9elfer

Because a number of people have asked for my list of things to look for in buying a used 911, I figured I would post it here if anyone needs it.
Dan Vranes

911 INSPECTION
Dan Vranes – April 2002

This is designed to help you filter out bad Porsche 911 cars and find a great used 911. This information in my humble opinion will cover most of what is necessary in purchasing a used 911, but make no mistake, you may want to add some things, or modify them to your liking. It is certain that I left things out that you may want to check. It also should be noted that this guide is designed with 1984 through 1989 (3.2) 911’s in mind, but can certainly be applied toward other years as well.

I came to put this together because while I found many good sources of information, no one source was complete. For example, the body may have been covered well but little information would be given for interior inspection. As such, the information provided is from books, numerous articles, videos, owners, mechanics and my experience.

Lets start off with where to look for used Porsches. I have found that car dealers, especially non-Porsche dealers are not a good source. For example, your local Chevy dealership has a used 911 on the lot. They 1) Probably no nothing about the car 2) Probably acquired the car through an auction 3) Probably have no information/service history on the car. These cars are typically higher mileage cars with bad histories. Okay, maybe this is an overgeneralization but it is not far off. In my experience looking at these cars results in disappointment. How about local car ad books you find at the supermarket? Well, more of the same, I would submit. You rarely see 911’s in these magazines, and the ones you do see you should probably not waste your time on. How about the internet you ask? Well, the internet will certainly give you an abundance of cars for sale but be careful what source you are using. Frustration is likely. PLEASE do not even think of buying a car sight unseen. No, the best places and unfortunately the hardest to find out about are the cars for sale you will never read about. Word of mouth, either the Porsche clubs, collectors, a Porsche mechanic who knows the car in question are simply the best places to locate quality used 911’s. After that, I would say Panorama is the next best place, where yours truly found his used 1986 911 Carrera. After that, try and find a used car dealer that specializes in used 911’s. Maybe next local newspapers can sometimes be good sources for used 911’s. The bottom line is it is not where you find the car but the condition of the car.


For sake of brevity I will assume you have found the car, and are about to call the owner. Some basic questions should be asked:
1) How long has the owner had the car?
2) How does he use the car, weekend use or everyday?
3) Is the car kept in a garage? Is it heated?
4) Has the car been on a track, used for driving events?
5) Is everything original? If not, list any changes/modifications.
6) How often is the oil changed? Last service?
7) Does the owner have maintenance records?
8) Does the owner have the owner’s manual, window sticker?
9) Does the car still have tool kit, air compressor, plastic gloves, drop cloths, all keys, sunroof crank, basically anything and everything that originally came with the car.
10) Will the owner let you have the car pre-inspected before purchase by a Porsche mechanic?

At this point, depending on what you are looking for, you may either eliminate this possible car or hear enough to justify looking at the car. If you are looking for a completely original garage queen type 911, you certainly don’t want to hear the car has been tracked. If you are looking for a track car, you may not object to the previous owner having the car on the track. In fact, this may benefit you because the owner may have already made modifications to the car that you would want. So it all depends on how and why you want the car, and what type of use you plan for it. It is also very important to size up the owner at this point, based on how he describes the car and what he says. You should be able to get an impression of how the owner has treated the car and his reasons for selling are important also.

Another good piece of advice is to get to know the specific car you are interested in. Drive some examples, buy books, ask questions from people who own similar cars, and so on. Another good idea is to study pictures of the exact car you are interested in, the engine, interior, body so on that you can picture in your mind exactly how everything should be when you actually examine the car.

It also must be stressed that before purchasing a car, you should have the car inspected by a qualified Porsche mechanic. They can do leakdown and compression tests on the engine, more thoroughly inspect suspension parts and underbody, and generally have a good idea of what to look for. That said, a lot of what is listed here they should also be doing, and the inspection recommended here can be easily performed by the prospective buyer and will provide a very good picture of the overall condition of the car in question.

Okay, lets get to the examination. I call it an examination because that is exactly what it is. You are looking for every single thing you can find wrong with the car to either eliminate it as a possible car or use it to negotiate purchase price. Remember to take your time and be patient while looking at the car. Start off with walking around the car to get a general since of condition, paint quality so on. Everything should ‘look’ right. Flowing lines, smooth shape, paint is uniform and has a nice sheen, so on. Just from this initial look you may decide the car is not for you. If everything seems like it should, start the serious go through:
Exterior:
1) Check all gaps between the hood, doors and engine lid. They should be evenly spaced all around and smooth. Any change in gap width may indicate accident damage.
2) Run your finger along the edges of all four wheel wells, you should feel a textured ridge here. The absence of this textured ridge indicates accident damage, as most repair shops will not reapply this finish while repainting/fixing the damage.
3) Make sure there is no rust under the front headlights, on the edges of the engine lid by the rear lights.
4) Check for rock chips on the front hood and side mirrors.
5) Make sure the rubber strip at the front of the car sits flat and even. A wavy or bumpy strip may have rust damage underneath. Also, carefully lift sections of the rubber lip up to see the metal surface beneath, you are looking for clean rust free metal in this area. Note that this area should be painted the body color.
6) Check for rust and fit of both bumper assemblies. These areas should be tight fitting and fit snugly into the body of the car.
7) Look over every inch of paint, it should be uniform in color and be in excellent shape. Repainting a 911 is mucho bucks. In addition, the paint should be original if possible because a car that has been repainted may be covering up problems, or may just be to make the car look better. You need to determine why the car was repainted.
8) Make sure all glass is in excellent shape.
9) If the car has a sunroof, make sure the sunroof blends well with the roofline. If the sunroof appears off or slightly twisted beware, this is a sure sign of accident damage.
10) Run your finger along the seams of the roofline, again looking for smooth even metal shape.
11) Check under the doors for rust, also the door jams and brackets for rust/damage.
12) Check the underside of the bonnet and engine lid for paint quality and uniformity. These are telltale areas where accident damage will be evident.
13) Check the grille on the engine lid for straightness and squareness.
14) Check all rubber panels/bumpers for signs of damage.
15) Look down the sides of the car for body damage, this will show every imperfection along the body. This is best performed with the car in a garage with the garage door open, and looking from inside the garage at the car outside to the daylight.
16) Check around the key and door handle area for nicks and scratches.
17) If the car has a targa top, check for condition of the top and make sure the top fits snugly in place.
18) Check the condition of all the weather stripping around the doors and bonnet.
19) Make sure all jack points are sound and free of rust.
20) There should be no hanging parts underneath the car, everything should be tidy.
21) Check for oil leaks on the ground beneath the car.
22) Make sure the wheel wells are free of excess road debris and free of rust.
23) Check for oil leaks underneath the car, especially around the engine and oil return tubes.Check for even tread wear on all four tires, uneven tread may indicate worn suspension parts and or poor driving habits.
24) Check for dings, scratches or marks on the wheels.
25) If the car is a cabrio, make sure the top fits well and is in good condition. Older original tops tend to shrink with age and wear and will require replacing.
26) Check the torsion bar tubes on the car, this is a crucial area that must be in excellent condition.

Interior:

1) Check the condition of the seats, they should have minimal cracking and no tears or stains.
2) Check the electric operation of the seats to make sure they are operation properly.
3) Check for wear in the carpet and any stains or tears.
4) Check the dash for cracks.
5) Check the headliner for wear and smoke stains
6) Check the gauges for clear plastic, there should be no indication of tampering. All gauges should alike in terms of wear and condition.
7) Make sure the steering wheel looks in good condition and is not coming apart at the seams.
8) Steering wheel, pedals, gear shifter condition should all match the predicted wear corresponding with the mileage on the car. (For example, a car with 15,000 original miles should have practically no wear and look in new condition).
9) Check the condition of the cigarette tray.
10) Make sure the doors close with a light but solid sound.
11) Pull up the carpets and look for even and smooth metal. This is a great indicator of prior accident damage. (Make sure to check front and back carpets)
12) Check the condition of the door panels and overall quality of the interior.
13) Check for rust in and around the pedal assembly area.
14) Check under the carpet in the front trunk for smooth metal.
15) Check under the battery for rust.
16) Look at the screws towards the front of the trunk, they should be painted the body color of the car (Check both sides).
17) Check the carpet condition in the trunk.
18) Check the condition of the spare tire and take it out. Again look for a smooth metal surface.
19) While looking over the car, make sure all factory stickers are in place. They should be under the bonnet, in the door jams, in the engine bay. Get familiar in what stickers should be where. (This is covered in many 911 books, so I will not cover it here).
20) Make sure all numbers match, production numbers, engine serial numbers, so on. Again, this is covered thoroughly in many books better than I could do it so look up what the numbers should be for the particular year 911 you are looking at.
21) Look under the dash at the wiring. This area should be neat and tidy and look factory original. Any hanging wires that look modified or otherwise sloppy wiring indicates sloppy work, and possible electrical problems.

Test Drive:

This brings us to the fun part of the process, test driving the car. First, let the owner drive the car for a few miles. This will help you in two ways. For one, you will get to see how the owner drives the car. The other benefit is this will give you time to listen to the car, observe how it rides, feel if the engine has power and generally every and any other observation you can make without having to actually drive and pay attention to the road.

From here, it is time for you to take over. It is important, if possible, to vary the driving conditions. Highway, bumpy roads, nice roads, stop and go, so on. The more the better. You also want to pay attention to the car, how it feels. It you have not driven a 911 before, it takes some getting used to. The clutch can be heavy and awkward at first, the shifting is somewhat vague, and the car is fairly small and shaped differently than any other car. For example, if the car you are driving is a 1987 911 Turbo, be aware that the rear fenders flare out fairly far so take care to leave plenty of distance between other cars, garage walls, etc. Okay, here we go!

1) Make sure the cold start is okay.
2) Listen for any unusual vibrations, listen to the idle for any unusual sounds
3) Make sure the idle is consistent and not fluctuating much.
4) Make sure the red oil light goes out after a few seconds.
5) Check that all gauges work properly.
6) Hold at 1200 RPM and listen for any chatter.
7) Rev to 4000 RPM and listen for any unusual noises, there should only be a smooth purr of the engine.
8) Depress the clutch, it should be quiet with no noise.
9) Reverse should work well.
10) Check that all gears engage smoothly and easily.
11) Remove your hands from the steering wheel while driving on a flat road and make sure the car does not pull to either side, use caution when trying this.
12) Take out of gear at 55mph and listen for transmission whine, there should be none.
13) Check how gears seat when shifting, they should set firmly and surely into each gear.
14) Vary the driving conditions, highway, bumps, traffic so on.
15) Listen for any louder than normal wind noises.
16) Stomp on the accelerator (bring the RPM’s to 4000), then let off the accelerator, check for any smoke out of the rear view mirror. There should be none.
17) Check hard acceleration, braking & handling so on.
18) Check that the handbrake works.
19) Press on the brake (while standing) and look for a firm response then resistance after a few inches.
20) Operate all controls; radio, A/C, lights, horn, sunroof, turn signals, brights, power windows, electric seats, seatbelts, interior lights, engine/bonnet lights, so on.
21) While checking the A/C, the blower should be strong, also you should hear small click in engine area (indicating compressor going on) and see a small drop in engine RPM’s. This lets you know the A/C is working okay.
22) Restart the engine after turning off, the car should restart easily.
23) Check for any leaks under car after the test drive.
24) After the car cools, check color and feel of build up residue inside exhaust pipe, should be tan and dry in appearance.

Well, now you’re done. You have to evaluate the car, the owner, price, mechanics advice and make your decision. Good luck!!

DaveS

Thanks for all the great stuff. I am finding it incredibly valuable as I write this looking for a 87-88 911.