bmcallister

I've recently made the decision to buy my first 911. I love the looks and "pure" nature of the SC.

I can afford the most expensive ones I've seen for sale, but definitely don't want to pay more than I need to. My requirements:

A coupe. Obviously a clean carfax report. Maintenance and a healthy PPI. Preferably with any clutch, cam chain tensioner, and head bolt issues sorted out. Cosmetically very, very good (I would be heart broken to start seeing paint bubbles) and no salt exposure.

What is a reasonable price range? What are the advantages of spending closer to $25K vs. staying under $20K - this seems to be a distinct price point difference?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Jay H

I think $25,000 (and up) for a 911SC would buy a completely mint car with extremely low miles. Essentially a museum piece or a collector car. Typically these cars are for collectors since driving them will depreciate them pretty heavily. These cars will have original paint, exceptional interiors with minimal wear, full documentation (window sticker, full maintenance records) and won't need any major mechanical repairs.

$20,000 buys a low mileage (under 50k) 911SC in very, very good shape. Again, most likely original paint, very good interior, excellent mechanicals, etc. These cars can be hard to find.

$15,000-$19,000 buys a pretty nice SC with relatively low mileage (50,000 to 80,000). Paying the premium price for these cars tends to get you ahead of the game in the long run since these cars are typically well maintained and don't need much in terms of major repairs or reconditioning. You would expect cars in this price range would have the major flaws of the SC series to be addressed (Carrera tensioners, updated clutch, etc).

$12,000 to $14,000 gets you in the good driver catagory. These cars can have over 100,000 miles (not all will), but can be in nice shape for driving. You typically have to spend a few grand on these cars for minor issues. Some can have major items that might need addressing.

$10,000 to $12,000 might get you into an SC that needs some work, but will be solid yet. Again, budget several thousand dollars for repairs and maintenance on these cars for issues that might arise.

Drop below $10,000 and you will see everything from very high mileage cars (200k+) to total dogs. These cars tend to need either a lot of work to bring back to respectable condition or have low resale values due to mileage or mechanical issues.

Obviously every car is different. An expensive car can have major issues and a high mileage car with a decent price tag could be a very reliable car. A thorough PPI is needed by a knowledgeable tech to assess each car you are serious about.

The ranges above are approximate and are loosely based on what people have been posting over the past few years (I'm working off the top of my head!). Geographical location has a lot to do with pricing. East coast prices are typically a bit higher and prices tend to drop as you move south and west in the US.

Hope this helps,

Jay
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Jay H

Heres a 'new' 1978 SC for reference:78 SC

Auto_Werks 3.6

Why would a mint 3k mile '78 SC have a late model carrera dash installed?? Look at those AC vents, Im actually kinda jealous.. haha

bmcallister

Wow, thanks for the responses. This place seems like a tremendous resource.

The 3K mile SC is way too nice for what I want to do: drive!

I guess I prefer to be personally high-maintenance and my cars to be low-maintenance. Somewhere around $20K seems about what I would like to find.

Any thoughts on buying privately vs. a dealer? Certainly it depends upon the seller. I guess with a private sale you need to be a good judge of character, but the same can be true with a dealer. It seems that if you can see maintenance records and get an independent (and quality) PPI, a better deal may be found from a private sale.

Jay H

I bought both of my 911's through dealerships. Both transactions were very good and pretty smooth. I came into the dealerships as an informed customer, so I knew what to expect. I bought my cars during down months, so I got good deals on each car.

My brother has two 911's. One was bought through a private party and another through a used car dealership. Both transactions went well.

Some people will state that you should never buy from a dealership. I think you may miss out on a few nice cars if you avoid dealerships. I've dealt with some pretty crabby individuals too that think they have exceptional cars and price things too high.

The good thing about buying from an individual verses a dealer is that you can assess the current owner of the car and see if this person is B.S.'ing you or is a straight shooter about the car's condition. Dealers sometimes do not know the history of the car or how the car had been used.

Many times, you can take a dealership car for hours to test drive and inspect it, where as a private owner may not want to have someone drive around in their car for a long period of time and rip the thing apart in their driveway. There are pro's and con's to both. Good dealerships will know the value of full records and will take good care to keep these records intact and available for the next owner.

Find the car you want, then assess whether you want to deal with the person or dealership selling it. There are good dealerships to deal with and bad dealerships. Same goes with private party sales.

Hope this helps,

Jay
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racer

Those vents are stock SC. Mine has em too. The Carrera ones were MUCH larger (they actually flowed air!)

nkgosselin

Jay-H, well said. I doubt whenever anyone on here says they have a mint or excellent 911SC for 12K. If so, they are one in a million. Your prices are very accurate. I just bought a 1983 SC for 19K that had 58,000 miles and every single piece of documentation. All updates(shameless plug you can see it in the last issue of 911 and Porsche World in the your cars section)

Also, I've been to Sloans and seen his cars. I almost threw up that SC is so nice. It made me want to go home and clean mine for hours.

Peter Zimmermann

I would like to offer a couple of comments, mostly keyed to Jay's info. I'm not sure about east coast prices, but mid-west prices are somewhat lower than most areas, but west coast (LA & San Fran) area cars are really expensive. SCs with color changes, 300K miles and no records are asking $12-15 in LA. Cars like mine - '82 coupe with good paint, perfect headliner & dash, A/C removed, leather Recaros, Euro height (corner balanced & aligned by the best tech in SoCal), Bilsteins & Bridgestones will go for somewhere in the $17-18K range - with 203K miles on the original engine. Granted, cars like that are rare, but they're out there. Think about this for a minute - an '82 SC (now about 25 years old) with 203K miles on it is actually considered a low mileage car (about 8800 miles/year!). Normal daily drivers on the west coast accumulate about 15K miles/year, but have no weather related issues.
Also, never forget the unusual frequency of broken head studs found on SCs with fewer than 50K original miles. The complete PPI is absolutely required on those $20-25K cars, because some of them are just a pretty face! Also, many garage queens have not had necessary brake system, oil seal, fuel system and other maintenance done, which, once that car becomes a "driver", can have a number of expensive issues come up. One more reason to have an expert PPI done by an expert tech. Just because it won its class in a show doesn't mean that it can survive 5 quick laps at Willow Springs Raceway!
Pete

DB_NC_95C2

Jay H. said

"
$20,000 buys a low mileage (under 50k) 911SC in very, very good shape. Again, most likely original paint, very good interior, excellent mechanicals, etc. These cars can be hard to find."

I got one of them. East coast dealer (Manassas Va). 1983 SC. Car came from a collection in the Hamptons area of NY state. 58000 one-owner original miles. Original paint, original interior, both VERY good. Excellent mechanicals (considering the things that would have to be replaced on a 22 year old car (some seals, belts, clutch, etc) but overall excellent. Both the service writer and head tech at my local place (as well as their partner, a re-seller of pre-owned) commented that it was one of the nicest SCs they'd seen. Right on Jay's number estimate too...

Perkins

bmcallister, I've sent you an email.

J. Brinkley

what about the thought that 20k buys a very nice carrera? I'm sitting here thinking that if I had another 20k in my hands would I rather have a cream puff SC or a carrera, G50 or not, drive twice a week, or sit in the garage? I still belive no SC is worth 15k, UNLESS you got it to sit and stare at with no miles on it. I get just as much enjoyment out of my car working on it and looking at it as I do driving it. I know there are people out there that love their SC at any price. Everyone has their own rules and qualifications, but for something not to be scared of, driven a buch, and easy to work on, 15-20K = a nice driven carrera
(if I knew all there was to know about CIS cars I might change my mind)
NO offense to anyone that spent big dollars on a SC. I would have also, If I had wanted one.

Jay H

I agree that $15,000 to $20,000 will buy a nice 3.2 Carrera. $20-22k buys a very nice early '84 to '86 3.2 Carrera (even with lower mileage) and will even get you a good G-50 driver.

My brother has two SC's (both '83's). He loves 'em and would never get anything new than an SC. I want an '86 3.2 to go along side my 964 someday. I personally would not want an SC since I find the DME and improvements of the 3.2 desireable. But that's just me and I do really enjoy my brother's two SC's. They are fantastic cars.

DB_NC posted that he purchased a mint '83 for around $20k (congrats DB!!). I think an equivalent, low mileage, mint 3.2 would probably run you at least $22k for an early 3.2 and probably (at least) mid $20k's for a G-50 model. I don't think you would pick up a mint 3.2 for the equivalent of what a mint SC is going for. Used car pricing tends to run that way. The new model just has to be more if all things are equal.

Peter, thanks again for your valuable insight on CA pricing!

O.K. gratuitous pics of my brother's SC's...sorry...





Jay
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Jay H

This is so very true. As an amature concours judge, I get to see a lot of 'queens' that barely get driven (my car is no exception unfortunately). Many of these cars just sit and go from show to show. If they run, that's good enough for concours. It's all about how clean they are. I would hate to even drive that 3000 mile car (or the 6000 mile SC) at Sloan Cars any distance as they sit. Both would probably need some freshening up to be a good driver...

My car got 350 miles of driving last year and ~500 miles the prior year. I still change the oil twice a year and flush brake fluid every other year. Age takes it toll and you have to keep up on that stuff.

That being said, some of these queens are well maintained by pretty **** retentive owners...you can get the best of both worlds if you are lucky enough to find one of them.

Jay
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