nikkoa

Hey

I had been searching for a car for some time before i ran across this 82 911 SC on craigs list. This is my first experience with Porsche and so far it's been more than great. I just dropped her off at the shop for PPI and if all goes well I'll be driving her home tonight. With 140K miles i will be the 4th proud owner of this vehicle. Any advice on what to keep an eye on would be more then appreciated!

Doug&Julie

You're ahead of the game with the PPI and choice of first Porsche. Very cool. Keep up with the maintenance and she'll love you long time. Beware the slippery slope (modifications).

Looks like a nice ride...enjoy!

Slantnose!

Looks nice, congratulations.

justinsrx7

Looks very clean. I hope the PPI goes well.

theiceman

The PPI if it is a good one will give you an indication of urgent and upcoming issues. The Sc is about as bullet proof as you can get . Keep up with the oil changes , and a valve adjustment every 10,000 miles or so and your good to go. There are all kinds of things you can do , check out my thread on the things I did when I first got my car and it will give you a good idea for projects. I definitely recomend 101 projects for your 911 as well as the Bentley ...
congrats on the car

nikkoa

Thanks guys, i appreciate the support. Unfortunately the PPI revealed 2 broken head studs.

theiceman

ouch .... headstuds would fall into the urgent category .. bet you money the PO new ... how much did he want if you don't mind me asking .

bet your glad you got that PPI ... that's an engine removal and a rebuild to be done right. I imagine your walking on the deal as the cost of the tear down of the engine and repair he would practically have to give you the car

nikkoa

He was asking 9500 and we made a a deal at 9K which was a steal but now i know why!

What a bummer i really had my heart set on this car, i guess better to find out it wasn't operational than take a chance and really regret it.

theiceman

You were extremely wise to get the PPi done. did you consider getting a quote to get it fixed and split it with the owner ? something to consider. you caould always offer him 5 given the engine needs to be rebuilt and go form there.

I am always suspicious of craigs list personally.

nikkoa

No kidding. Not a half bad idea, the mechanic was in the middle of the diagnosis before he had to attend to something urgent so i'm waiting for him to call me back. When he does i'll ask him how much the repair costs will be and subtract it from the sale price, see where that gets us. If not im walking and plan on posting a warning on craigslist about the car.

Brett San Diego

I'd not turn your back on it, yet, so long as you are able to negotiate reasonably with your PPI findings. My personal preference would be to pay a little more now for car plus rebuild and have a fit engine that will last for a very long time than buy another car at a higher price that seems better at the time, but then always be wondering if, at the next valve adjustment, a head stud is going to fall out.

If everything else is good on the car and to your liking, it may be worth pursuing with the cost of the rebuild factored into your offer. Of course, the seller isn't going to take your offer right off. He'll move on hoping someone will give him his price. Leave your offer and phone number, and he might call back.

The car does look sharp.

Brett

justinsrx7

Also, in this economic time, it depends what his motives are for selling. As everyone says, there is no such thing as a sub $20k 911. You either pay $20k and get a good working car, or you get a car for less, but by the time you get it into working order, you are back up to the $20k mark. If the price sounds to good to be true....

nikkoa

Great advice guys and much appreciated. I will update you after this weekend!

TroyN

Not to make it harder but those seats are cool!

911vet

I have to agree with others here. The need for an engine rebuild is not necessarily a deal-breaker. Because, unfortunately, the same problem could come up on others. At least you KNOW this one needs it, the seller knows it too. So you have a powerful negotiating point here.

The saying that all SC and Carreras are $20K (or $25K) cars is pretty accurate. You can pay it now, or pay it later. Better to go in knowing what you've got. At only $9K, you can split the cost of a rebuild (often $10K) and still get a good deal on the car. Assuming it's mechanically sound otherwise.

I paid $16700 for my 87 in Aug 2007. It had 113K miles. I immediately spent $5K for general maintenance and a few upgrades. Pretty typical I think.

You aren't going to own a $10K Porsche. Or, let me rephrase it: You will be very sorry if you own a $10K Porsche!!

Good luck. You don't have to give up if this is the one. But there are more where it came from.
And my best advice to anyone looking for a Porsche: Don't hurry, but don't wait!

(and I agree with Troy: the seats are way cool, dude)