crixer

I really want an 84 coupe. The prices are sky high. I have been reading about the bubble and I have no idea if these prices are ever going to come down. So do I bite the bullet and just drop the cash next year on the 84 (or 89... Can't decide 100%) or buy a daily 08 or 09 911S and wait for the bubble to pop? I will never forgive myself for selling my 86 targa at the end of 09 for $9800.... It makes me sick to think about it...

grgallo

you miss the air-cooled '86, right? Years ago I had an '87 Targa, I sold it and regretted it, so in 2013 I bought an '87 Coupe, it will be staying with me. Don't think you will get as much thrill/fun from the '08-'09. I don't know that the prices are "sky high", there are some signs of a plateau. check Panorama and Rennlist, I'll bet you find a good driving '84 if you are patient and maybe an '86 or '87.

flatman

I had a question of how far back I wanted to go versus what I could afford. I could buy a 2006 for about the same price as a 1984. Here are some of the things that entered into my decision - daily driver or weekend escape? air cooled independent mechanic available nearby?, depreciating vehicle versus appreciating vehicle? old tech versus 'luxury' tech?. Ended up with an 84 Cab - nothing at all like a 2006 and I love it.

73911

The depreciating asset vs. the appreciating asset is a really good question.



Richard Newton
The Forever 911 Project

crixer

Half the fun of the 80s 911s that I have owned was tinkering and working on it. I like working on the car so the 84-89 motronic is the sweet spot. The 87-89 have the G50 which I absolutely love, but hate the hydraulic clutch. I bought my 89 in 2003 for 17k with a rebuilt engine/transmission by a german guy with all the plaques on the wall. The car felt brand new. 8 months later, a 16 year old illegal immigrant without insurance hit me in a head on collision and totaled the car. He then disappeared. I loved that car and thought I would have it forever.

I bought the 86 for 15k. It was a great car but I missed the 1989. I drove a 1984 coupe and loved it. It felt different. I was ready to buy that day but got screwed over by auto atlanta.... I knew not to deal with them, but I wanted the car. They strung me a long for weeks telling me they were waiting on the owner to send the title because he was deployed to Iraq. I called everyday and finally drove up there again to find out they had sold it to someone else. I have never been in awe talking to someone that lied like that directly to my face. He even test drove the car with me and spoke with me almost daily and then told me he didn't know what I was talking about and didn't remember me as a customer. I won't turn this into an AA thread, but you get the idea.

I am not driving much these days since my job is remote so I could always buy a daily driver Honda if need be. I guess I should go ahead and find my perfect 84 coupe and just drop the coin on it. It just doesn't seem right that they are worth 40k+ in decent condition. Oh well, this is for the long haul so who cares about money.

flatman

The 'appreciation' issue can be kind of tricky IMO - I mean when you think about it, buying a vintage 50K miles 911 and piling on miles will reduce its resale value significantly - on the other hand many Porsche owners have recouped a lot of their maintenance expenses with the recent rise in values of air cooled cars. So I guess a lot of this depends on how you intend to use the car. A weekend air cooled vintage car in great condition might be a relatively 'cheap' car to own from a maintenance standpoint because of its appreciation potential.

Its a certainty, however, that water cooled Porsches are depreciating at this time and the maintenance cost is not trivial.

Bloose993TT

You should be able to find a real nice, well sorted driver 84 coupe in the mid $30's- $40k range. Life is too short to wait around for prices to come down IMO. I doubt you'll see a honest/3.2 coupe sell for less than $30k ever again. Those days are long gone...

73911

Air cooled prices won't come down in our lifetime. They may stay steady for a while but they won't come down.

On the other hand an '09 will be worth less next year than it's worth today.

Richard Newton

rusnak

holy smokes, I guess there really is a bubble. Those are insane prices.

r911

Air cooled prices will come down as soon as there is another big recession, or gasoline vanishes.

Patrick3000

911SC's are a good value relative to other air cooled cars at the moment. Picked up one earlier this month for significantly less than the numbers being tossed around above. Mid to upper 20's should get you a nice driver on the east coast.

It's a 79 SC ROW, no a/c, no SR and roll up windows.

Enjoy your search!

flatman

Very nice Patrick! I agree the sweet spot right now in pricing is in the SC's and early 3.2's.

rusnak

Here's the other thing, everyone says that the G-50 is better, but I'm not so sure. A good 915 with Wevo shifter is fantastic. I really love the cable actuated clutch. You can practically feel the plates touch through your left foot, and your control is superb over clutch/ gas. I never wore out a clutch in any aircooled Porsche so far, and shifting is better than in my Cayman. What you get is a slightly lighter car, needing a bit less torsion bar. And in these cars, lighter is everything.

niche

As the owner of an 89 I can honestly say the SCs are more fun. Lighter, lower end torque, and better sound.

bv shady

SC, but I'm a little biased.