Manual or Automatic: Which Porsche 911 Offers Better Value?

“If you’re buying a 911 with resale value in mind, is a manual or an automatic the better choice?” My husband recently decided to look into that very question. But “manually searching for every listing one at a time would be tedious and time-consuming,” so he wrote a program to pull used Porsche 911 listings from CarSensor and turn them into data automatically. (My husband works in IT, so apparently putting together a program like that takes him just an hour or two.)

(Looking at a screen like this and searching through every listing one by one would certainly be mind-numbingly tedious.)

The result is the chart below, showing asking prices for automatic and manual versions of water-cooled 911s—the 996, 997 and 991—as of September 14, 2018. Automatic models are shown in blue and manual models in red.

The sheet contains three types of data: a table, a pie chart and a bar chart. They show:

・Table: Average asking prices for automatic and manual versions of the 996, early 997, late 997 and 991
・Pie chart: The proportion of listed cars that are automatic versus manual
・Bar chart: Asking-price trends by model year

My husband handed me the sheet and said, “See? You can read all sorts of things from this data, right?” But after staring at it for about 30 minutes, the only thing I could figure out was that manual cars cost more than automatics. (-_-) I’ve never been any good at analyzing data.

What Can We Learn from the Data?

When I told him, “I’ve stared at it until my eyes hurt, but I still can’t make heads or tails of it,” (-_-) he looked baffled and said, “W-what? How can you not see it?!” Then he walked me through the key takeaways.

① Manual 911s Make Up a Small Share of Listings

Of the 911s listed on CarSensor, manuals accounted for just 19.6% of 996s, 21.5% of early 997s, 4% of late 997s and 7.3% of 991s. That’s fewer than I expected. And when supply is limited, manual cars can be more desirable for their rarity.

② Manuals Became Even Rarer After Porsche Introduced PDK

Manual 911s became even less common from the late 997 onward, when PDK replaced the automatic transmission. Porsche had previously used a conventional torque-converter automatic, which differed fundamentally from a manual gearbox and was sometimes criticized for power losses during shifts. With PDK, Porsche introduced a true dual-clutch transmission, enabling smooth gear changes from low to high speeds. With drivers able to enjoy Porsche performance without choosing a manual, fewer buyers may have opted for one.

③ Manual Cars Have Higher Asking Prices in Almost Every Generation

Looking at the late 997, early 997 and 996, automatic cars are listed for only 70–80% of the price of their manual counterparts. That puts manual models around ¥1 million to ¥2 million higher.

④ The 991 Automatic Currently Costs More, but Manuals Could Gain Value

For the 991, automatic cars currently have higher asking prices than manuals. However, manual transmissions were available only on the standard Carrera, Carrera S, Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S. In Japan, higher-end 911 models such as the Targa and Cabriolet weren’t offered with a manual. (I covered that in an earlier article.)

→ Related article: A guide to new Porsche models available with a manual transmission in Japan

Even so, the gap is only about ¥1.7 million: manuals are listed at ¥11.31 million, compared with ¥13.02 million for automatics. That suggests manual 991s still hold their value well, and their asking prices could eventually overtake those of automatics, as they have in other generations.

Take Good Care of Your Manual 911

So, what do these numbers tell us?

① If you own a manual 911, take good care of it.
② If you’re choosing between an automatic and a manual 911, manuals may offer stronger resale value.

To add a little context to the first point, manual 911s are likely to become even scarcer, and the relationship between supply and demand could push their prices up. The manual versions of the final air-cooled Porsche, the 993, and the manual Boxster GTS with the last naturally aspirated engine that my husband owns are still listed at high prices on CarSensor. Keep one in good condition, and its value could well rise.
As for the second point, if you’re deciding between a manual and an automatic without a strong preference, choosing a manual may help protect its value. That said, only certain 911 models are available with a manual, and production allocations are limited, so delivery may take time. It’s worth checking with your dealer.

Send Us Your Data Requests

This time, we compared asking prices for automatic and manual 911s. But according to my husband, “I can pull data on anything listed on CarSensor.” For example, he could look at:

・Depreciation in percentage or yen for the Porsche Panamera, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series
・Price comparisons and trends across different 911 models
・The current lowest asking price for each Porsche model

If there’s another comparison or angle you’d like us to explore, feel free to send us a request.