Buying a 911, Need Some Advice

[agentdalecooper]

Hello there! I've been looking around at potential options for what will be my daily driver (commute is about 20 minutes to work). I have always been in love with older Porsches, specifically 911s made in the late seventies throughout the 80s, but they always seemed unattainable to me cost-wise. Almost as a joke, I searched on my local Craigslist for 911s and saw quite a few from the 80's listed at prices ranging from 9-14K. Now, I realize that when looking at cars almost 30 years old, there is huge potential that these cars will require a lot of work and TLC in order to maintain. Right now my options are to just forget about the 911 and go for a new car with a warranty, or try and find a 911 that seems like it could be reliable (perhaps one with a recently rebuilt engine+other parts?). It should be noted that I know very, very little about how to work on cars, though I intend to learn, so any maintainance on the 911 would have to be through a Porsche specialist. My question to you, Porsche fans, is this (or I should say, are these): knowing what you do about vintage 911s and their reliability, what would you do in my situation? Is 7K too conservative a number to expect to be able to keep one running for a couple of years? What sort of mileage should I be looking for? I realize that there are a ton of variables that could affect the reliability/cost of ownership of one of these things, and I'm curious if there are any red flags to look out for or desirable traits for a vintage 911 to have? Keep in mind that if I did buy a 911, it would not be driven "hard" or raced in any way, just taken on the freeway about 40 miles each day with some very minor around-town motoring in between. Thank you very much!

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[dhc3]

The Sc's and Carreras of the eighties are great cars, but to get a good one, you will be in the upper limits of your price range. Get a car with a great documented history, have it checked out by a shop that is knowledgable in the model you desire. Start going to local Porsche club events, get online and check out thheir websites, for more info regarding the cars. Buy the best newest car you can possibly afford.
But with all that in mind, remember that these cars are potentially very expensive to repair, especially if you are not wrench-savvy.
But also keep in mind that they are way more fun to own and drive than anything else you might buy as a daily driver.
dhc3

[996SilverBullet]

To embellish on the comments of dhc3, go to Porsche Club of America site (PCA.org). They have a section dedicated to buying Porsche.
When I bought my Carrera Cabrio last year (2003), I went through much the same thought process as you. I too initially wanted an older classic. But at the end of the day, I wanted something which was much more a daily driver.
Good Luck

[cibergypsy]

Originally Posted by agentdalecooper

Hello there!

I've been looking around at potential options for what will be my daily driver (commute is about 20 minutes to work). I have always been in love with older Porsches, specifically 911s made in the late seventies throughout the 80s, but they always seemed unattainable to me cost-wise.

Almost as a joke, I searched on my local Craigslist for 911s and saw quite a few from the 80's listed at prices ranging from 9-14K. Now, I realize that when looking at cars almost 30 years old, there is huge potential that these cars will require a lot of work and TLC in order to maintain.

Right now my options are to just forget about the 911 and go for a new car with a warranty, or try and find a 911 that seems like it could be reliable (perhaps one with a recently rebuilt engine+other parts?). It should be noted that I know very, very little about how to work on cars, though I intend to learn, so any maintainance on the 911 would have to be through a Porsche specialist.

My question to you, Porsche fans, is this (or I should say, are these): knowing what you do about vintage 911s and their reliability, what would you do in my situation? Is 7K too conservative a number to expect to be able to keep one running for a couple of years? What sort of mileage should I be looking for?

I realize that there are a ton of variables that could affect the reliability/cost of ownership of one of these things, and I'm curious if there are any red flags to look out for or desirable traits for a vintage 911 to have? Keep in mind that if I did buy a 911, it would not be driven "hard" or raced in any way, just taken on the freeway about 40 miles each day with some very minor around-town motoring in between.

Thank you very much!

Do your homework when buying one and don't worry! I have a 1987 Carrera Coupé bought from an independent dealer after a PPI at an authorized Porsche dealer was performed. They failed to point out the clutch needed replacement and there was a fuel line on top of the engine that wears out over time regardless due to aging, ozone etc. that costs about $500 to replace and it's an engine out job. OK, if we take out those 2 costs that should have been picked by the Porsche dealer on the PPI, everything else was perfect! The car is even on its original Grand Prix White and has many great factory options like limited slip and factory electric sports seats and a full leather interior.

The only money I've spent on it is on tires and on the required 15k mile services of which I've done 2 so far. I bought the car with 68k miles and now have 96900 miles and it has served me faithfully and not once has it broken down. The car is my DD (I have a 2006 Carrera S also but it's not my DD) and it brings me a lot of fun and satisfaction!

As I said before, do your homework and don't settle for a car that might be tempting on the price. This may be a problem as usually it costs a lot more to rectify a car that has been neglected than to keep a good one running correctly. Money spent on a car in better condition will be less than bringing one up to par.

By the way, those 15k mile services usually run in the $500 range at my local independent.