Bearclaw

I'd see if he's even receptive to a $5K discount before I drove hours through the snow. And that would be my pre-PPI starting point. He may not like what he hears after that. Good luck.

Nat

Yeah Barry, I am trying to figure out exactly how to word my response to see if he would be open to a drastically lower price without making him throw his guard up.

I could live with the light interior but my preference is black. It seems that everyone else has the same preference though. I've tracked down a couple Guards Red 964's around $18K but that color just doesn't do a whole lot for me.

I set my budget to mid-$20's for a car that fits my criteria, but the hard part has been finding one that didn't disappear before I had a chance to jump on it.

1990-964

NO NO,

The asking price is way too high. $24,000 and it is not in near perfect condition? Rust on the carpet from a corroded right rear seat anchor/pivot bolt. Left rear lower seatbelt anchor cover just sitting loose on the bottom cushion. Very ratty and dirty engine compartment, as well as the other things mentioned. With the low mileage I would expect the car to show less wearand tear(Yeah I know that it is a light colored interior but if the seller were really serious then maybe they should have put some effort into cleaning up the car for sale.). It seems that it has not been so well cared for in general. Be wary without further investigating over a mere $1700 to fix oil leaks. It looks like an early 91 since it still had flag mirrors so the heads probably do not have the seal update. For maybe $17,000-$18,000 it may be a fair deal but if you're willing to spend $24,000 you definately have the luxery of being very selective, not to mention that that kind of money can likely get you into a '93 or '94 that has all of the factory updates.

Good Luck!!

User 040621

there was a 93 or 94 for sale on this forum a few weeks back......I think the seller was "bongobradley" (no affilliation).......and the car was beautiful.......approximately the same price. IMO, you can get a MUCH nicer, cleaner car WITH records from a seller that actually took pride in owning the car. better to go that route, bringing one back from the dead is a tough/expensive project.

Nat

Wow, I just took a peek at his web album. That car is nice indeed.

If anyone else here is selling a C4, you know where to find me!

I'm going to take another stroll through the RennList ads.

TIM COSTA

I just purchased a '90 C2 yesterday. Gaurds red and tan in truely excellent condition. New clutch, rebuilt distributer <74k miles all records and paid only $11k for it (plus a 15 hour last minute drive to pick it up)

Bearclaw

Man, what a deal! I don't know whether to high-five ya, or

On the light-colored: sun is leather's worst enemy, but if it's just dirt from neglect, a professional leather guy can do amazing things for a couple hundred bucks. Even a Leatherique treatment can make a heck of a difference.

Nat

Dang!!! For that deal I could learn to love Guards red! Congratulations!

Indycam

Don't talk price until you find that you want to own the car .
His asking price is just an asking price .
People on this thread are acting like the price is set in stone .
Your first offer should be something you really feel comfortable with .
Dickering is an art .
I bought mine for 7k less than the asking , iirc .

I bought my vanagon for 200$ , the seller was told that the motor would never pass the smog test without a total rebuild .

gfunk

Personally, I would keep looking for a better specimen. I bought mine a few years back and understand the frustration of trying to find a good copy.

My concerns would be (in no particular order):
1. It doesn't appear the air conditioner has been converted to R134A. Conversion can run between 300 to $1000.
2. In the first interior picture shown there appears to be a rusty bolt that has stained the carpet. The picture quality is not good enough to tell for sure but I would investigate further.
3. Oil leaks. One of the cars I looked at had a recent leak repair. Unfortunately it didn't fix the leak. Oil leaks can be difficult to track down and expensive to fix. It's not hard to spend $1,700 and still have leaks particularly if the shop that did the work does not specialize in repairing 911's. I would want to see receipts and a reasonable guarantee for the work.
4. Rear lights look quite faded. May be an indication that this vehicle has not been garaged and has spent lots of time in the sun. Examining the paint condition would give you a better idea.
5. I don't like D90 wheels.
6. Personal preference but these grey interiors look grungy to me. The black leather on my 26 yr old 964 still looks perfect.

Greg

Bearclaw

Dickering is an art, but some sellers are dicks.
There have been many stories on this board of potential Porsche sellers getting pi$$ed and dismissing an offer of $1000 less out of hand, because their attitude is, "Don't insult me. If you don't buy it at my price, the next guy will." A seller who doesn't lift a finger to clean a car for sale, and puts it up at an inflated price, is likely to be just such a character. I think it's best to sound him out before making a big trek for nothing.

Indycam

When some one asks me to lower my price before they even see the item ?

"I think it's best to sound him out before making a big trek for nothing."
Even if its a complete dog and way overpriced , its good practice for a buyer to go look at cars .
Drive it , smell it , look it all over , etc etc etc .
Nothing ventured , nothing gained .

"If you don't buy it at my price, the next guy will"
I've seen this style more than once , no big deal .
If the seller finds a buyer , good for him , if not he has my contact info .

Nat

This is a tricky one. Normally I know not to talk price at this stage of a transaction like you stated, but 3 hours of treacherous travel over a wintry mountain pass would be involved. In addition, if I were to make the effort to travel over the mountain then I would want to have a PPI appointment in place so as to make the most of the trip. If I can discover that he is unwilling to come down about 25% from his asking price then I would rather stay home and not pay for the PPI. I haven't replied to the seller yet but will need to figure out how to let him know where I'm at without looking like too much of a yahoo.

Bearclaw

True, it is not reasonable (or prudent) to talk hard numbers, or negotiate something like this over the phone. It is reasonable, however, to mention the things you see in the pics and ask if there's room for negotiation. That should be enough to start a good conversation. Your gut will have to tell you where to go after that. If he is very non-committal or clams up completely, take that as a warning sign.

I should tell you however, that I threw all these rules completely out the window when I bought mine, and it came out well.
Would I do it that way again? Nope. I got lucky, and my luck's not always that good.

Indycam

Don't set up a ppi unless you want to buy the car .
Do don't want to go to far to fast .
Keep your approach slow and easy .
IE don't even think of buying it until you have seen it driven it and found it to be very much to your liking .
If you don't want to travel to go see it , maybe ask the seller if they ever get over your way .
Remember that the seller has decided to sell , not hold on to it .