Porsche 911 ???

[S1Steve]

JBH,

Thanks for your input. I have never owned a Porsche. I have a good idea of what I am looking for, Early cars are what I am looking at. RUST, RUST, Rust, is all I hear to stay or as some say, Run away from !!!!

Then people like yourself make a good case for latter cars that will not rust around you, and are easy to work on .

So I am reading all of Pelican Parts Tech pages and talking to a few Porsche people that I have meet over the years.

I keep looking and learning, and some time I will find what I like and can afford. Looking at cars is fun for me , I looked for a 7 for a few years till mine turned up. Feel free to give more input !!!!

 

Happy Holiday, Steve Novelli

[JBH]

Feel free to give more input !!!!

 

Gladly...actually there is a lot of good information here about different models.

 

The choice between early and late model Porsche depends on what you want to do with it. For a weekend/fair weather car the early 911s are great. These will probably continue to appreciate in value, especially the 911S models pre-1974. There is nothing wrong with the T or E models except they are not nearly as desirable when/if you decide to sell.

 

These early cars have torque curves that peak in the high rpm range. They require a fair amount of attention to keep them properly tuned, but they are great drivers on road or track when you can run at high revs. For around town, with stop & go driving, the plugs will foul and you will not be very happy with performance. Rust is an issue especially in and around the battery, door sills and floorpan. The best advice I can offer is to buy a restored car where restoration was done to a completely dissembled car - preferably a restoration starting with bare metal.

 

The 1978 on cars are much more attuned to the street environment. Good low end torque, fairly flat torque curve, smooth shifting and easy to maintain. The galvanized body pretty much makes rust a thing of the past. Here it is important to know history because many Porsches were rebuilt from salvage back when it was easy to do. Ask me how I know...

 

Avoid model introduction years (1990, 1995, etc.) because there are always problems in these years that get resolved in the following years.

 

If you see a car you like, let me know. I can help you research it - I certainly know the questions to ask the seller.

 

[S1Steve]

JBH,

Thanks for giving me that Web Site. Your reply is what I have be told by others that I have spoken to.But It's good to hear the same kind of thing about the early cars and also the latter. And I will take you up on your offer to help me get a good one. The big ? I get asked is how much do I plan on spending. I would like to spend $20.000 tops, and I've been told I can find a nice street car for that kind of money. The Condor green S I saw is the dream, but I can put a Duck tail on any 911 I guess. I let you know when I find one that I like and you can give me your take on it.

Thanks again, Steve

 

 

[S1Steve]

JBH,

Let me ask you, " How do you know about rebuilt Porsches". I would like to hear the story if it's not to painful for you and maybe me too !!!!!

[JohnCh]

Avoid model introduction years (1990, 1995, etc.) because there are always problems in these years that get resolved in the following years.

 

That is a bit of a generalization. There are no 1st year issues with the '95 and in fact many people prefer it to the '96 because of the newer car's SAI issues and inability to be chipped. The most important advice is to buy a car with records and to have a PPI performed by a reputable shop.

 

-John

[JBH]

The first Porsche I bought from a Chevrolet dealer lot. I was naive (23 yo) and thought I could trust a dealer that had a great reputation, so in 1984 I paid $18K for a bright red 911SC Targa with cork color interior. It was a one of a kind car that was just beautiful. I asked the salesman if the car had ever been repainted or in an accident. He told me no and handed me an "as-is" form to sign.

 

I went to get the car aligned and sadly, it could not come within Porsche specs. I took the car back, but the sales manager told me they would not accept my return and informed me I signed the "as-is" form. They did agree to try to fix it and promptly broke the magnesium alloy trailing arm trying to pull it out to Porsche specs. They had no idea what they were doing. I trailered the car to a Porsche specialist and they straightened the car on a Cellete bench the way the factory recommends. Cost: another $18K and three months which included removal of bondo, a proper primer and respray.

 

I got a lawyer and sued the dealer for the cost of repairs. During discovery I found out the car was totaled, salvaged and rebuilt; complete with a new speedometer installed. The entire car was a fraud run through the Manheim auctions.

 

The dealer would not settle, so we went to court. The big issue was the "as-is" form I signed which under most cases would release the dealer from any liability. But the salesman admitted on the stand that he remembered me asking if the car was repainted or involved in an accident. That saved the day and the judge ruled in my favor. The dealer was pissed, but ultimately he paid me the $18K in repairs. Out of that I had to pay $1K in legal fees. Of course when I finally sold the car, I had to disclose its history and that probably cost me another $4K.

 

Many lessons learned not the least of which is I walk away from cars with unknown or undocumented history and always get a PPI. Any high value automobile will not likely be sent to a scrap yard if there is any chance it can be rebuilt. In the 80s Porsches were rare enough and valuable enough that very few were considered totaled. This means there are still a number of them floating around with suspicious and uncertain histories.

 

I still watch the dealers website in Newark, DE. I am pretty certain that was the last Porsche they sold - hopefully they learned an important lesson too.

[slngsht]

Wow... quite a story. Dealers don't end up on the short end very often.

[JBH]

My bad...you are right. Generalizations can be misleading - it really is my opinion that there are first year issues in 1995 and the 96 on is still preferable for resale value. If you ever want to get into the details of differences, search Rennlist 993 forum using "95 or 96+?" as key words.

 

 

[Kitcat]

Steve:

 

"Excellence" magazine has a nice section on used Porsche prices each month. Take a look. This month's magazine (Feb '08) features 89-98 911's, some of which fall in your price range.

 

Mike

[JohnCh]

My bad...you are right. Generalizations can be misleading - it really is my opinion that there are first year issues in 1995 and the 96 on is still preferable for resale value. If you ever want to get into the details of differences, search Rennlist 993 forum using "95 or 96+?" as key words.

 

I have. That's why I chose a '95.

 

-John

[yellowss7]

Ok, Lift was delivered this morning. I left the garage door opener/door where it was and set the lift forward a liitle.

 

Seems to work out ok. Seven is up for the winter and the Porker is also inside. Anyone interested in an Oldsmobile Aurora????:smash: :smash: :rofl: :rofl:

 

Here's a few pics. Thanks everyone for your encouragement. I'm glad I did it. :thumbs: Tom

 

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/412212531_PC190247.JPG

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/118608928_PC190248.JPG

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1731942826_PC190261.JPG

http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1171362519_PC190263.JPG

[MHKflyer52]

Hi Tom,

 

Man you work fast at getting the lift in place and up and working.

Two great looking cars in the place of one......what a Christmas present.