 is in a niche of its own .
Tremendous history , unique platform , pricey yet affordable and the new special editions have supercar performance .
Porsche knows its stuff as far as marketing. They make manuals as well as automatics to appeal to everyone.
911s are now following Ferrari’s limited production theory of “one less than demand” .

I never got 356s and think demand will die off for them but the 911 is iconic / immortal .

 

356s already appeal to a fairly small group. Again, there aren't that many of them (and given how easily they rust, the survival rate isn't great), so there don't need to be all that many people who want them to keep demand up.

 

Love your quote about the 356, "They are surprisingly good to drive, and the build quality is remarkable (other than zero rust protection)." Mine would have been a forever car, except for the "zero rust protection." Other than a few handling quirks under certain conditions, she was a very basic and reliable car. The only reason that I sold her was that I felt at that time that I didn't have the financial resources necessary to eliminate the structural corrosion. I had just gotten out of the Navy and was going to college on the GI Bill.

 

The generational shift is more for vintage cars than newer ones. For example, is a F40 worth 5 Daytonas? Based on the market the answer is yes. Looking at Porsche, is a early 911S worth X times more than a 356? Based on the market the answer is yes.

 

Most of the Porsches I see around here are newer ones. If I do see a classic. It is driven by someone 50+. I limit my Autotrader searches to manual for Ferrari and Porsche. This search setting nets very few results.

 

Things will probably change.....for one reason that the 911 is not as special as they used to be. When I was in high school, a 911 was the pinnacle of foreign cars you had a chance to see on the road, Ferraris and Lamborghinis might not have even existed for all we knew.

As of the mid 90s (Ferrari) and mid '00s (Lamborghini), these Italian brands started pumping out cars in huge numbers such that it became commonplace to see them.....so not only were they made less special, but 911s were pushed further down the rungs.

I would like to own a modern GT3 (previously owned a Turbo for 8 years), but would not think of it as aspirational....just a fun car to drive.

 

I dunno, regarding 911s. I think there's a split between the air-cooled and water-cooled eras as far as how "special" they are perceived as being. I get way more comments, etc., now on my 86 coupe than I did when I bought it a dozen years ago, back when it was the "cheap" 911.

Like you said, Ferraris and Lamborghinis also simply didn't exist in my part of the country when I was a kid. Now they're becoming more commonplace, thus it's much less of an "event" to see one in the wild - later model 911s are like this now, you see them everywhere. It may be true Porsche is making one less than the demand calls for today, but there's a LOT of demand out there, lol. I have noticed I see G-body 911s out on the roads considerably less than I used to, some recent years I've seen only a couple all summer outside of a C&C or car show, but new 911s I see almost daily.

I wouldn't doubt there'd be some generational shift, but maybe less than expected with the older, air-cooled cars specifically due to the model's long production run, relative rarity these days (of old 911s in the wild), and the fact that they can still be completely useable dailies if you like, reasonably comfortable and capable in modern traffic. I was at a vehicle storage place yesterday in the 911, and a 20-something employee remarked that he thought my car was "gorgeous" (I think it looks like an ok 15-footer with rubber from the track streaked on it's hood and fenders, lol), so anecdotally there is at least still some appeal with the younger crowd...I've had stuff happen where I park away from other cars in a parking lot and come out to find a Cayenne parked next to it when it could've parked anywhere else, things like that. I do think the older cars still do have some of that pull with the younger crowd...how long it lasts, who knows, but I think it's still there.

 

Cool. Makes sense they aren't the ones owning and driving them now, as prices, while not exorbitant by today's standards, likely keep them out of reach for many, for now. If prices don't go nuts, and I don't really foresee that happening, as they get a bit older and acquire the means I can see them being people scooping them up.

The video you posted earlier in the thread is great, btw; 100% speaks to why I love these cars.

 

My 22 year old daughter really wants a 914, even though I keep telling her an early Boxster would be a better choice.

 

Older 911’s have to be maintained. As the older mechanics die off…who’s going to maintain these cars?

That’s the generational shift I see. People will always love the old 911’s. Keeping them on the road is another story.

 

I'm not really seeing that. The big shop where I get some of my work done has a mix of ages, and the lead guy is about 50. The other shop, which is smaller and mostly a vintage Mercedes shop, the owner is about 60 and he has a couple of guys in their late 20s-early 30s.

 

It’s geographical.

There’s about 3 shops here. The biggest told me yesterday it would be a year wait. The other two are six month wait times for maintenance.

The only reason I’ve been able to drive my ‘66 911 as a daily for 5 years is because one of the big shop’s engine builder lives 4 blocks from me and has moonlit on weekends in his backyard shop. He’s old. He’s decided to quit working weekends on other people’s cars.

This is becoming a West Coast conversation.

It’s probably going to force the sale of my car. I can’t be the only one.

 

Scratch that!! ^^

Just got off the phone from the Porsche dealership. He said they do work on these (“depending on the problem”). They have a ‘68 in there right now. I’m taking it in next week. Who would’a thunk it?

(This may be why these indies aren’t taking new business. The dealership is contracting out work to them?).

 

Much better.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

I dunno, I think it won't be so bad. The shop I go to is owned/run by a guy of around 60, he's been working on them 30+ years, and of the 2 guys working with him, one is mid-20s and the other around 30; the younger one is his son.

An added benefit is old 911s are fantastic, analog hobby cars, with an active support network. Hop onto the Pelican or Rennlist forums and you'd be hard-pressed to find an issue not dissected 6 ways from Sunday, at least that's what I've found when I've run into issues. The knowledge base there is huge.

As current/new 911s become old 911s, I can see that becoming an issue due to the ever-increasing complexity of these cars. But today's "old 911s" are relatively basic machines.