almarmada

Hello everyone,
I am a new member seeing as how I am currently in the market to get a 911. There is a 911 that I have been in negotiations with for the last couple weeks. The car is a 1987 911 coupe, Guards red, with white leather interior, G50 transmission and 142,220 miles on the odometer. They are asking 21,900. It can be found here: http://inventory.californiasuperspor...ornia/3847035/

All the service records look in order, looks pristine, no rust, they said I could have an inspection done by a local Porsche dealer. I wanted to weigh in on your guys' esteemed knowledge. Thanks

-Mark

wildcat077

Do get a full PPI inspection done and use the fact that it's missing the correct Fuchs wheels as a $1000.00 bargaining point.Those twist wheels could be found for $400.00 dollars a set on the classifieds.

Although a lot of people switch to 17 inch wheels due to tire availabilty ...
If the car passes a full inspection then a 20K price tag would be appropriate !
You can't go wrong with a 87-89 G50 car as they pretty much had all the latest 911 upgrades until the
964 model came out.

Cheers !
Phil

theiceman

oh yeah i have thoe wheels and they could be aftermarket and havy . I think the 1G for the wheels is resonable. will cost you more than that to buy a really good set but thats a good starting point.

JABSEA

I would avoid having the dealership do the PPI if possible. If there is an independent mechanic in the area who has experience with older Porsches, I'd go there. Porsche dealers have a boilerplate checklist for their PPIs and you won't learn much from it unless something is very bad. Also, it's hit and miss whether they have staff who are familiar with the older air/oil cooled cars.

irobertson

+1 On getting a reputable independent shop who is familiar with the torsion bar cars to do a PPI for you.
$20K is not unreasonable for a well sorted car with no major issues.

Peter Zimmermann

CAUTION: The VIN/build sticker is MISSING from the driver's, left, side door post/jamb. What happened there? Other stickers seem to be intact.

The wheels present as new; why?

The forward heat shield bracket on the catalytic converter is missing.

Check for Boge shock replacement, they don't last nearly as long as Bilsteins.

Remember, a PPI is only as good as the PPI technician's eyes, and level of interest.

dshepp806

Agreed on the PPI being done by a (independent) PORSCHE specialty shop....completely of your choosing,..all else is a complete compromise.

BEST!

Doyle

abarthguy

I would advise caution here......
Went to see the gray '86 they had on ebay and while it looked perfect in the pics, in person it was a mess. 55k mile car with a terrible repaint and everything else looked shabby.
I saw the red one and was not impressed.
If you can't see it in person, insist on a reputable PPI. Truspeed is about 20 miles away......

The Brewmeister

Left rocker is bent between the jack plug and wheel well. Notice how there is no closeup pic of that area. 3.2 Carrera's need Fuchs!

Amber Gramps

Why all the rust around the battery? Look, it's even up on the felt.

What's with the impact cut in the driver's side rear bumperette?

Seats are filthy, no?

VIN plate does look to be missing.

....and for heaven's sake can the detailer please figure out how to use the pressure washer? Looks horrific under there.

theiceman

looks like Red paint on the door latch and receiver too .. if it is that is one bad paint job .. even the paint code placard is missing.

500

Definitely some overspray on some of the black trim piping, so it does not present itself as a good paint job. The missing VIN sticker is very worrying, since (as Peter pointed out) all the other labels are intact (even the residue of some relativlely unimportant label on the passenger doorjamb). Those VIN labels don't peel off easily, so it really makes me wonder.

I know a tiny bit about rust caused by battery acid leaks and I would say that car will need a new suspension pan at some point. It has not corroded through the bottom (yet) and may be functionally OK for quite some time still, but it would be a MAJOR consideration for me.

The underside otherwise actually looks pretty good. That yucky brownish stuff sprayed all over is the cosmoline the factory applied as a corrosion preventative. It does a great job of that, but it hard to clean off. Actually, if it wasn't for the battery area rust and the questionable paintjob, I would say the car's body looks to be in good shape suggestive of a life in a good climate.

Engine is clean, and someone took the time to put in a new sound pad.

But I come back to the paint work and battery area rust. Those are two big turn-offs.

almarmada

Wow, thanks for the prompt, concise advice...there's so much to know! You guys are freakin' awesome. I got a rather clipped/wounded response when I mentioned the missing fuchs. I'll keep looking and maybe take advantage of your skills. I did order Pete's book, and I have some other books already I've been looking over.

911 Crazy

Use these guys and PPI's often. I had 5 PPI's on different cars before I found the right one.

wildcat077

It takes some time to find the right car and the rude response you got from the dealer is only normal as some think all their cars are Barrett Jackson candidates ...
My 89 which i purchased three years ago had a bad respray,but then again what do people expect from a 23 year old car,unless it sat in a museum for 20 years.
It now has many more paint chips and a small crack in the windshield suffered at the track two weeks ago from flying debris but it's still my car and i like it for what it is !

Cheers !
Phil