Taycan options that will help with resale value

[Bazza]

Hi Friends,

I've just placed my order for a Taycan 4s for daily drive (no track usage) and have been playing around with the options.

Currently, from what I've done so far, I'm already at USD40K (KRW48M -I'm live in Seoul, South Korea) in options.- which is almost at the base model of a Taycan Turbo. Gett

Here's my build:
http://www.porsche-code.com/PNCPA7Z1

I wonder which of the options I have would be good to help with resale. I'm concerned that this being a 1st gen Taycan, depreciation will be pretty high after 3-5 years. My guess is that those items that extend range, maneuverability, comfort and exterior/interior aesthetics will be good. Thus, the key options i had were:

1. Performance Battery Plus - needed for range + power
2. RWS - better maneuverability
3. Sport Design Carbon fiber - I think the full aero look of the Turbo looks much better and to get that on a 4S, you need to order the carbon fiber package. Ordering the standard Sport Design package doesn't give you the front lower lip part.
4. Mission e-wheels - Classic Taycan EV look (forced to get the PSCB - planning to paint that yellow aftermarket). Read that they can be somewhat hard to maintain (rock chips etc) so need to ensure they are well protected upon receiving the car. Keep look in silver as i think the contrast makes it look more outstanding vs the black stealth look.
5. Carbon interior / Darksilver Neodyme: Since i'm going carbon outside, i figured i should follow thru interior as well to match it and keep it sporty, and darksilver accents brighten the standard partial leather interior.
6. Porsche headcrest in front and rear - was told that all Koreans want this in their porsche.
7. Bose - best value sound option
8. Sport Seats - i found them more comfortable than the standard comfort seats.

Love to hear all your thoughts on what can help with resale / reduce the depreciation. Thanks!

I can’t speak for the Korean 2nd hand market, but in the UK prices of most (especially recent) 2nd hand cars have rocketed due to the lack of supply of new cars as a result of the chip shortage.
So if you were in the UK and profit was your motive you could spec your car to the hilt then the day you receive it sell it for 5-10% more on the 2nd hand market than you paid for it!
I know someone that did just that then immediately reordered the identical car and pocketed the profit while being prepared to wait the 6+ months for another.
In theory, as long as this chip shortage continues you could do this multiple times.
You need to be a certain type. I’m certainly not one of them, I can’t wait to get my hands on mine when it (eventually!!) arrives.

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[whitex]

With very few exceptions (e.g., the big battery), you'll never get what you paid back out of extra options on resale,

Why is the big battery an exception? What makes it not depreciate as the battery is used? As a side note, if you look at Teslas, the battery size upgrades depreciate together with the car. One way to check for Taycans is to see if adding a battery upgrade raises the residual by the same amount as the option was new, which I doubt is the case.

 

[dpjrichards]

It’s a purchase. Not an investment. The sooner you make peace with that, the easier this process becomes. ?

That said, when I’m ordering a new car, I want it exactly how I want. Every tiny detail and option needs to be exact (within budget…?).

But if I’m buying new/used off of a lot, I’m usually only looking at a few things.

1. Trim
2. Exterior color
3. Interior color
4. Transmission (for ICE)

And suddenly, all of those other “critical”options seem to be easy to compromise. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the importance of options while ordering, but I’m not sure the second hand market gives them the same weight.

For example:

• I love in-car navigation, but I’ve bought a car off the lot without it.
• I love keyless entry, but I’ve bought a car off the lot without it.
• I love surround view cameras, but I’ve bought a car off the lot without it.
• I love ventilated seats, but I’ve bought a car off the lot without them.

I would never order a car without the above options. And yet I’ve bought cars off of the lot without them (and would again).

There are a few options people (even me) may specifically look for, like Sport Chrono on an ICE Porsche sports car, but by and large, I would guess people are, like me, very willing to compromise on most options when not ordering.

In the case of the Taycan, I think the larger battery is probably the only real possible make or break option on later sales. Other items like interior/exterior colors, glass roof, etc are going to be personal preferences. You may be able to look up used-car sales data in your region to get an idea of best choices. But other minor options and design elements probably won’t make any difference.

My two cents.

That all makes perfect sense. If you’re buying second-hand you decide on the car and then see what’s out there at the price point you can afford. Some people might want specific options but supply determines whether they can be ultra fussy. I think this is particularly true when it comes to luxury marques like Porsche.

On spec, all the options I’ve chosen have been ones I think I will get some practical use from or because I think they offer some value for the added experience of driving the car daily. For example, I love the look of the red leather but it’s a very expensive option on the 4S, so I’ve chosen the standard black interior, added red seat belts and ambient lighting. It’s a compromise I accept many wouldn’t be prepared to make but I think the standard interior is really good, I can get that sporty red effect with the belts and lighting and spend the money on other options like RWS that improves handling and manoeuvrability.

If I was choosing a GTS I would have no hesitation in choosing red leather interior as the upgrade is about the same cost as adding red seat belts.

 

[cometguy]

OK, I have a 3-yr-old Porsche with 35k miles whose Edmunds trade-in valuation is about 71% of what I paid for it. But Edmunds also rates the individual options by value, and here are some examples. I paid something like $1400-$1500 for 14-way seats, and that value is now stated to be $400... ACC was about $2000 brand new, and it's now listed as worth $609. LCA was about $950 brand new, I think, and it's now worth $364. Interestingly, the heated steering wheel is worth now nearly as much as I paid for it new.

 

[DocMart3n]

Hi Friends,

I've just placed my order for a Taycan 4s for daily drive (no track usage) and have been playing around with the options.

Currently, from what I've done so far, I'm already at USD40K (KRW48M -I'm live in Seoul, South Korea) in options.- which is almost at the base model of a Taycan Turbo. Gett

Here's my build:
http://www.porsche-code.com/PNCPA7Z1

I wonder which of the options I have would be good to help with resale. I'm concerned that this being a 1st gen Taycan, depreciation will be pretty high after 3-5 years. My guess is that those items that extend range, maneuverability, comfort and exterior/interior aesthetics will be good. Thus, the key options i had were:

1. Performance Battery Plus - needed for range + power
2. RWS - better maneuverability
3. Sport Design Carbon fiber - I think the full aero look of the Turbo looks much better and to get that on a 4S, you need to order the carbon fiber package. Ordering the standard Sport Design package doesn't give you the front lower lip part.
4. Mission e-wheels - Classic Taycan EV look (forced to get the PSCB - planning to paint that yellow aftermarket). Read that they can be somewhat hard to maintain (rock chips etc) so need to ensure they are well protected upon receiving the car. Keep look in silver as i think the contrast makes it look more outstanding vs the black stealth look.
5. Carbon interior / Darksilver Neodyme: Since i'm going carbon outside, i figured i should follow thru interior as well to match it and keep it sporty, and darksilver accents brighten the standard partial leather interior.
6. Porsche headcrest in front and rear - was told that all Koreans want this in their porsche.
7. Bose - best value sound option
8. Sport Seats - i found them more comfortable than the standard comfort seats.

Love to hear all your thoughts on what can help with resale / reduce the depreciation. Thanks!

I agree, the more you spec, the more you loose, in general. I think the bigger battery and faster charge option may be important, though.

 

[DANgerous]

Hi Friends,

I've just placed my order for a Taycan 4s for daily drive (no track usage) and have been playing around with the options.

Currently, from what I've done so far, I'm already at USD40K (KRW48M -I'm live in Seoul, South Korea) in options.- which is almost at the base model of a Taycan Turbo. Gett

Here's my build:
http://www.porsche-code.com/PNCPA7Z1

I wonder which of the options I have would be good to help with resale. I'm concerned that this being a 1st gen Taycan, depreciation will be pretty high after 3-5 years. My guess is that those items that extend range, maneuverability, comfort and exterior/interior aesthetics will be good. Thus, the key options i had were:

1. Performance Battery Plus - needed for range + power
2. RWS - better maneuverability
3. Sport Design Carbon fiber - I think the full aero look of the Turbo looks much better and to get that on a 4S, you need to order the carbon fiber package. Ordering the standard Sport Design package doesn't give you the front lower lip part.
4. Mission e-wheels - Classic Taycan EV look (forced to get the PSCB - planning to paint that yellow aftermarket). Read that they can be somewhat hard to maintain (rock chips etc) so need to ensure they are well protected upon receiving the car. Keep look in silver as i think the contrast makes it look more outstanding vs the black stealth look.
5. Carbon interior / Darksilver Neodyme: Since i'm going carbon outside, i figured i should follow thru interior as well to match it and keep it sporty, and darksilver accents brighten the standard partial leather interior.
6. Porsche headcrest in front and rear - was told that all Koreans want this in their porsche.
7. Bose - best value sound option
8. Sport Seats - i found them more comfortable than the standard comfort seats.

Love to hear all your thoughts on what can help with resale / reduce the depreciation. Thanks!

Hello! Fellow APAC dweller here (Hong Kong). I agree with a lot of the points other folks have made.

The way I look at it is that the car is a terrible investment in the first place, in fact as one person said it’s a purchase not an investment. So if the difference in resale value of options vs without options is important to you and is more important that enjoying the car as much as possible for as long as you own it - then spec down. I suspect that in the grand scheme of the purchase price, the difference is not worth worrying about.

Hence my 2 cents, get the car you want and enjoy it. I doubt anyone is going to go looking for a Taycan with the carbon body kit. Sure if they see yours versus another for the same price and the other doesn‘t have it, they might get yours. I’m sure that nobody is going to turn your car down if it doesn’t have the Porsche crest on the seats. The question you should be asking yourself is “how will the Porsche crest make me feel”…

Enjoy!

 

[Skilly]

Why is the big battery an exception? What makes it not depreciate as the battery is used? As a side note, if you look at Teslas, the battery size upgrades depreciate together with the car. One way to check for Taycans is to see if adding a battery upgrade raises the residual by the same amount as the option was new, which I doubt is the case.

I don't think that they are saying that the battery escapes the depreciation of the car. Rather, the car is worth more in resale with a bigger battery vs. the lesser version.

This would be 100% true. For example, two identically optioned cars with the exception of one having the performance battery, that feature will allow it to sell faster, fetch more money, or both. That tells you that it's an option that has value. Sport Chrono is another option like this to a lesser degree.

Alternatively, adding power ports, or rear seat heating, or the sport design package might be important for driver experience with the original owner; however, they won't impact resale at all.

 

[drsubie]

I think whatever Taycan model/options you go with, you will be looking at heavy depreciation in a few years, as EV and battery tech will change drastically very quickly. You are buying tech relatively early in it's adoption, so that's the price we pay.

I have agonized over this same issue of depreciation, not necessarily worried about options, but mainly I'm worried that Porsche will have a 400-500mi range version in a few years, and then what? Who would want a <300mi range Taycan when compared with that? It can't help but depreciate 40 to 50%...Not a big deal (or less of one) if I was getting a $60k Tesla, but this is on a >$130k car...

 

[raharris]

I think whatever Taycan model/options you go with, you will be looking at heavy depreciation in a few years, as EV and battery tech will change drastically very quickly. You are buying tech relatively early in it's adoption, so that's the price we pay.

I have agonized over this same issue of depreciation, not necessarily worried about options, but mainly I'm worried that Porsche will have a 400-500mi range version in a few years, and then what? Who would want a <300mi range Taycan when compared with that? It can't help but depreciate 40 to 50%...Not a big deal (or less of one) if I was getting a $60k Tesla, but this is on a >$130k car...

My hope is that, as EVs become more popular, that we will have access to alternatives to the OEM batteries. Perhaps cheaper. Perhaps with improved characteristics.

And if we don’t - at least we got to enjoy the depreciation

 

[raharris]

I originally went with a 4S and added 40k options; justified making the jump to the Turbo on the basis that options don’t hold value / but being a turbo might. It also has some of the options I wanted as standard…and then added 40k of options to the Turbo - so that plan failed

 

[Fish Fingers]

I think whatever Taycan model/options you go with, you will be looking at heavy depreciation in a few years, as EV and battery tech will change drastically very quickly. You are buying tech relatively early in it's adoption, so that's the price we pay.

I have agonized over this same issue of depreciation, not necessarily worried about options, but mainly I'm worried that Porsche will have a 400-500mi range version in a few years, and then what? Who would want a <300mi range Taycan when compared with that? It can't help but depreciate 40 to 50%...Not a big deal (or less of one) if I was getting a $60k Tesla, but this is on a >$130k car...

I went through the same thought process, but came up with a different answer.

I needed a new car.
I was a bit concerned electric cars would be like new phones a few years ago...quickly becoming obsolete when the next new shiny comes out.
Almost certainly true.

So the alternative would be to buy a petrol / diesel car now.
And that makes less sense.
Who is going to want to buy a second hand ICE car in 4 years?
Way more expensive to run, polluting, noisy etc.

Used Tesla prices have held up well.

 

[whitex]

I don't think that they are saying that the battery escapes the depreciation of the car. Rather, the car is worth more in resale with a bigger battery vs. the lesser version.

This would be 100% true. For example, two identically optioned cars with the exception of one having the performance battery, that feature will allow it to sell faster, fetch more money, or both. That tells you that it's an option that has value. Sport Chrono is another option like this to a lesser degree.

Alternatively, adding power ports, or rear seat heating, or the sport design package might be important for driver experience with the original owner; however, they won't impact resale at all.

The above would be 100% true for almost every option. If you have two identically speced cars but one has some more options (say powered rear seat heating and powered charging ports), are you saying you most people would not pick the one with more options for the same price?

I've been in the EV community for a long time (since 2013). There are some folks out there who value range over anything. Those are the same people who look down on a Taycan and compare it to Tesla or Lucid range. However, over the years. I've watched used Tesla prices and gotta tell you, battery upgrades actually depreciate together with the car at best, and faster if it's just an option (Tesla sold a "Range upgrade" once which increased your nominal battery capacity from 85KWh to 90KWh for $3,000 - that upgrade depreciated much faster than the rest of the car - today there is almost no value in the range upgrade, ~5 year old 85 cars sell for almost the same as 90 (assuming same age, mileage, and other options).

Will there be exceptions? Always. People do value different things. Some people will prefer to upgrade their wheels to 21" over a bigger battery, others the other way around. BUT, in the end the used car prices are heavily influenced by lease residual values, since lease returns come back to market. So, a base Taycan with 21" wheels will probably sell for the same as base Taycan with base wheels and bigger battery. While this may not be your valuation, that is what happens on average - there will be a person who will prefer a bigger battery, and there will be a person who prefers bigger wheels, both will pay the same for their respective wants (just like new pricing). Leasing companies depreciate bigger battery option the same percentage as the bigger wheels. If you want to minimize your depreciation percentage, go to a higher trim instead of getting options (this has been true in the car industry since way before EV's, but it still holds).

PS> There is an interesting bias I observed over the years in the Tesla community. A lot of people who voice their opinion on used car values, often significantly undervalues cars older than what they have and with lower range. Some go as far as saying "I would never bother looking at a used Tesla which is older than insert_their_Tesla_age and has a battery smaller than insert_their_battery_size). I think this is related to a very well studied bias in psychology - people tend to value higher what they already own. A famous college experiment showing it is you invite a group of people to a "marketing study", you show them a product, say a coffee mug, and ask them how much they would pay for it. Say you got an average price of $9.99. You then announce that in appreciation of their work, you are going to gift each participant one mug and take them to lunch. After lunch you ask them how much would they sell the mug they received (and never even used it yet). Surprise, surprise! The average price of how much people were willing to sell it almost always goes up, say $12.99 now. So, if you have a car with an upgraded battery, you are very likely to overvalue it. However, you already have the car, so you are not the target buyer for the used car.

 

[Skilly]

The above would be 100% true for almost every option. If you have two identically speced cars but one has some more options (say powered rear seat heating and powered charging ports), are you saying you most people would not pick the one with more options for the same price?

I've been in the EV community for a long time (since 2013). There are some folks out there who value range over anything. Those are the same people who look down on a Taycan and compare it to Tesla or Lucid range. However, over the years. I've watched used Tesla prices and gotta tell you, battery upgrades actually depreciate together with the car at best, and faster if it's just an option (Tesla sold a "Range upgrade" once which increased your nominal battery capacity from 85KWh to 90KWh for $3,000 - that upgrade depreciated much faster than the rest of the car - today there is almost no value in the range upgrade, ~5 year old 85 cars sell for almost the same as 90 (assuming same age, mileage, and other options).

Will there be exceptions? Always. People do value different things. Some people will prefer to upgrade their wheels to 21" over a bigger battery, others the other way around. BUT, in the end the used car prices are heavily influenced by lease residual values, since lease returns come back to market. So, a base Taycan with 21" wheels will probably sell for the same as base Taycan with base wheels and bigger battery. While this may not be your valuation, that is what happens on average - there will be a person who will prefer a bigger battery, and there will be a person who prefers bigger wheels, both will pay the same for their respective wants (just like new pricing). Leasing companies depreciate bigger battery option the same percentage as the bigger wheels. If you want to minimize your depreciation percentage, go to a higher trim instead of getting options (this has been true in the car industry since way before EV's, but it still holds).

PS> There is an interesting bias I observed over the years in the Tesla community. A lot of people who voice their opinion on used car values, often significantly undervalues cars older than what they have and with lower range. Some go as far as saying "I would never bother looking at a used Tesla which is older than insert_their_Tesla_age and has a battery smaller than insert_their_battery_size). I think this is related to a very well studied bias in psychology - people tend to value higher what they already own. A famous college experiment showing it is you invite a group of people to a "marketing study", you show them a product, say a coffee mug, and ask them how much they would pay for it. Say you got an average price of $9.99. You then announce that in appreciation of their work, you are going to gift each participant one mug and take them to lunch. After lunch you ask them how much would they sell the mug they received (and never even used it yet). Surprise, surprise! The average price of how much people were willing to sell it almost always goes up, say $12.99 now. So, if you have a car with an upgraded battery, you are very likely to overvalue it. However, you already have the car, so you are not the target buyer for the used car.

First, you didnt read my earlier post - I have purchased several over the last few months and have been moving them from other states into California for profit . I do know this market very well, especially the used market. I should also say that I too have had electrics for some time and purchased from Tesla back in the day when factory tours were included (and unlimited). I had a Model S launch vehicle and liked it very much. Despite the bias that the community has as you point out, I saw them as a car rather than some higher form of transportation. That's also why I point out that the difference is Tesla is an electric car, while the Taycan is a car that just happens to be electric.

The reality is that all options are not created equal, but that is lost in a Tesla purchase because there is very little choice. You will also note that I stated one of three things will habitually happen with specific options - the car will sell much quicker than its counterpart without those options; you will get more money for it, or (ideally) both. All of these have value. This doesn't mean the car won't depreciate; it means its going to hold better and overall help the car retain its value for resell because of the option. Move the money around however you want - it's buried in the cost of the car.

Let's put it like this, because you seem to be saying that all options are the same. If we agree that range anxiety is very much a thing in this market, range will be a factor in decision making. Take two cars in the market with similar mileage and build prices on the Monroney. One has leather, rear electronic controls and power ports and the other has the performance battery option. Outside of that they are optioned the same but the car with the bigger battery is asking marginally more - say $2,000 to be fair but both are within market value parameters. The car that specs at 250 miles vs. the car that specs at 199 miles will sell 8 out of 10 times over compared to its counter optioned choice.

Perhaps your perspective comes from Tesla as the basis. If that is it, consider there are literally 4 options - battery, exterior color, interior color, and wheels - even those create a wide range of resell price points too! And, as you move up their stack even those choices reduce. Most Teslas are literally the exact same car and choice is up to Indi shops like Unplugged Performance.

 

[XLR82XS]

OK, I have a 3-yr-old Porsche with 35k miles whose Edmunds trade-in valuation is about 71% of what I paid for it. But Edmunds also rates the individual options by value, and here are some examples. I paid something like $1400-$1500 for 14-way seats, and that value is now stated to be $400... ACC was about $2000 brand new, and it's now listed as worth $609. LCA was about $950 brand new, I think, and it's now worth $364. Interestingly, the heated steering wheel is worth now nearly as much as I paid for it new.

At the end of the day: something is only worth what someone will pay for it.

 

[Cluon80]

I originally went with a 4S and added 40k options; justified making the jump to the Turbo on the basis that options don’t hold value / but being a turbo might. It also has some of the options I wanted as standard…and then added 40k of options to the Turbo - so that plan failed

Yea, i tried that out and my options on the Turbo were +20K more, vs +50K more on the 4S.
Don't need carbon fiber kit on Turbo since the aero front lip is already there in body color.

i'm 80% close to picking a Turbo unless my dealer says it will take longer to deliver.

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