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Help needed please, deposit down on '88 coupe. Any thoughts most welcome..
After a test drive I immediately and quite rashly put down a deposit. It's a Hong Kong car from new and it just completely got me as soon as I turned the ignition. The drive was so engaging and frightening that it brought me back to my family's series I Land Rover albeit a bit sharper through the corners!
I have been hunting for an air-cooled for a while, starting with the 993 migrating through the 964's and finally settling on the 3.2 after only viewing this car (there only seems to be one 3.2 in HK for sale atm).
There are some warranted concerns I now have and I would really appreciate your thoughts.
The interior needs attention, someone has re-upholstered it in a leatherette type material which almost looks passable but does not feel right at all. It lacks proper detailing and finishing. To get it back to leather looking anything like it should will cost about 2.5kusd. Then is has been resprayed recently. Which has been done very well but I would obviously prefer original paint.
The the big thing is the history is very patchy/none at all (I don't know as the garage is trying to locate all it can now) I have viewed many 993s and some 964s all of which seem to have been repainted and lacking any real history, so I sort of thought that's just how it is sometimes here in Hong kong.
Then the price 498,000hkd that's about 64kusd. The odometer says 75000km(which I don't really trust because of the history) but it is often the case that Hong Kong cars don't rack up much mileage as they are often garaged and used at weekends, there aren't enough open roads to really rack up serious mileage.
Link to advert on dealers website:
www.carcity.com.hk/car-detail/911-carrera-32
I am going to take it to a porsche specialist for a ppi this week. I'm very excited about owning such a car but it's bitter sweet with anxiety, so anything you can comment on to dispel or prove my fears I would greatly appreciate.
Don't be too hard on yourself, but equip yourself with adequate information before you finalize the purchase. Use your head, not your heart.
Read the sticky on The Pre-Purchase Inspection by Peter Zimmermann on top of your post. Read as much as you can regarding the G50 911 3.2.
When you have the ppi done, make sure that you have a leakdown & compression test performed. Stay with the car. Have them check for previous damage, rust etc. Check the gaps-that passenger door seems misaligned.
Nice find! Hard to find aircool in such condition in Hong Kong. I would prefer a 27yo car to be repainted rather than original paint if it is in Hong Kong, car's paint start to oxidize after 5yrs in the humid weather they have there. I would check for any sign of rust, I'd be surprise if there absolutely no rust on a car reside in Hong Kong since new. Since it is rarely driven, check for any sign of oil leaks.
She's "looks" good from the outside, other than incorrect Turbo Tail, but did you really mean to say $64k USD?! That's outrageous and you'd be better off buying one in the states for half that and shipping it to HK!
She's "looks" good from the outside, other than incorrect Turbo Tail, but did you really mean to say $64k USD?! That's outrageous and you'd be better off buying one in the states for half that and shipping it to HK!
Maybe the OP can clue us in to import taxes and first time registration of cars brought in--$64K may only represent half the price of the actual car.
yes I think to bring a car into hongkong, you have to pay first registration which as you can see adds up quite dramatically when the cars estimated value(which is a combination of what the owner paid for it and the market value) increases over 15000hkd. I think the fact that there seems to be so few impact bumpers on the market here adds a fair premium. thanks for all your input. I did notice a small bubble of paint on the front right wing, I hope the new paint job isnt covering up some rust..
The '87 to'89 are the best sorted of all the true 911's of the air cooled era. They do have their flaws tho and you must use this to negotiate final price.
A/C is weak. Have them service it before you pick up.
Fuel Lines are HARD to replace with the engine in the car and the factory replacement are very pricey. They do shrink and can/will leak at some point. This must be done if they are originals. Have them replace before buying.
Head studs on the bottom breaking are an issue. You can only tell by pulling the lower valve covers. I would ask the PPI shop to pull both covers and see if there are any broken studs. This is an engine out, upper tear down to fix. It's also a HUGE "while you are in there" cost multiplier. Once this needs doing, you are looking at a valve job, clutch, fuel lines, sensors and other things. Checking this is a BIGGIE for you. If they are broken, this is a when they will be fixed not if.
Valve guides are weak on the 3.2, so if it's using any oil, which the dealer will know nothing about, then that is about the only gamble on these cars. If the head studs come out being good, there is a good possibility that it will need new guides, or a valve job before 100K miles anyway.
If you are not a DIY guy, prepare to have your wallet significantly shrunk if you have to pay for these repairs....
Thanks for warnings, what I thought was a PPI turned out not to be one, but a local (not official) porsche garage just checking for any accidents. So I am scheduling one with Porsche this week to do the compression and leak down. I got it up on the lift and followed Peter Zimmermans PPI checklist. Well, as closely as an automotive layman could. Everything seems to be alright, thought I may post some more shots so if you guys see anything drastically out of place? or something to worry about? I can bring it up when I get the leak down done. Again thanks for your comments because step by step I'm getting there. I also found out the original colour is actually marine blue metallic which is sort of a welcome surprise as it is the colour I like the
most, so maybe there is a bare metal respray in the very distant future.. thanks again.
Looking good so far. I wonder what the black stuff is around the throttle linkage?
Investigate the rust near the jack point further. Check the lower edges of the windshield rubber seals. Lift them up with your fingers & check for rust. Do the same at the back.
Do let us know how the leakdown & compression tests go.
I have an '88 coupe. Originally marine blue, now silver metallic.
06-01-2015, 12:53 AM
Help needed please, deposit down on '88 coupe. Any thoughts most welcome..
