I just took a 1997 Riviera Blue/Full leather Grey Targa with 43k miles on the odo for a test drive. I am looking for a beeter for my wife to play with and bring to the mall so I do not want to spend too much.

The owner claims to know little about the cars history other than what he has put into it in the last 2 years.

From what I can tell the car appears to be a complete respray. (No orange peel like most Porsche paints) Yet I see no signs of taping, blending or overspray and it only has two rock chips? So if it is a respray it was a nice job. At the same time the rear window molding is showing signs of rust.

When driving down the road the car appears to have a slight shimmy in the wheel and when you hit the highway bumps it does a funny little wiggle. As far as the owner knows the shocks are original. I also noticed that the car had no power when I hit the gas at 4K rpms, yet it appeared to have adequate power off the line.

Although I could not see any signs of repair I feel the car may have had some front end damage and I suspect the lack of power may be caused by the notorious distributor belt, which I believe has already failed.

The guy is asking $28k which is way too much. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the shimmy and the lack of power.

I will not purchase the car without a complete PPI, however at this point I am not sure if it is worth even taking it that far.

Any Input?

 

Calling a 993 a beeter, on this board? Man, them's fighting words!!

No ideas on the previous life of the car sounds shady and scary to me. I'd look elsewhere.

 

No records, no idea of previous life, a complete respray of the entire car at 43K miles? ...hmmm.... I'd pass.

 

Run a carfax and get a PPI. A shimmy is more likely a wheel out of balance or a bent wheel. However, the stock suspension is probably shot and will need to be attended to. A good PPI will pick up any front end damage. The kick in the back you are saying that is missing is usually associated with turbos as you obviously experience! The power of the 993 is linear, so much so that it doesn't "feel" quick or fast at all.

If you are looking for a beater, this could fit the bill. The price is on the low end so if everything checks out ok, why not? After all, you are not looking for a garage queen and beaters usually sit outside, park randomly and hardly ever get washed!

 

I appreciate the input.

Did I say beater? Its been a long day.

In any case after quite a bit of research finding these cars in the sub $35 price range is nearly impossible. Most of the cars I have looked at are great but are asking too much money for them. For my purposes I don't want to spend more than $35k if I can help it.

I understand that I am not going to feel the kick of my turbo, but my stock SC had more get up and go then this car and he just had a complete service performed. I have driven my friends 95 C4 and his car has considerably more power then this car, yet this car did not seem to be lacking at the low end. Kind of felt like a car with a weak charging system or weak spark. Just guessing at this point.

I have to agree there are too many unanswered questions. I think the search will continue.

Thanks again.

 

Hi Anthony,
I'm trying to sell my '98 Targa with 100K. Email or call me if you are interested. My price seems to meet your requirements.
Thanks,
Adam

adambos@optonline.net
(203) 371-5852