I am looking at a pretty clean example of a 3.2 carrera with the G50 transmission. Under 100K miles.
Pre PPI we agreed on the price in the mid 50s.

PPI showed the following:
- Front cowl has rust developing at the base of the windshield.
- headliner on the sunroof is coming apart so that needs to be reglued
- camshaft oil lines seeping oil......this we were already aware of
- left inner CV boot is torn, needs replacement
- oil tank needs sending unit seal replaced

I am not trying to get a steal of the century here or rip the seller off. What can I ask in terms of pricing?
Anyone have a rough rough idea of what I am looking at in terms of repair costs for the items mentioned above?

 

Awesome. Do you know if the valve seals were ever replaced? Was a leak down test completed as part of the PPI?

This is probably the most troublesome item. Rust remediation can get expensive very quick. Windshield has to come out, new seal, paint...etc. A picture would be helpful here. Market depends on your location but mid 50s is a lot of money for a G50 with rust issues. A picture would really help here.

I don't have a headliner because I have a targa but I don't think it's that big of a deal.

The camshaft lines are surprisingly cheap and easy to fix. I think aftermarket ones are $18-30 depending on which one plus a few more bucks for the seals, a bit of labour if the AC compressor has to be moved. Not the end of the world.

My CV boots seem to only last a few years. I think the new aftermarket boots aren't all that great. I do them myself, I've gotten quite quick at replacing them. A boot kit is $10, you might as well do all 4. If you were to hire someone to do it I can't imagine it being more than 2-3hrs labour they would charge for all of them.

The sending unit seal is an $8 part and about 10 min job.


Two biggest points for me are
1) The rust, it would be nice to see a picture but either way it's not going to be cheap. Impossible to tell you a number without seeing it. Also, leads me to wonder where more rust might be lurking.
2) Valve seals. Were they ever replaced and was a leak down test completed as part of the PPI.

 

This. I heard that if you take the windshield off you'll see a few specks of rust even on otherwise very clean "California cars" that you'd never expect to have any. If on this car it's already visible with the windshield on, it's not great. I'm not an expert on the 3.2 market but I'd be surprised if this car traded with a 5 handle.

 

Thanks a bunch for the replies so far.
Here's an album with the pictures of PPI findings that was sent to me.
https://imgur.com/a/Hc9ZX

 

Also leak down test was done in 2014 about 7500 miles ago.
Leak down <5% on all cylinders
Compression 170-172

Seller also gave me the PPI from when he had it done in 2014.
It was noted then also about the rust bubble. "very small 3/8" rust bubble (fixable)"

 

So no compression or leak down test completed? That's not a PPI. It reads as this was just a visual inspection.

That rust looks expensive to fix. It's certainly doable. It should have been disclosed to you before the inspection.

Original fuel lines will need to be replaced. If you have to get someone to do that work it's probably around the 1K mark parts and labour I would guess.

The picture makes the oil leak look a little more than 'seeping'. Looks like pretty fresh stuff on the heater cross over pipe. Typical for these cars? Certainly not out of the ordinary. Typical for a mid 50s car? Probably not.

PS, At over 7 years age the tires should probably be replaced.

 

 

YMMV: it cost me $1,800 to have all fuel lines replaced last year
Does the owner know the stories behind the paint work?
Why not test cruise control?
How long ago was the last valve adjustment done?

 

Update: I talked to the seller about the PPI findings.
1. He was caught off guard by some of the findings.
2. Didn't think the rust issue was a big deal.
3. He believes he priced the car appropriately and didn't want to discount it any further. Listing price was low 60s. Negotiated price was mid 50s before PPI.
And thus he agreed to get an estimate of the work that needs to be done based on the PPI findings. That was a week ago and I never heard back from him. I did just text him now to see if he had an update.

The good news is I just bought a '87 from another rennlist member! PPI was solid. Passed with flying colors, cosmetically and mechanically. Leak down was 2-3% and compression was 180-185.
The car happened to be in Houston too.
All of that happened because the seller saw this thread. Weird how things work right?

 

congratulations!

 

thank you!

 

Glad you found what looks like a much nicer car.

 

You should conclude your communication with the other car's seller with a text that says "LOL $60k".

 

I purchased a 1987 911 Carerra cabroliet 6 years ago with 90K miles, Full PPI done, original color, same as this car, and perfect interior. There was no rust. It was a car stored in NE and not driven in the winter. On scale of 10, it was an 8 plus. I paid $22K
Similar cars are now listed in PCA Panorama magazine for $45K with 95K mileage.

When I was investigating car purchases, the experts told me not to purchase a southern car and especially any state where the car was located near the Gulf of Mexico or other salt water location.

The moisture in the air contains sodium chloride particles that when the moisture condenses on the car body parts, it leads to rust in the crevices. Once there is exterior visible rust, you chase the rust for the rest of time you own the car. Fix it and then it comes back, it is insidious.

This is my experience

 

Oddly enough the seller will probably end up selling for close to that much to someone who doesn't educate themselves or gets and inspection.