luke-44

Hi all - newbie here looking at 993's with a tight budget.

There are a few high milege (over 100000) 993's out there at what seems like really good prices. I have tried to develop some sort of spreadsheet to determine a realtionship between price and miles, but I have given up on that - too many variables, and no consistency in the market pricing. Some higher milege cars seem well maintained, and except for the odometer, seem indistinguisahble from the lower milege versions (at least in the pix).

What are the comments on buying a high milge 993 at a low price? Does it end up costing more in the long run, or, if a car is well maintained, are they good value? Could one argue it has had 'the big hits" and actually great value - ready for another 100000?

So, can I save a few bucks, and with a good ppi and good records, and be a happy owner? Or, am I in for a major mistake?

I plan to use it for DE and weekends.

Thanks for the input,

The Brewmeister

If it checks out with a good PPI and the records are in order it COULD be a
great value. But then you can't forget that it's in the vicinity of ten years old
and it's a used car with 100000+ miles. In this territory there are no
guarantees and major repairs are expensive. Used cars are always a bit
of a gamble. You never know when the next major failure can come up. That's just the way it is.

Mike J

Sorry, just like you said, too many variables, no consistency. You will get answers all over the map. I think its more like what YOU are like ; do you want a very clean pristine example or something that you can drive and not worry? If it's DE and weekends I would do the higher mileage...it leaves more money on the table for modifications and maintenance. But you will get all different answers..

If you do a search I bet this has been asked before as well.....

Cheers,

Mike

VNTGSPD

+1 for the other replies.

But, here is my experience for what its worth. I bought mine last October with 92K miles. It now is ready to turn 100K in the next couple of weeks. In that time I have done the following routine and non-routine maintenance:

Oil Change: $100
Hood/decklid shocks: $90
Alternator brushes: $35 (common issue at 90K+ miles)
Valve cover gaskets: $200 parts and labor (done during PPI leakdown test)
Steering rack leak: $450 (common issue at any mileage it seems)

I do all my own labor so I typically save a lot on repairs. The only potentially scary area in my mind is the valve guide issue. Since the only way to effectively determine valve guide condition is by oil consumption monitoring, it makes it virtually impossible to know with any certainty at point of purchase whether your car will need work in 10K miles or 100K miles. The nice thing is that this issue affects a small percentage of cars.

TMc993

As long as nothing breaks, these cars are not that expensive to maintain (Mods are another story). It's when something breaks that things get serious. You can check by searching and confirm this, but from what I see, anything that is an engine-out/tranny-out repair gets brutal really quick.

The yellow flag I see is that you plan to use the car in DE events. In my experience, that can quickly and seriously escalate the cost of ownership.

Regards,
TMc

pedsurg

At the right price this could be an excellent value. Factor in $5 K for a top end rebuild already done or to be done, $2-3 K for replacement of orig suspension, again already done or to be done, etc etc etc. If these and other major maintainence items already done and done well you could haveanother 100K of relatively trouble free driving. If not, these numbers need to be factored intp purchase price.

Jack
96 993 track
97 993 S

black ice

You didn't say if you had a p-car (or some other sportscar) before. Tires are definitely more expensive. I had an altima that you could put four great tires on for less than $350 and they would last for 40K plus miles. Putting good tires on your 993 will cost you, say, $700 - $1100 and the rears will go away in 10 to 20K miles (If you're tracking, even less).

Also there's the slippery slope problem. You're going to WANT to spend more money on your car to get it perfect....

pedsurg

true true black but that "perfect" 993 should maintain much of its' residual value
btw, where are you in Tampa
will you be at either of the upcoming goldcoast or suncoast sebring de's?

Jack

Falcondrivr

FWIW, I bought my 120,000 mile car in March. It has a good service history, passed PPI, bought pretty cheap in California. So, cheap, that I still have less in it than I would if I had bought the same car here, even with the $1700 in shipping. It doesn't smoke on startup, and has used maybe 1/4 quart of oil, in the 2500 miles I've put on it. For my .02, mileage doesn't scare me a bit, if the car has been well maintained.

pedsurg

Not another one! falcon, were'you at in Tampa??

Jack
Davis Islands

Falcondrivr

Kennedy and Henderson area. If the Fox13 Tower fell, it might hit my house.

pedsurg

I just returned from there. I'll keep my eyes posted for your car. How bout you, will you be at Sebring on either of the next two weekends??
Jack

jdistefa

Jack, are you trolling for friends?

Marlon

I just bought a Black '95 on Cashmere w/105K...PPI'd great with piddling remarks such as, "windshield wash cap deteriorated...".

B U T here's "the real deal" - it is "so original" and untouched that it needs:
Plug wires - they are cracked and broken all over the place
clutch slave cylinder - squeaky & feels worse than any 911 I ever had
Shifter linkage repair - busted plastic grommets in the linkage so it is clunky and crappy feeling
Shocks - they are stock and toast so it 'boings' a little on certain raod conditions
Valve cover gaskets replaced - slight weepage
timing chain cover gaskets - same as above
Probably will need a distributor rebuild soon
dist caps, rotors, plugs
sunroof felt - vanity item, will replace before I wet sand & polish
spoiler motor and/or bearing overhaul & curtain - really grindy during retraction
engine mounts - might lower the engine a little for the clutch slave job & replace the rear mounts while I'm at it.
cruise control fixed - inop
A/C needs very slight recharge
total wet sand & polish (original paint:^)) - lots of road rash here and there, no biggie
parking brake adjustment (Have not figured out how to remove the console yet)

On top of all that, it only has 3 options: roof, radio & cruise, but came with both the original 16" wheels & tires and 18" factory Porsche 'twist' wheels & P-zeros.

Hmmmm - buy a 35K / 30K miles car - maybe, since these repairs and fixes are easily going into the 6K+ range. These cars cost probably 200 / 300 percent more to maintain than any Carrera or SC I ever owned and eat shocks, tires, wires, etc. But it is a cornering phenom, the power causes grinning above 4K rpm and it rides waay better than any of my past 4 911's.

B U T - I'm still thinking about unloading it and getting a 83' SC or 89' Carrera. My 993 would make a tremendous race car donor car.

Marlon

On second thought - since it has no major issues (at this point) maybe I'll hang on to it. It's a nice clean example of a plain jane 993 - no frills, just business. I wish I had kept my very first 911 - a 75' 911S, yellow with no substantial options (nor roof). I always like the 'simplicity' of it and that's the reason for the no frills 993. I don;t think owning a 993 "on a budget" is possible. I think I'll jazz up my car with a silver script 'Carrera' after I sand and polish it this winter.