Gents,
What's a realistic offer on a 90 C2 coupe with approx. 100k miles that has NOT had an engine reseal nor a clutch job? Assume the car is in very condition otherwise, but current owner has been living with a slightly leaky engine.

Thanks.

 

$30-55K. Lots of variables. Ext/int color, condition, upgrades, maintenance history, etc. etc.

 

+1

 

I was thinking pick the price you'd pay without these issues and subtract about $15k. Could be more, could be less.

mike

 

If the cosmetics are great overall in this market a 1990 with some slight oil leaks and an OEM clutch that's in good working condition will still demand $50k, especially come spring time.. Like Ilko said above there are many factors to what the market price should be, you'll have to provide a lot more details for us to give you a better estimate.

 

If you pull the car out of the garage...walk over to where the oil is. If when you step on it, you here a splash, you have an oil leak. If you don't, it's normal, and not a leak.

Weeping is not a leak. 90% of weeping can be taken care of in a few hours in your garage. So for me, normal weeps, for the most part, shouldn't affect the value. And 9 times out of 10, they aren't thing that need to be addressed until something else happens in that area...example-valve covers....drip drip drip...they are coming off every 20k or so for a valve adjustment. Whatever weep will be taken care of then. And maybe hit the chain tensioner seals at the same time. Oil pressure sender seal- can be gotten to easily with the passenger side intake removed, maybe hit that when you do plugs and wires....

Point being to not worry too much. If oil is pouring out of the motor, clearly it's an issue. If oil is dripping too much on the headers...could be fire risk, and should be addressed. But these cases are extreme, and not all that common. We see a lot of guys dump a ton of money into their newly bought 964 to fix weeps, only to have a few weeps come back in short order. Question when buying is "what's normal" and "what's going to cost me a lot of money to get to"....example, on a C4, you have a seal at the front of the transaxle...if that's leaking, which was on one of our cars...it's pretty much only serviceable with the motor out. Pain in the ***, and expensive if you can't drop the motor yourself. So if you jack up the rear of the car and trans fluid pours out (splashy puddle), you have some cost to deal with.

Good luck with it. Feel free to get in touch if you need.

 

^ completely agree.

For example, the 89 carrera I picked up a couple years ago, motor area was VERY dirty, but with all original cosmoline, etc. It had some 'seepage' but no 'drips' Bought the car, had bottom steam cleaned on a lift, and you know what, NONE of that seepage has reappeared after 5k miles and 2 years.

So, if I'm looking at this car, and the cosmetics are what you like/good. I got to a good shop and get a ppi done. have them focus on the mechanicals. Do a leak down/compression test, inspect the plugs, and locate where specifically the seepage is. Common areas are: valve cover gaskets, timing box cover gaskets, return tubes, rear/front main seals, and some of those old rubber oil lines. Most / all can be done with the motor in the car so not a big deal to address. However, being a 90, if the heads have never been off its possible you're getting leaking between the head and the block, which will be expensive to address. You need to get it on a lift and a PPI to make that call.

Now, lets say the inspection comes back with compression/leak down solid, and the leaks identified as basics... then then thats probably a 50k+ car. If the leaks are deeper in the motor, or the leak down comes back very uneven or high... then it's a high 30/low 40's car (in my view).

 

Thank you. This is all very good info. I will take a look at the car this weekend and ask lots of questions. I do know that current owner has all or most records since new and that it's been maintained at a top local shop.

 

forgive my ignorance, for i am still learning about these cars (not an owner yet), but why is it so expensive to have the motor out at an indy shop? are these engines incredibly difficult to work on or something?

 

they all leak.

100k miles with stock motor and clutch. 35-40k depending on paint, suspension etc...

You can drop 10k on the car fairly quick.

 

It comes down to the time taken. I was told the 'target' time for removing a 964 C4 engine and box was ~ 5.5 hours, but there are lots of potential issues to slow the shop down e.g. stripped heads on the driveshaft bolts.

So figure on 11 hours plus to remove and refit an engine. You can see why people go down the 'while you in there' route with fixes. You can also see why being able to drop and refit an engine is a valuable DIY skill.

 

normal shop time in us for in/out is 12-16 hours. Trust me, sometimes it goes in in 3, sometimes getting that thing in takes forever, oh, a leak that popped up, oh whatever, out it comes, in it goes for the 3rd time...

I just settle for fixed fee with shops knowing that it'll even out in the end.

I wish I had the TIME to do an engine drop - not a skill just a time issue for me.

 

But what if it's Mint Green or Signal Green?

 

My .02, if it meets Goughary's definition of a "weeping" car not a "leaking car" it might fetch 50's if everything else lines up. Manual C2 coupe, complete and clean history, desirable color? Could easily be a 50k car in todays market. California car? Sold in a week, at that.

Also consider how many people buy 911's that "don't need a rebuild" and end up doing one within the first year of ownership. Sometimes planned, sometimes unplanned. Personally, I see value in buying a car thats on the edge of needing a rebuild so I can have my own built rather than gamble on someone else's.

 

I would only call a rebuild a gamble if you don't use an experienced rebuilder with a clear resume or if one is an experienced mechanic with a history of rebuilding Porsche motors.