Reader Adam W specializes in hunting down Porsches, whether they be pristine examples or ones needing work. He recently shared a little info with us about the current state of the Porsche market and two stashes of cars he came across, so we thought we’d share both with you guys. Most of the cars in his recent finds are in rough shape, but sometimes you have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to keep things going. He thought we might all enjoy having a look at these rough finds! Who doesn’t get a kick from looking at rusty old Porsches? It’s like looking at an accident, you don’t want to look, but you just can’t help it!
From Adam W – In case you haven’t heard the Porsche market is softening. It’s started with Brexit and has continued since. I don’t believe the bottom is dropping out but with the European’s buying less frequently and spending less money the market will have to adjust. This is a dangerous time to be in my business, buying can be very risky. In order to be good in this business you have to be two to three steps ahead of the market and I pride myself on usually being at least two steps ahead, three on a good day. But being ahead of the market when it slows down makes buying very hard.
When you go to buy a car at a time like this people will start telling you what cars have been selling for over the last year or so, except you know that those prices are no longer valid, but convincing seller’s of this is tough, they think you are just trying to get a better deal on the car. Many times they call me several months later and ask if my offer is still good, and agree it was a fair offer. But this is normally after I politely offer less than what they are asking, they decline, and a long line of guys come after me who aren’t quite as polite in their offers. Always be nice, the nice guys get the call back, the low baller know it all’s don’t, no one calls that guy back.
So with the current market making it very hard to buy cars, what is a guy like me to do, the show must go on after all. A lot of times when this part of the cycle hits we just hunker down and work on cars we already have, maybe even holding off until Spring, hoping the market picks up. But there is another avenue to go down at times like this. When you spend your time criss-crossing the country looking for Porsches you invariably pass on a bunch for whatever reason. Many times the market is hot so it’s not worth dragging back the real rough cars, there are just too many bigger fish to fry. But when the market softens the rough and cheap cars start looking a lot better.
Minimal investment makes for a good idea when you aren’t sure what the future will bring. I had two stashes that were in the back of my mind, one in Tennessee and one in Virginia. The stash in TN was an old friend who I bought a whole truckload of Porsches from back in 2012, but I left a bunch behind which were still there. I had another friend in VA who had a bunch of cars on his farm but he was talking about selling the farm soon and was eager for a big buy out. Between the two places I counted ten cars, and ten cars fills a truck. It’s important that it fills a truck because when you book a whole tractor trailer you are paying for the whole thing, whether you fill it or not, and booking a whole truck for thousands of miles isn’t cheap, even if the cars are. But by filling every slot on the truck it worked out money wise. Remember the whole point of scraping the bottom of the Porsche barrel is because it’s cheap, so you have to watch the money a lot closer than when you are loading a truckload of money cars.
The full story will be in an upcoming issue of ESSES, the Magazine of the Early 911S Registry, if you aren’t a member you can join here:http://www.early911sregistry.
It’s nice to hear who’s on the other side of buys like this.
I get annoyed when I see an ad for old Porsches,etc,on our
local craigslist,with no location.
On the other hand,if it helps cars like this survive,or even
used for parts,rather than go to the crusher,that’s a good thing.
One of the few good things about the “Porsche Bubble”
is that a lot of cars got restored,that might have been scrapped.
Adam Wright is my hero.
ok i will freely admit a few things.
i do not get the price of porchse
i cannot look away
i can appreciate the position that adam is in.
having said that i take an unhealthy joy in knowing that porsche prices are coming down.
that may make me a bad guy but i cannot help it.
Well said……and definitely not a bad guy.
How do i get in contact with Adam Wright ?
adam@unobtanium-inc.com
Thanks-
Adam
Adam, I think I accidentally sent a bunch of people to your site lol! I was on another one of my forums and a guy asked where he could find a set of dentside crew doors either in perfect condition or quality repops. Just as a joke, told him unobtainium .Com is where he would find them lol ( as we all knew what he was seeking was unicorn like. Much to my surprise he said he visited the website but could not find the doors lol!
At least the Kubota appears to be in nice condition!!!
Me thinks this erosion in pricing is and will impact many other entry level collectibles!
My non-d’plume tells it all!
Question – do German “bathtubs” rot faster or slower than British sardine cans??
Great article (and comments too)
Excellent article, Thanks Adam!
Oh magic 8 Ball…will Porsche prices drop?
Great read.
I like Adam’s approach to making the purchase.
He’s right, no one likes the ” know-it-all-low-ball buyer.”
I’m actually Wright, but thanks. Seriously, glad you guys enjoyed it. You can find old stories on PCA
https://www.pca.org/search/site/Adam%20Wright
Adam Wright
Unobtanium-Inc
Once again, I love this hobby! Thanks Adam for the info and great story. I learned a little something today.
Great story Adam!
Hope the market continues to support you, even in the ‘cooling’ times.
(keep the tetanus shots handy ;-)
And thanks to BF for publishing this story.
Great story, especially after enduring the last 5 years of overblown prices on junky Porsches.
However, sometimes I think the whole damn market has gone insane…check out CL Tampa and see the nutty prices people are asking for old cars. Hopefully a correction is imminent for all project cars.
You mention Floriduh being “nutty”… Isn’t that a requirement for state residency?? ;)
I am not sure the market is that overblown, with a good pickup retailing today for over 70,000. Prices are just different than they used to be. Our incomes have also moved a decimal point or two.
Some peoples have!
Spoken like a true Wright!
Word.
Thanks Adam … My kind of man …
No mention of Big John??
He hates the press, and when his picture appears in magazines. So I give him a break now and again.
Learned a ton of information, Adam and thanks for the education and insight into a world I knew nothing about.
So my Porsche 914 is going down in value?
^^^ Claus
Atleast the lights on your 914 are staying up be thankfull lol
The article is out, check it!
Page 2
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Even got the back cover!