Need your honest opinion on my 964 purchase situation
07-25-2017, 06:07 AM
#31
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Hello Gejay,
Congratulations on being a proud owner of a Porsche 964! I had recently purchased a '93 Carrera 4 manual with 80k miles and had discovered a number of issues with the car that I had fixed myself which saved me a few thousand dollars. Not only did I save a bunch of money, I got to learn quite a bit about the car itself. When I bought my car, it had a check engine light. It was later determined that my right knock sensor was reporting a knock issue. It sounded scary but the engine did sound great. I went ahead and replaced the knock engine myself, the part was $50. After resetting the check engine light with Tore's T-OBD adapter, the check engine light never came back up again. I also had an airbag light come up, I determined one of the front airbag crash sensors was faulty. I was able to purchase a used Porsche 964 sensor from ebay for $100 and replace the part. The airbag light no longer came on.
53k miles is pretty low for that year of car. That said, since it is a 1989 964, the engine didn't come with head gaskets from the factory so hopefully your receipt of $7k repairs covers that. This would cover a large majority of your maintenance costs.
If you have questions about the paint quality or whether the car has been repainted then I suggest purchasing a paint thickness gauge which is about $20 on amazon. Pretty good tool to have piece of mind in regards to the paint condition to the car.
The AC unit itself sits in the back at the engine bay to the right side with 2 AC hoses. If there is freon leaking you should see green paint like spots around the hoses and AC compressor itself.
Have you checked the oil level while the engine is properly warmed up? In addition, the engine must running while you check the dipstick.
The oil sender light could be due to the sensor itself or the wiring. You could run a diagnostic tree with a multimeter to determine which piece is defective.
Also do you like the car? Look at the car itself, it was built from a simple production factory, the body was made with a thick gauge steel. It was one of the first Porsches with all wheel drive. The C4 was the next model down from the Turbo. Just some things to consider.
Solaris
Congratulations on being a proud owner of a Porsche 964! I had recently purchased a '93 Carrera 4 manual with 80k miles and had discovered a number of issues with the car that I had fixed myself which saved me a few thousand dollars. Not only did I save a bunch of money, I got to learn quite a bit about the car itself. When I bought my car, it had a check engine light. It was later determined that my right knock sensor was reporting a knock issue. It sounded scary but the engine did sound great. I went ahead and replaced the knock engine myself, the part was $50. After resetting the check engine light with Tore's T-OBD adapter, the check engine light never came back up again. I also had an airbag light come up, I determined one of the front airbag crash sensors was faulty. I was able to purchase a used Porsche 964 sensor from ebay for $100 and replace the part. The airbag light no longer came on.
53k miles is pretty low for that year of car. That said, since it is a 1989 964, the engine didn't come with head gaskets from the factory so hopefully your receipt of $7k repairs covers that. This would cover a large majority of your maintenance costs.
If you have questions about the paint quality or whether the car has been repainted then I suggest purchasing a paint thickness gauge which is about $20 on amazon. Pretty good tool to have piece of mind in regards to the paint condition to the car.
The AC unit itself sits in the back at the engine bay to the right side with 2 AC hoses. If there is freon leaking you should see green paint like spots around the hoses and AC compressor itself.
Have you checked the oil level while the engine is properly warmed up? In addition, the engine must running while you check the dipstick.
The oil sender light could be due to the sensor itself or the wiring. You could run a diagnostic tree with a multimeter to determine which piece is defective.
Also do you like the car? Look at the car itself, it was built from a simple production factory, the body was made with a thick gauge steel. It was one of the first Porsches with all wheel drive. The C4 was the next model down from the Turbo. Just some things to consider.
Solaris
07-25-2017, 09:12 AM
#32
Rennlist Member
07-25-2017, 10:00 AM
#33
Rennlist Member
07-25-2017, 11:39 AM
#34
Rennlist Member
Originally Posted by cobalt
It isn't that difficult.
07-25-2017, 12:39 PM
#35
Technical Guru
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
The installer did not follow the instructions from Porsche. If the windshield is glued to the seal and the seal is glued to the body then it won't leak.
HERE are the installation instructions from Porsche. Have the windshield installer follow them to the tee. This problem happens all the time.
Originally Posted by gejay
What should I do?
07-25-2017, 02:29 PM
#36
Burgled
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Dang! People are paying $50+K for these cars now?? I thought I got sort of screwed when I paid $19K for mine 14 years ago 
Now if only my 996TT would gain some value
Now if only my 996TT would gain some value
07-25-2017, 04:38 PM
#37
07-25-2017, 05:27 PM
#38
Rennlist Member
07-25-2017, 06:34 PM
#39
Rennlist Member
The installer did not follow the instructions from Porsche. If the windshield is glued to the seal and the seal is glued to the body then it won't leak.
HERE are the installation instructions from Porsche. Have the windshield installer follow them to the tee. This problem happens all the time.
HERE are the installation instructions from Porsche. Have the windshield installer follow them to the tee. This problem happens all the time.
07-25-2017, 10:18 PM
#40
Rennlist Member
Gegay I was in the same position as you albeit at a lower entry price 5 years ago. I paid 16k for an unmolested C2 Targa in the UK. Over the last 5yrs I've spent the same again on brakes, engine and chassis/suspension just to get it to driver quality. Still looks a bit ratty but drives great. And I know all the work has been done correctly. That's my peace of my mind. If your car is basically sound, take a few years, spread the money spend, and drive it. You won't even remember this thread or why you were so concerned.
07-26-2017, 02:58 PM
#41
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Join Date: Jan 2015
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i say fix it and enjoy it.. any 25+ yr old car will have issues.. from paint, suspension to minor oil leaks... its just part of owning an older car.. there will be issues..
07-30-2017, 02:11 PM
#42
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My first Porsche was a '93 Turbo 3.6. The PPI failed to pick up that the car was a full respray from Horizon Blue to Polar Silver. I sold the car 13 years later after another full OPC PPI and the new owner discovered the one valve guide was gone! The car only had 65,000 miles on it. He gave the car a bare metal respray and full engine rebuild. The body was found to be all original with no accidents and not a single piece of corrosion. BTW He painted it Polar Silver.
Second 964 purchase was an even bigger mess. I detailed it in this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...ht-refurb.html
Trust no-one and be realistic about what owning a 27-year old car entails. They have often been in the hands of some cheap owners and gorilla mechanics. Once sorted they are wonderful cars.
Trust no-one and be realistic about what owning a 27-year old car entails. They have often been in the hands of some cheap owners and gorilla mechanics. Once sorted they are wonderful cars.
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...ebuild/7527471
07-30-2017, 02:29 PM
#43
Rennlist Member
Originally Posted by 964TOK
Is this your old 3.6? Just wondering because if it is, no mention of colour change.
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...ebuild/7527471
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...ebuild/7527471
I'm in two minds about the colour change. While technically it is a point any buyer should know about re originality, it's been done so thoroughly and with new bare metal exterior that it's minor (to me).
The rest of the car is no excuses. It spent most of its life in corrosion free environments and has never had an accident. The interior is gorgeous old leather with sports seats.
