After years of thinking about "buying an old Porsche" I decided this summer to start looking for a 1978 - 1985. Problem is I live in New Mexico and the market is very small. One slipped through my fingers, I drove another that I should have bought (but a family crisis created a distraction for awhile), and everything else that's been on the market is either greatly overpriced or has been all hacked up.

Soooo.....does anyone have or know of someone considering selling in my neck of the woods?

Thanks

 

Check nearby PCA regions to see if they have for sale sections on their web sites. You can find those from the main PCA web site at www.pca.org then click on regions on the right hand side. Befriend your local mechanic (assuming it's not you) who may have insights on 911's for sale.

 

Thanks Bill, although unfortunately I've already done all that. A new candidate comes on the market about every 3 or 4 weeks around here so I guess I'll just have to be patient (I hear its a virture ).

 

I recommend a larger search area -

I live in Florida and bought my car in Chicago.

Here are a few sites you can look at:
Car Search Sites
http://www.tunercars.net/home.asp
http://www.bobhindsonracinginc.com./index.html
http://www.vipimports.com/carsforsale.php
http://www.wilsonmotorco.com/
http://autos.recycler.com/
http://cars.allhere.com/
http://www.cammisa.net/
http://early911sregistry.org/class-cars.html
http://eurosportimports.com/
http://mcl.porschedealer.com
http://www.daveolimpiautomobiles.com/
http://porsche.eastimports.com/index.cfm?
http://wreckedexotics.chooseyouritem.../Porsche0.html
http://www.4porsche.com/
http://www.911pcc.com/sales.htm
http://www.911t.org/class/carsale/carsale.htm
http://www.aicauto.com
http://www.autoexchangeinc.com/
http://www.autofarm.co.uk/
http://www.autoforum.com/
http://www.auto-palace.com/.
http://www.autopalacellc.com/
http://www.autotrader.ca/
http://www.autotrader.com
http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/vi...ropeanautohaus
http://www.autoweb.com/
http://www.autoweek.com/classifieds/...del=911&state=
http://www.avalanchemotors.com/
http://www.aventuramotors.com/
http://www.beechmontporsche.com/
http://www.bieriauto.com/
http://www.bigmombo.com/
http://www.bluegrassauto.com/porsche.html
http://www.born2bfas.com
http://www.buysell.com
http://www.cacars.com/
http://www.californiacars.com/
http://www.californiaclassics.com
http://www.carbuyer.com/
http://www.cars.com/
http://www.cars-on-line.com/porsche.html
http://www.carstoreofglenside.com/
http://www.chequeredflag.com/
http://www.cherner.com/classiccars/index.html
http://www.classicautosales.com/html/showroom.cfm
http://www.classicinvest.com/
http://www.corvettesaustin.com/?op=autos&y=porsche
http://www.craigslist.com
http://www.culliganautoplace.com/en_US/
http://www.daveolimpiautomobiles.com/
http://www.dealmotorcars.com/
http://www.dealsonwheels.com/
http://www.dennigcars.com/cars_for_sale.htm
http://www.dupontregistry.com/
http://www.early911s.com
http://www.e-bay.com
http://www.elcauto.com/inventory.htm
http://www.enthusiastcars.com/index_framev1.html
http://www.europeancollectables.com/...inventory.aspx
http://www.europeanlocators.com/
http://www.eurpoeancollectables.com
http://www.exceptionalmotorcars.com/
http://www.exoticcarworld.com/index.htm
http://www.foreigncoachworks.com/
http://www.forza.weblobby.com/
http://www.foxvalleymotorcars.com/
http://www.germanusedcars.com/porsche1.html
http://www.gtmotorsports.us/Cars%20For%20Sale.htm
http://www.gullwingmotorcars.com/
http://www.harrystoys.com/
http://www.hatchandsons.com/pages/sales
http://www.Hemmings.com
http://www.holtmotorsports.com/
http://www.kcimports.com/
http://www.luxcarnet.com/
http://www.managemycar.com/thumbnail.asp
http://www.mgmsl.com/vehicles.cfm
http://www.midwestperformancecars.com/
http://www.mikeauto.net/Default.htm
http://www.modexotics.com/
http://www.motorheadtrader.com/board...tegory=Porsche
http://www.musiccitymotorsports.net/
http://www.naplesmotorsports.com/inventory.htm
http://www.nortnortham.com/
http://www.oregonpca.org/News/porsches_for_sale.htm
http://www.parcars.com/parall.htm
http://www.parkplaceltd.com/default.asp
http://www.PCA.org
http://www.pcasd.org/classifieds/cars.html
http://www.pmletter.com
http://www.porsche-classified.com/
http://www.prestigeimports.com/default.asp
http://www.raycoeuro.com/
https://rennlist.com/ads/
http://www.rgruppe.org/Resources/classifieds.html
http://www.rizzacars.com/index.asp
http://www.rmcarsonline.com/
http://www.rmeurosport.com/
http://www.roadfly.org/porsche/classifieds/cars/
http://www.road-scholars.net/
http://www.route30classics.com/
http://www.rpmsportscars.com/
http://www.rsamerica.net/map/index.htm
http://www.selectmotors.net/SPORTS.htm
http://www.sloancars.com/inventory6.htm
http://www.specialty-sales.com/
http://www.sportauto.cc/
http://www.sporthausinc.com/
http://www.teammotorsports.com/
http://www.thalist.com/
http://www.thecarexperience.com
http://www.tommackclassics.com/
http://www.tremotorsports.com/Home.htm
http://www.truspeedmotorcars.com/
http://www.urbangarage.com/
http://www.usedcarsatlanta.net/auction.html
http://www.usedporsche.net/
http://www.venturaclassics.com/
http://www.weissach.com/
http://www.westcoastautosport.com/docs/frame

 

What Jeremy said! I live in NC, and bought my '88 garage queen w/ 46K miles on her in NJ...once you locate a potential candidate, ask someone here or on Pelican who's local to the car to give it a preliminary checkout before wasting your time and $. BTW, why those years? 78-83 covers the SCs & 84-86 covers the non-G50 Carreras...don't limit yourself unnecessarily by excluding the 86s. Good luck, and be patient...it took me over six months searching many sites daily before I located the 'right' one.
Keith

edited...ps: Expand your search to SoCal...lots of good ones there!

 

I'm not real comfortable trying to exact a long distance transaction when I haven't had a chance to really crawl through the car and also have it mechanically checked by someone totally familiar with the quirks of the beast. I hate the idea of jumping on a plane only to find the car isn't as advertised (BTDT). That said, it may be my only option in the end.

The cut off of 1985 is semiarbitrary because that year seems to be at the upper level of my budget.

Thanks for the advice.

 

I bought my first Porsche locally, and my current ride in NC. Had two local mechanics do a PPI, as the first, though recommended, turned out to be less than competent. Second was fine. I flew down, did my own inspection, and drove home - great road trip. While more difficult to do long distance, it can be done. You can also use Rennlist to see if someone local can look it over for you, take pictures, too.

 

I hear what you're saying about a long distance purchase, but that's why I suggested using the knowledgable people on Rennlist and/or Pelican to pre-inspect it (and send you lots of pics if possible), then as Bill did, get a 'reputable' p-car mechanic local to the car perform the PPI. If it's still a go, buy a round trip plane ticket when you go to close the deal...if by chance it doesn't meet your expectations, simply fly back home, otherwise, you'll have the best road trip of your life with the biggest grin imaginable all the way back home. Yes, it's gonna cost you a few hundred dollars to do all this, but if you locate a SoCal car (there seem to ba a LOT more of them available there at considerably lower $ than in other parts of the country), you still might come out ahead in the long run. BTW, if you don't mind my asking, what price range are you looking at? I (along with another Pelicanhead) pre-inspected a nice '83 SC here in NC a few months back for someone out of state who purchased a very nice car for somewhere around 13K (if I remember correctly). Good luck!

 

I might begin looking in NorCal as my brother who drives a 2002 911 Carbrio lives there and knows some other older Porsche folks (and has a free place to stay ). I'm also heavily into Land Cruisers and the having someone local check out a truck is a common practice, but I hate to take advantage.

My budget limit is $15K (which may exclude most of the Carreras) which would have include any post-purchase repairs.

 

Definitely lean on the folks here at Rennlist (and Pelican for that matter) for assistance in a long distance purchase if/when you decide to go that route. Many people are willing to help and will give an unbiased opinion on stuff (either via pictures or in person).

 

$15k is not ridiculous for a really nice Carara 915 tranny driver. If you want a near perfect garage queen, you will be at the very limit of the SC range. But these cars are pretty straightforward... "good" ones are usually pretty good and "bad" ones usually pretty bad... fairly easy to spot a car that wasn't taken care of. A good PPI will tell you what you need to know.

Rust usually not even an issue (unless the car was in an accident and poorly repaired), so those "timebomb" cars you can get with the pre-74 cars are not as much an issue. If you see ANY rust on these cars, I would walk. Mentally budget about $2K the first year for little things that all the cars will need, and routine maintenance.

Also, reminds me of when I bought my 70 S. I called a guy in North Jersey. He seemed ok. I was up in Newark with some guys on a business trip, and told them to drop me off at this guys place, and they went back to Philly. looked at the car, seemed right, handed over the check and drove home, no PPI. No fallback plan.

Car turned out to be a great car. I was young. Wouldn't recommend that now.

 

I had two people look at my car, talked to the PO's regular garage - both had the same opinion. I pulled the trigger without even looking at the car and couldn't be happier...

 

Oh, and if I remember correctly - 1/2 of all Porsche's worldwide ended up in California - then Florida, then NY, then Texas - I think that's right -

 

Sounds like buying an airplane

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I may be calling on some of you for help.

 

C... not that bad, but I generally budget $1200-$1500 a year for my 84 Carrara, which is a daily driver... usually something fairly big goes bang once or twice a year... a starter ($600), shocks, brakes, it doesn't nickel and dime you, but when bills come, they come in $400 multiples.

Of course you aren't taking much if any depreciation, so cash flow is a bit tight, but lifecycle cost to drive is dirt cheap.