I do not want to spend over $20,000, and am looking for a daily driver. Which years will have the most solid engines, and will be the least expensive to maintain? I heard that mid 80's models have the best transmission. Also I have seen some early 90's in my price range. Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

Sammy:

It's a good rule of thumb to have $2000 to $3000 set aside for repairs and maintenance after you buy a 911. So, that puts you around $17,000 or $18,000 for a 911.

The 964's are good daily drivers, but most in the $17k to $18k probably will have 80,000 to over 100,000 miles on them. I feel nice, low mile 964's are still around $20k or in the low $20k's.

The 1987 to 1989 3.2 Carreras have the G50 transmission and hydraulic clutch and are a bit easier to operate in heavy traffic. You can find a decent car (though probably not one with low miles) in your price range. These are arguably the most desireable of the modern 911's right now and have good resale.

The 1984 to 1986 3.2 Carrera's are pretty similar to the '87-'89 cars, but have the older transmission (type 915) which is a bit more balky in nature (especially if the transmission is worn). But, some people (including myself) like these older style transmission and these years can be a good deal. A properly set up 915 transmission can be easy to use after you get used to it. The 1984 to 1989 cars have digital motor electronic controls and are robust cars. A/C was improved a bit in 1986 with larger vents, though A/C in all of these cars is not like a new Chevy.

The 911SC was built in the 1978 to 1983 years and are also robust cars (and probably have Porsche most reliable flat 6 engine). All use the 915 style transmission.

All 911's mentioned above have zinc coatings applied to the entire bodies to minimize rust, but rust can still form since all of these cars are old cars. Repairing rust is expensive.

The 1974 to 1977 911's have their issues and they are getting up there in age if you want a 911 for everyday driving. Still good cars if the motor is sorted out...but choose carefully and do your homework if you want something this old. These cars do not have the rust proofing that the older cars have (with some exception for the 1976 and 1977 cars) and need to be checked extensively for rust. Lots of rust = low resale value.

You don't mention where you are located and if you plan to subject a 911 to winter or road salt conditions. The AWD properties of the 964 model make for excellent winter cars, though, with proper tires, any 911 is pretty good in inclement weather. Whether a person should subject a nice 911 to poor weather (and idiot drivers) is debateable.

All model years have their faults, but each fault has a permanant and reliable fix available. Some are inexpensive fixes, some are very expensive. The major issues: The SC's could have head stud problems. The 3.2 Carreras could have valve guide problems. The early 964's could have a cylinder to head leak. These major problems are rare, but need to be checked for before buying.

All of these cars will be expensive to maintain (as compared to a new Honda) since they are old performance cars. However, the more simple models (pre 964) tend to be less expensive to maintain. How many miles per year do you plan to put on a 911? Typical mileage for an older 911 is in the 7000 to 9000 miles per year. You could budget $1500 or so per year for the SC's and 3.2 Carrera's and $2000+ per year for the 964 models. These amounts could go up or down based on how much you can DIY.

It's best to have any car you are serious about checked out by a reliable technician that is familiar with these cars before purchase. Keep reading, do some more homework on the various models out there and Good Luck!

Hope this helps,

Jay
90 964

 

you might be able to get an early T for that

depends on if you like the beauty that much and where it will be driven daily

otherwise, Jay lays it out well. Never buy the first one you look at...

 

I guess it is down to a high mileage 964 or a 87-89 model with the G50. Thanks for the help. I will be driving mostly in the bay area so snow is not an issue. Also, which models had the spoilers? I have noticed that they are on some models, but not on all. Lastly, one reason I want a porsche is the resale value. Are 87-89 porsche's going to keep their value better than the 964? Thanks again.

 

The 964 models (except for the RS America, America Roadster and Turbo's) have spoilers that raise up after exceeding 48 mph and return into the body below 4 mph.

Spoilers were optional on all 911's prior to the 964 models. Some have them, some don't. It's relatively easy to affix spoilers to an earlier car if you must have them.

General economy factors seem to affect resale values of older Porsche's, so some depreciation can still occur. Many people feel the '87 to '89 911's are the most desireable 911's in the used market, so one could argue that these cars are least likely to depreciate. However, I think SC's seemed to have bottomed out a bit. Nice SC's can still bring in the mid (to even upper) teen's. Early 3.2's (84 to 86) still seem to be priced in the mid teens to about $20k for really nice cars. Junk is below $10k. The economy seems to be improving, so I feel these older 911's will hold their values pretty well in the short term.

964 values could drop a bit yet (hard to tell), though nice cars still bring decent money and are usually in the mid $20k range for a later 964 with low miles. There still is decent interest in these cars since they give high performance and more refinement for relatively low dollars.

Early 911's (1973 and prior) are actually appreciating for certain models. The 1974 to 1977 models still seem to be priced in the $3500 to $10k range and don't seem to be moving much.

Hope this helps,

Jay

 

and you can add the auto-raising spoiler to an earlier car...

You need to drive both models (or several models) - they are all different. The earlier the year, the more of a sports car; the later the year the more of a luxo GT it is.

 

Outstanding advice, Jay.

 

Some other thoughts.... first, it is always cheapest to buy the very best condition car you can find... a car that needs work is probably going to be more expensive to own and will never be as nice.

Bottom line. unless the car is very good in all other respects and has one, very specific problem, stay away from a "bargain" car or a "fixer-upper" the difference between a "nice" and an exceptional car is often only a few thousand bucks.