Hi All -

I'm new to the 951 forum (normaly over in the 996 forum) but I may be spending more time here if things go my way.

I found an '89 project car that has relatively low miles and has a lot of the mechanicals sorted out and needs paint and interior.

The Good:
- runs well
- 77K miles
- 030, LSD
- lots ofrecent mechanical maintenance (wires, plugs, clutch and slave m/c, engine mounts, timing belt, wheel bearing, pads and rotors, various hoses and seals)
- no accidents, straight body
- stock engine, wheels, interior, etc...
- comes with new window rubber and carpet kit

The Bad:
- cheap respray 10 yrs ago is faded, cracked and peeling
- original clutch
- cracked dash, worn out leather seats
- no service records from beyond 5 years

Here are some pictures:





My intention is to strip it down to primer and repaint and redo the interior.

What do you think it's worth as is?

 

12.5k - 15.5k. Maybe a bit more.

 

^ over priced. More like 7-8K

 

If you spend $10k on it it may be worth about $10k. Seriously though, buying a 951 as a value proposition is not a wise move amhik.

 

When Looking at something like this it is easy to Say , "Re-spray", You Actually need to put all the numbers into a spreadsheet. You have to determine up front what the goal is. If the goal is just to drive the hell out of it an make it look decent …Or make it look Like a Nice car that is more money.
As far as paint. Consider all the "little things" To do it right, Drip rails have to come off. Doors disassembled, Side Glass out rear hatch off, Fenders off Hood off, You get the picture. After its finished, The Hood emblem will need replacing, There is tiny rubbers on the drip rails that need to be replaced,(and no doubt some clips will break) the window scrapers All the seals around the door handles the hatch, the lock seal for the trunk, All adds up.
Then you will have a car that looks nice on the outside and open the hood it will be a let down. All that will have to be cleaned/refurbed.... Now the seats, dash on and on.. Im just saying be careful... I have over 10K into parts in my 86 but it was a full resto all new rubber new washer tank overflow bottle everything re-plated, carpet, new leather, 8+ hrs sewing up the steering wheel alone.
I also have an 89 that I will be doing this full resto on... but I do enjoy it.. In the meantime, You could make it look as decent as possible with buffing it.. Driving it.. and go to swapmeets, Ebay, CL and Gather parts beforehand.. this spreads out the expense... and you are still enjoying your car. At least here in NY I can tell you that the materials alone for the paint would exceed 2K The last time I painted Gaurds Red was last year and it was $250 for a Quart in Dupont Chromabase.

 

I bought my 1988 Turbo S for $14. I think I paid $2K too much but its in way better condition than this one. I've put $6K into just mechanical stuff and doing all the labor myself. I think it's now worth $16K.

Looks like the one on CL in Topanga Canyon!

Thanks
Mike G.

 

That car is worth about $4k to me.. It's also unfortunately not worth restoring. Every penny you spend on it will add to the value, but the value will never exceed what you spend, and eventually you will have spent enough that you could have bought a very nice original car, which is always going to be more desirable than a restored car that used to be in rough condition. It would be a super fun car to drive around as-is, or to make a track rat out of, but don't go whole hog trying to make it nice again if you value money and your time.

 

Wow - thanks for all the great feedback. My goal would be to have a car that's in Good to Very Good condition. Not a show car, but something you'd be proud to drive up to Cars & Coffee and not cringe when you walk up to get into it. I don't need everything looking new.

I'm a DIY guy and I love hunting for bargains and used parts. I like to restore, build and refinish things. I got a guy that will sand, seal and paint for $1,500. Materials are up to me.

I looked at all cars sold (and bid up to) over the past two years a=on Bring a Trailer and they averaged out at $19K for cars with about 100K. My thoughts here were if I could get the car for $8K, put $4K into paint, $1K into seats, then have another $2K into misc. for a total of $15K investment. Seems that I could cover my cost if needed. Out here in California, the average 951 with 130-150K is being sold for $13K.

Is my line of thinking too far off?

 

Yes, that's it. Do you know anything about it?

 

Thanks for all the tips on what's suggested to remove. I planned on stripping the car of those type of pieces and delivering it to the painter. I don't plan on a full restore or to go to the level you did. I'm fine with a great condition used steering wheel and seats. I could refinish the dash myself, replace carpet and odds and ends. Wasn't planning on replating anything, but could see replacing the overflow tank and any other blatant ugliness under the hood.

 

Hmmm, I own a 1988 turbo S with 157K and I love these cars - they are special. What you show here...I know I wouldn't touch it. It just looks like its been trashed and far beyond the 77K miles...are you SURE that the mileage is correct? You haven't mentioned how it runs and that can be an expensive proposition even if you are quite familiar with the car (I'm assuming you know the 996, but do you have the time, tools, knowledge to dive into a 944 turbo engine if you need to?). If you do the work yourself, and the car doesn't have severe problems, you might be able to make the math work - but of course its up to you. I'd be very careful of the mechanical/electrical stuff...they can add up quickly.

Having said that, I know that there are well cared for 944 turbos out there...I own one and they are a delight to drive, maintenance is good because I stay on top of it and 3K per year is low. And importantly, I let the engine warm up gently before exceeding 3,000 rpm and always cool down for a minute or so before shutting off and always use the correct oil (Mobil 1 15-50 or Valvoline 20-50 in my car). I've had more oil flow through that car than it has required, transaxle as well. This is some of the stuff that I would be looking for if I were in the market...I just don't have the confidence that this automobile has had that kind of care. And 944 turbos can be expensive to resurrect - at least in my opinion.

Good luck and if you do buy it I would be interested in further posts on how you do rescue this turbo S. Its a special car and might be worth the effort if everything falls into place.

 

No! I just look at the ad every day and think, man for $7K I'd buy it!!. Though you can blow though $10K in a weekend.

Mike G.

 

I go to SuperCar Sunday every weekend as it's about .5 miles from my house. In the last 2 years I've seen a total of 3 other 944 at the show. They are super rare as far as I can tell.

Mike G.

 

FYI My Racecar was an original 88 Silver-Rose and it WAS a basket case, It only had one thing going for it in the fact that it was un-molested and a true one-owner car. It was just totally worn-out … at 180K miles the odometer gear broke. LOL but the price was good and all I wanted was the "Bones" The interior was SOOO bad i tossed everything in the dumpster whole.. Normally I take switches out of the seats and things like that.
Im sure you will enjoy your car but if you want to make money at it...better off finding a craigslist car that needs an engine and getting it running and selling it..
Who knows where the market for these cars will go? But Im sure that most of us are kicking ourselves for not picking up that 914-6 that was 3K in the swap sheets years Ago..LOL

 

That or 911SC, Carrera etc!!!!!!!!!!

Mike G.