Boober

Lol, that oil smell is worth $$$$$

dufftime

18 year old cars are going to have some paint blemishes. Mine had a respray. Unless you turn it into a garage queen (and 80K mileage is too high for that) then just get the exterior issues fixed. The crack on the rear bumper was worse than I expected.

Oil leaks on valve covers are very common. Lower valve covers are not too bad to DIY, uppers can be painful... and will likely lead to other "while you're in there" service items (plug wires, plugs, etc.). My sunroof wouldn't close without holding down the wind deflector as it was missing the seals (never replaced after respray) which broke the hinges:
.
Also not a bad DIY with hand tools.

Other common issues: door straps, rust in rear window seals, SAI (should throw CEL). PPI should cover these. If the PPI checks out, mid-high 30's is a good price. I paid almost $2K to ship mine from the east coast so consider any 993 close to home a huge bonus.

Does the owner have documentation/receipts? Stock shocks are usually shot by now, and by 80K you'll probably need a clutch.

993Mpls

Get an estimate from a body shop for repainting those blemishes and bring that back to the seller in your negotiations. Plus, PPI with estimated repair costs for the sunroof, and figure $4k for fixing the oil leaks. Or not. $4k will buy a *lot* of quarts of oil.

race911

I like mine, but I don't see a cross shop between any air cooled and a 996 Turbo.

kjr914

Drive some more if you can...contact local RL'ers or go to PCA events and ask for a ride-along, then maybe someone will let you drive it.

Those are very standard issues. Prior post is dead on about the sunroof. Some cheap parts and some cleaning/lubing of the tracks usually fixes it.

Oil leaks = air cooled ownership. Seeping or small drips = stick cardboard under it, wait until you have to pull the motor for a clutch or top end. But you can DIY the lower valve covers quite easily really with the info here and on several other help sites like pcarworkshop and jackals site (uppers aren't usually the issue). The rear chain covers are a bigger issue to fix with the motor in the car, but still do-able.

$4k sounds very high for JUST valve covers. But often people will drop motor for the covers AND the rear chain covers...then you hit the "while I'm in there" stuff and you can hit $4k quickly (ex clutch, plug wires).

^^^^
Best reply ever!

Get an idea what it will cost to fix the issues from the shop doing the work now, but ALSO from another independent source. Do NOT use the current owners shop for the PPI...they have a long relationship already and could be buddies. Even if you will use that shop later, get a 2nd opinion. You may be surprised at the costs to fix things...the sunroof is a cheap fix, but the bumper will be $1k before you are done.

993Mpls

kjr914: You're totally correct that my $4k is high for the valve covers. I was figuring dropping the motor and then at least some of the "while you are in there" stuff.

pp000830

Here is my ever expanding list of 993 stuff that may help you develop insights as to what the car may need. At the miles involved some of this stuff should be done already. Key expensive stuff include, clutch, struts, valve adjusters, transmission synchros. Many needs are only if the car involved is exhibiting some specific symptom.
Hope this helps.
Andy

six gun

This just came up.
http://www.excellence-mag.com/classi...5#.VQiZcfnF-So

Spyder_Man

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, I'd give the suspension and steering rack a close examination. I'd plan on needing to replace the struts at least on the car assuming they're still OEM. Having done the buy it cheap and fix it as it comes route, I'd recommend spending a bit more up front for an example that has had some important repair/upgrade work already done on it.

"All original" on a 20 year-old car isn't always a good thing if you plan on driving it, because it can sometime mean "needs lots of work" in terms of addressing failing original parts.

Ed Hughes

^^^This is important to note, and you should use another shop for PPI. If this car is $35K, you're certainly not paying top of the market for a garage queen. So, unless the paint appearance really bugs you, or is an eyesore, I'd not stress over the respray.

Ed Hughes

If I was shopping, I'd also spring for a membership here to access the classifieds, and an "associate" PCA membership, or whatever it's called for a non-owner. The level of cars on both sites are typically a cut above.

Spyder_Man

+993!

redlightrich

Keep in mind, while you are inquiring, there are 10 people ready to pay for it as is. I am not saying to make a hasty decision, but with the air cooled market as it is, don't delay either.

NoleenELT

This is very true in my experience. The cheap cars get bought up quickly by people who can afford not to do a PPI.

At the end of last year, I went through the exact same situation as you, and I got really lucky to ****** up a great deal and have a PPi done. I had to jump on it though, and I sent a deposit the same day, sight unseen.

I also completely agree with what everyone else said about the PPI. The car that I got was a great price, and I did not want it to slip away to another buyer, so I let the seller choose the shop for the PPI. He even offered to pay for it.

The PPI missed a lot of easily identifiable issues. Understand that you can not expect a PPI to find everything, but choosing the correct shop will go a long way towards this.

That being said, luckily for me, all of the issues that were missed are easily fixable, and I still would have bought the car at that price even if I had known about them.

Just be aware that if you are looking to buy a car this old at the bottom of the spectrum of what they sell for, you'll need to plan for some repairs. I set aside some money anticipating this, and I've really enjoyed spending the winter getting to know the car inside and out. If this sounds like you, then a "budget" 993 is a great way to go. If you are not handy and/or don't have a little extra budget, then I would say to go with something newer.

NoleenELT

In my (limited) experience, a 964 does not seem any easier to work on than a 993. The engine is very similar, but requires periodic valve adjustments on the 964, the interior and front suspension are about the same.