The Porsche 911 Depreciation Floor: Where the 997, 991 and 992 Sit on Their Curves in 2026

Over

five years, the Porsche 911 lost an average of 11.1% of its value in the most recent iSeeCars five-year depreciation study, which covered used cars sold between March 2025 and February 2026. The industry average in that same study was 41.8%, and only the Porsche 718 Cayman, at 9.6%, retained more.

That headline figure hides more than it reveals. Keep in mind that a single model-level average blends three distinct generations, and in 2026 those generations sit at very different points on their residual curves.

The 997, the 991 and the 992 each answer the question "has it bottomed out?" differently. What follows compares them generation by generation, using dated citations from Kelley Blue Book, Hagerty and iSeeCars, so you can see which curves have flattened and which are still falling.

How To Read A 911 Depreciation Curve

Before comparing generations, it helps to define the term. A depreciation floor is the point at which a model's market value stops declining on age and mileage alone and begins to move with collector demand, condition and supply instead.

The iSeeCars Porsche 911 resale-value page shows the shape clearly. Its coupe data lists 31.9% depreciation at three years and 35.6% at ten, which means most of the loss happens early and the following seven years add comparatively little.

That said, the page carries no publication date, and some of its intermediate rows are internally inconsistent. We treat it as a reading of the curve's shape, not as a valuation for any specific car.

The curve flattens differently depending on a handful of variables, including but not limited to:

• Body style. iSeeCars lists the 911 Cabriolet at 47.9% depreciation after ten years, against 35.6% for the coupe, so the open car settles at a lower floor.
• Trim and transmission. S, GTS and manual-gearbox cars tend to separate from base PDK cars as a generation ages. Our trim-level depreciation analysis covers that spread in detail.
• Specification. Paint-to-sample, sport exhaust and the right seats can move a car above its cohort. Our guide to 911 options and resale explains which options hold their value and which do not.
• Mileage profile and service history. Documented, single-owner cars with books and tools reach their floor sooner and hold it more firmly.

All of these variables matter more as a generation ages. As a result, a ten-year-old 911 is priced far more on its individual history than a three-year-old one.

The 997 (2005–2012): Past The Floor And Rising

The 997 is the clearest case of a generation that has finished depreciating. In its valuation trends report dated July 1, 2025, Hagerty put the 997 family's average condition #3 (driver-quality) value at $92,900, up 34% since 2020.

Note that this Hagerty average covers every 997 variant, including the Turbo and GT cars, so it overstates what a base Carrera brings. Even so, the trend direction is unambiguous.

More recent data points the same way. An April 2026 OctoClassic market analysis reports 997 base Carreras up 13.5% and Carrera S models up 13.1% since 2024, nearing record levels for the generation.

What drives the 997's recovery is a combination of scarcity and character. It was the last 911 offered with hydraulic steering throughout and the last with a widely available manual in a narrower body, and buyers who missed the air-cooled 911 market have moved one generation forward.

Of course, the 997 is not one car. The 997.1 (2005–2008) uses the M97 engine, which carries known intermediate-shaft bearing and bore-scoring questions, while the 997.2 (2009–2012) moved to the direct-injection 9A1 engine, which has no intermediate-shaft bearing.

This is why a 997.1 with documented engine history and a clean bore-scope result can sit well above an undocumented example of the same year. A pre-purchase inspection is essential on any 997, and it matters most on the earlier cars.

The 991 (2012–2019): A Plateau With A Slight Upward Bias

The 991 sits in the middle of the story. It is old enough that most of its depreciation has already happened, yet young enough that it trades as a used car rather than a collectible.

OctoClassic's April 2026 data shows the 991.1 base Carrera up 5.7% year over year and the Carrera S up 9.4%. However, prices dipped slightly in the months before that analysis, which reads as a plateau rather than a sustained rise.

The 991.2 (2017–2019) is more mixed. The same analysis describes the base car as flat, the Carrera S as gaining momentum and the GTS as trending downward after a strong run.

Kelley Blue Book data offers a dollar anchor. KBB's 2017 911 Carrera coupe page listed a resale value of $67,900 and a trade-in value of $60,100 for ZIP code 43085, valid through March 27, 2026.

Against a 2017 base MSRP of approximately $89,400 (Porsche Cars North America, excluding destination), that resale figure implies a loss of roughly a quarter of the original price over nine years, by our own estimate. Remember that KBB values are ZIP-specific and dated, so you should re-run them with your own mileage and condition before negotiating.

What's more, the 991.2 introduced turbocharging to the Carrera with the 9A2 engine. The 991.1 is the last naturally-aspirated Carrera, and that distinction is already showing up in the 991.1 S's year-over-year gain.

The 992 (2019–Present): Still Falling, Gently

The 992 is the only water-cooled generation still clearly on the downward part of its curve. OctoClassic's April 2026 analysis reports base 992 Carreras down 3.6% and Carrera S models down 1.7%, a decline it describes as statistically significant.

The pattern within the generation is uneven. According to the same analysis, 2024 model years have seen the steepest declines, 2022–2023 cars sit slightly below their peak, and 2020–2021 cars have been comparatively stable.

Supply is the other signal. OctoClassic reports that roughly 40% of listed 992.1 cars remained unsold after three months as of February 2026, compared with about 20% historically, and that unsold cars were being discounted by about 4% on average.

That said, the 992's decline is gentle by luxury-car standards. The iSeeCars 11.1% five-year figure is drawn largely from early-992 cohorts, and our broader luxury depreciation leaders analysis shows how few sports cars hold value this well.

New-car pricing is also part of the 992's residual logic. OctoClassic attributes a modest rebound in early 2025 largely to Porsche's MSRP increases, and that kind of rebound tends to fade once the newer cars reach the used market. For context on how allocation shapes new-car demand, see our analysis of Porsche 911 allocation.

The Three Curves Side By Side

The table below summarizes where each generation sits as of October 2026. Every figure carries its source and date; the "curve position" column is our editorial reading of that data, not a sourced metric.

| Generation | Model years | Most recent cited movement | Source and date | Curve position | |---|---|---|---|---| | 997 | 2005–2012 | Condition #3 average $92,900, up 34% since 2020 | Hagerty, July 1, 2025 | Past the floor, appreciating | | 997 Carrera / S | 2005–2012 | Base +13.5%, S +13.1% since 2024 | OctoClassic, April 2026 | Past the floor, appreciating | | 991.1 Carrera / S | 2012–2016 | Base +5.7%, S +9.4% year over year | OctoClassic, April 2026 | Plateau, slight upward bias | | 991.2 Carrera | 2017–2019 | 2017 coupe resale $67,900 (ZIP 43085) | KBB, valid through March 27, 2026 | Plateau, base flat | | 992 Carrera / S | 2019–present | Base −3.6%, S −1.7% | OctoClassic, April 2026 | Still declining, gently |

Overall, the data describes a staircase. The oldest generation is rising, the middle one is resting, and the newest is still stepping down.

What The Floor Means For Your Purchase

A depreciation floor changes the economics of ownership more than the purchase price does. Once a car stops depreciating, your real cost of ownership becomes service, insurance, consumables and the cost of capital, rather than the loss on resale.

The practical implications follow directly from where each generation sits:

• 997 buyers are paying collector-market prices, so condition, documentation and engine history decide the value. Pay for the best example you can find, because the gap between a concours-quality car and a driver-quality car tends to widen as a generation appreciates.
• 991 buyers are buying near the floor. You can reasonably expect to sell for close to what you paid, provided the mileage and condition are maintained.
• 992 buyers are still absorbing some depreciation. Timing matters, and our guide to Porsche 911 buying timing covers seasonal and model-year windows.

Keep in mind that thin data can distort any single number. When a specific specification trades only a few times a year, a single sale can move an average, which we examine in our thin-data depreciation analysis.

For buyers weighing a certified pre-owned car, our analysis of CPO exotic warranty coverage explains what Porsche Approved actually covers. Regional pricing also varies, and our Porsche Dallas and Porsche San Francisco Bay Area guides cover local inventory and dealer behavior.

Editorial Recommendation

Based on the dated data above, these are our recommendations by buyer type. Note that every recommendation assumes a clean independent PPI and a complete service history.

• For the buyer who wants to stop losing money: a 2015–2016 991.1 Carrera S with a manual gearbox. It is the last naturally-aspirated Carrera S, and OctoClassic's April 2026 data shows the S up 9.4% year over year.
• For the buyer who wants the most modern car on a flattened curve: a 2017–2019 991.2 Carrera S. The base 991.2 has flattened and the S is gaining, and you get the 9A2 turbocharged engine and current infotainment.
• For the collector-minded buyer: a 997.2 Carrera S (2009–2012) with the 9A1 engine. Hagerty's 997 average has risen 34% since 2020, and the 997.2 avoids the intermediate-shaft bearing question.
• For the buyer who wants a 992: a 2020–2021 Carrera S. Those model years have been the most stable within the generation, and the 2024 cars are still settling.

All of these markets move, and any figure in this piece should be re-checked against live KBB, Hagerty and iSeeCars data before you sign. That said, the overall order of the three curves is well supported, and it gives you a clear starting point.