# No-one keeps a Porsche very long....



## Neil (May 7, 2002)

...been looking at a few 993's, circa 96-98. Most of them seem to have new owners every year - I thought there would be a quicker turnaround of them than, say, your average family car, but the amount of owners some of them have is kind of putting me off.

eg. currently looking at a Dec 97 C4, with 38k on the clock, it's on it's 6th owner already. Lovely car, but I just wonder why it's had so many owners?

Before anyone says "it's probably because of plate transfers", I've just phoned the DVLA and they say a plate transfer never adds to the number of owners. If I want a complete list of all owners (to see if there's a husband to wife transfer, or from company name to directors name, the owner has to write in and it'll take 21 days - not much good if you're looking to buy the car in the next week  ).

Am I being paranoid about this owners thing, or would 6 owners in 6.5yrs scare you off too? :?


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## jgoodman00 (May 6, 2002)

When I bought my Boxster I was told by two seperate dealers that the average ownership duration for a porsche is 12-18 months, so I wouldnt be overly concerned, although it would be a bonus if you could find one with fewer owners...


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## Neil (May 7, 2002)

Thanks James. I think I have found a great example, and my ONLY hang-up is the number of owners. If only the DVLA would be more open with the past ownership details.....


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2004)

it's still because of plate transfers...

ask to the dvla again .. and you might even get a different anwser


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## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

I'm only guessing (and playing Devil's advocate :twisted: ) that a lot of people who buy them can't really afford them(Boxster excluded) so as soon as the running costs start mounting they bail out, or they are Co. owned in which case they can write them off as an expenditure instead of paying a large amount of tax on Co. income.

Bottom line is you need to earn a *LOT *of money to buy & run a proper Porsche. :wink:

Oh! and you need a big house to go with it! :mrgreen:


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## Jac-in-a-Box (Nov 9, 2002)

Number plate transfers do not affect the number of owners shown on documents....I bought a new car several years ago, came with a standard number, I changed it for a personal number and removed it before I sold it; the replacemant document still showed 1 keeper.

Likewise the Porsche I bought, had a personal plate removed - back to a DVLA reg - then put mine on, docs show car as 1 owner / keeper

James is pretty much right about dealers saying owners only keep their cars for a year or so. The OPC I use is telling me that I'll be back in 12-18 months looking to change...they could be right 

Jackie x


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

digimeisTTer said:


> I'm only guessing (and playing Devil's advocate :twisted: ) that a lot of people who buy them can't really afford them(Boxster excluded) so as soon as the running costs start mounting they bail out, or they are Co. owned in which case they can write them off as an expenditure instead of paying a large amount of tax on Co. income.
> 
> Bottom line is you need to earn a *LOT *of money to buy & run a proper Porsche. :wink:
> 
> Oh! and you need a big house to go with it! :mrgreen:


I would have thought that possibly the converse also applied.

If you can afford to buy one new and not worry too much about the depreciation, then you probably want a new one more regularly - and with the new reg's coming out every six months rather than 12, it soon looks like a dated car (unless you stick a private plate on).

I'd also imagine that a lot of people buy them because they've always wanted a Porker and this is their last chance to own one before they have kids - so they buy one, the wife gets up the duff and it has to go.


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## cplus (Sep 23, 2003)

Whilst talking finance with the guy at porsche last week when buying my new car (which i picked up yesterday ) and talking over various options of paying the balance he did say that a lage percentage of porsche customers only keep the cars for under a year!, generally to upgrade to a newer or just different model (he said prosche owners tend to get bored quickly)

I will post up some piccies of my turbo later, need to get a decent camera first to try and do it justice 

Cheers

Matt


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## XXMetal (Jan 20, 2004)

Changing details on a car *can* add to the number of ownes. According to the DVLA I'm the third owner of the car although the first and second owns had the same name just a different address.


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## raven (May 7, 2002)

I think Kell's right - the only reason I'm considering a Porsche is because I'm thinking that this is my only opportunity to do it (well, the next one will be in about 30 years time!)

I've got friends who now have 2-3 kids and have long since given up such an idea - any money that could have been spent on a Porsche is now being spent on a bigger house / school fees / toys / family holidays etc etc.


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## phil (May 7, 2002)

raven said:


> bigger house / school fees / toys / family holidays etc etc.


Easliy solved by bunk beds/local comp/stick and a hoop/butlins.

Leaving plenty of dosh for the porsche.


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## mab (Sep 2, 2002)

Noticed this when I bought my 355 a few months back.

Of all those I looked at, I didn't come across any with less than 6 owners. Given this is the norm, there was no real cause for concern in my mind.


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## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

Kell said:


> I'd also imagine that a lot of people buy them because they've always wanted a Porker and this is their last chance to own one before they have kids - so they buy one, the wife gets up the duff and it has to go.


Very true indeed, I can't afford a Porker (yet) but it is the car i aspire to owning, and the TT is my first "sports car" and as i have no rugrats yet, i thought why not!


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

Porsche are only just, with the latest models, bringing the interior of their cars up to date. Most previous 911 models have had, what can only be described as, boring interiors - once you get used to the performance they are, quite frankly, just very ordinary cars to be seated in! Perhaps this may explain why their owners get bored so easily.

I also suspect that most Porsche owners are not true 'petrol heads' but just hanker after the latest 'lifestyle accessory' to be seen with - can't have an out of date model/registration on that basis can we :wink:


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

garvin said:


> Porsche are only just, with the latest models, bringing the interior of their cars up to date. Most previous 911 models have had, what can only be described as, boring interiors - once you get used to the performance they are, quite frankly, just very ordinary cars to be seated in! Perhaps this may explain why their owners get bored so easily.
> 
> I also suspect that most Porsche owners are not true 'petrol heads' but just hanker after the latest 'lifestyle accessory' to be seen with - can't have an out of date model/registration on that basis can we :wink:


I though Porsche had one of the best customer retention rates of all brands? With no numbers to support, my guess is that many people who buy a new Porsche (esp the 911) play the waiting list game and order the next car as they take delivery of the current one, which they only keep for 12-15 months. If you go easyish on the options and work your ballon payments, this is most cost effective way to keep a new 911.

AFN told me that 90% of 911s they sell are business purchases is done through finance.

As the cars get older and out of warranty, the enthusiast sector picks them up (not that the business users are not enthusiasts). Enthusiaists tend to have shallower pockets, hang on to their cars for longer and probably maintain them better.

So the amount of registerd keeper tends to drop off as the cars get older.


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## gcp (Aug 8, 2002)

XXMetal said:


> Changing details on a car *can* add to the number of ownes. According to the DVLA I'm the third owner of the car although the first and second owns had the same name just a different address.


I think this is a mistake, I've moved house and therefore changed all the V5's fairly recently and number of owners is still the same.

Maybe they filled in the form wrong ?


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## gazandjan (Sep 8, 2003)

I had my boxster for 4 mths - Liked it so much but got made a good offer for part ex agaist a 996 c4 cab.

The 996 is two years old with only one owner, however what you do find is that you always what to try the next car on the ladder out ( my case a 996 turbo).

I think this could be the reason, but not sure


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