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My advise is a bit different. Work your network with the Porsche family. Post a WTB ad in all the forums. Meet everyone at all the local shops and tell them what you are looking for. I searched for my car as I would search for a job. Meet anyone and everyone. Place ads in the local PCA newsletter, meet the local PCA members. You have to get out there and find your car.
Waiting for the car to show up on RL or PP means you are competing with all the rest of the world and unless the car is right around the corner from you, you will not get there first and most likely will have to assume the risk of no PPI.
Ultimately, my efforts paid off in just 2-3 months, and I was blessed by the previous owner contacting me. The car was not really "for sale". He saw one of my ads, it resonated with him and he reached out to me. Turns out he is the long-time friend of a local Porsche enthusiast that I am fortunate to count as a friend of mine. I now have gained another yet another friend and a very nice car. There was no timing pressure, no competition, just two gentlemen meeting and executing a smooth transaction. Like in the old days...
Honestly, I don't know how people buy these cars any other way. I don't know why anyone would want to cheat themselves of all the great experience that results from the process I describe.
Hi,
I have been looking for a 964/993 for over a year now.
You do realise that prices have hiked some on both 964 & 993 over the period you've been searching. Given the lack of quality on the market similar hike in price could well be on the cards for 2016 so you will end up just chasing shadows. Might be a good idea to blow your 50-75k budget for 993C2S on a nice 964 C2 coupe.
My advise is a bit different. Work your network with the Porsche family. Post a WTB ad in all the forums. Meet everyone at all the local shops and tell them what you are looking for. I searched for my car as I would search for a job. Meet anyone and everyone. Place ads in the local PCA newsletter, meet the local PCA members. You have to get out there and find your car.
Waiting for the car to show up on RL or PP means you are competing with all the rest of the world and unless the car is right around the corner from you, you will not get there first and most likely will have to assume the risk of no PPI.
Ultimately, my efforts paid off in just 2-3 months, and I was blessed by the previous owner contacting me. The car was not really "for sale". He saw one of my ads, it resonated with him and he reached out to me. Turns out he is the long-time friend of a local Porsche enthusiast that I am fortunate to count as a friend of mine. I now have gained another yet another friend and a very nice car. There was no timing pressure, no competition, just two gentlemen meeting and executing a smooth transaction. Like in the old days...
Honestly, I don't know how people buy these cars any other way. I don't know why anyone would want to cheat themselves of all the great experience that results from the process I describe.
Just my humble opinion.
Great advice.
Join your local PCA club. You will get to know the 964's in your area. Visit a couple of garages that specialize in older Porsches. Bring some donuts down and have a chat with the manager/owner of the garage. They will know what the good cars are and usually know when there is an owner looking to sell. I have been approached by my garage owner many times with offers to buy my car.
A lot of times the sellers are just as concerned with whom they sell their cars to.
A well sorted out car that is not being advertised to the masses and being offered to only a select group should always command a higher price and you need to be prepared to pay it.
It may take some time but you will likely get to know the seller at some level and at least gain some insight on their personality and the quality of their cars.
I think this is great advice even if the market is not so red hot. These cars are getting old and becoming collectibles and the people who buy these cars are different than your normal car buyers.
while on the otherside of th pond, same situation here,
I sold a 993 and a 964 this year, sold them both to the trade to someone that I know, over the years tend to get fed up with private buyers that are looking for a concours car at market rate. I still have two 964s, both very low miles and they are pampered cars, if I were selling either of those I would either sell to someone I knew or to trade, I couldnt be bothered with some of the stupid expectations you get from private buyers. Often their emails start with, I have been looking at cars for over a year and still to find one that comes up to expecations, (for me this means - I dont want to pay the money for a good car so keep looking at mid level ones and funnily enough they never come up to standard), values in uk, C2 Manual, less than 100k miles in excellent condition, circa £40 to £45k, with less than 80k miles, £45k to £50k, and at those prices I would expect to still spend say £5k to detail parts of the car to get it to my standard, , for one that genuinely has a perfect interior and perfect paint and less than 80k miles - you could pay £55k to £60k. And I know of one that sold for more than that after repaint and rebuild.
good luck with sourcing a car, but with prices rising you could end up chasing something that continues to increase in value year on year. i would suggest speaking to garages that service cars for owners or club members see if they know anyone that may consider selling as that way you will avoid dealer profit and competition.
I also have a slightly different view of this market.
Buying a 964 is not like buying a Honda. There is a very limited supply and the quality of each car varies greatly.
I don't think you can say exactly what each 964 should be worth.
Say you are searching for a 2013 Honda Civic, auto with less than 60,000 km - there are 605 examples listed in the AutoTrader for Canada. Based on that you can establish what a reasonable market value is.
How many 964s do you think there would be? There are exactly 5 (other than turbos and RS) in Canada on the AutoTrader and they vary greatly between convertibles, targas and coupes and the KM that each vehicle has. Of course there are others listed on other sites but the same argument can be made for the listing of Honda Civics being on other sites.
What is the reasonable FMV for each 964. Not sure you can establish that.
When I saw my 964 I knew I just had to buy it. I paid just under $45,000 ten years ago. The average price was probably in the high 20's back then and I was told by more than one person that I massively over paid.
I ignored all of those criticisms because I knew there is NO WAY I would ever find another similiar 964 with less than 35,000 documented kms. If I wanted that exact car I had to pay what ever the seller wanted. I will not ever find a similar one again. I checked with Strosek and they modified less than 25 of them in 1990.
For me that is the price of getting these old cars with a very limited supply.
If you always worried that you paid above market value then perhaps these cars are not for you.
My car with all the Strosek mods. Odds of finding a similar car ..... pretty low.
^ very smart man. i blinked and lost 2 opportunities. both of which i would have gladly paid andother $10-15k more for. and they were already WAY more than what the average price this thread suggests WAY more.
My advice is a bit different. Work your network with the Porsche family. Post a WTB ad in all the forums. Meet everyone at all the local shops and tell them what you are looking for. I searched for my car as I would search for a job. Meet anyone and everyone. Place ads in the local PCA newsletter, meet the local PCA members. You have to get out there and find your car.
Waiting for the car to show up on RL or PP means you are competing with all the rest of the world and unless the car is right around the corner from you, you will not get there first and most likely will have to assume the risk of no PPI.
Ultimately, my efforts paid off in just 2-3 months, and I was blessed by the previous owner contacting me. The car was not really "for sale". He saw one of my ads, it resonated with him and he reached out to me. Turns out he is the long-time friend of a local Porsche enthusiast that I am fortunate to count as a friend of mine. I now have gained yet another friend and a very nice car. There was no timing pressure, no competition, just two gentlemen meeting and executing a smooth transaction. Like in the old days...
Honestly, I don't know how people buy these cars any other way. I don't know why anyone would want to cheat themselves of all the great experience that results from the process I describe.
Just my humble opinion.
Outstanding humble opinion in my opinion and something I plan to follow in the coming months while shopping for my first 911.
I've been lurking here and absorbing knowledge for nearly ten years now but I'm finally in a position to make a bucket list purchase. It appears as though this community has a lot of great members in the Texas area so that's another nice bonus. Time to make some solid contacts in the Houston area and go out and meet people. I need to find a willing participant to grant me some time in the passenger seat of both a 964 and 993 so I can finally decide where to focus my shopping efforts. Good times ahead!
are buyers generally looking for low miles pristine examples? I understand those fetch good money. How about high milers? 150K 92 c2 coupe mt, original motor, in excellent condition in and out with most stuffs sorted? assuming good leak down as well. how much would one expect to pay for an example like that?
are buyers generally looking for low miles pristine examples? I understand those fetch good money. How about high milers? 150K 92 c2 coupe mt, original motor, in excellent condition in and out with most stuffs sorted? assuming good leak down as well. how much would one expect to pay for an example like that?
To answer this question personally I'm simply looking for a driver. I'm not at all scared off by mileage as long as the body is straight, the body panels are all original and rust free and the paint is in decent to good shape. The motor having been rebuilt or needing minimal work is simply an added bonus as long as leakdown results are solid. I plan to drive it like I stole it and as often as possible.
I have a fever for something to alternate out with my Miata as a daily driver on good weather days and the only prescription is an air cooled 911.
^ very smart man. i blinked and lost 2 opportunities. both of which i would have gladly paid andother $10-15k more for. and they were already WAY more than what the average price this thread suggests WAY more.
When I found a car I liked, that also happened to be local to me, I was left with little choice but to make the deal the day I went to look at her. Another prospective buyer had a PPI done, but foolishly passed on the car. I happened to be friendly with the shop that did the PPI and was able to chat over the results via phone. When I went to see the car myself, I knew I wanted her. I didn't even drive her. I was sitting in the drivers seat, engine purring, looked up at the owner and said "I'll take it."
The price was fair for both parties. I offered a few bucks less than asking, attempting to save a couple dollars and put towards future servicing materials. He kindly declined. We knew the ask was the price, not a dollar less. I smiled. He smiled. We shook hands. Done deal. Took maybe 20 minutes from start to finish. I now know it would be nearly impossible to find another example with all of the work/documentation/mileage/condition that this car has. I feel bad for the other buyer who chose to pass. But, I am very thankful he did.
When I found a car I liked, that also happened to be local to me, I was left with little choice but to make the deal the day I went to look at her. Another prospective buyer had a PPI done, but foolishly passed on the car. I happened to be friendly with the shop that did the PPI and was able to chat over the results via phone. When I went to see the car myself, I knew I wanted her. I didn't even drive her. I was sitting in the drivers seat, engine purring, looked up at the owner and said "I'll take it."
The price was fair for both parties. I offered a few bucks less than asking, attempting to save a couple dollars and put towards future servicing materials. He kindly declined. We knew the ask was the price, not a dollar less. I smiled. He smiled. We shook hands. Done deal. Took maybe 20 minutes from start to finish. I now know it would be nearly impossible to find another example with all of the work/documentation/mileage/condition that this car has. I feel bad for the other buyer who chose to pass. But, I am very thankful he did.
Same here exactly. Was a mile away from home. Good condition. Did the "would you consider" and got noped. Shook hands and we were done. I don't necessarily advise it but it worked for me. Couldn't be happier.
I'm likely to wait until a scenario falls in my lap like the two of you. I would love to find something local and loved by its owner. Luckily patience is something I have an abundance of.
12-14-2015, 03:33 PM
