Dave951M

There are a lot of stats spewed in this particular thread, but nothing can replace getting out and driving one. I drove several examples before making up my mind. I would recommend you do the same and start reading Excellence, better yet, subscribe. One last piece of advice, Don't be in a hurry, and get a pre-purchase inspection done (aka the "ppi") by a knowledgable Porsche mechanic. Even then, you may still have a bunch of mechanical stuff to do. It can be very $$$ if you don't wrench. For the cost of just a couple of garage visits, you could get quite a tool collection, and learn a bunch in the process. Also, check out the PCA. It can also be a wealth of info and Porsche related things to do.

ribs

Thanks! No regrets at all with the '86 model...the lightest, and doesn't come with 2 things that most of the ones sold in '87+ come with: ABS and airbags, both of which I do not like (every car more than 5 years old I have owned or driven frequently with ABS has had problems with the ABS system, sometimes making it much more dangerous than without ABS, like when I came a few inches from crashing into my house and actually crashing into a dumpster in my celica because the ABS "thought" the wheels were locked when they were moving fine, and in turn it didn't allow me to apply any pressure to the brakes...I ripped the ABS relay out of my car shortly after that incident). Also, just recently it has come to my attention that I can use the old steel control arms (listed in one of my previous posts on this thread) on the '86 so it will be much less of a PITA to change out ball joints, which I have a feeling I will be needing to do more often since mine is lowered. The only thing I really like about the later cars is the newer offset, but there are ways around that. They are all just about as moddable, and if you plan on replacing the suspension, brakes, turbo, intake, exhaust, software, etc. the turbo S isn't a good value since they typically cost a lot more, and like a few people before me said, you will end up ripping out everything that makes it special in the process of modding it. I wouldn't hesitate to get any year as long as you can find it for the right price...86's are usually the cheapest and most available, but don't rule out other years if the price is right. Good luck.

icat

One thing I think we've all overlooked is the REAL reason the 87 and later models are more expensive - or at least one of the reasons - there's fewer of them.

In 1986 there were 7513 951's imported into the US. In 87, 88, and 89 combined there were only 6722 imported. Ergo, 86 951's are much easier to find. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />