holy911

G50 tranny is good. What about overall maintenance compared to other years?

r911

more luxo-crap to break

dshepp806

Reliability is directly related to maintenance, I think....this, of course, ASIDE from any "known" issues with the original design. I certainly prefer the G50 over the 915 (preference), but she'll cost ya' to get her fixed.

So far, my '89 has served me well,..they all need attention.

,....I love my (working) "luxo-crap"..............I'll surely hate it when it breaks,..so goes relationships.

Best,

Doyle

theiceman

I don't think that a 87-89 is any more relaiable than a 78
I think since the Sc came alomg with the 3.0 litre in 78 things were pretty steady all the way to 89 .

I think there are definitely refinements and differencesm but i don't think any one is more reliable than the other if the car has the chain tensioners done.

old man neri

I think it's more a case of each model came with different issues. With the SCs it was head studs that sometimes break CIS problems...etc, with the 3.2 it's valve guides going south, fuel lines needing to be replaced...etc. Other issues as well.

Pete Zimmerman seems to explain it well in his book.

In the end it is maintenance. The one I bought seemed to have been well maintained. 20K so far and pretty much nothing has gone on it. Right now I am looking at replacing the shocks/struts and resealing the calipers. Of course, all cars need this to be done.

tlarocque

I have an '88 that my father purschased new. I bought it last year. The car always had its oil changed on time and 15k services completed on schedule. 129,000 miles and feels great, runs great, looks great. Only the clutch has had to be replaced and that was at nearly 120,000 miles. The G50 still shifts beautifully. I don't drive it nearly enough but I do occasional track days with it and the car seems to love it... I drive it hard then drive it home purring.

Great cars.

blake

+1 on buying Zimmerman's book. From what I have seen firsthand, one can not go wrong with buying a well-maintained 911 between 78 and 89. Personally, I prefer the SCs - more raw....

My $0.02,
-Blake

Jay H

All of these cars are 20 years old now. To make any 20+ year old car (especially a high performance sports car) bulletproof reliable takes a decent pocket book, a good mechanic, some good DIY skills or any combination of those.

Overall, the 911 has been a very good platform since the beginning. As mentioned, there are some issues with certain models, but I've seen so many completely beaten and trashed 911's still running that I've lost count. These cars won't win any sort of beauty contest and they may have huge issues, but they still run and can get you from point A to point B in some fashion.

The 911 was overdesigned for most of it's model run. Tolerances are tight, materials are first rate and the engineers (for the most part) didn't skimp on designing parts to last longer than most other makes. Typical German engineering. Designed to race on Sunday, drive it home, then go to work on Monday with the same car with no issues.

That being said, age is taking it's toll on these cars. Anything rubber related most likely has to be replaced or monitored for failure. Rust can be a factor on any of these cars. The zinc plating in place since '76/'77 has helped tremendously, but all of these cars can have extensive rust damage at this point.

I've got an '84 Carrera with 103k on the clock. I've gone through most everything mechanical on the car within the last 5000 miles. New clutch, starter, alternator, lighting, hoses, belts, seals, complete suspension rebuild (shocks, bushings, torsion bars), restoration of the A/C, oil thermostats, turn signal switch, sensors, relays and the list goes on and on. So, after 25 years and 100,000 miles, I have a pretty reliable car.

You need deep pockets to run these cars on a daily basis and expect them to be dead nuts reliable. But, it's very possible since the original platform was so good and there is pretty good parts support from both Porsche and the aftermarket.

Good luck!

Jay

theiceman

Actaully I don't agree that you need deep pockets to expect them to be reliable. it is just budgeting like everything else. I thin they are no more expensive to maintain than any other car. If you are even a little bit handy I think you will be fine. I think you will need way deeper pockets if your GM just out of warranty craps out or you bust a timing belt on your Audi TT

r911

used 911 costs like a new neon... or kia...
- but holds its value well

yes all rubber should be replaced

go to pelican and find the thread: new to pelican

old man neri

I agree with Iceman, aka Clive. I don't think you need to have deep pocket to have it reliable. I certainly don't have deep pockets, just ask him...he knows, and mine has been great. I just keep on top of stuff. Hell, I took the thing on a 1500mi road trip in 30hrs....and then back a few months later. No issues.

I think it is more of an issue to get one well sorted out and then budget for/if something goes really wrong. Also, there maybe an issue of deciding between wants/needs. What do I need to keep this car gong? What would I like to have in this car when it is going? You hear about guys dumping 12K in suspension jobs.....was it all really necessary? Budget repairs ahead of time and look in classifieds for new parts that are being sold by people that 'never got the chance to install them'.

Jay H

I agree, but I guess my point is that it is really up to how much you can put up with or live with on an old car. I'm way too **** retentive to have rattles or worn components or stuff not working. My 911's have to be nearly perfect or I'm off to the shop to get it fixed or will wrench on it myself if I can tackle the job. So, I have to pay up. Also, my '84 goes nearly everyday to work, so it has to be quite up to snuff.

Others are much more tolerant of wear and other issues and have much better DIY skills, so they don't have to spend much.

These are all getting to be $30,000 cars. Pay up front for a good one and maintenance and repair costs will be lower. Buy a dog and expect it to be a queen and you'll pay quite a bit getting everything up to snuff.

earlyapex

The maintenance history is more important.

Antony.

My 63k miles '86 has been way cheaper to maintain than my '94 Jimmy that my son drives back and forth to college now. Seems like every month something is breaking on that piece of s#$% and I'm out 200 bucks in parts and a wasted Sunday helping him trace and fix the problem and now the tranny is making some horrendous noises at only 77k. My DIY service total on the Carrera has probably not even hit 600 bucks yet in two years but I've only been doing 2k or so miles a year.

holy911

Mahalos, Gents.

Keep the words coming! Cool, earlyapex and antony, you're my neighbors! I'm in San Jose also! Would you gents mind being my assistants in my search and subsequent local parts and repair resources?

There's a couple of '89s that are really catching my interest. Good price and exactly what I want. Targa, blk ext, tan int, whale tail, less than 100k miles, under $22 asking prices. Only big problem is they're both on the east coast! Damn. Why are the east coast cars less? Snow, salt? What's up?