holy911

Looking into a 1993 Cab, 52k miles, black, tiptronic. Clean title, 4 owners, now at a dealership. Car went from Illinois to Arizona to Nevada to Utah.

No service records. Dealer bought from an auction. Supposedly everything works. The rear plastic window is brownish dealer stated and probably needs to be replaced. Haven't done a PPI yet, but wanted to see if this is a good starting point for their price.

Dealer is asking $17.5. Is this a good price?

newsboy

Price is O.K. With the current state of the economy, perhaps you could do better. Since there are no service records, a PPI at a good independent shop is essential. Make sure they do a compression and leak down test. Perhaps you could locate P.O's to find out about prior service?

elbeee964

+1.
Browned plastic can be made clear again with certain Mother's and Mequire's products... (common symptom/cure in Miata circles)
Cracked plastic, OTOH, isn't so inexpensively fixable. Check this real close. Curative to that would be k's of $.

Wachuko

Not a lot of places will replace just the plastic, so figure a new top (some US$1500.00 installed). If I remember correctly, Tips command less of a premium than manual tranny, unless you are looking for a Tip.

Price seems like a good starting point. Keep us posted. PPI is a must...

parsecnc4

Sounds like a reasonable starting point. If you ever decide to pass, please let me know. I would love to pick up a tip for my daughter.

holy911

so, the price seems not outstanding but a fair starting point? for me, since i'm in california and the car is in utah, add travel, auto shipping, hotel, food, ground transportation, and the usual fees and licenses and tax that dealers have to add. would prefer a local private party sale. but the prices for 911's in my area seem inflated.

i guess since i'm in silicon valley, all the sellers think everyone's got $$ here. i'm not in that population though. no dot com exec here

foxford

On the plus side, low mileage and later model year.

On the minus side, (value-wise, not nec. desirability) tiptronic and cabriolet.

Assuming this is a C2?

In Chicagoland that would be a pretty good deal, assuming PPI checks out.

aeroman

There are two or three tips for sale in my area that are in the 13.5K range.

Kahdmus

Its a ridiculously cheap deal for a clean car.

holy911

Aeroman,

Those Tips, how much mileage on them?

Yes, this particular 964 is a C2. I'd rather not have a C4. Just more problems for something I don't need. I dont like that theres no service records. The PPI will have to be even more thorough then, really thorough.

Hmm, this Utah 964 is really piquing my interest. I'm in contact with the dealer, just have to decide if it's worth my time and money to pursue. Phew, Utah! 14 hours of driving!

aeroman

Thats 14 hours of love....... If you are not going to track it C2 C4 should not matter. I firmly believe the PDAS in my C4 has saved my bacon a few times when I would have otherwise swapped ends.

BTW - The C4 driveline is basically bullet proof. It never has problems.

I will check on mileage.

altarchsa

+1 on the C4, best everywhere but possibly on the track.

I would definitely value the low mileage (from someone who bought a 100K+ car).

My suggestion is demand tons of pics before driving 14 hrs. and why shouldn't the PPI be done in advance of the drive?

Good luck.

Bearclaw

If you're in the market for a tip, I'd say it's a good price. If you can squeeze a little more, it's a great price IF it's clean, no trauma history and no big PPI issues. People who own C4's say they're the best to have, people who own C2's insist they're the best. The AWD running gear is not especially problematic and so not an issue.
The downside is the salt-state history, but the miles are low enough that it may have been stored in the winter. Next step: PPI.
4 owners in 15 years - it always surprises me that no one loves a nice car enough to keep it long-term.

holy911

Hmm, good point about the salt "state" its in. Illinois too? Does it snow there? I don't know my geography very well. This is why I wouldn't buy an east coast car...rust problems.

Bearclaw

Does it snow there??? Does the pope sh*t in the woods?
Seriously, yes, big time. I used to live in Ohio, and I've bought cars from all over the US. I'd say the East Coast is the worst for salt (I've seen 7&8-yr-old cars from upstate NY that were eaten alive by rust), but not by much. It's true that these cars are galvanized, but corrosion can still happen, particularly in the front & back window tracks - especially if the windshield was replaced and not resealed exactly right. Not common but it does happen. My car was from Chicago and was driven lightly in the winter; many of the undercarriage fittings were nicely frozen. Just something to consider.