dmjames

I'm looking at a Turbo near me as a candidate for a long-term daily driver/canyon carver, and am having a tough time sorting out if this is a reasonable deal or not.

Car has 92k miles (verified w/ records), is up-to-date on maintenance (timing belt, water pump, recent clutch), has an LSD trans, and is absolutely bone stock. Mechanically seems pretty much top-notch - starts promptly, runs and drives beautifully.

Interior is a probably a 9/10- minimal driver's seat bolster wear - no holes/tears, stitching on the steering wheel is going, and it does have the typical dash cracks. Carpet is immaculate, including the sound deadening in the hatch.

The bad: The paint. It's technically still paint, but the clear is gone over probably 40% of the car and questionable over another 20-30%. The battery tray has some notable rust. I checked out the car on a day right after some substantial rain, and the passenger footwell was sopping wet. I know both of these are repairable, especially if I handle the two at the same time at a quality body/paint shop, but don't want to downplay the cost to do so.

Car is listed at $9k, but it's been up for a few months now, and I'm mostly wondering if it makes sense at $8k. I want a solid, long-term daily driver, not a garage queen or track rat, so things like original paint just don't matter to me, but I do want a car that's not going to be a basketcase.

Is this reasonable or am I trying too hard? I'm having a hard time getting a handle on what the 951 market is doing other than seeing that it keeps going up. I don't want to wait too long to pick up another turbo and get priced out of the market, but I also don't want to overpay just because I'm getting concerned. Anyone care to be a reality check for me?

DasSilberWedge

I'm no expert but I wouldn't say it's unreasonable to ask that. I paid a bit less than that for my S2 and it's definitely in need of a paint job. It's a good 20 footer when cleaned up.

I'd be more worried about the passenger foot well being wet. Any idea where the water is entering from? If you see yourself buying the car & repainting it then you might as well take all of the exterior seals out, paint the car and reinstall new ones which should fix the problem. It just a question of how long its been left in the rain with a leak & if it has done any sort of damage.

dmjames

It's pretty clear that it's the rusty battery tray. The rest of the seals are solid. We're in Colorado, so things dry out super-fast. The footwell doesn't smell musty at all, the carpet is still in solid condition, and there's no evidence of corrosion or rust anywhere else. I'm planning to check out the car one more time, and will make sure to pull the battery out to make sure it's definitive.

DasSilberWedge

Really up to how much you want to spend, fix and how far you're willing to travel to find the right one. It all depends on the rust & if you can keep it dry when it rains until you can repair it. If it isn't too bad & you think it's repairable then I don't see why not, it sounds fine mechanically. The most important thing is that the car functions properly as it should and is mechanically/structurally sound. All of the aesthetic stuff can be done later.

951Dreams

Honestly, that's too much. With the paint that far gone I'd say 5-6k is a "good" deal. 7k might be a "fair" deal. Any more and it's not a deal at all. Mine is in about the same interior wise, some running wise, same miles, much much better paint. I just paid 7k. I need new ball joints, that's the only big ticket item.... Aside from some​ body work. My paint is about 90% at 10 feet. About 65% at 1 foot. I have at least 2k in paint work to make it a true 10 foot car. 7k to make it a 1 foot 100% car.

The only really good thing, if I dropped the 7k into it, I feel I'd have a 14-15k car. That's about what I have in it. If I could paint I'd be way ahead.

Course, your not wanting a fully restored show car, like I want. I had to buy mine with my future cost in mind. The PO had put about 6k into it last 4 years, and it was all good stuff he did. He wanted 10k, I got it for 7k. I feel I got a goodish deal. I'd have rather paid 6.5k, but I'm not unhappy.

But in the end it comes down to what it's worth to YOU!

I rarely see buyers remorse on the 951's

DasSilberWedge

With the current exchange rate I paid 7k USD too. Clutch, water pump, timing belt were done and they fixed a power steering leak, car had 120k kms. Might've not been the best deal in the world but I don't regret it either. Took me over a year to find the car I was more or less looking for. And my apologies, re-reading everything I agree with 951Dreams - that is too much. I wouldn't pay any more than $7.5k USD absolute tops but that's me.

I wouldn't worry too much about the 951 market taking off on you either with what you're after, especially if you're willing to do any sort of repairs (pretty much inevitable with these cars at this point anyways). Only the super clean, low mileage cars are starting to move with any sort of real pace. There's still time to find deals on a 'good driver' out there.

DasSilberWedge

+1, only sellers remorse when they see what they've lost

odonnell

You can always paint it when your budget allows - that investment will go a long way in a car that's rising in value. Plus you can always plastidip or wrap in the short term, not very expensive if you're smart about it.

dmjames

Thanks for all the input, everyone! Going to let this rattle around in my brain for another few days and see what I think after that. Turns out a neighbor friend of mine is an experienced welder and is up for giving me a hand on the battery tray, so that's an easier job than anticipated. Will let you know where I land!

Van

I imagine a good point job is in the $5 or $6k range. So, if you add that to your purchase price, are you comfortable spending that much?

ian

8k seems a little rich, but with all the documented history it could be a better buy than a 12k car that looks pretty but may have some maintenance issue lurking.

That said I would press to go a bit lower, 951s with cosmetic issues are hard to move and people will not be knocking this guys door down at 9k.

porscharu

Out of curiosity what color is the paint? Could it just be a VERY oxidized single stage?

ian

Is the clear coat failure worse than this (my newest project)?

RoyaleWithCheese

Once the battery tray is fixed you are still going to want to pull the carpet and the sound deadening underneath to get them fully dried out. Even if the carpet feels dry on top those mats underneath can stay soaked for much longer periods of time which could eventually lead to a musty smelling car.

My car had the same leak and when I removed the dry carpet the mats underneath weighed a ton because they were still soaked underneath.

Could be an opportunity to upgrade that sound deadening material to something more modern if you are going to use it as a commuter car too.

Mister Quickie

I agree price is too high. I had a 951 that took a year to sell/trade.
How good does the paint have to be?
It's not that hard to paint it yourself. Then you could use single stage, clear coat peeling isn't a question of if ,it's a question of when