clubracer6

I bought an 88 951 last January off e-bay. I immediatly replaced; all the coolant hoses through out the motor, all belts including timing belt, waterpump, front tires, radiator, intake elbow hose, wires, plugs, transmission seals - you get the picture. I also bought new speakers and an Alpine head unit. I then drove the car a few weeks and popped the headgasket. So now a valve job, slight machining and $150 headgasket later the car is as good as new. Until the oil pump seized or something down there anyway. I have labor covered and just need to pay for parts to throw new in new bearings and a oil pump. Before me the car had a new cup clutch, bushings, sway bars and some of the other things listed in my signature line done to it. I've had it w/ the car and plan on getting rid of it as soon as it's back together. The body is a 5/6 and the interior is the same. Someone offered me $5k for the car. Is that the right money for it. If I spend the 1k in parts and get it running again would I get $7k or $8k for a mechanically perfect nicely modified 88??

Sorry for the long post...

EZRider

The real question is why are you fed up and selling a "mechanically perfect, nicely modified" 951?

clubracer6

I feel like I have just gone through hell w/the car and I've only driven it 3 or 4 weeks. The love is gone and I have moved on. This car caused me to drive my tow vehicle (94 Grand Cherokee) all summer - not fun.

streckfu's

Don't be discouraged. The hard part is over. Sleep on this decision until you get to drive the car. If don't need to get rid of it, wait. Keep it through next summer when the weather is good. One good summer's worth of driving will change your mind. You've put too much into this to let it go.

The love may be gone but that cars got a lot of love to give you so keep it for a little while and see how it works out.

Mike S

I would think about it too.....but in response to your question, I think you might be better off fixing it and getting 7-8k. It's tough to get that amount these days, but depending on your location and patience it can be done. If you want a quick sell....get rid of it now...if you can wait, fix it up and sell.

Peckster

It may need more than new bearings and a pump. If I were buying I'd prefer to pay less and do the work myself.

Perry 951

The problem you are going to have is getting money back for the mods you put on it. Most people shy away from modded cars, especially ones that have had problems like head gaskets and oil pumps. Although the problems may or may not be related to the mods, the majority will think so, and that scares them.

You say its about a 5 on a 1-10 scale. $8k is gonna be very hard to get. I spent $8500 on my '87 and it was a solid 9 in and out.

Your best luck will be someone looking for a car to race, and most likely, they will not pay a premium on a car that is headed for track use.

Welcome to the fine line of stock vs mods. Mods are more fun, but kill the car's value, stock, well... it's stock.

Brian McCoy

And now a comment from the other bleachers. If the love is gone (mine has been for months and months), just get rid of it. I held onto mine through the summer, took a road trip and several shorter day trips and I would have seriously been just as satasfied driving my Explorer. You're not going to gain anything from further modifying the car - though you will certainly get more out of a running car (more than it costs to get it running in most cases). Well, that's if you do the work yourself... anything done by a shop just kills the wallet.

If you do hang on and have seriouly lost the love, it'll just drag you down (at least it has in my personal experience.. I don't even drive mine anymore) ~ I want nothing more than to be done with the car and move on. That's what I got for holding out... missed opportunities for a firm sell, a tinge of loathing when looking at the car and a bit of depression knowing that I'm going to end up giving the damn thing away just so I can move on with life. I hope you have better luck than I'm having... seems like noone wants to part with their money right now.

clubracer6

I think I will wait and if the guy wants it badly enough maybe he'll give me $6k for it - then I'd be willing to sell it as is before I fix it. That being said I don't think he'll do that. For the weeks I drove it - I did enjoy it. Certainly something I have to mull over a bit.

jsonnen

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that the value of 951's has steadily increased every year for the last five years. Maybe sorting the car out and hanging onto it will, in the long run give you a better return! Just my 0.02 cents worth. Good luck

Jaxon

Ebay is a tough way to purchase a car. Especially a 951. Used cars are like a hot potato. Unfortunately, you got stuck with the potato. The guy who buys it when you sell MAY have better luck.

I was a at a shop about two months ago and I heard a similar story from a young owner of a 951. He was in school and struggling. I went out with him to look at his car. One look at it told me all I needed to know. He didn't ask my opinion, but if he had, I would have told him to cut his losses.

Get an honest opinion from someone who knows these cars as to what might lie ahead with your car. There must be someone in Chicago PCA /Rennlist who can give you a hand with the decision. Also, if you are thinking of keeping it, I suggest PPI at a good 951 shop as a baseline.(if you don't already have one).

Best of luck.

Jaxon

ehall

You will definitely have trouble getting your asking price for the car on ebay. Though I bought mine on ebay, and got a very nice, and well maintained 86 951, I also bought the car for 2800 less than the asking price via a second hand offer. I wasn't obliged to purchase because I didn't meet the reserve, so when the dealer called, I played dead fish on him and got the car for 5300.00 cash. They needed to sell more than I needed to buy. (So they thought, I HAD to have this car). Best bet, put it on every web classified as well as Auto trader and your local paper and sit tight until you get a good price. Then again, if your REALLY fed up, I'll be glad to skip the electric and cable bills this month and come get it. lol
I would, and will never part with mine. Fix it yourself if at all possible, and drive the crap out of it. I think you will change your minds, and the effort of the repair will really bring you into this car. Good luck and let me know before I pay the electricity bill. E

evil 944t

Alex,
Pm me, What happened? I saw the head going on? If you need help let me know. I'm bringing a short block up to a machine shop near your house, If you want we can pop yours out and bring it in for a check up. How many miles on it?
Dave

nove442002

I think prices on these cars should be going up! Like anything else it is supply and demand. There is not that many people that know about the 944, especially in the midwest it seems,so they are hard to sell. I paid $9500 for a 88 turbo with only 72k on it. I did have to have some things taken care of like an exhaust leak, a steering line that was leaking, a new timing belt. I use it as my daily driver. I can see your point about loosing the love..I had it in the shop for a while also because I knew the mechanic was good on Porsche . I could not drive it for about 2 months because his shop was busy! Stories like this make me stay away from E-bay. What ever u decide, remember it is just a car !!

clubracer6

I paid $7k for the car and it had all the mods already done to it. I put about another $3k or so into it to get it all "right". This latest thing w/the bottom end locking up is mind boggling. The car was idling when it seized. We have no idea why is stopped. The valvetrain moves fine and putting a scope in the engine block didn't reveal any blockage at the top. So the diagnosis is a bearing failed or the oil pump siezed. But we won't know for sure until we get in there. So I take my $5k hit like a man now or do I roll the dice and follow this through. I did enjoy driving the car - so maybe I just need to dig in and drive it. Hopefully I won't increase my loss if I do sell it after it's been fixed. Thanks for all your input. I might start a thread to get people's take on why it would simply seize at idle w/no noise or warning before doing so.