jlkline

Way out of line and if no records are available.....

Paying top dollar does not guarantee that the car will not require some kind of significant service / repair within the 1st 12 months no matter how nice a used vehicle may seem. Murphy's law will most likely turn something up that will require additional expenditure after the purchase. (even an annual valve adjustment service will be close to $500)

Have a look at the Autotrader cars for Texas...low milage, late model (88 - 89) Carreras in the low $20's. (from private sellers AND used car dealers)

You could do a heck of a lot with the $$ you saved (upgrades maybe??)from the super premium prices of the candidate cars you are currently considering even if some maintainence is needed.

Just my $.02

jet911

My take is 1) Those are very nice examples. 2) If the dealer is very reputable, has research and records on the cars they are selling, has record of a recent PPI and will stand behind the car, then they have done all the footwork for you and those prices includes that/those services. 3) It just depends on how much work you want to do to find your own example from a private seller. 4) Your time is worth something as well...

Good luck! It's what is right for you and if you are willing to pay more for someone else to do the leg work!

sschmerg

Sounds a bit high to me. Dealers can be a bit sketchy as well. You're usually better off buying a collector car from an individual; that saves you the dealer mark up. You should be able to get a low mileage (20-30k), close to concours '87-'89 Carrera coupe for between $25k and $30k if you're patient and look around a bit.

-Sean

g-50cab

No connection - but in VA - this guy has a few nice Carreras at more reasonable prices:
Venetian Coupe (Great Color!)

1-Owner, 47,000 Miles
Venitian Blue, blue leather
Original Window Sticker, Books, and Tools
Options Include:
Sunroof
Limited Slip Differential, 16” Alloys, Central Locking
Automatic Heating Control, Cruise Control, Alarm System
CD Changer, Remote Radar Detector
$25,000

Targa

Black with Black leather- 47,000 miles
Highly original & unmodified
V.I.N.: WPOEB0912JS160415
Extensive maintenance history- Recently serviced
Optional limited slip differential
16" Fuchs wheels, full power seats
$26,500

Just Passing them on:
Site Link


BTW - I think a few = AIC-Holt- rely on some of that snob appeal. They take cars in and thoroughly check them out. Typically their customers get NO suprises. That's why you pay a premium!

g-50cab

BTW - I'll sell you my 49,000 1987 Diamond Blue Cabriolet for $35,000
I still have the original wheels!

sschmerg

I know the guy selling the two cars in the pics Jeremy posted. His name is Dave Olimpi, and he always gets very nice cars. Check out his site, and you'll see he does a lot of concours. Looks like pretty fair prices too.

-Sean

techweenie

I had a chance to buy a very nice '95 993 coupe for $24K recently. It had 141K miles on it. I passed. I just missed a '70 S for $25K and would have gladly paid it, if I had known it would sell that cheap (I first saw it at an asking price of $35K)

And I know someone who turned down an offer substantially North of $100K for an '88 slopenose Turbo Cab with 3K miles on it.

'Book' or 'Common knowledge' values don't apply to special cars. That's why the Anderson's column in Excellence is always making exceptions to its own price guidelines.

A Porsche is an emotional buy. It's not a necessity -- sure, for you and me, it is, but not in any objective view. We pay for special colors, special equipment, and for stuff we could do ourselves because we value our own time.

$30K for a pre'89 car? No problem. If it gets you in the gut, go for it.

Trader220

I know Tim Holt, I had a few occasions to do some business with him. The cars he has in his showroom are all the cream of the crop. I realize that the prices he advertises are full retail prices. I imagine if you’re a serious buyer and you’re looking for a car in that in very special condition then Tim would work with you on the price. I have been to his showroom many times and I have seen up close the kind of cars he selects, they’re really some of the best out there, especially in the 3.2’s. There are a lot of 3.2’s out there, and many of them are well maintained but Tim’s been around a long time and knows how to choose the top ones.

For the record I have no affiliation with Tim or Holt Motorsports other then the fact that I’ve met Tim and sent him a couple of perspective buyers. A friend who was not a Porsche guy brought me to the Manheim auction. After running into Tim there, Tim took the time to go over a couple of the 911’s we were looking at and lend his advice. This was while he was there to conduct his own business. On other occasions I have phoned Tim to pick his brain on other aspects of cars I was looking at or the Porsche business. Mind you he had nothing at all to gain by spending the time to answer all my questions and in reality I was looking at cars rather then having him find me one.

Back to the car in question. It’s my opinion that many of these cars have sort of hit the bottom of their decay cycle. That’s to say they wont devalue at the same rate they’ve been for the past few years. This being the case cars in exceptional condition may continue to retain decent value. The bottom lime also is that Porsche made enough of these cars that they’re not exactly rare, so you can wait around till one you particularly like comes around. Is 30K high? I think it’s a bit high but I also believe you could work with Tim and maybe do a little better. Or worse, you could pay a lot less and end up with a nightmare. Hey listen I paid a lot less for my targa with 86k miles on it, but by my own choice I have put a lot more money in it cause I tend to nit pick at a lot of items. I would expect that if you’re paying near the level Tim’s asking for the car you wont have to put what I did into my targa to make it perfect.

If you’re interested I can suggest another very fine independent shop in the area for a PPI and I would be happy to take the 15 mile ride to Tim’s place to take a closer look and maybe a quick drive at the 88.

Contact me anytime at trader220@aol.com

Jay Gratton

You can find a nice 964 for $30K, I would suggest looking in the Rennlist classifieds first or going through your local PCA web sites looking for a used 911. Their prices are usually a little bit better. Best wishes - Jay Gratton

Trader220

I think the point was that he wanted a 3.2 Carrera.

rzepko6194

I bought my 1987 Carrera Targa from John Witmer at AIC.

Getting too old to spend alot of time getting a car back into pristine condition. Been there, done that. I wanted to spend most of my time in the car, not under it.

I wanted and found as close to a new car experience as possible when buying my Carrera from AIC.

I plan on putting about 3k miles per year on it. At that rate, I'll only have 137K miles on it when I'm 85 years old. Maybe I'll treat it to a valve job then! Of course, I'll pay someone else to actually do it. ;-)

Best regards,

John Pavone

1987 Carrera Targa - 17K miles

g-50cab

Like I said - These guys do their homework - and typically their cars are the creme of the crop. I was looking at a cab that John had (dark blue) - same sort of miles mine has. Very friendly and knowledgable guy - I just couldn't justify the $10K price diff

Stuttgart951

Dealers like Holt will always charge a premium.

What you are buying is peace of mind - they only sell the cream of the crop cars.

Trader220

Stuttgart,

There are pleanty of dealers out there that sell crap.

imcarthur

Trader220

You're right. Recently, I have visited some dealers in Florida & their knowledge about the cars on their lots is abysmal. I've seen bad repaints, really dirty engines & no records whatsoever "I think it had 3 owners. Hey Joe, have you seen the file on xyz?"

AIC & Holt would appear to be the exception from what others have said.

But, I think I'd feel better buying from an owner . . .