Originally Posted by Peter Zimmermann

pl: Maybe sorted, maybe not sorted! Maybe maintained, maybe all used up. It's been said many times in this forum that every 911 is a $20K 911. Remember, that #3 car has "no flaws visible to a casual passer by." That means that the synchro in first gear might be so bad that you have to stop rolling before it can be engaged. The car might have horrible, undiagnosed CIS problems. It may still have the original brake hoses, the calipers might have never been resealed, and the wheel bearing grease might have dried up eight years ago. The tires might be fifteen years old (unsafe) and the shocks might be original with 140K miles (unsafe) on them. Rarely will the timing chain tensioners have been updated on $8-12K cars. And the list goes on, and on, and on... That's why venue is important, as flatsixnut writes, check PCA listings in Panorama. Those prices are generally for maintained cars, while the corner car lot, eBay and other places end up with cars that might be poorly kept with many issues that need repair. Is it possible to buy a "great" #3 SC for $10K or less? Sure, but it's also possible to win the state lottery, although the odds are about 18,000,000:1 (in CA). Almost always, if you pay $10K for an SC, you'll be spending a lot of money to, first, make it safe, and second, to make it reliable. I remember sitting in the shop one morning, talking with my guys, when a sudden thought occurred to me. "Oh my, the newest 356 is about 25 years old (this was about 1990), pretty soon we won't be fixing them anymore, we'll be restoring them." Guess what, the newest SC is now about 25 years old, and you will either buy one, on the cheap, that needs a lot of little, and maybe big, things, or you'll pay more to put a really nice car in your garage.