tsiegwart

I’m looking at several 964’s with 90-100k miles on the clock. They are all in the $18-$20G range. All look good cosmetically and operate well mechanically.

Those of you that have purchased at that kind of mileage:

Do you fell like the eventual maintenance cost out ran the savings even in the short run? Or are you generally satisfied that you got a car that gave you some years and miles before major service issues came up?

Thanks for you responses.

Todd

sundog

In my case, I bought one with 120K on the odo, for 30K, and have since spent over 23K on 2 engine rebuilds. In my case the PPI showed no problems, and I finally found a problem that has not been seen by anybody I've spoken to on any other 964.

I got a bad shake, but while running, the car is wonderful. Small things wear out over time, but the big mechanicals on this car are amazingly long lasting.

Heirsh

Plusses and minusses. Lots of things were replaced on mine by the po, so I think I got an ok deal.

Its just my opinion, but I don't think you can generalize. You really need to judge each car on its own merits. Like mine had new ac stuff, new steering stuff, no drips, no smoke, very low oil consumption, driven by an old doctor, immaculate interior, but it does have a bum drivers door and a cosmetic flaw on the right rear quarter. Lately I've had a very intermittent smoke issue that I can't narrow down (but I think its a leak onto a muffler). I care about the aesthetics, but I'm much more concerned about it leaving me on the side of the road than whether theres a dent or a ding.

TR6

I bought one with 138K on the clock and it has been fairly trouble-free so far (knock on wood!). But it had a replacement engine too. No 14 to 16 year old car is going to be bullet proof. As someone else said, you cannot generalize. Each car will have its own story.

MarkD

Sundog, what was the problem that would cause you to rebuild 2 engines?

DarrylH

I bought mine at ~120k miles. Very early build 1990, purported to be "the worst" of a bad lot.

Replaced over the past few years...
Expected /predictable: original clutch (I'll be really surprised if I get 120k out of this one.)
Unexpected / unpredictable: thermostat, both front blower fans, oil cooler and some miscellaneous oil lines, engine mounts.

Nothing has been needed for the last year. Engine doesn't smoke or drink. Dribbles a little. Added 500ml of oil in last 4k miles.

Some of it's luck. Much of it's previous care...

JJJMCD

I bought my '91 C2 cab six years ago with 98k - it now has 131k - so I can respond to your question. 911s are very durable cars but things wear out with use. With any 100k+ car, at the very least you should expect to replace all of the wear items - i.e, brakes, clutch, and cabrio top (if it's a cab). Also, some ancillaries will wear out with use -- like alternator, a/c parts, blower motor, etc. The worst case scenario is that you'll need to have the motor rebuilt. The bottom end of 911 motors are well known for being bullet proof. The collective wisdom is that you should expect to do a top-end rebuild (~$5-7k) by 130-150k miles, but there are many 911s that have gone well past 150k without ever being apart. Keep in mind also that sometimes 911 motors are rebuilt to fix oil leaks and not because of internal wear.

Sometimes the prior owner will have done some or all of the required work. Sometimes the prior owner will have deferred some maintenance that should have been done, expecting to sell the car soon or having become tired of dumping money into it.

You should get a full PPI done (including compression check and leakdown), so you know the general state of maintenance on the car. However, regardless of how thorough your PPI is, some things will not be detected and you'll likely spend the first year or so of ownership essentially "catching up" on all of the things that the previous owner let slide. Keep in mind that a new 964 was $70-80k in 1990 dollars - the maintenance prices are scaled accordingly. You should plan on a spending at least $1-2k on "catch up" maintenance during the first year or so. Once caught up, you should generally plan on general maintenance and random things needing to be replaced adding up to $2k per year (adjusting the valves - which needs to be done every 15k miles - is ~$750 - $1k alone). Finally, you should be able to drop $3-5k on the car at any time if something relatively major goes wrong. Don't buy the car if any of this will blow your budget.

During the first couple years of ownership, my car was driving me crazy with little things failing every couple of months until I finally found a good (non-dealer) Porsche mechanic, who went through the whole car and fixed a bunch of little things that would have failed over time. I have since repeated this process with the major service at 130k. Doing so was expensive but (knock on wood), the car has been extremely reliable and trouble-free since then.

I hope all of this hasn't scared you too much. 964s are wonderful cars but you should come in with your eyes open. Good luck!

garrett376

My C4 turbo-look has 81000 miles on it and it drives nicer than my C4 cabrio with 54,000 miles on it. My race car had 91,000 miles on it when I got it and it leaked like crazy - now it has 96,000 miles after two years of racing. It is such a fast car, and drives beautifully... mileage really isn't a big indicator, it's more important how it was taken care of.

deoxford

My car has 95k and check out Ok, but after 350 mile trip the engine needed new cams and rockers.
So you never know .

My 72 had 86k or so on the engine, and it never missed a beat, I mean really the car was always running like a champ. And I DE' ed the car alot , never any issues.

Good luck, and don't be scared to work on it your self. Also these were not my daily drivers

deoxford

Guys how do put your info, or signature on the bottom?

911URGE

Signature only available with paid membership. Best $17.95 I ever spent.

911URGE

Bought my 89 C4 with 140K miles earlier this year. Only up to 144K miles but no issues so far other than A/C service and a broken sunroof cable.

My C4 had all service records back to the original owners first 2k service. All records were from reputable dealers and independent repair shops (such as Andial and Carls Place). All scheduled maintenance has been done and within 5k miles of purchase of my C4 the clutch, brakes, tires and oil change was performed. Normal stuff for a car of this age will be required.

As far as I can determine I have a virgin engine (huge knock on wood). No record of rebuild but both compression/leakdown tests are excellent, no smoke at start or driving and she runs very fast. Small dime size drips of oil on right, but I think its power steering fluid not oil as the PS hose in there sweats a lot and I have to keep adding PS fluid every few weeks. Uses 1qt oil every 1500 miles.

Reason for PO to sell was wife demanded 1 of the 3 Porsches has to go - he kept the 993 C4S and the 550 replica. Definately rate each car on its own merits, service records, reasons for sale and your impression of the owner as factors.

sundog

As it turns out the oil breather line from the crankcase ventilation on the top of the engine goes out into the right rear wheel well to the oil tank. This line is with another oil line that is clamped into a metal bracket near the top of the wheel well. The attachment to this clamp was broken, and the pipe had a 4 inch cut in the top from the clamp. When driving in the rain, this cut let in water and sand into the oil line, and then into the oil tank. From there it got into the crank bearings, and destroyed the crank and oil pumps. Both of the previous rebuilds ignored the cause of the problem, and just fixed the engine. I have taken out the entire oiling system and cleaned or replaced all of the parts. I'm praying that it will not sdo this again!.

Smokin

OUCH! I think I'll check mine this weekend. This post is going to give me nightmares... A sad post for sure...

Jeremy Pinsly

Purchased my 90 C2 cab with 92000 miles about 2 1/2 years ago. Now has just over 100000 miles on the clock. After a few minor mechanical issues were resolved, the car still runs very strong. I can't keep up with my friend's '96TT, but it's still plenty fast for me. 130mph is effortless, esp with the top down.

Routine and preventive maintenance are the secrets to longevitiy, and let the car warm up before pouncing on the engine.