PorkerNW

Hi all

Apologies if I have not read through the entire forum for the relevant posts, but I just had a test drive of a 1994 C2 coupe (tiptronic). Black exterior with creamy interior and black dashboard. Private seller who is the second owner. Currently have 80k km on the clock although the speedo is down and can only show up to around 37k km. The car has been repainted to black by the official dealer in HK (Jebsen) by the first owner. Feels great but have some concerns in mind after the test drive - I have in mind going ahead with a PPI but seller has received another offer for his car so the clock is running and hence any opinion on the following would be most helpful!

1. Suspension / shocks - feels stiff and not wobbly or bouncy, although I can feel some hardness when it goes through some slightly bumpy roads. This car is completely stock when it comes to the mechanics so am not sure if it should feel like that, or that it's prolly the wear and tear that comes with age and it's time for an upgrade?

2. Indicator switches next to the steering wheel - somehow they would only click back to their original positions after almost 3/4 of a turn. I would have thought that they would be more sensitive and click back to their original positions at say 1/2 a turn?

3. Engine and air-conditioning - rebuilt in 2008 but seller said he has been driving it as a weekend car. As a precaution prolly I should spare some money for a rebuild soon?

4. Squeaky sounds - coming out from the car when I drove it. Don't think they come from the seals as seller said he has just replaced them not long ago. Perhaps from the rubber parts of the suspension or the chassis?

Thanks a million!

Dryfly57

The right car will come to you. If you have second thoughts, pass. IMHO

boman993

I would be more concerned with the repaint and odometer issue.. I'd pass on this one.

David in LA

Just a comment on one of Nelson's points (I have been chatting to him off and on about his car search):
- repaints for color changes in HK is quite common, it is usually not the automatic red flag that it raises in the U.S. I've heard of guys buying ferraris and lambos and having them immediately repainted in their color of choice as they are too impatient to wait for a car with the factory color. A repaint by itself would not be a huge concern, at least for cars in HK.

I agree that a major concern is the broken odometer (FWIW mine was down for a while but I had records that gave a pretty good estimate of how many miles the car had clocked while it was down)...if this repair was neglected, what else was neglected? This also doesn't seem consistent with having the motor and A/C system rebuilt 5 years ago...those are not inexpensive fixes so you'd think the seller would be **** about having everything on the car "right".

You should also know that the market in HK for 993s is very limited...there just aren't that many good ones that come to market on a regular basis, and many of them wind up with second hand dealers who are somewhat unscrupulous here (odometer rollbacks, etc). A lot of the more desirable cars (RS, TT, manual shifts) were exported to UK or Australia given the favorable exchange rate (esp by expat Aussies as the market value of 993s are ~2x what it is in HK and in certain circumstances they were able to import to Oz without any duty taxes), and many of the better ones are now sitting with afficianados who have multiple cars and are in no hurry to put the cars into the market.

Anyone looking for a 993 in HK will likely have to compromise in 1-2 areas IMHO

PorkerNW

Thanks David. Good point re the speedo. That's 1 of the 2 biggest concerns I have i.e. the black hole of history since it was stopped, and the approximate spendings for new suspension and brakes. A long time ago I have come across a 993 targa in HK which was available for sale. The owner said the speedo was out of order as well and it's imported from the UK (I never quite get around how you can manage to import a 993 into HK - not past 20 years old yea right?). Hence I thought speedo is one of the areas that will likely break down over age.

However I am pretty certain that this is a private seller and have asked him to produce the service records of the car. Will see if he can do that so that a full history of the car can be known....

David in LA

NVM

power_up

+1 on David.
If the repaint is ensure done by Jebsen, it is not a concern. As David said, 993 are become rare and rare in HK. I will focus on the structure of the car. Anything can be repaired. But if the car had been crashed which altered the structure, it is really need stay away.

The odometer problem always appear in 964 and 993. Especially in HK. Most owner not willing to spend the cost of the gauge and very less garage willing to repair the gear inside. IF OP can obtain the service history from previous owner, you can somehow have idea of the mechanical stuff lasting. If there is a proof that the engine is rebuilt on 2008 and done right by reputable shop, I don't think it need rebuilt again so soon. Re-seal and Re-built is totally difference IMO.

A/C always is a problem here that you need to prepare in mind.

Compromise some minor area always require as so less selection you can obtain, especially buying in HK. For me, if the chassis ok, then others are not too major to me if no other choice I obtain.

power_up

Yes, get the service record as much as you can. At least the latest 6-10 years.

PorkerNW

Thanks. In a rather embarrassing position given that the seller has received an offer already and I don't want to delay his sale, although you will agree with me that I would like to get the full history of the car if possible. Seller said he has full records during his ownership (from 2008 till now) and also part of the service records of the previous owner (in total 2 owners). Seller followed the previous owner to go to the same garage (will research on reputation of garage later upon production of records) and he asked the garage to try to obtain further records from Jebsen (as the garage ordered parts from Jebsen, the HK dealer anyway) but even Jebsen said they do not have the records.

Anyone knows how long Jebsen would keep records of their 993s sold? If not, area for caution I believe.

power_up

Is that mean he is going to sale the 993 to others?
Usually not much inform can be obtain from jebsen. Got the receipt of the repair work is the most practical way. I don't believe anything that seller said before any document can be proofed. I had seen some seller use quotation act as receipt for produce service record. Most protect yourself is to get a throughout ppi by a reputable person and supplementary with service history and negotiate a reasonable price. Recently there are some 993 selling around, good luck for searching.

element

for driving the car my rule is you need to push it a bit to get a good feel for how strong\tight it is.. lots of gas, hard on the brakes, speed through the corners.. if it can take all that with no weaknesses it gets a check in my books. It will also heat up all the parts of the car so you can do a good hot inspection and ultimately how happy it is after a bit of a workout.

phil.

PorkerNW

Thanks guys....yes the seller has indicated that he has an offer already but thought that he should let me take a look as I have shown interest some time ago (and partly for him to see if I can give him a better offer I guess). I have asked him to provide service records but he's out of town for business. So if unfortunately he can't produce them when he gets back, or wants to sell his car asap without producing the service records to me, I won't go ahead.

Been quite hard on my test drive hence felt the hardness when it's on bumpy roads and the squeaky sounds. Am I a unreasonable perfectionist if I see squeaky sounds as a flaw? Also would like to hear from any of you guys about the indicator shifters next to the steering wheel - normally how quickly do they shift back to their original positions? after a complete turn? I had to push them back to their original positions when cutting through lanes. Not sure if that's normal.

CamsPorsche

Seller's story is nice...I'd walk.

Neil Perry

Better to wait for a good car with a confirmed history.
993's can cost more to fix than just purchase a good car in the first place.
I am supprised that the car was rebuilt in 2008 before this owner purchased the car, but this owner is worried about only driving the car on week ends, sounds like a story.
How do you know is has 80,000 Klms with a broken speedo?
There is something very wrong if the car needs a rebuild again, it has either done 200,000Klms or never rebuilt in the first place.
I would not buy this car from an Australian view point

power_up

Yes, don't go ahead if nothing can produce. Take time to get a right one. These cars are rare, but the market here is narrow. I don't think it is so easy to sell one.

Squeaky sounds and hardness of driving is difficult to comment as no 1st person feeling. But driving a stock 993 should be feel comfortable, silent and smooth acceleration. Squeaky sound should be minium and not annoying. Those I drove before can be zero squeaky.

Indicator stalk is no difference to modern cars. Some stalk I know is fault like one side will not return and the other side cannot hold its position.

Did you contact those selling in 28car? I read some selling there.