nostatic

OK...here's my latest find. '87 Coupe, slate blue, tan interior. 56K miles. Exterior is flawless. interior is great, but as usual the tan interior shows some creasing. The mechanic that did the PPI (AJ USA in San Diego) couldn't find a single thing wrong with it...just change the fluids in a few months. Said it was one of the cleanest he's seen. We've agreed on $24K. Seems that I should be able to resell this if necessary in a year or so without much problem due to the low mileage (assuming I don't do anything stoopid). While not the bargain of the century, it seems pretty fair...am I mistaken?

87slant-nose-cabriolet

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!
KEITH

richard glickel.

Based upon your description of the car and the mileage, this is a fair price for a desireable year Porsche. Similar cars (with only slightly less mileage) are asking $28,000+.

If this is in your price-range, don't pass on the car.

Have much fun!

Richard
'87 Carrera

ked

Have you tracked the following... a) interview w/ previous owner(s), b) accident history and/or repainting, c) review of maintainence records & shop(s) that performed it, d) confirm numbers match on chassis, engine (even trans.), e) confirm that the options on the car match the options coded on the sticker on the underside of the trunk lid. With all that (+PPI), there should be no surprises.

jimhughes

You mention that the exterior is flawless, but the interior shows some creases and the mileage is 56K. Call me a skeptical, but shouldn't wear on the exterior match that of the interior and what you'd expect from 56K miles of use? I'd expect maybe some minor paint fade (car is almost 15 years old!) and at least some rock chips on the trunk lid from normal driving. Has the car been repainted? If so, why (with such few miles)? I'd check this out carefully, especially at that price.

Jim

nostatic

I didn't check numbers, but I assume the shop does that during ppi (I will confirm). When I said a flawless exterior, I may have overstated. There are a few very small rock chips, but other than that there are no door dings or such. While I have limited experience with these cars, the few tan interiors I've seen have looked much more worn than black ones...I think the creases just show up more. Also, these are sport seats...not sure but it seems like they might get a bit more bolster wear getting in and out. For reference, my wife bought her Audi w/26K miles on it, and the driver's seat looked fairly worn...but this is a cream-colored leather seat. This owner (the 3rd) has garaged and covered the car during the 4 years he has had it, and AJ has done all the service, and seems to think highly of him. I'll try and ferret out some of the other information.

R22tech

I was about to say "killer deal, go for it" until I read the last line- AJUSA has been doing all the work on it. Now I would say, get another PPI. There seems to be a conflict of interest. No what I mean...

nostatic

Yeah, but this was by far the simplest way to do things....AJ is close to his work, and since I'm in LA, I don't know of many shops down there (other than Black Forest), and am not easily able to facilitate the process. I guess I was hoping that AJ would be professional and unbiased. While a PPI from another shop would be ideal, is getting it from the place that did the regular service a deal-breaker?

ked

No, it isn't a deal-killer.

MarkY

Nice comment

If the car is in the shape you describe, and you throughly check it out like the previous posters suggested, I think you found a great deal.

Ignore the poster I quoted. That type of feedback is worthless.

richard glickel.

nostatic,

Yes the sport seats will show more wear on the bolster from getting in and out of the car. Some people are more careful about this than others. I have seen seats in cars with alomost 50,000 less miles on the odometer than mine, that look pretty rough whereas mine (uncovered, I have never had seat covers) still look great. My seats are black.

As for AJUSA, as a long-distance customer, (I'm in New York), I have found them to be pleasant and reputable to deal with (got my S steering wheel and euro tail lens covers from them).

Good luck.

Richard
'87 Carrera

Randall G.

I seriously doubt a professional operation like AJ-USA would compromise their integrity to help a customer sell their car. What have they got to gain? I don't see them accepting a kick-back from the current owner to lie about the car's condition.

If anything, they're more likely to tell the current owner such-and-such needs fixing ...

ked

Actually MarkY, in the context of all the previous traffic, my comment was quite appropriate.

One should not "kill a deal" ONLY because a PPI was performed at a highly reputable sevice facility that has also performed the car's service in the past. If nostatic (or anyone in a similar situation) remains unsure, there is nothing to prevent him from getting a second PPI at another shop. I think Randall's point should be well taken...

nostatic's potential low-mileage Carrera purchase appears to be making all the hurdles, I'll bet someone is going to enjoy it!

KLehmann

I'd say it sounds like a fair deal. You simply have to pay a good price to get a solid car- this is obviously not rocket science.

As far as the interior vs. exterior wear is concerned, some folks just don't tend to the seats and inside as much as maintaining the exterior. Yes, the sport seats will require a little more care when getting in and out. I am a skinny fella (6 ft. 170) and the RS America cloth sport seats I have in my 87 require some care to get in and out of so as to not overwork the side bolsters. I love them nonetheless.

Make sure to look at the car a number of times on different days. Simply to avoid missing something you might have overlooked on other visits. Don't go into the deal thinking maybe you'll sell it in a year! Maybe you'll really like the car? Or maybe you should hold out for the 964's you've been comtemplating.

nostatic

Well, seeing it multiple times is difficult, as it is in another city. I'd actually love to keep the car for longer...we'll have to see how negotiations go. I've decided to not go with a 964 at this point in time, as for the money it appears as though I've found a very clean low mileage 3.2. If the gods continue to smile on me, my next one after this will be a used 993. In a perfect world of course I'd keep the '87 as a "backup" or track car. Something to pass on to my son when he starts to drive in 11 years (after I seriously detune the engine).