albin99885

Hi guys, I am buying this car sight unseen- have a good friend who is a big Porsche guy who has seen the vehicle and claims it to be in excellent shape.

The ppi was done over the weekend and looks really solid. This is what was reported back and curious as to what you guys think.

Compression test is perfect with under 5% deviation.
Spark plugs are in excellent condition with the correct tan color electrodes
Few normal wear and tear items
-missing belly pan under engine
-bushings squeak- start with sway bar bushings- esp in rear
-original break lines starting to dry rot
-engine oil common leaks - mostly from chain housing cover
-30-40% left on break pads.

rk-d

No leak down? This is arguably more valuable than a compression test.
Other comments are pretty typical for these cars. I would assume all original rubber in the car is shot or getting close to it. Over time you'll end up replacing most of it.
I'd check for steering wheel shimmy at 60 MPH or so. This could point to A arm bushing wear.
They didn't mention if the struts were original. If so, those are shot.
Belly pan is not a big deal -- many of us have removed ours for better access and cooling.
Oil leaking is relative. A little bit is not the end of the world and pretty common. That said, my car doesn't leak. Changing all the gaskets can be a big job - more of a "while you're in there" type deal when doing something else.
Sounds like a brake job is in your future. I'd plan for a clutch job at some point, but you didn't mention mileage

albin99885

Hey thanks for your words of advice- I will follow up on some of these items.

The car has 72k miles, - on the PPI it states that engine compression test as per porsche workshop, and 5% or less difference so leak down test not required?
I will follow up on this.

SwayBar

How much are they asking?

C2 or C2S, tip/manual, color, etc?

albin99885

1997 c2s, manual, polar silver, boxter red interior, original paint, most service history and in excellent overall shape.. Its high $80k. To me interior condition and color combo is very important to me. AKA why I am probably overpaying a bit

IHTFP

I don't think they offered Polar Silver in 1997. I believe 1997 was Arctic Silver.

rk-d

Sounds reasonable. Key point is driving the thing - how does the engine feel. It should pull strong at 3k RPM and cleanly up through the rev range and shouldn't smoke or make funny noises.

There are some typical wear items, but nothing that I'd call deferred maintenance. Service record history is valuable. Basically, you want to know if the car was loved and maintained regularly over the years.

But bottom line -- doesn't sound like there are any red flags here. C2S are not common, and this sounds like a pretty solid car.

albin99885

Color code is 5858

albin99885

Thank you check your PM please

albin99885

CHECK YOUR PM

albin99885

Do believe it is polar silver- paint code is 5858

tstafford

All of those things sound pretty normal. I'd ask the shop that did the PPI to provide an estimate to fix these things. Use that as part of your price discussion w/ the seller.

I'd want to check the cowl for signs of rust, also I'd check the door hinges on both doors, and I'd open each door pocket to see if they are still in decent shape. These are typical areas of weakness in our cars.

On the bushing thing, I'd drive the car at highway speed and see how it feels when you're slowing down by coasting and under braking. If there's an obvious "wobble" in the steering, likely has shot front control arm bushings at least.

My take - most 993 are going to need some work when you buy them. The amount is in part based on the car and even more so on the OCD level of the new owner. I've put a fair amount of money in to mine since buying it in March '19. But it's well worth it.

IHTFP

You may be right

Here is what I found from an old post. If it is Polar Silver, it is rare

MY95-96, Polar Silver was the "normal" silver (still an upcharge for metallic paint).
MY97-98, Arctic Silver replaced Polar as the "normal" silver (again, still an upcharge for metallic), while Polar moved to the "special paint" (NOT paint to sample.....that's a whole other story) category complete with a "special" (EXPENSIVE) price.

1. You will not see an Arctic Silver MY95-96 993.
2. You will see Polar Silver on all model year 993s, just quite rare on the 97-98s.

albin99885

Can you verify it by the vin? let me now

P-daddy

If paint is original and interior in very good to excellent shape, I’d say high 80s is a good price for the miles. That’s not a very common color combo Any pics?