Finally found a 993 coupe (long)
03-06-2012, 09:47 PM
#1
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Finally found a 993 coupe (long)
Several people have helped out, and several more have asked about details of my search to help theirs, so here it goes.
Short version, found a 1995 993 coupe, midnight blue metallic exterior, marble grey (lighter grey) interior, stock, 46k miles, good PPI. It's on a truck now.
Longer version:
I've had a 993 cab for 10 years now, and tracked it for a long time. I had several years where the baby seat just flat wouldn't fit, so I didn't worry too much about the kid angle. I also have 6 pts and a rollbar, so didn't worry too much about the safety angle.
However, hitting nearly 140 on the back stretch (recall stock 993) at The Glen, plus looking in the rear view mirror on the street (of course with rollbar removed and child seat installed) to see my (then) 4 year old son smiling back at me with little more than an umbrella over his head gave me pause.
I had to rule out a track only car as I live in NYC. It is silly enough to have any 911 really, and I REALLY can't justify truck, trailer, track car, and NOT having a street car. So this has to serve dual duty: drive to/from The Glen and other places, yet also take a 5 year old and beach chairs to Long Beach Island and the Hamptons
Starting the search
So I started thinking about switching to a coupe in perhaps April or May of 2011, and committed to it in June. That meant that I just missed out on what would have been perfect, as a Rennlist 95 midnight blue coupe with about 80k mi came up for about $27 or so. However, by the time I committed to getting a coupe, it was gone.
I thought I would get an S, but in the end it seems to cost about $10k more, give or take. I could do $10k in mods instead and have an outstanding dual use car, so I bagged the S.
Where I searched
So, I kept looking on cars.com, autotrader.com, crazedlist.com (I think that's the one), Yahoo cars, AOL cars, Willhoit, Holt, Sloan, Panorama, Rennlist (including begging for leads on the forums), ExcellenceMag, Jaxed, and Ebay, mostly. I also occasionally just Googled to find a few others as well. RL folks were great with PMs too.
I found a wonderful RL car, heavily modded with almost to a T the mods I would make, in my perfect color combo. However, the owner added up what he had into it and "the number" got too high for me. I'm still sad about that one as it is so nice.
I saw one on Ebay that seemed very nice with about 80k, which was asking $34k or something but I think went for 26 or 27 eventually. But he was very odd about a PPI and was located pretty far from any known good Indy, plus was odd responding in general, and the interior wasn't cashmere. It just seemed funky, but in retrospect probably was fine. I probably should have put out a Rennfax, and perhaps I should have relaxed my criteria sooner
I later found the perfect combo for me (midnight blue / cashmere) on Rennlist with about 81k mi for about 29k, but the owner forgot he had promised to sell it back to the previous owner if that ever came up. Nice car. Damn.
Of course several came by the radar screen but none right. I spent A LONG TIME focused on the perfect color combo (for me: midnight blue metallic / cashmere).
One was advertised in Brooklyn (!!), as midnight blue / grey, and I figured with all the money I'd save in shipping I could settle. However, it was actually Ocean Blue, and seeing it in person, wasn't for me. Plus it had lots of little things that would add up to $ and I think it was worth $34k or something with perhaps 60k miles.
I also considered a very beautiful, track prepped, low mileage car, but much of the mileage was on the track. It is probably a good deal and I would get into it for less $, but was concerned about so much track time to start out with. I passed.
Changing things up a bit
I gave up for a couple months due to vacation, discouragement, funeral, and holidays. In that time, of course, a WONDERFUL car came up with very tasteful mods and a very tasteful price (<$30k) and I MISSED IT ALTOGETHER. Yak.
So this made me rethink my approach (finally). In this process I also decided to start looking for more of a 60k mi car than an 80k or so (my first 993 was 95k mi and my second was 87k mi, so I'm not afraid of high mileage 993s). So now trying to get a mid mile, midnight blue, cashmere, good PPI, near a good shop, within range of a Rennfax, yada yada AND in a timely fashion seemed like a lengthy process and increasingly a needle in a haystack. Plus I wanted to stop searching!
If I simply wanted the car because I wanted the car, I would have waited, but given the motivation of safety, I felt I had to compromise. So I realized the exterior color was not negotiable, but perhaps the interior could be. I had from the start given up on finding any modded like I wanted (if I would have gone for a full track car I actually would have done the opposite...find a great car and just accept those choices of mods as a track car).
I had some friends check out a midnight / classic grey (REALLY NICE COMBO), but it seemed to need a clutch soon and $30k for 81k mi seemed a bit high to include that plus shipping from CA, so I regrettably passed on that one too. I still prefer classic grey (darker) to marble (lighter) and am bummed on that one.
I also saw a promising one down the street from the above one. However, it had some odo issues and I got spooked. I passed.
Rennlist folks were also great with many PMs on cars on RL or CL. All were really good leads, even one in "my combo", but with over 100k mi. I decided to stick with the lower miles.
As I opened up my search to include a grey interior, suddenly 3 cars came into view: 1 in MD with about 73k mi @ about $32k, 1 in FL with about 58k mi for $36k, and one in CA with 46k mi, but had an accident.
I got a Rennfax on the Fla car and had passed on the CA car. As I was waiting to get a few things checked and weather to clear in FL, I decided to call on the CA car again.
The owner was so incredibly up front about the accident, including sending me insurance claims, parts lists, etc. which let me crawl through the repair, I realized it might not be such a big thing if properly inspected. And the price MORE than reflected the accident. AND the mileage was so low compared to others I could afford.
Rennfax, PPI, etc.
I started to rethink my "accident free" position considering I'm also going to track it. I called for a Rennfax and 2-3 great guys checked it out for me (later even another decided to go for a drive). All said, "wow, get a PPI...worth it."
Originally the consignment dealer was going to release the car to the owner to take it to RMG, but decided 80 mi was too far. Another call for help on Rennlist. I was led to FastLane, and the dealer agreed, then backed out.
Given that I couldn't do RMG or Fastlane, I first had it taken to a body shop. They gave it glowing reviews (since I had the repair order, I knew it wasn't the same shop).
I settled for a local place for a PPI, but suddenly the leakdown was going to cost me $1k. I backed out and was about to back out of the pursuit on this car altogether. Another call to Rennlist. I was told about MobileWorksWest.com, a mobile repair/inspection service and could come to the dealer..
I spoke with RMG and Steve W about how to screen Tom Amon with MWW to make sure I was comfy, and went for it. He went to the dealer, who was happy to have someone check it out (and not have to go anywhere).
GREAT experience with Tom at MWW. Thorough, professional, fairly priced. It is hard to compare a mobile shop with Steve W or RMG or Fastlane with 993 specific guru-ness in terms of valve guide wiggle tests and Yoda-like Feel the 993 Force guidance, but a very thorough PPI and saved my butt. I really highly recommend Tom, or at least as much as I can before the car arrives I spoke to my mechanics plus Steve W on the results, all of whom said, "nice find, buy it."
Wired the money, have the title, Intercity has the car. DeMoise was slightly cheaper but only had openings too fast (money wouldn't be there yet) or too slow (3 weeks away).
What's next?
It is now on it's way. I'll swap from the cab to the coupe:
And I'll be installing:
Forget the slope, I'm base jumping to get the car up to what the cab is now.
All this puts the cab back to stock with a slight upgrade vs. bone stock (103k mi cab with 46k mi suspension and tranny, plus resprayed nose), and I'll VERY regrettably sell it as soon as it is ready. I am still GUTTED about selling a 993 cab.
Special thanks to many, but especially:
Steve W.
Bob @ RMG
Fastlane
ca993Twin
FlyingFinn,
Race911,
Sanyata,
jdhertz11,
mpgandco
All those who PM'ed a lead or words of encouragement.
Anyone else I've forgotten to name.
Rennlist is a great place.
Good luck to all those on their search!
Short version, found a 1995 993 coupe, midnight blue metallic exterior, marble grey (lighter grey) interior, stock, 46k miles, good PPI. It's on a truck now.
Longer version:
I've had a 993 cab for 10 years now, and tracked it for a long time. I had several years where the baby seat just flat wouldn't fit, so I didn't worry too much about the kid angle. I also have 6 pts and a rollbar, so didn't worry too much about the safety angle.
However, hitting nearly 140 on the back stretch (recall stock 993) at The Glen, plus looking in the rear view mirror on the street (of course with rollbar removed and child seat installed) to see my (then) 4 year old son smiling back at me with little more than an umbrella over his head gave me pause.
I had to rule out a track only car as I live in NYC. It is silly enough to have any 911 really, and I REALLY can't justify truck, trailer, track car, and NOT having a street car. So this has to serve dual duty: drive to/from The Glen and other places, yet also take a 5 year old and beach chairs to Long Beach Island and the Hamptons
Starting the search
So I started thinking about switching to a coupe in perhaps April or May of 2011, and committed to it in June. That meant that I just missed out on what would have been perfect, as a Rennlist 95 midnight blue coupe with about 80k mi came up for about $27 or so. However, by the time I committed to getting a coupe, it was gone.
I thought I would get an S, but in the end it seems to cost about $10k more, give or take. I could do $10k in mods instead and have an outstanding dual use car, so I bagged the S.
Where I searched
So, I kept looking on cars.com, autotrader.com, crazedlist.com (I think that's the one), Yahoo cars, AOL cars, Willhoit, Holt, Sloan, Panorama, Rennlist (including begging for leads on the forums), ExcellenceMag, Jaxed, and Ebay, mostly. I also occasionally just Googled to find a few others as well. RL folks were great with PMs too.
I found a wonderful RL car, heavily modded with almost to a T the mods I would make, in my perfect color combo. However, the owner added up what he had into it and "the number" got too high for me. I'm still sad about that one as it is so nice.
I saw one on Ebay that seemed very nice with about 80k, which was asking $34k or something but I think went for 26 or 27 eventually. But he was very odd about a PPI and was located pretty far from any known good Indy, plus was odd responding in general, and the interior wasn't cashmere. It just seemed funky, but in retrospect probably was fine. I probably should have put out a Rennfax, and perhaps I should have relaxed my criteria sooner
I later found the perfect combo for me (midnight blue / cashmere) on Rennlist with about 81k mi for about 29k, but the owner forgot he had promised to sell it back to the previous owner if that ever came up. Nice car. Damn.
Of course several came by the radar screen but none right. I spent A LONG TIME focused on the perfect color combo (for me: midnight blue metallic / cashmere).
One was advertised in Brooklyn (!!), as midnight blue / grey, and I figured with all the money I'd save in shipping I could settle. However, it was actually Ocean Blue, and seeing it in person, wasn't for me. Plus it had lots of little things that would add up to $ and I think it was worth $34k or something with perhaps 60k miles.
I also considered a very beautiful, track prepped, low mileage car, but much of the mileage was on the track. It is probably a good deal and I would get into it for less $, but was concerned about so much track time to start out with. I passed.
Changing things up a bit
I gave up for a couple months due to vacation, discouragement, funeral, and holidays. In that time, of course, a WONDERFUL car came up with very tasteful mods and a very tasteful price (<$30k) and I MISSED IT ALTOGETHER. Yak.
So this made me rethink my approach (finally). In this process I also decided to start looking for more of a 60k mi car than an 80k or so (my first 993 was 95k mi and my second was 87k mi, so I'm not afraid of high mileage 993s). So now trying to get a mid mile, midnight blue, cashmere, good PPI, near a good shop, within range of a Rennfax, yada yada AND in a timely fashion seemed like a lengthy process and increasingly a needle in a haystack. Plus I wanted to stop searching!
If I simply wanted the car because I wanted the car, I would have waited, but given the motivation of safety, I felt I had to compromise. So I realized the exterior color was not negotiable, but perhaps the interior could be. I had from the start given up on finding any modded like I wanted (if I would have gone for a full track car I actually would have done the opposite...find a great car and just accept those choices of mods as a track car).
I had some friends check out a midnight / classic grey (REALLY NICE COMBO), but it seemed to need a clutch soon and $30k for 81k mi seemed a bit high to include that plus shipping from CA, so I regrettably passed on that one too. I still prefer classic grey (darker) to marble (lighter) and am bummed on that one.
I also saw a promising one down the street from the above one. However, it had some odo issues and I got spooked. I passed.
Rennlist folks were also great with many PMs on cars on RL or CL. All were really good leads, even one in "my combo", but with over 100k mi. I decided to stick with the lower miles.
As I opened up my search to include a grey interior, suddenly 3 cars came into view: 1 in MD with about 73k mi @ about $32k, 1 in FL with about 58k mi for $36k, and one in CA with 46k mi, but had an accident.
I got a Rennfax on the Fla car and had passed on the CA car. As I was waiting to get a few things checked and weather to clear in FL, I decided to call on the CA car again.
The owner was so incredibly up front about the accident, including sending me insurance claims, parts lists, etc. which let me crawl through the repair, I realized it might not be such a big thing if properly inspected. And the price MORE than reflected the accident. AND the mileage was so low compared to others I could afford.
Rennfax, PPI, etc.
I started to rethink my "accident free" position considering I'm also going to track it. I called for a Rennfax and 2-3 great guys checked it out for me (later even another decided to go for a drive). All said, "wow, get a PPI...worth it."
Originally the consignment dealer was going to release the car to the owner to take it to RMG, but decided 80 mi was too far. Another call for help on Rennlist. I was led to FastLane, and the dealer agreed, then backed out.
Given that I couldn't do RMG or Fastlane, I first had it taken to a body shop. They gave it glowing reviews (since I had the repair order, I knew it wasn't the same shop).
I settled for a local place for a PPI, but suddenly the leakdown was going to cost me $1k. I backed out and was about to back out of the pursuit on this car altogether. Another call to Rennlist. I was told about MobileWorksWest.com, a mobile repair/inspection service and could come to the dealer..
I spoke with RMG and Steve W about how to screen Tom Amon with MWW to make sure I was comfy, and went for it. He went to the dealer, who was happy to have someone check it out (and not have to go anywhere).
GREAT experience with Tom at MWW. Thorough, professional, fairly priced. It is hard to compare a mobile shop with Steve W or RMG or Fastlane with 993 specific guru-ness in terms of valve guide wiggle tests and Yoda-like Feel the 993 Force guidance, but a very thorough PPI and saved my butt. I really highly recommend Tom, or at least as much as I can before the car arrives
I spoke to my mechanics plus Steve W on the results, all of whom said, "nice find, buy it."Wired the money, have the title, Intercity has the car. DeMoise was slightly cheaper but only had openings too fast (money wouldn't be there yet) or too slow (3 weeks away).
What's next?
It is now on it's way. I'll swap from the cab to the coupe:
- the nose
- rear bumper
- regeared tranny
- RS sways
- LWF, RS clutch, LSD
- JIC Cross
- a few black interior bits
- Schroth 6 pt
- Traqmate
- GoPro
And I'll be installing:
- Perhaps an oil cooler
- DAS coupe bar
- aftermarket Turbo tail (in midnight blue no less...really hoping it matches)
- Bluetooth/iPod stereo
- Surflex on any remaining blue interior bits
- Probably Recaro Pole Positions in black leather with perhaps silver/grey stitching
- GR/SSK
- Perhaps Fister exhaust
- Some sort of 8.5/10 18" wheels with hopefully Toyo RA/1
Forget the slope, I'm base jumping to get the car up to what the cab is now.
All this puts the cab back to stock with a slight upgrade vs. bone stock (103k mi cab with 46k mi suspension and tranny, plus resprayed nose), and I'll VERY regrettably sell it as soon as it is ready. I am still GUTTED about selling a 993 cab.
Special thanks to many, but especially:
Steve W.
Bob @ RMG
Fastlane
ca993Twin
FlyingFinn,
Race911,
Sanyata,
jdhertz11,
mpgandco
All those who PM'ed a lead or words of encouragement.
Anyone else I've forgotten to name.
Rennlist is a great place.
Good luck to all those on their search!
Last edited by JPS; 03-07-2012 at 02:01 PM.
03-06-2012, 10:13 PM
#5
I too just dropped my C2S dreams for a NB C2.. don't regret if for a second and have $10k in my pocket to get it up to where I want it.
congrats & have fun at the track - my first 911 track day in under a month.. sending my FD order for brakes now
phil.
congrats & have fun at the track - my first 911 track day in under a month.. sending my FD order for brakes now
phil.
Trending Topics
03-06-2012, 10:48 PM
#8
Nordschleife Master
Very nice JPS! Looks like your due diligence has finally paid off and very nice to know about Tom and MobileWorksWest .. that looks like an awesome resource for a PPI in the Bay Area .. Hey, have you ever posted pictures of your Iris Blue Cab? I don't recall ever seeing any ....
)
03-06-2012, 11:06 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
So a second car from Northern CA goes to NYC! For what you said you want to do, I think this is as good as anything you're likely to find.
Just to contrast, I'm 5 days in with Ed's '84 Targa and running around Phoenix with it has been pretty fun. Has it got flaws? Sure, it's 27 years old, and has been heavily modified. But it's a whole lot better than I expected (ride quality as a street car, at least not on CA roads, and cosmetically). Wasn't looking, glad I picked it up. Not like if I'd gone to the nth degree over the purchase that: 1. the price would have changed or, 2. there would have been another out there like it. Kinda like the yellow car, actually!
So I guess what I'm saying is that, as with our wives/husbands/partners, sometimes you have a myriad of criteria.........and you never know exactly what you'll fall in love with.
Just to contrast, I'm 5 days in with Ed's '84 Targa and running around Phoenix with it has been pretty fun. Has it got flaws? Sure, it's 27 years old, and has been heavily modified. But it's a whole lot better than I expected (ride quality as a street car, at least not on CA roads, and cosmetically). Wasn't looking, glad I picked it up. Not like if I'd gone to the nth degree over the purchase that: 1. the price would have changed or, 2. there would have been another out there like it. Kinda like the yellow car, actually!
So I guess what I'm saying is that, as with our wives/husbands/partners, sometimes you have a myriad of criteria.........and you never know exactly what you'll fall in love with.
03-07-2012, 01:17 PM
#13
Nordschleife Master
03-07-2012, 01:25 PM
#14
Nordschleife Master
Oh ... and I've been meaning to ask .. the pictures of your new coupe, the paint looks incredible .. like it's wet. Is it color sanded or something? Special lighting? Looks like the pic's were done by a pro with the curtain backdrop etc....
03-07-2012, 01:31 PM
#15
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thx, but just good pics. The Rennfax brigade said it has swirls, but is in good shape.
In years past I'd take my Porter Cable orbital buffer and Zaino and put 20 coats or so on myself. That's when I had a garage downstairs, and no kids.
With the garage a subway ride away, plus a 5 year old, I'll be getting a detail with the mods...
In years past I'd take my Porter Cable orbital buffer and Zaino and put 20 coats or so on myself. That's when I had a garage downstairs, and no kids.
With the garage a subway ride away, plus a 5 year old, I'll be getting a detail with the mods...