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Back in March I finally joined the air cooled club adding an '87 911 and keeping my 40th Anniversary 996 which I've owned for 10.5 years since new.
To give you a price point perspective the '87 I bought has about 126K miles, but about 3K miles ago (fall of 2014) it received a complete upgrade/restoration of the: top end engine, suspension, tranny, new clutch, all instruments/gauges, all new hoses, new tires, Fuchs wheels, immaculate full detailing, paint wet sanding, new windshield, new catalytic converter, new exhaust, new leather for seats, new trim bits, new lenses all around including rear Porsche reflector, car has both engine lids (whale tail fully restored plus standard lid), Steve Wong chip, new floor mats, completed tool kit, and many other items...
I'm the 4th owner, known the car for last 15 years and know last 2 previous owners. Negotiated price in the low 40K's.
Everything works on the car with the exception of needing an A/C upgrade (about $3k or so), I've spent about $1K on a few upgrades/repairs since: new sound system (keeping it with retro look), replaced fresh air fan and a few here and there items.
You will love the experience for sure!... And as Scott997 so accurately suggested, do try to keep your 997 as much as you can. Both are different experiences but I don't think one replaces the other - they complement each other and add to the amazing "911" ownership experience.
I think $37K is too high of a purchase price for 160 kmiles unless the engine has been rebuilt and you have a new clutch.
You should realistically assume an eventual total cost (purchase + repair and restore) of $50K or more to get where you want. My '88 / 140 kmiles cost $29K in March 2015 and as of this post I'm at $44.5K with more to do. Right now, everything works perfectly on the car and what's left is to get cosmetics better (at a lower priority).
Also, the engine has not been rebuilt, but the leak-down test was perfect and the engine runs like a top, so I hope to get a few more years / miles before doing the top-end.
Just adding my input...I bought a 1986 3.2 w 148k almost exactly a year ago at a Mecum auction for $23k. The only time I was able to see and look over the car was on the auction floor for a few hours before it crossed the stage, so all I had to go off was purely looks and a 20 second start up or so I talked the auction into doing. Cosmetically there wasn't a ding or real chip on the car, so I assumed it had been fairly well taken care of but no way of really knowing as there were ZERO records, not even an oil change receipt.
This was my first Porsche(actually first ever) car bought at auction, so getting the keys and driving 300 miles home was scary to me, but she drove like a dream and once I got home, I took her straight to the local Indy to have him bring it up to current working order on everything. Cost me about $3k, but since then, I haven't had any issues beyond cosmetic fixes here an there, and I have loved every day of ownership.
I hope you get this, or another 3.2 soon, I am sure you will LOVE it! Good Luck!
Thanks for all the input and sage advice guys. My 997 is now up for sale. I'll plan on a final budget now of about 50K to get a 911 that's totally sorted.
I'll keep you posted on progress with the search.
When the time comes, I'd also really appreciate it if someone knowledgeable on these cars and local to the Bay Area wouldn't mind coming along on a few test drives and inspections.
Yeah, I'm a little afraid of the Russian Roulette thing. I realize I'm buying a 30 year old foreign sports car, and I'm ok with the fact that I'm going to need occasional maintenance with not so cheap parts. I just don't want it to turn into a garage queen, which is what I'm kind of facing right now with my Corrado. If I'm going to be paying for weekly upkeep, a VR6 VW is way cheaper. That said, I'm leaning on picking one up from either a shop specializes in 911 restorations (having done all the heavy lifting) or buying something around 25K, and figure that the other 25K or so will go into either restoration, or a fund for when things break or whatever. A 50K car note is almost a second mortgage. If I'm spending that much money, I don't want to worry about maintenance for a long time, unless it's little stuff. But that's why I'm starting here with you guys that know, and have paved the way, and have done it. Definitely doing the PPI, and anything else that I need to do.
The advice and welcome that I've seen here so far is overwhelming !
05-30-2015, 10:03 PM
