We've been recording Carrera 3 prices here at the C3 website for a number of months now, but given the current economic environment prices spotted and included for 2008 are likely to be less relevant than they once were. So we're beginning our price watch again with prices from 2009 only.
Please note that the kinds of prices shown here can only be achieved for good quality cars - there are many cheaper, poorly maintained examples worth much less than this that would require considerable expense to put right (but could be worth doing!).
Car values vary greatly by location - UK prices are generally lower than in Europe for example (though this could change) - and by whether cars are LHD or RHD, Coupe or Targa.
PLEASE NOTE ALSO that none of the cars mentioned in this section should be regarded as recommendations to buy - we are only reporting prices as spotted.
A Note on Carrera 3 Values
For a long time, Carrera 3s have sold at a considerable discount to their 2.7 predecessors, the 2.7RS and its early impact-bumper replacement, the 2.7 Carrera. In 2008 an RS could reasonably have been expected to command a minimum price in the region of 100,000 Pounds Sterling (128,000 Euros or 200,000 US Dollars), whilst its successor could typically be found for around half that value.
The Carrera 3.0, on the other hand, has traditionally sold for substantially less than the earlier cars. As Carrera 3 owners know, there really isn't a technical reason why this should be so - the cars are just as good (some would argue better) than their predecessors and roughly similar numbers were produced, making them just as desirable from a rarity point of view.
In 2008, though, the C3 began to be more appreciated for the exceptional car that it is and prices started to rise - in Europe cars were regularly offered for between 25,000 and 40,000 Euros whilst good cars in the UK began to nudge the £20,000 mark, with one exceptional example being rumoured to have been up for sale for over £40,000.
Compared to the earlier cars, these prices were still relatively cheap, and given the style, character and sheer performance of the car, the continuing discount of the Carrera 3.0 to its earlier cousins, though narrowing a little, remains hard to understand - and surely can't last for too much longer (particularly as, after years of under-appreciation, fewer C3s have been maintained in top-class, desirable condition than other rare 911s).
We wait to see what 2009 will bring....