MarinS4

I tried selling my rust/corrosion free turbocharged Arena Red 1996 C4S with near perfect OEM paint over the last 6 months for $80k. With the exception of two flaky buyers I had no luck. I suspect the turbo charged motor that requires 93+ fuel, SMOG issues and Sparco EVO seats were the big deterents. I see stock or near stock commands a higher premium so I plan to de-mod the car to appeal to more buyers before relisting it.

When you went shopping for a 993 what mods would you want and what would you hate? I have begun collecting stock parts but feel like I don't need to go back to 100% stock. Maybe just a hot NA build would appeal to buyers? Please help me decide what path to go by answering yes or no to the following.

1 PSS9 suspension?
2 ROW suspension?
3 Factory 993 turbo wheels?
4 Fikse 3 piece racing wheels in black?
5 Stock seats?
6 Leather/Alcatera Recaro's or Sparco's?
7 RS uprights?
8 Stock exhaust?
9 Custom sport exhaust with headers and heat?
10 Built 5k motor with RS cams and Arrow rods?
11 Stock 60k motor?
12 Factory Turbo deck lid?
13 Factory 993 deck lid?
14 Rear Seat delete?
14 Rear kiddie seats?
15 Rear RS carpet kit?
16 Ruf style small leather air back steering wheel?
17 996 leather steering wheel?
18 993 leather steering wheel?

Thanks for the feedback guys. Not in a rush to convert just yet but I need to start collecting parts for when I am ready to put it back on the market.

Tom

goofballdeluxe

Without a doubt, the big mods that enhance any 993 and the price are new/upgraded suspension and top end/valve guides addressed. No buyer would look at those as anything but a big plus, since they are probably the biggest ticket items.

The rest are very subjective. Some are very desirable, like hardback sports seats, but I wouldn't buy them if don't already have them to sell the car.

If going back to stock, the smart money is to return it to it's original hood sticker condition, if possible. It might be the least expensive route, and will bring the most buck since it's back to original.

Good luck

Knight

Go back to as close to stock as possible is best when selling - simply opens up a wider spectrum of buyers.

In addition to suspension, I think any mods that are typically Porsche would be ok to keep on the car if it's simply it's too much of a hassle to remove. They won't reduce your value but add some value since, some aged items need to be replaced or upgraded eventually.

1 PSS9 suspension? Yes
2 ROW suspension? Yes - preference and you'll get more $ in your pocket selling PSS9s
3 Factory 993 turbo wheels? Yes
4 Fikse 3 piece racing wheels in black? No
5 Stock seats? Yes
6 Leather/Alcatera Recaro's or Sparco's? No
7 RS uprights? Yes
8 Stock exhaust? Yes
9 Custom sport exhaust with headers and heat? No
10 Built 5k motor with RS cams and Arrow rods? Yes
11 Stock 60k motor? Yes
12 Factory Turbo deck lid? No
13 Factory 993 deck lid? Yes
14 Rear Seat delete? No
14 Rear kiddie seats? Yes
15 Rear RS carpet kit? No
16 Ruf style small leather air back steering wheel? No
17 996 leather steering wheel? Yes
18 993 leather steering wheel? Yes

Good luck!

Mr.Woolery

I agree mostly with Knight's list, with the exception of "rear seat delete", and "Rear RS carpet kit"

MarinS4

I found some 993 turbo wheels. I hope to pick em up Friday. Stock exhaust should be easy. I have a few leads. Sounds like I should keep the refreshed motor with RS style cams. Need to chase down seats and steering wheel now.

Stock rear seats are easy. I still got em. I know I can sell the RSD quickly if it does not stay with the car.

Thanks guys!

Kika

I believe MOST buyers are looking for a mostly unchanged unmodified car. Clearly there are maintenance items that make a lot of sense, like suspension.

I "THINK" that buyers are afraid of modified cars, as they somehow correlate a modified car, to one that was "Tracked/Raced or otherwise abused" The fact is, that there little correlation between how well a car was maintained and how many modifications it has. BUT, the perception exists.

If I were to pursue another 993, I would chase a 97 (so the ECU can be programmed) in good physical shape, i.e. no crashes, wouldn't mind if it had clogged ports or even if the motor needed work. I would actually WANT one that needed a rebuild, (priced appropriately) so I could have it done, and know how it was done, not have to speculate. I'd probably even try and find a RoW car with a G50-21 tranny.

il pirata

Is this the original engine that came with the car?

JB 911

or did the 60k stock engine come with the car?

MarinS4

Yes it had 26k miles before I refreshed it with upgraded parts to support the turbo kit. We did Arrow rods, DC21 cams (similar to RS), flame ringed heads and pistons/cylinders from a 7k mile motor. Converting it back to NA is easy since I stuck with the original high compression pistons.

The 60k motor option would be from a wrecked car I am looking to buy for parts. It would have everything needed (mufflers/headers etc) to convert motor back to stock. It also has stock wheels and seats. Pretty much all I need.

MarinS4

I understand modded cars imply beaters in certain circles. I agree the perception is wrong though. It should be judged on a case by case basis.

Thanks for the feedback.

NP993

Instead of spending all that time/money re-modifying the car, why not just drop the asking price.

MarinS4

The de-modding is not that involved and won't take long. The cost of the stock parts is quite reasonable when I factor in money recovered from selling the existing mods. It's about a $20k+ delta after selling mods/buying stock parts with higher resale value. Well worth my time!

The current sale price has not been as much of an issue as the very limited buying pool. Those that love it see value in it as is. Sure I could keep dropping the price until it sells. Not a wise strategy in my opinion.

Allen

This would be my shopping list...keep in mind this is personal preference:
1 PSS9 suspension? this or ROW
2 ROW suspension? this or PSS9
3 Factory 993 turbo wheels? yes
4 Fikse 3 piece racing wheels in black? big no
5 Stock seats? big yes
6 Leather/Alcatera Recaro's or Sparco's? big no
7 RS uprights? no
8 Stock exhaust? yes...unless it had one I liked (Fister, etc.)
9 Custom sport exhaust with headers and heat? big no
10 Built 5k motor with RS cams and Arrow rods? big no
11 Stock 60k motor? big yes
12 Factory Turbo deck lid? no...unless it came as an option on the car
13 Factory 993 deck lid? no...unless it came as an option on the car
14 Rear Seat delete? big no
14 Rear kiddie seats? big yes
15 Rear RS carpet kit? big no
16 Ruf style small leather air back steering wheel? big big no
17 996 leather steering wheel? big big big no
18 993 leather steering wheel? big big big big yes (I would never want a non-993 steering wheel in a 993)

Bottom line is that regardless HOW cool or actually better the mods are...people generally want a non-modified car. Good luck with the process.

Drisump

Interesting question, personally if I were a buyer of such a car, I would be looking for mostly stock appearance items. When you are laying out this quantity of green most people will recognize that the more radical mods narrow the field of buyers. My car, other than ride height, looks like a stock 993 but since I drive the car, certain non appearance enhancements have been made (PSS9s, Walrods, Golden rod, SSK, RS clutch/flywheel, RS motor mounts etc....). Personally I would be concerned with the non OEM turbo charging as well...if done in a less than conservative way there would be a concern that me as a buyer, would be on the hook for $$$$ down the road. All that said, all you need is one guy with the money in his pocket that would do most of your mods after purchase anyway....and you have a sale. Good luck

Gbos1

When I purchased mine and shelled out big $$$$$...it was pretty much bone stock with the exception of the Fister Exhaust. And yes... a 993 needs to have a 993 OEM Steering Wheel! Turbo Wheels are a must! Kiddie seats a MUST! Would never touch a car that had aftermarket Turbos installed on a non Turbo OE engine.