advice required please

[Lowlander]

Hello folks,

This is my first posting on this forum. Please be patient. For as long as I can remember I have wanted a 911. Now at the grand old age of 30 I can finally afford one (probably can't really justify owning one but thats another story!)

Anyway, I have always dreamed about having a lovely 911 sitting on my drive but before I get caught up in the romance of owning a 911 I'll be doing plenty of research. I don't want to get my fingers burnt by buying a shed so i'm looking for guidance on what goes wrong, are there any websites or books that you would recommend for buying advice?, can anyone recommend a reputable dealer for this type of car? I've seen plenty of non porsche specialist offering cheap 911's but I am always wary that they don't fully understand the cars.

given my budget I'll probably end up with an SC (You'll see a similar post from me on the SC section of this site !) but thought I'd also post it here and get as much advice as possible.

I have done a fair bit of background reading already and have drawn up a shortlist of 'must haves' and 'desirables'. See below.

Must have's

1. Coupe shape. Never really felt the targa or cabrio did the shape justice.
2. Fuch wheels
3. FSH with plenty of bills for all recent work.
4. Tidy bodywork and solid shell.

Desirables

1. S/S heat exchangers.
2. engine rebuild
3. gearbox rebuild.
4. No rear spoiler.
5. sport pack.
6. Silver in colour.
7. Post 80 car (204 bhp)

I know that there are plenty of very nice 3.2's about but i also know there are plenty of dogs as well. Although I have the money to buy now it would be foolish to rush in without doing a LOT more background reading so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

In addition to the points mentioned above if anyone has any recommendations for insurance compaies that you be great.

I'm based in Edinburgh so if there are any 3.2 owners nearby that wouldn't mind me having a poke around your pride and joy then please drop me an e-mail.

My budget is somewhat limited but I do appreciate that it is better to pay more for a nice car that has lots of work done than buy a nail that needs a full engine and gearbox rebuild !

Is there anyone who can provide a breakdown of approx costs for bits that might need replacing / repaired such as heat exchangers, full exhaust system, engine rebuild, gearbox rebuild, etc. the more information I have the better decision I can make !

All the very best.


Martin.

 

[Alan_Armstrong]

Martin,

Welcome to the forum!

Regardless of 3.2 or SC, a full exhaust system inc heat exchangers is I think about £1200.00

A full top end rebuild you could expect to pay £2500.00 (bottom end can be left alone as
pretty bullit proof and good for 250,000 miles.)

Gearbox bebuild you could expect to pay £1100.00.

Sport pack you refer to includes front lip spoiler, rear tray spoiler, and bilstein suspension...on some models you will find more bolstered front seats. For what you are looking for, you could buy a sport and remove the spoilers (but would need a new boot lid) or buy a non sport and uprate the suspension.

All 911's come with galvernised shells from '76 onwards, most decent cars will be rot free
unless have had accident damage with dodgy repairs.

Fuch wheels should come as standard on all SC's (I think) but vary between 16 and 15 inch, when 3.2 arrived it came with teledial wheels as standard (not nice) but fuchs were optional extra until about '86+

If it's an SC you go for, then you will get far more info from that register than here. but in my view a 3.2 is more powerful, refined, economical and cost effective to run.

Purchasing...would recommend you buy Porsche911/Porsche World mag...you will find many independent specialist dealers.

Personally I bought privately, but before I bought anything, I first joined PCGB, you dont need to own a car to join, and viewed a number of members cars for sale before i bought. You can go this route quite safely if you make an hp check and have an independent inspection of the car by a specialist prior to purchase....again see the magazines for relevevant ads....many of these specialists will refind the inspection fee on your first service.

Joining the club IS a good move though, with discounts in place with may suppliers (including insurance companies) is is easy to recoup the membership each year.

That's enough from me for now.....good hunting!

 

[cramond]

Martin,

I was in a similiar position about 2 years ago when I first considered Porsche ownership. Lack of knowledge , no mechanical aptitude, having had a dog of an MG 15 years ago wary of buying a bottomless financial pit.

I suggest reading up on this and other Porsche websites first to narrow down your choice range against your budget. This I found assisted my search greatly in identifying what model would suit me and what defects to be aware of when checking out any potential purchases.

I would recommend that you arm yourself with enough basic knowledge to examine any Porsche you go to look at so that you can personally identify the basics - does the car look good, is the history there, get under the carpets and the car to check for visible rust or patching, check the oil pressure, the electrics, the tyres/tracking, the look of the seller. I also contacted previous owners to check the story of its history. I ended up only having to look at 3 cars as I had pre-screened undesirables over the phone and eliminated them.

Then I agreed a price with the vendor conditional on a full inspection by a Porsche specialist. The vendor subsequently chose to carry out about £600 worth of remedials identified by the inspection and perform a new MOT in preference to adjusting the price. I think we were both happy with the deal and I felt reasonably secure in handing over the agreed sum.

Good luck in your search.

PS - Take your time.

Regards

Cramond

 

[Jonathan Collins]

Hi
Personally I spent six months looking through ads and visiting dealers and found that I had to increase my budget to get the sort of car I wanted. This has proved to have been a wise move as apart from normal service costs I have only had to replace the front speakers.I am a qualified mechanic but gave it up as a way of trying to make a living in the mid eighties.However the mechanicals of my 1989 3.2 are quite straight forward and most of the 911's weakness's had been sorted by then.I did not go for a pre purchase inspection as I trusted my own judgment after a little research on what to look for, also in the end I bought from a dealer (Autobahn) who I heard had a good reputation and the exact car I wanted! so I tried as hard as I could to break the car while still under warranty.
The 3.2 engine has as been said a very strong bottom end, however top end rebuild milages do seem to vary.Mine has done one hundred and nine thousand miles and burns very little oil, in fact my sister ran a couple of these cars new in the eighties (the reason I became bitten with the 911 bug) and I remember putting more oil into them! Don't be put off my a puff of blue smoke on start up, mine does it from cold as do many newer Flat 'Boxer' engines. I think the need for engine and gearbox rebuilds on these cars may indicate the way they have been driven and serviced over the years, so better buy on condition than milage. I also prefer the G50 gearbox as it has the hydraulic rather then cable clutch.
I am sure that Bones will tell you the merits of the S.C. They are good I will never forget the first one I drove.
I knew of this club when I bought my car but did not know how to get in contact, there are many people on here with far greater knowledge than me but I hope my advice is some use.
One place to look is http://www.911uk.com/ they have links to most dealers as well as private sellers.
Oh and I am insured with classicline @£290 per year £15000 agreed value 5000 miles per year Me and the wife to drive I am 43 and live in the midlands.
Good luck in your search, Jon.

 

[Jacob]

Martin,

Welcome on board to the first part of Porsche ownership.

I would echo all that Alan said earlier in the post. If your budget will stretch to it, a 3.2 carrera is bar far a better buy than an SC - of course this is not to say that there are not any very good SC's out there!

a few points about buying that may help

1. Do your research - 911 & Porsche world is a great mag that features some very good buying guides (they did one on a 3.2 a year or so ago which you will be able to back order). Peter Morgan has written a very useful buying guide that will provide you with loads of info that will help you get a good understanding of the marque. you can order this from the 911 & porsche world mag or try a search on amazon.
2. Get a pre purchase inspection by someone who knows Porsches (look in the back of PP and 911 & porsche world) some independants will sell you a nail if it makes them a tidy profit!
3. A FSH is a nice to have IMO - you ought to buy on condition. what happened to your car 15 years ago is not as relevant as last year

good luck and be patient - your ideal car is out there waiting for you to find it

 

[Guest]

Martin,
Welcome to the forum for the last true 911 the factory made...!
There has been much hype about mtr and Gbox rebuild; I believe most of this is a mechanics dream come true - most cars don't need it.
Stiff gear changes can be attributed to poor engine-Gbox mounts or worn shift linkages. Motors that smoke or have poor compression are often in the state of health like alot of people - they need a fcuking good flogging....
or the tappets need adjusting.
Most mtrs are good for 120k then maybe a valve jobbie. Mechanics must rub their hands with glee when someone new walks in... yipeee... £££££££££££...!

 

[medazzling]

Ditto ditto all the above.

I bought my first 911 about 2 years ago and started from a similar position to you. After all the searching I eventually bought a car that was recommended to me by the service garage that had done all the work on it. I made the purchase privately but I had all the exact information on repair work for the previous 6 years from the garage (JZ Machtech in my case), plus all the previous history came when I bought the car. Jonas at the garage was excellent with help, no fee or direct involvement in the purchase by him but I obviously continue with the servicing through him for both our benefits. The car has been superb. This link all started from a club meet at JZ Machtech before I had a Porsche.

The car was recently used for a 911 & Porsche World article on how to buy your first Carrera, concentrating on SC and 3.2 (slightly biased to 3.2 in fairness). It was about 6-7 pages and good start info. It was edition 122 dated May 04 if you wanted to get a back copy.

Happy hunting
Darren