Welcome to Normal Depreciation

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Ross

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My problem when looking used was finding a spec I was prepared to pay for!
Now the prices are low enough to tolerate a spec some way from ideal for me!
The only absolute no options are black upholstery and privacy glass, I would even put up with a glass roof :)
The great thing about current prices is you don’t have to pay for spec you don’t want. All that imaginary benefit stuff that you can’t see like PDCC, PTV, RAS, Insulated glass etc..
That can be there but I don’t want to pay for it. It’s the visual stuff I have realised I am really picky about.
Don’t like privacy glass at all like you.
Don’t mind dark interior and has to be dark in pale car.
Really don’t like pale leather interior in pale car.
On a search I only tick Adaptive Cruise and Auto dim mirrors as must have. Especially as these can’t be retrofitted. Not bothered about any other ‘bits’
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violuma

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This isn’t the car for people who can barely afford one. It’s really for people who could afford just parking it and walking away from it in 5-6 years.
I agree with your larger point about expectations for depreciation and residual value, but I'd like to push back a bit here.

It's been decades since I studied economics, but (at that point, at least), there was no intuitively-defined unit to measure utility - how much enjoyment somebody gets out of something. They just had an arbitrary "util", so I decided to mentally define it as "the first sip of a cool beer on a hot day". However you measure it, though, utility is the fundamental concept that drives human economic activity, and any discussion about buying and selling cars that ignores it is (IMHO) fatally flawed.

I am very clear that I am fading virtually every tenet of conventional wisdom when it comes to buying cars:
  • never buy new
  • trim holds value better than options
  • 1st-generation EVs will get slaughtered on resale due to pace of technological innovation
  • there is a "facelift" coming next MY
  • custom colors resell poorly (especially unusual ones)
  • paint protection expense is never recouped
However, the amount of expected utility that I personally plan to enjoy from my time with the vehicle swamps any of that, and every single "bad" decision listed above directly increases that expected utility for me. I think that could conceivably be true for anybody, regardless of available disposable income (within reason).

It's the car for people who derive sufficiently high levels of joy out of owning it that justify foregoing all the other things that one could do with $150,000. Maybe this is just a semantic beef, and that's how you define "can afford". I view vehicle ownership more as a relationship than an investment, though.
 

f1eng

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The great thing about current prices is you don’t have to pay for spec you don’t want. All that imaginary benefit stuff that you can’t see like PDCC, PTV, RAS, Insulated glass etc..
That can be there but I don’t want to pay for it. It’s the visual stuff I have realised I am really picky about.
Don’t like privacy glass at all like you.
Don’t mind dark interior and has to be dark in pale car.
Really don’t like pale leather interior in pale car.
On a search I only tick Adaptive Cruise and Auto dim mirrors as must have. Especially as these can’t be retrofitted. Not bothered about any other ‘bits’
My aesthetic requirements were basically no monochrome.
This thread pushed me to have a look for a used Taycan and I decided on a CT turbo as one I might like.
Still didn’t find one used in the UK I would buy…
 

achaudh

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I think Taycan depreciation is not normal but higher. This may be because most everything in Porsche's is an option which bumps up the price and return on options is always low. I know, we can say the same for other Porsche's as well but we can only compare Taycan, a 4 door with Panamera. But then, Taycan is an EV and we are hearing about solid state batteries are very close with NIO announcing recently their upcoming ES6 SUV's will have solid state batteries. Toyota also announced recently they will start offering solid state batteries by 2025.

Taycan's range is also crappy compared to competition especially in similarly priced cars. Repeated performance is great but unless you are buying the Taycan to just race, how many people would want to spend $100k+ for a track only car?

Taycan is my dream car but I am holding out to see how things play out in next few months.
 


snstevens

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https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB...interior-and-exterior-mirrors&order=price_asc

Browsing Porsche Approved Used as still plan to get a CT4S to replace GTS as 6 foot 13 yr old doesn’t fit in the back of the saloon.
Came across this car. Porsche Guildford CT4S Demo. This would have sold for over list last year. £125k!
For a MY23 to this spec it’s £122k on the configurator.
It’s a month old with 4K miles and it’s lost £40k from list.
Scary!
Seems a bargain?
Seems good value but missing decent wheels.
I love what you're trying to do here! The car looks great and options look like they cover all of the bases. Love the interior too.

My two recommendations --
  • Seats -- Drive for a while in those 18-way seats before you commit. There are quite a few posters who say the 14-way are MUCH more comfortable. One poster is in fact very uncomfortable in the 18-way seats and that is probably causing him to not enjoy the car.
  • Wheels -- While I'm not a huge fan of those wheels, they could work. However, I wouldn't let the wheels get in the way of a purchase at such a good price. For $10k-$12k (USD) more you can change the wheels and have the perfect car. 😀
General comment about depreciation -- Really, who gives a shit? Did you think you were buying investment property here?
 

Hirschaj

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Taycan is my dream car but I am holding out to see how things play out in next few months.
Sure, keep waiting. I’m sure that miraculous battery breakthrough is right around the corner. We’ve been told that for years so it must be true eventually.
 

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I’ll simplify my argument. If you’re concerned about depreciation, you can’t afford the car. These are wasting assets used for transportation, not Picassos. If heavy depreciation is too much to stomach, you either can’t afford it or simply don’t see enough utility in the car.

But let’s get real, the difference between what people are calling massive depreciation versus their normal expectations is about $15-20k. If that’s not couch cushion money for you, you really shouldn’t be buying $150,000 cars.
 


Tooney

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My problem when looking used was finding a spec I was prepared to pay for!
Now the prices are low enough to tolerate a spec some way from ideal for me!
The only absolute no options are black upholstery and privacy glass, I would even put up with a glass roof :)
How about glass roof AND ACC?
 

WasserGKuehlt

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[…] 4-5 year old Panamera (E-hybrid or normal), they are still selling for 60% original sticker […]
Where taycans from 2020-2021 (so 2-3 year old cars) are selling already at 50%.

So for sure Taycan will be the “king” of depreciation.

There are a couple of points at play, I think:
- UK is an insular market, with strong EV incentives and which may have generated more sales per audience than other countries. Based on reading this forum, it appears UK depreciation is a bit steeper than US, for instance.
- the price range of the Taycan line is more than 2x, and yet it’s hard to believe the material or labor cost is proportional. That is, whereas there is a clear cost difference between a Panamera Turbo and a base, the same cannot be said for the respective Taycan models. The upper trims were mostly profit, and so are dropping faster. I’d expect the depreciation (as percentage of msrp) to be gentler for base models.
- as was mentioned earlier in this thread, most buyers who wanted a new Taycan got theirs, and once they move on it’s the turn of the bargain hunters/smart and/or patient shoppers. Which again cuts into the high profit margin that Porsche extracted with each early sale.

It’s ok, though, depreciation is only realized at the time of the sale.

(edited to clarify “audience”)
 

DoctorLife

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This is from this mornings Sunday Times in the UK…Heavy depreciation is not really a Taycan specific issue. There is now a glut of used electric cars, as more manufacturers get on board and many more second hand electric cars compared to 5 years ago. The transition to electric is still a hard sell for many who will resist the thought of going electric, especially given the cost of purchase and lack of proper infrastructure still…
Porsche Taycan Welcome to Normal Depreciation 9A231DFA-7441-4DEB-88BD-29E0A3DC3A24
 

Chas1

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This is from this mornings Sunday Times in the UK…Heavy depreciation is not really a Taycan specific issue. There is now a glut of used electric cars, as more manufacturers get on board and many more second hand electric cars compared to 5 years ago. The transition to electric is still a hard sell for many who will resist the thought of going electric, especially given the cost of purchase and lack of proper infrastructure still…
9A231DFA-7441-4DEB-88BD-29E0A3DC3A24.jpeg
This article is comparing post Covid/semi conductor era with normal mkt conditions.
The UK market in EV’s is currently (pun intended) distorted as a result of UK tax breaks. If you have your own business you receive a 25% discount in first year on new EV in writing down allowance and pay low rate of BiK, this has resulted in low cost leasing Deals now coming to an end (after three years) and a glut in second hand market. A used Taycan with low mileage in uk are absolute bargains IMO. If you can cope with relative low range then there are real bargains out there. My recent purchase of ex demo (still counts as new) and 25% first year tax break gave me an effective 42% discount on current list price. Depreciation not really an issue, enjoy your Taycan, be kind to the planet, have fun. No brainier.
 

f1eng

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How about glass roof AND ACC?
:)
Can ACC be switched to just cruise at a speed of my choice without interference?
If yes, that would be fine since I wouldn't be paying extra for something I don't like and don't want.
If no I would avoid, I dislike ACC more than glass roofs.
 

RGBArgee

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I’ll simplify my argument. If you’re concerned about depreciation, you can’t afford the car. These are wasting assets used for transportation, not Picassos. If heavy depreciation is too much to stomach, you either can’t afford it or simply don’t see enough utility in the car.

But let’s get real, the difference between what people are calling massive depreciation versus their normal expectations is about $15-20k. If that’s not couch cushion money for you, you really shouldn’t be buying $150,000 cars.
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