jerryg

I'm looking at a late '80s 911 and I have a couple questions. The car is low milage for it's age. The owner states that the car burns about 1 quart every 2500 miles, is this normal? It's a targa and the top need to be re-covered; any idea of aprox. what this would cost?

Thanks

Will

Jerry,

One quart per 2500 miles is just fine. Sometimes my '87 burns more than that, sometimes less, depending on driving conditions. If you buy it, don't fill it to the top of the dipstick line with oil - shoot for the middle of the range. Overfilling causes oil to splash up into the air filter (I think), making it seem like the car is using lots of oil. And don't be alarmed by an occasional puff of blue smoke - they all do it every now and then after sitting. Can't help with the targa top. Good luck!

Will

giuffrec

The man for Targa Tops is Dan at Cars,Inc 609-298-2277

nostatic

Just out of curiousity, what is the year and mileage? Also, what are they asking? I'm looking for either a late 911sc or '87-88 carrera so any data points are helpful.

Although I'm still also pondering this '94 Audi S4 I found...

DTFASTBEAR

A little off topic, but Audi didn't make an S4 in '94... only starting in 2000, no?

nostatic

Actually, the 1st generation S4 cars (urS4 if you will) were made from '92 to '94. They use a 2.2L 5 cylinder turbo generating 227 hp and 253 ft/lbs of torque. This morphed into the S6, which was basically the same car with a few skin mods, made in '95 and '96 (actually called a '95.5).

I'm looking at a used '94 S4 with a stage 2 mod (chip, manifold, exhaust) that puts out 290 hp and 325 ft/lbs of torque. It also has modded suspension and brakes. The only downside is high mileage (115K), and questionable resale ability. On the upside, it is perhaps the ultimate sleeper...a 4-door sedan w/290hp and quattro...fast in the straights and the corners.

Bill Wagner

Low mileage for a Porsche vs. low mileage for other cars are two different things. It's not uncommon for a Porsche to be 10 years old and have less than 40K on it. On the other hand, finding a Toyota Tercel of the same age and mileage would be close to a miracle !

My '91 C4 has almost 21K on it now (got it in January of this year). After driving it 3000 miles I finally had to add about 1/2 quart to it. On the other hand, my old Stealth RT/TT was drinking about a qt. of synthetic every 3000 miles at 70K...and it didn't have a "boxer" type engine that encourages a little oil loss.

How many miles are on the car?

nostatic

The '94 S4 has 115K miles on it. The 2nd (current) owner bought it at 85K, did the major 90K service, then did the mods (chip, exhaust, suspension, brakes, hoses). He is a manager at the local Audi dealership so service was consistent. He also ran Mobil 1 in it and changed it every 3K. He was described by more than one guy there as "****" and "meticulous". While the miles are high and the engine is modded (puts out 290hp now vs. 227hp stick), the mods are recent, and there is a pretty robust service history. Interior is very clean, and everything works (that's saying something, because these cars were $55K luxury sedans with electric everything).

I found a '83 911SC w/80K that is very clean. Price would be about the same as for the S4.


Problem is I know that I can turn around and s ell a 911 in a year without much problem (assuming I don't buy a crappy one). Selling the S4 would be tougher, as most people don't know about them, and I'd be selling it modded but without the benefit of coming from a dealer.

carnut169

Nostatic- also look at what the cost of ownership will be... by that I don't mean what the cars will cost you to buy, but what they will cost to own. I am a big fan of Audi- but the problem is that they drop in value like a rock in water. This is getting better- but the company is still suffering from the late 80's "unintended accelaration" problem when it comes to resale.
I would think that your maintenance costs would be close, but the Porsche will hold its value far better than your Audi will. Look at what your SC cost new vs. what you would be willing to pay for it today- after 18 years!
The Audi will be faster, and more plush- but my vote is for the Porsche (I am biased- of coarse). It is a classic, and can be a wonderful daily driver. Good luck, Sean.