Dave in Clarkston

Sold my Boxster this past year and was looking at late 996 or a 997. Well, I ended up with a NSX (I know what your all thinking) at the last minute in an attempt to try something else. I will always be a Porsche fan and as such I am looking to add one to the garage since I will be lost without one.

I love the 993 but don't want to spend that much so I have decided on the 87-89 cars. These cars look to be pretty well sorted out except that I hear about valve guide issues. How common of an issue is this? Cost to repair? Anything else I should be looking for? Of course I will have a PPI done prior to purchasing. I am looking in the $20 to $25 range and only at coupes so I would think a good car can be found with what I want to spend.

Thanks for any help you can provide

SolsburyHill

Dave

You should certainly be able to find a well sorted, maintained & documented 87-89 for the price bracket you have mentioned.

As far as valve guide issues... I 'll let others here who are more versed in that subject answer.

Good luck with the search, it's half the fun.

Ken

JCP911S

Yes $20-25 should get a good G50 Carrara. If you want to move down in price a bit, you can get a very nice 915 gearbox Carrara for $15-20. IMHO the value of the G50 is overstated, but it is purely a budget issue.

The valve guide wear issue is IMHO also overstated. I think that because these cars are basically so reliable that any perceived flaw is magnified. I have 110K miles on my 84 and it burns virtually no oil. This car is used as a daily driver so it lives a hard life and is Honda reliable.

I love these cars. Buy a nice one and you can expect viery modest or even no depreciation. Maintenance is roughly $500-1000 a year depending on use and age. You can also probably get classic car insurance.... almost a "free" car.

purrybonker

As a G50 owner, I have to pipe up here. I agree with the remarks about the Carrera valve guide "issue". As has been said here, the 3.2 is pretty bullet-proof, so the valve guide thing has become the legend associated with this engine (well, also the subsequent 3.6 engine I suppose) - it is the claim-to-negative-fame for 911s.

But in context, what we are talking about is a wear problem (as opposed to mechanical failure), generally associated with high engine operating temps. The impact of valve guide wear will be increased oil consumption over time - that's about it. Nothing earth shattering here. No being left on the side of the road and being handed a five figure repair bill out of the clear blue sky.

Expect valve guide wear in any G50 residing in a hot climate, particularily when it has been driven in heavy traffic in a hot climate. Have in your mind as part of your purchase evaluation that you may want to redo your valve guides at some point in the future. Or not.

SRL

I also have an '87 G50 car. I did a quick search and came up with a link for you, but I can't vouch for the veracity. My understanding was that the problem typically rears it's head around 50,000 miles, but I'm not sure if a car that's been repaired is "cured" for the future (maybe someone else knows). I can say that my car has 130,000+ miles and exhibits no smoking/very minimal oil consumption.

http://www.kindel.com/porsche/Valves.htm

fasteddie99

That price range should get you a nice 87-89, especially if you are NOT in California. You should get Peter Zimmerman's book, The Used 911 Story, to aid your search. Good luck!

mschafer71

hold out for a G 50, 88's are great cars

g-50cab

Yes - G-50 cars are awesome -

Dave in Clarkston

I feel better now. I think the valve guide issue sounds like RMS for the 996 and 986. I never had a issue with RMS but I did have a number of other oil leaks but we won't go there. With a PPI and what I have found out here I feel pretty good about finding a decent car.

After two 986's and a 951 I am looking forward to my first air cooled car!

Dave

g-50cab

and don;t believe everything you read on the internet.

JCP911S

BTW... these cars typically smoke a bit at startup, and burn +/1 a quart of oil every thousand miles or so.... so this is not indication of valve wear problems.

Panaguy

Ditto on the 88 G50's. Mine has 91K on it and uses no oil, no leaks and no smoke at start up. Maybe I'm just lucky but this has been a great car