MechanicalEng

Guys;
I have owned a 996 3.6 for 2.5 years now but always liked the 964s. I Found a '93 with 70k miles in excelent conditions for $25k, I also found a '93 with 174k miles in questionable conditions, the car smokes a lot, the interior is in decent conditions but the exterior has a spot of rust under the windshield (about 1x1 in square) they are asking $13k for the car.
I have no experience with AirCooled engines, so thats why I needed some advise. I got a quote to rebuild the engine for ($8 - 14k) depending on how bad the engine was, my question is based on your experience with these cars, is it better to buy a good 964 or to buy a car in poor conditions and built her up. I offered $7.000 for the car and I was planning on spending another 15-18k to rebuilt her, I was also wondering if while rebuilding the engine would it be possible to install Euro Spec RS cams, heads and headers?
Thanks a lot for your help

Kahdmus

I think it really depends what you want to get out of the experience, how much you pay and how much you are prepared to spend going forward. Personally I see good scenarios either way. The most important piece of advice I could give is to GET A solid PPI! Its essential that you know as much as possible about what you are getting into...these cars can be expensive!

Good luck!

tbennett017

I still own my first 964, and have bought many similar types of cars (interesting ones, not just for transportation) so my experience is limited with air-cooled cars, but deep with the general topic.

IMHO, its better to spend the $ up front for the best car in a category, then make smaller fixes. In past experience, buying the cheaper car in the hopes of making big mods worked out to be more expensive in the long run, as there always seems to be more trouble hidden in a car that seems a bit rough. (Suspension, brakes, other systems) Especially in a C4, as there are some expensive components in the PDAS/Braking systems. Also, the cheaper car you are considering sounds like it has rust issues... where has this car spent time? If you have a rust bubble below the windshield, it is possible that the glass was replaced, and the paint inside the seal got scratched. You might have more rust there than you think...

The 964 is a very reliable car overall, and the one I got has made me very happy. I didn't spend much for it, ($16K) and it is a high-mileage car, (184K and counting) but the PO had put a lot of money into the engine, and components like the brake booster pump etc... I had a lot of receipts to review. Its almost that you are reviewing the PO as much as the car for how he/she treats things

There is a lot of pre-purchase advice here, and I won't duplicate it.. search for opinions on leakdowns and PPIs.... all well worth doing...

elbeee964

Spidey sense is tingling bad: Beware the inexpensive money pit.

DavidI

I bought a very cheap '89 5 years ago and did a stack of the work on the car including rust repair, full respray, top end rebuild as well as renewing a lot of the interior, having the seats re-covered, carpets replaced etc.

I think it's a given that this way costs way more than buying a good car to begin with, but you do end up with a car good for another 100k miles - and possibly an even better car if you take the opportunity to tweak engine and other components as you suggest. When mine got stolen I couldn't face going through the 'rebuilding' process again and bought a nicer car to start with, to rebuild over the next 10 years rather than 10 months!

All depends on how much fun and satisfaction you'll get from the restoration.

MechanicalEng

Thanks a lot for your replies, They rejected my offer of $7k for the car, they PO says that he has never rebuilt the engine or transmission. It is amazing that the car lasted so long. He told me that a full engine rebuilt costed less than $5k is that accurate? It sounds way too cheap. How much should I expect to pay?

ilko

It is not unheard of for a 964 to last 200K miles on an original engine. An engine rebuild is likely to cost around $8-15K depending on how fancy you'd like it to be and who's doing the job. Parts alone are around $4K.

As far as your $7K offer - you can part out the car and net more than $10K.

springer3

Nothing is more expensive than a cheap Porsche. Buy the best one you can find. It is almost always less expensive in the long run, and you will have more satisfaction during the time you own it.

$5K for a rebuild is a good DIY estimate, but the mechanic labor will double that, and the "while we are in here" add-ons will cost another $5K - and you are a fool not to fix everything while you are investing in a complete tear-down.

Baltic964Cab

Mechanical Eng - wanna sell those 5 spokes off of your 996?

MechanicalEng

They are for sale!! attached to the whole car