A. Saslow

For the last 5-6 months I have been itching to buy a 911 (87-94 only). I read and understand the theory about how undriven, low mileage, older cars can have problems due to seals cracking, etc. I am looking at a number of cars, but the one in the forefront is an 87 targa with 35,000 miles. The paint is original, the top is in good shape with no wrinkles, and it is in pretty good shape overall. The price is $29,500 firm, which I am sure is decent. What else should I look/watch out for before deciding to tie the knot with this beauty?
Thanks for your help!
-Adam

James Achard

Adam, I purchased an '87 last fall with 50K on the clock. It is a wonderful car. As long as the seller has all of the records and you get a PPI. I would say you are set. These cars were the first year of the G50 gearbox and boy is it nice. The only thing to watch for in this vintage that I can think of right now are the valve guides. Some engines were prone to early guide wear due to a bad supplier. A leakdown test will tell you if this is a problem. Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

Cheers, James <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Jim Michaels

Adam: 35k miles on a 15 year old car is not "too few" miles in my view, but I would try to find out about the pattern in which these miles accumulated. I would consider the prefered pattern to be about 2k to 2.5k miles per year for that car. If, instead, it's been sitting idle, or driven hardly at all for several years, that's when the concerns about not being driven enough arise. Such cars can still be very nice cars, but you might want to do the same checks and preventive replacements that you'd do for any car that had been stored. It sounds like a very nice car. Good luck.

ZCAT3

I agree with Jim. I just bought an 86 Turbo last year that had around 42K on the clock. That is pretty low, although not unusual for a Turbo. We had some performance work done on the car within a few months after purchase and gave the mechanic carte blanche to replace any worn lines or cracked seals, etc. The car had been sitting for about 6-12 month with very limited driving before we got it. The mechanic ended replacing about 30 little items (we had the engine out so it was not a big deal labor-wise). Most of these were due to inactivity. The seals and such need to be lubricated by engine oil or they will dry and crack. The best way to keep the car in top shape is by driving it. You should look to be sure that an annual service (oil change, etc) was done every 12 months even in years where it sat idle. Many people choose to follow the 7,500 or 15,000 mile service interval, which in the car you are looking at could mean 5 years between services (that would be bad). Even if you have gaps of a few years, that doesn't mean the car will have serious problems, but may mean some parts will need replacing sooner than they should. The best thing to do for that car would be to get it one the road for some serious driving.

By the way, I previously had an 87 Coupe - those are great cars.