Why You Can’t Pull the Trigger on a Used Porsche
About this episode
Deciding between a brand-new sports car with a warranty and a 10-to-15-year-old Porsche is a classic enthusiast dilemma. Host Derek tackles this head-on, responding to a listener's struggle to pull the trigger on an older Porsche. By comparing depreciation curves of rivals like the BMW M2 and Toyota Supra against classic Porsche models, the discussion breaks down the financial reality of "free miles" on depreciated vehicles. Derek also weighs the peace of mind of a new car warranty against the predictability of well-documented, previously resolved Porsche engine issues.
Buying a Porsche is the ultimate enthusiast dream, but let’s be honest: when it comes down to actually signing the paperwork on a 10, 15, or 20-year-old German sports car, absolute panic sets in.
In this episode, we address a brilliant question from viewer Twingo Ease that hits right at the heart of the enthusiast struggle: How do you justify spending $50k to $80k on an older Porsche when that exact same money can buy you a brand-new, highly reliable sports car with a factory warranty?
Before you run down to the dealership to buy a new BMW M2 or Toyota Supra, we need to talk about the brutal financial reality of absolute dollars, depreciation curves, and what happens after a car drops off the depreciation cliff. We’re breaking down the data, looking at the hard numbers, and giving you the honest truth about what you're actually paying for.
Stop waiting for life to begin. Get out and drive.
CHAPTERS
0:00 The question I could not stop thinking about
1:30 By the way, I have two YouTube channels
3:00 Why this is a completely rational question to ask
5:00 The honest part, the M2 and Supra hold their value
7:00 Where BMW really bleeds, the M3 and the M5
9:00 Why absolute dollars still favor a used Porsche
11:00 Free miles and why I stopped fearing the odometer
13:00 But Derek, a new car comes with a warranty
14:30 CPO, the best of both worlds
16:00 Reliability is really a maintenance history question
18:00 The part a spreadsheet cannot measure
20:00 Bertie, my 1972 911, and why she is still my favorite
22:00 The manual problem nobody wants to talk about
23:30 I drove my brother's 2026 M3
26:00 Just get off the bench and drive
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Are you sitting on the fence trying to decide between a brand-new driver's car and an older Porsche? Do you agree with the data on the absolute dollar depreciation, or does the safety net of a warranty still win you over? Drop a comment below—I read and try to respond to every single one!
#Porsche #Porsche911 #BMW #ToyotaSupra #CarBuyingAdvice #ElevenAfterNine #GetOutAndDrive
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Renault Twingo
"...nt or another. This question comes in from a user Twingo Ease and it was a question that really hit me and..."
The Renault Twingo is a very small hatchback car made by the French company Renault. It is famous in Europe for its cute design and for being surprisingly spacious inside despite its tiny size.
The Renault Twingo is a popular French city car first introduced in 1992. The original first-generation model became a design icon in Europe due to its cheerful face, clever sliding rear seats, and highly efficient use of interior space.
Porsche
"because I think we've all been there when we were looking at some of these older porches and whether to add them to our garage."
A famous German company that makes high-performance sports cars, most notably the iconic 911.
A legendary German sports car manufacturer founded by Ferdinand Porsche in 1931, renowned for its rear-engine 911 and precision engineering.
BMW M2
"I mean, that sounds kind of insane when you can head down to your BMW dealership or your Toyota dealership and get yourself a brand new M2 for like $70,000..."
A small, very fast two-door sports car made by BMW that is loved by driving enthusiasts for being fun and nimble.
A compact high-performance sports coupe produced by BMW's M division, featuring a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. It is highly praised for its agile handling and powerful turbocharged inline-six engine.
Toyota Supra
"...and get yourself a brand new M2 for like $70,000 and M3 for $80,000, or even a Supra. And they're all fantastic cars."
A famous Japanese sports car known for its speed and sleek design, with the newest version sharing many parts with BMW.
A legendary sports car nameplate from Toyota, with the modern fifth-generation (A90) co-developed with BMW. It features a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and is highly regarded for its tuning potential.
Toyota Crown
"...ute best. But I have to hand the Toyota Supra the crown. It only loses about 36% over five years and the ..."
The Toyota Crown is an upscale, premium car made by Toyota. It is designed to offer a quiet, comfortable ride with advanced technology and a slightly raised seating position.
The Toyota Crown is a historic line of premium executive vehicles that has served as Toyota's flagship sedan in Japan since 1955. In the mid-2020s, it was reimagined for global markets as an elevated, high-riding hybrid sedan focused on comfort and efficiency.
BMW M5
"Unfortunately, the M5 loses about 60% of its value over the course of five years, which can be seen in some of the most recent online auctions where you can get what amounts to a very newish BMW M5 for like 20 something thousand dollars."
A large, luxurious BMW sedan that has an incredibly powerful engine, making it as fast as a supercar while looking like a normal business car.
BMW's flagship high-performance mid-size luxury sedan, packing supercar-level horsepower (often via a twin-turbo V8) into a comfortable executive package.
Porsche Boxster (981)
"If you're looking at say a 997, a 981, a 991, that depreciation has already taken its toll."
A two-seat convertible sports car made by Porsche in the mid-2010s, famous for having its engine in the middle of the car for perfect balance.
The third generation of Porsche's mid-engine roadster, produced from 2012 to 2016. It is highly coveted for being the last Boxster generation to feature naturally aspirated flat-six engines across the standard lineup.
depreciation cliff
"Someone's already eaten that they've gone off the depreciation cliff and that car has stabilized in almost every conceivable option..."
The stage when a used car has already lost most of its value, meaning if you buy it now, it won't lose much more money while you own it.
The point in a vehicle's lifespan where its rapid initial loss of value slows down and stabilizes. Buying a car after this point protects the owner from losing significant money to depreciation.
free miles
"So in my mind, any car that has say under 40,000 miles, you know, those cars, you don't want to drive because you will be devaluing them... But if a car has say 40,000, 45,000 miles on it, those are free miles."
The idea that once a car already has a decent amount of miles on it, driving it more won't make its price drop much lower, letting you enjoy driving it without losing money.
An automotive ownership concept where driving a medium-to-high mileage car does not significantly impact its market value, unlike a brand-new or ultra-low-mileage collector car where every mile adds heavy depreciation.
Certified Pre-Owned
"Of course, I'd probably put up against that the CPO program from a Porsche dealer where they might be selling a car that's five or six or seven years old, but it does have an extended warranty."
A special class of used cars sold by official dealerships that have been thoroughly inspected and come with an extra warranty from the manufacturer.
A manufacturer-backed program for used vehicles that undergo a rigorous multi-point inspection and come with an extended factory warranty, offering peace of mind similar to a new car purchase.
IMS bearing
"The IMS bearing taken care of by Ellen engineering, bore scoring checked, oil changes, marked down and on a maintenance schedule."
A small metal part inside certain older Porsche engines that can suddenly break and completely ruin the engine.
Intermediate Shaft bearing; a notorious component in Porsche M96/M97 engines that can fail catastrophically, leading to complete engine destruction if not replaced with an upgraded aftermarket unit.
LN Engineering
"The IMS bearing taken care of by Ellen engineering, bore scoring checked, oil changes, marked down and on a maintenance schedule."
A specialized company that makes upgraded parts to fix the famous engine problems found in older Porsche sports cars.
An aftermarket automotive engineering firm famous for developing the definitive retrofits and fixes for Porsche water-cooled engine issues, particularly the IMS bearing upgrade.
bore scoring
"The IMS bearing taken care of by Ellen engineering, bore scoring checked, oil changes, marked down and on a maintenance schedule."
A serious engine problem where internal parts scratch the cylinder walls, causing the engine to burn oil and eventually break down.
A mechanical failure mode where the piston skirt scratches and gouges the cylinder wall, leading to oil consumption, ticking noises, and eventual engine failure. It is a known issue on certain Porsche M96/M97 engines.
air-oil separator
"The right kind of oil being used, air oil separators done, all these little things add up."
A part that filters oil out of the air inside the engine so it doesn't get burned up, which can cause thick smoke if it breaks.
An emissions control component that separates engine oil from crankcase gases before they are recirculated into the intake. Failure can cause smoking, rough idling, and oil consumption.
NVH
"But what are they missing? They're missing NVH. They're missing the feel of the road through the steering wheel..."
A term for how much noise, shaking, and bumps you feel and hear inside a car while driving.
Noise, Vibration, and Harshness; a metric used by automotive engineers to measure the tactile and acoustic feedback a vehicle transmits to its occupants.
Porsche 944
"You know's funny? If I'm going to be honest with you, you know, my Porsche journey has taken me from mid 80s, 911s in transaxle cars like 944s and 924s..."
A classic 1980s Porsche sports car with pop-up headlights and its engine in the front, known for handling beautifully.
A front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by Porsche from 1982 to 1991, featuring a transaxle layout for near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution. It is powered by a front-mounted inline-four engine.
Porsche 924
"You know's funny? If I'm going to be honest with you, you know, my Porsche journey has taken me from mid 80s, 911s in transaxle cars like 944s and 924s..."
An older, entry-level classic Porsche from the 1970s and 80s with its engine in the front, which was originally designed alongside Volkswagen.
Porsche's entry-level front-engine sports car produced from 1976 to 1988, originally designed as a joint project with Volkswagen. It paved the way for the more successful 944.
911 930 Turbos
"...back to the late 70s with 930 turbos and into the 90s with 993s and even to the 2000 teens with 991s..."
A famous, very fast version of the classic Porsche 911 from the 1970s and 80s that used a turbocharger to get massive power, making it thrilling but dangerous to drive fast.
The legendary first-generation 911 Turbo, produced from 1975 to 1989. It is famous for its dramatic rear fender flares, 'whale tail' spoiler, and sudden turbo lag that earned it the nickname 'The Widowmaker.'
1972 Porsche 911
"And I can say that my favorite absolute car I have ever owned is my 1972 911, Bertie."
A vintage Porsche 911 from the early 1970s, highly prized by collectors for its lightweight design, mechanical simplicity, and pure driving feel.
A classic early 'longhood' Porsche 911 from the F-Series generation, powered by an air-cooled flat-six engine. The 1972 model year is unique for its external oil filler door on the right rear fender, which was removed for 1973 because gas station attendants kept putting fuel in it.
slow car fast
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Derek, slow car fast, all that stuff. Okay, I'm going to leave that where it is."
The idea that it is more fun to drive a slower car as fast as it can go than to drive a super-fast car slowly because you can't use its full power on normal roads.
The automotive philosophy that driving a lower-horsepower, lightweight car to its absolute limits is more engaging and fun on public roads than driving a modern supercar that is too fast to safely push.
EPAS
"But if I can derive more pleasure and fun from it, then I'm all about that life, whether it's from the hydraulic steering or even the early E-pass stuff from Porsche..."
A modern steering system that uses electricity instead of fluid to help you turn the wheel, which can sometimes make the steering feel less connected to the road.
Electric Power Assisted Steering; a steering system that uses an electric motor instead of a hydraulic pump to assist the driver. While more efficient, early systems were criticized for lacking road feel.
naturally aspirated engine
"...or even the early E-pass stuff from Porsche, which I think is completely fine, or a normally aspirated motor versus some of the newer turbocharged motors..."
A traditional engine that breathes normal air without using a turbocharger to force extra air in, known for sounding great and responding instantly when you step on the gas.
An internal combustion engine that relies on atmospheric pressure to draw air into the cylinders, rather than using a turbocharger or supercharger. They are prized for linear power delivery and sharp throttle response.
Porsche 911 Carrera T
"...get this model only if you want to stick type of mentality, you know, buy a GT3 or get a Carrera T, which is $150, $160,000."
A version of the Porsche 911 that is stripped of some heavy parts and tuned specifically to be as fun and engaging to drive as possible.
A lightweight, driver-focused variant of the Porsche 911 Carrera, featuring reduced sound deadening, unique styling details, and standard performance options like a manual gearbox and mechanical limited-slip differential.
Porsche 911 GT3
"...get this model only if you want to stick type of mentality, you know, buy a GT3 or get a Carrera T, which is $150, $160,000."
A special, race-car-like version of the Porsche 911 designed to be driven on race tracks but still legal to drive on normal roads.
A high-performance, track-focused homologation model of the Porsche 911, featuring a naturally aspirated engine, aggressive aerodynamics, and motorsport-derived suspension.
Porsche Carrera T
"...k type of mentality, you know, buy a GT3 or get a Carrera T, which is $150, $160,000. And, you know, many oth..."
BMW M3 (E46)
"Something that really bothered me because I've driven E46 M3s, E36 M3s. I mean, that steering was brilliant."
A highly famous version of the BMW M3 from the early 2000s, loved for its perfect balance, screaming engine, and beautiful design.
The third generation of the BMW M3, produced from 2000 to 2006, powered by the legendary S54 naturally aspirated inline-six engine. It is widely considered one of the greatest sports cars ever made.
BMW E46
"...thing that really bothered me because I've driven E46 M3s, E36 M3s. I mean, that steering was brilliant..."
The BMW 3 Series is a popular line of compact luxury cars made by BMW. It is designed to balance everyday comfort with a sporty, fun-to-drive feel.
The BMW 3 Series is a compact luxury car that has long been celebrated as the gold standard for sports sedan handling. The E36 and E46 generations from the 1990s and 2000s are particularly revered by enthusiasts for their hydraulic steering feedback and balanced chassis.
deviated stitching
"...and somehow valuing myself based on the things I have and look at my Porsche with my deviated stitching. And there's a lot of D bags."
A fancy option on high-end cars where the sewing thread on the leather seats is a different color than the leather, making the interior look custom-made.
A premium Porsche interior option where the thread used to sew the leather seats, dashboard, and panels is a contrasting color to the leather itself, highlighting the craftsmanship.
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