Help with 911 value

[baldbiker]

I am thinking of buying a 911 and since i am "new" I would like an opinion on the price. He is asking $15K and the description is:

General Description
Triple Black 1983 SC . California car with 150000 miles. Recent service including all fluids/filters, plugs/wires and valve adjust - A/C blows cold. 3rd owner with service records since new.

Drivetrain
3.0 Engine - No Leaks
- No Oil consumption
- Front mounted Carrera oil cooler
- Pop-off valve in air box

915 Tranny - Factory Short Shift
- New clutch and flywheel

Suspension and Brakes
- New rotors and brake pads
- 6/7X16 polished/black Fuchs alloy wheels w/ Michelin Pilot tires

Exterior
- Black with black powder coated trim
- H4 Headlights
- Factory fog lights
- Front chin spoiler
- Rear 993 “basket handle” third brake light
- Recently refurbished Targa Top

Interior
- Keyless entry alarm system
- Sheepskin seat covers over factory Recaros
- New Door Panels
- Sony Am/FM cassette with 10-disc CD changer, amp and separates
- Billet pedals

The pictures I have seen all look good (car is in Northern Cal.) Provided it passes a Pre-Purchase Inspection, does the price seem good?

Thanks,
Andy

[Brett Souza]

Provided it passes a Pre-Purchase Inspection, does the price seem good?

Having recently traveled down the same road you are now on, I guess you probably know the answer to your question. You don't start off by looking a cars 500 miles away (I didn't anyways). Anyways, it does sound like I nice ride.

A couple of tips, if you haven't done so yet, is to compare prices using PCA & POC classifieds, autotrader.com, and finally Kelly Blue Book (do they even go back that far?), so you have an idea what cars of that year are going for. Then you can add on the cost of upgrades, and figure out if it is a good deal or not.

I can't stress enough how important a PPI is. I fell in love with a car, only to have it fail the PPI. Probably saved myself at least $10-15K.

Lastly, try and remember that it's not only about the destination. You have to enjoy the journey to be totally satisfied. That's what owning a Porsche has become all about for me.

Good luck on your search.

[Bob Gagnon]

Make sure you do your own "PPI".

Some years ago a friend brought over a '73 911S Targa for me to see that looked very nice from across the street, but when I opened the hood there was rust along the trunk gasket that allowed me to see the tire!!! My friend had not even opened the trunk before he bought it.

To me the body is the issue (? as in some other life decisions) and if the car has been crashed I would walk away from it unless I had photos of the repair and knew the shop doing the repair. If the repair involved the suspension mounts under the car, unless done on a correct body jig, these can be particularly problematic.

Mechanicals can always be fixed more easily than body work.

To see if it has been in a crash or other body repair:

1. Walk around the car and sight down the body from different angles. The body should appear smooth, without ripples. Ripples indicate bodywork, although a good shop can do repair without ripples. Sometimes one can use a magnetic pot holder to check for the presense of plastic body filler. The pot holder won't grip where the filler is thick or one can tell that the magnet doesn't stick uniformly across the surface. Check the door and lid seams for symmetry and uniformity of gap. Look for rust bubbles at the lower body areas where the water pools. Ask yourself does everything seem to "fit"?

2. The paint should have a uniform patina. Metallic paints will often show a different lay to the metallic particles in differing lights on repainted areas. Areas of the car that appear to have better fresher paint than the rest of the car may also have been re-painted.

3, Open all the openings and look for signs of paint overspray on the lid and door gaskets and around the factory labels on the door jambs. It the labels are missing that is a tell tale. Also check the glass for tighness of fit and symettry of the opening around the glass. Look under the carpet in the trunk for signs of repair. Look around the engine at the painted surfaces for overspray or welding. Also the paint under the trunk carpet should be the same color as the rest of the car if it has not been repainted a different color.

4. Check the window gaskets and other rubber gaskets around the car for signs of paint overspray.

5. Finally check under the car with it on a rack for signs of paint overspray under the car. Many shops are careful to replace rubber and mask so overspray is only detected under the car as a light spray of the suspension components. Look for masking lines under the rocker panels. Also check for areas of welding not undercoated or areas of fresh undercoat or differing undercoat over a weld.

Personally, I would rather buy a rust free, unwrecked car that has all original glass and gaskets (even if the gaskets are bad) and totally dead paint rather than a freshly painted collison repair done wrong.

Just my $.002