Landseer

Just giving you some ideas here, again, not a pro, just giving you some points of inquiry or leverage.

Imo000

Some of the fender bolts are missing and others are black not body coloured. Find out why.
K&N air filter. Looks like it has a plastic dash cap cover too. The trunk release button on the passager side is missing but the shifter **** and steering wheel are not that worn. Engine looks normal, not correded so it was probalby regularly dirven. Has ABS.

Hard to tell but looking at the wheel, it looks like it has the 4 piston calipers so that would make it an 86.5.

Landseer

Left fender has been off, so I'd wonder why. Hardware on fender should be red, looks black. I'd suspect a drivers side hit.

I don't think black rubber strips that hood sits upon are original. For alignment I wonder?

Any history of maint from the guy?
Clutch replacement?
Timing belt replacement?
Water pump? (where does temp gauge run, should be just about first tick mark, slightly more)
Last brakes/rotors?
Motor mounts? Is lowest section of oil pan riding lower than the heavy plate covering the steering rack underneath?

How does it engage / shift?

How much he asking?

john bono

Yes, I think so. That was the case for the spoiler and the rear bumper.
That may be the result of the lighting. It looked very clean to my eye when I was there.

john bono

He's asking 10.5 right now. He just dropped the price from 12K.

john bono

BTW, if I haven't said it already--big thanks to everyone here--lots of great info.

Landseer

The rear body contour spoilers shipped on these S models are actually made of a closed cell foam. They are pliable. I've not seen one painted.

Body is questionable. I really think you need to look critically now at the big ticket mechanical items on this.

What exhaust is he running? Cats? You might need that for inspection in NJ.

Can't quite see odometer. 170K mi? If that much, I'd be considering compression testing if paying very much, ie, over $3000.

Careful on this car. Could bite you.

Landseer

No way.

Closer to $4K in my opinion.

Five speed is a big plus, though clutch replacement can be costly.

Lots of the engine compartment stuff looks complete and intact.

Landseer

For $10K one of the boys on this forum can place your butt in a sorted car.

mickster

There are a number of 86.5 and later models on ebay right now for far less in much better condition based on photographs alone.

The paint alone would scare me away. It's one thing if it's a repaint and it's good. It's a whole other if it's bad. This looks like Maaco or Earl Schreib quality.

Personally at that price you could buy 2 86.5's-one for parts.

Now the 5 speed is nice-but be careful...

Michael

john bono

I knew the rear spoilers didn't look right. I think the whole car might have been resprayed. Odometer is 70K, and title search showed no evidence of a rollback.

The car was recently inspected, so I'm pretty sure emissions equipment is intact. If it was an 85, I could get away without emissions in CT, but an 86, no.

Ok, I'm convinced. I'll hold off until a 928 mechanic gives it an a-ok. I'll ask him to look at possible repaired body damage as well. If the frame is straight and solid, I won't sweat a previous repair too much. But anything that might point to a future nightmare, I'll give it a pass.

jeff spahn

10.5 is way too much for this car. I bought my 90 S4 with 99k on it for 10.5 or thereabouts. It had tranny, steering, tie rods, TB/WP, caps, rotors, wires. alternator, oil cooler, all alum radiator and perfect (jinxing myself here) electronics and perfect bodywork with no repairs oh and service history and paperwork from day one the car was owned.
Offer him $4k but no more and use the other $$ to buy a parts car.

sweet928

One thing I learned on this forum, is to look at the recess on the fog lights. They are too deep into the bumper cover. It means the front took a hit and not repaired correctly. They should be closer to flush. I am sure you can get a better car, with less miles, for that price from someone here. Don't jump without a full PPI. FYI, Paul Miller Porsche in Parsippany, NJ will do one. They checked out mine 79. Might be too far for you but FYI.

Calgary Ole

Great advice.
Landseer can do a virtual PPI for me anytime. I missed most of what he could see from a couple pics.
Ask the forum what is for sale in that price range and like Chris said, you will have a great car.

Landseer

John,
For your use benchmarking, here are some snapshots of an 86 automatic with 73,000 miles. Its never been hit, original paint. (The factory porsche red is single stage, thick, and can be rubbed-out).