Maothecat

Good evening!

The baby making phase of my life is completed... I,m the owner of a 2008 Audi a6 avant and am now looking for a weekend car for the summer. I've been researching 911's for a while now and believe the model for me is a 3.2 (1987 to 1989).

Now, for the questions...

I have a 30k budget. Seems enough for what I see on cars.com but I want honest input. Should I wait and spend a bit more to get a lower mileage car?

Second, what are the top 3 things to look for when I buy? Documentation is an obvious one...

Third, I'm from Montreal...is the import (from a nice and warm US state) the only way to go?

Thanks!

Reiver

well, I'd look for an unmolested/original car (even tho I change things right off the bat) so you can look at things as they came from the factory.
Docs for sure...and with the documents call up the shop mechanics ( I always do) and I've found some of them to be extremel chatty and forthcoming about the car.
Low miles...why and how driven....high miles...what was rebuilt (top end etc).
The main deal is find a good shop and do an exacting PPI with a head stud check and leak down.
With that budget you should find a very nice car.

Maothecat

Thanks for the tips!

Maothecat

What is your definition of low miles?

Reiver

depends upon the year you purchase...low miles would be 5-7 k per year.
However, that is not always good...if the car was driven for short trips and not brought up to proper temps
then they can suffer issues too...like broken head studs etc.
OTOH, I purchased a high miles car with great docs and a solid PPI...but for much less than half of your budget.
Just don't 'fall in love' right off the bat...look around and take your time.

masterdave

For 30K you will be looking at most of the 3.2's out there. You should not have a problem picking up a sub 80K miles car for that price. Look for obvious things like maintenance records, although the chassis was galvanized there are still parts on the car that can rust so check for that. If the car has been siting for a while its going to need all new rubber (lines, breaks, hoses etc.) so keep that in mind. You may want to look for a very decent car in the 25K range which you will have no issue finding and then take the other 5K and fix what ever issues or make what ever changes you like. See what is available in your area or the area you are willing to travel to. The best advice I can give is at some point just bite the bullet and buy one. I have watched many people fuss over the little things and turn up cars because some small thing was out of place or needed attention. All of these cars are old and will need work if the big things are in order you are fine. If you find the color and body style you like and every thing is half decent, buy it.

Regards
Dave

Jamesr6967

Another little tip. You'll find lots of Porsches for sale in British Columbia, Canada in good shape as we have little snow out here, hence little corrosion. When I went looking I found a lot more out here then anywhere else in Canada.

Maothecat

ok, thanks for the feedback and ideas.

mfyoung1086

yeah i've actually seen some nice 911's come up in the bird that are for sale in Canda, dude for 30k you can take your pick of really well sorted 911's

Yeah look for main records, probably get a ppi , hell i really wouldn't be concerned with mileage that much either if you find a car thats had a quality rebuild

Maothecat

Probably a stupid question...was is " the bird"

theiceman

Pelican
As in www.pelicanparts.com