Porsche’s valuation of Taycan

[Archimedes]

I have a 2021 Taycan Turbo S. I consider my car fantastic as a mechanical car but an amazing blunder as an EV. In fact, my car would be classified beta testing if it was just software.

The first 18 months were horrible. Every time I share my experience here, the cult rises in arms saying how dare I criticize Porsche. Very frustrating. Fact is I confirmed today that even Porsche thinks low of the car. Most Porsches hold on their value pretty good. Some actually appreciate in value. The Taycan, as valued by Porsche, not a third party, has dropped precipitously. Porsche itself recognizes how not ready for prime time that model was and how many nonstop issues we have with it. With a few people that have no issues - the minority.

I am looking at a 911 GT3 and Porsche gives me barely 45% of the cost of the car after about 2 years and 20k miles.. It’s like I bought a Camry with a Porsche logo. When Porsche itself devalues the car, there is no doubt this car was not ready for production.

Only two comments. First, and I’m guessing you’re new to Porsche, but, pre-COVID, Porsche’s didn’t hold their value any better than any other high end marque, nor did anything but the rarest of Porsche’s not depreciate. The idea that Porsches are immune to the heavy depreciation curve typical of expensive cars is laughable to anyone who’s been a Porsche customer for years.

Second, if your car is a 2021, it’s three years old (or close to it), not two. The standard luxury sedan depreciation curve is 50% loss in the first three years. So again, your experience is typical, though it sounds like you expected the Taycan would somehow be immune to this.

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[Archimedes]

Or understanding how terribly defective the majority of Taycans are.

My Taycan is defective?!! Please don’t tell it that as it continues to perform flawlessly for me.

Weird that the polls on here show repeatedly show the exact opposite of your comment above.

 

[RoundRock]

If the car is terrible, then bad depreciation shouldn’t be a surprise. And if you don’t like it, then maybe the right solution is to sell it and get something else. Life is too short to be unhappy with things that are within your control to solve.

Saying the car is terrible yet expecting strong depreciation seems illogical.

And as for, “Everyone knows the car is terrible as an EV” then I guess I’m not included in everyone.

 

[FlyingPoint]

I must say I am perplexed - here's why:

1. Whether I am buying for cash, using a loan or a lease facility I always want to investigate the lease residual for 36 month or 39 month lease. You can take to the bank that that is what the car will be valued at the end of the term. Taycan was always around 50% of selling price. Obviously, war, pandemics and supply interruptions are excluded, but usually are nothing more than blips.
2. From what I can see, the residuals are tracking the market. Can't wait to see the flood of '21's that go off lease from 5/24 -- 10/24. I suspect the market will likely mirror the residual plus dealer resale profit. The margins will be thin and many of these 21's might go to auction with little dealer bidding.
3. The early adopter has done their thing and drove the market. Now the challenges of EV road tripping and charging will further influence the market negatively. Folks complain about their car being bricked- unfortunately the Taycan will fall in price like a brick as the 21's reach their lease end term.

All I can say is that the residual established usually represents the market in the future, unless production is limited, major currency fluctuation, war or pandemic.

 

[Archimedes]

A good rule of thumb for high end luxury sedan depreciation over the first three years is 25/15/10.

 

[Jhenson29]

With a few people that have no issues - the minority.

Or understanding how terribly defective the majority of Taycans are.

I’m not sure where you get your info from, but I don’t think that’s at all the case. ?‍

Sell it and move on.

 

[tbinmd]

The GT3 will be boring compared to your Mclaren 600LT.
Ever spring when I take the GT3 out for the first time, it feels slow compared to the wires CT4. Around town the GT3 is bland, you really need to get into the RPM's and speed to get something out of it. Hard to do on the street, it's more suited to the track where it can be excised. But then it's boring compared to the 600LT.

 

[ben1]

I have the impression that the resale value of an EV in the US is different than in EU.

The non-Tesla charging network in the US is less mature. And there is still debate about what standard will win. The Taycan CCS charging port is on the losing end.
The US is not that EV minded yet. Due to politics, the lack of infrastructure, the history with cars and oil industry, the bigger distances,....

In EU, and especially in Western Europe, the charging network is becoming very mature. There are many players in the market. Quality is going up (Ionity, Fastned,...). Tesla is compatible with the Taycan in most places. No discussion about the charging standard.
EU is more EV minded. Both politically and 'on-the-street'. There is no big oil industry. Most people accepted the idea that EV's are the future, without a doubt. There is some disagreement about the speed of the transistion. But not about the goal.

I think that translates into the resale value of EV's.
If I look at the prices of 2 year old base model Taycan's in Belgium, I see they are about 20 to 30 % below the initial buying price (which was lower than today). That is a rather good resale value. I see similar prices in France, Germany, Switzerland.
That is different than what I see in the US.

 

[f1eng]

Or understanding how terribly defective the majority of Taycans are.

Do you have evidence of that? The last poll I saw most members had fault free cars and forums are places many people only visit if they have problems.

FWIW the Taycan is the first Porsche I have tried that I eventually bought every other one was out pointed by another vehicle on my shortlist (since 1995).

Mine has been fine so far except a water leak into the tailgate and a spurious error message which has gone now.

I have never had a car that wasn't reliable in over 50 years though luck or careful choosing!

 

[whitex]

It is a Porsche dealer. It is Porsche valuing my car. Fact. Not desires or dreams.

Porsche is NOT valuing your car. The dealer is valuing the car based on what they can sell it for, which is of course driven by desires, dreams, and financial resources of the buyers, and of course availability of the used cars on the market.

I've owned many cars in my life, all but one were new. New cars, drop 45-60% in the first 3 years (if you ever want an idea, ask for a 3 year residual value on a lease). Your Taycan dropped 55% in 2 years, but that's because it is a well into six digits priced sedan in an economy with historically high interest rates which make people be able to afford less. People to whom money is no object, will order brand new custom Taycan with the exact options they want. People who look at used, have smaller budgets and are probably borrowing money, and money is expensive today. Last but not least, you are selling a sports car in the start of winter, which means the dealer needs to assume they will sit on it till the spring, while they pay $1,000 per month in interest on the money they gave you, and the car will further depreciate by spring time too, so essentially you are getting hit with 3 year depreciation plus storage/interest costs.

If you want least depreciation, go with something like a Toyota Camry. Both percentage depreciation and total value depreciation will be one of the lowest, and you can sell it in the summer or winter without much impact. The highest ever depreciation car I had was a 2001 911 Carrera 4. Coincidentally I was selling it after ~2 years, late fall, and the car dropped ~55% just like yours actually (and it was in 2003 and an ICE Porsche). The economy was also down then, cars were not moving as fast as during dot-com-boom just 2 years earlier. So it seems Porsche depreciated just as much 20 years ago in similar situation. People who got used to the pandemic situation where you could buy a new Taycan at MSRP, drive it for a year, then sell it above MSRP, have a skewed view of cars as investments, which they are not.

I will reiterate, if you ever want an idea of the car's projected depreciation, check out lease residual values. If you think they are way over-optimistic, lease the car, you will have that value guaranteed.

 

[DGW]

I do enjoy driving it…. When it can be driven. And will cobrinier to do so, it’s fun!. But sad to see the Porsche name associated with such defective product.

what you experience you had to conclude Taycan is a defective product? or are we missing something here?

 

[whitex]

I do enjoy driving it…. When it can be driven. And will cobrinier to do so, it’s fun!. But sad to see the Porsche name associated with such defective product.

Let us know once you find a more reliable product. All new high end cars have teething issues nowadays as technology is moving fast. Want best reliability? Go with Toyota Corolla or Camry - some of the most reliable cars out there, low depreciation too.

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