Looking for an SC

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: seanh79

Hi David,

Thanks for your post I think it's very very sound advice but I still wont be buying a 968. For as long as I can remember I've wanted a late 70s / early 80s 911 and, with the possible exception of the 3.2s, have no real interest in any of the later cars. It will be my only car but I live in London so it will only be a toy. I also undestand that there is the potential for big bills but then again I like stuffing about with old cars and most people I know are spending at least 5k a year on depreciation alone on their modern cars which is a reasonable contingency fund for the inevitable engine/gearbox/bodywork problems.

I figure the worst that can happen is I buy the wrong car spend a fortune on it, hate it and sell it at a loss, which isn't ideal but at least my girlfriend would never have to hear about old porsches again.

Sean

Sean, great minds think alike on all of that. You will love the cars, there is nothing not to like if you buy a good one - the supposed minus points are just idiosyncracies. 10 grand should certainly buy you a proper car.

If you need any help looking or you want a chat on the dog and bone(s), drop us an email for phone number, we will find you that car!

Cheers, JG

 

[bones]

What a friendly bunch we are!

 

[chrisr]

Im reading your post , thinking the guy is talking sense and then ' front engined , water cooled cars are not real Porsches ' Jesus have you any idea what that statement makes you sound like - please explain to me why a 924, 944 , 968 etc are not real Porsche's ?, its people like you that make none 911 appreciating people like me who love the brand wonder why the hell we bother. [>:]

 

[chrisr]

Its at that point when I stopped reading his post [] he then goes and buys a 968 - sorry - badish day at work - really should have finished his post - just got my blood boiling [] suppose an apology of some sort is in order []

 

[chrisr]

Im going back and staying in the 944 forum I can do less damage in there !![][]

 

[Guest]

lol - what are you like?! []

You can delete your posts (to save your blushes) you know mate!

 

[bones]

lol......please visit again soon Chris....I met Derek Bell a few years back at Silverstone in the car park next to a car he had driven to the circuit in. It was given to him as a present by the factory for services rendered. He said it was the quickest road car he had ever owned A to B. The car was a 924 Carrera GTR. One of very few.
When I asked him what he thought of 911s he reservedly acknowledged them!. So you are in good company.

 

[jtparr]

Sean

I spent about a year looking for my 911, not helped that I changed my mind about the type of car half way through

I bought it from an advert in 911 in Porsche World, offered at 10,950, although for a variety of reasons I paid 8500, and not because there was anything wrong with it> its has a full respray, engine and gearbox rebuild, new targa top, refurbed wheels and many many more items, he was also an ex Porsche owners club memeber

In total he spent a fortune on it, but because he wanted too

I have just taken mine for its first MOT in my ownership and although it passed first time I am advised that certain items need looking after, which I guess will set me back 2 grand or so

I did'nt get to drive many cars and I did'nt even have the car that I bought professionally inspected

I actually trusted, rare thing, the person I bought the car from

I think a lot of it is your own intuition, you will never know what you buy until you do so

I have used the car for a daily commute and will continue to do so< its done 83K, of which 6K is mine in the last 6 months

Yes these cars can cost a fortune but they are also absolutely fantastic and so so much fun, not to mention an unsurpassable sound

If you spend a couple of grand a year, so what, you can do that on booze, food, clothes, whatever you want

Go for it, you will love it

 

[Guest]

I have been watching this thread with interest as I am considering a change of car. I have been surfing looking for dealers of mid 70's to mid 80's 911s without much joy. Any one has any links which may be of use?

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Hi Chris,

Do you want rhd or can it be lhd? Do you feel the need to buy in the UK or will you look abroad. If Europe is ok then check out mobile.de for some interesting cars every so often, also Botz do get some nice clean (i.e. rare) stuff.

In the UK Mark Pullicino sometimes has some interesting cars though they never stay too long on his site. He has two very well-priced Turbos on there at the minute. Otherwise there's Paul Stephens who has some very nice looking stock if not a bit pricey IMO, including some nice SC's (one in GP White with Tartan which is what Sean is looking for).

Most dealers selling older 911's quite rightly want a decent margin, so I think SC and early 3.2 buyers who have done their homework can do really well for themselves buying privately at the minute, even better once September kicks in.

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.

 

[Guest]

Thanks everyone,

Dan - I thought about buying a cheaper car but I'm not very good at fixing things as and when required. If I buy a cheaper car I'll want to get everything done imdeiately and it will cost me more than paying 10ish for a car with all jobs done.
John, Thanks for the offer, am out of the uk at present but will arange to give you a call when I get back. I saw the car at Paul Stephens but it needs some body work and he wants close to 14 for it with this work done. Also I prefer to buy privately as I like to meet the owner and get a feel for how a car has been treated.

Sean

 

[sib8292]

Let me just add to all that's been said as someone who has owned an SC for over 10 years, and a 944 for 3 weeks. Totally different cars, 2 different purposes. Ones a toy and fun ; the other has good carrying capacity and is good news in the rain (and lets face it Scs demisting is not state opf the art) and is also fun (but maybe not quite as much as the SC...

Why/how afford both? Well classic ins cover on both so acceptable level; depreciation on both minimal (and thats a serious matter; on some newish cars you can be looking at 25% of value each year) a spare car when needed (and I need a car daily where I live); and both solid engineering.

What you don't want to do is buy a car. spend (serious) money on improving it and then sell it a year or so later. Buy it and spend the money but don't start unless you plan to keep it.

Why not join the Porsche club and see whats on offer for sale through the magazine? Or even advertise for a car there?

 

[oilyrag]

I do know of a really great white one with tartan trim that MAY be coming to market in the next 6 months or so but..............it is probably going to be at the top end of your price range (or even a tad more) but it is a first rate car with FSH since new & would like to see it stay in the club.

If interested give me a call on 01245-465433 & I'll put you in touch with the current owner. []

 

[Guest]

Sean, this has just come onto eBay and is down the road, I can and have a quick initial look for you if you want, would not be a huge problem.

Cheers, JG

 

[Guest]

Good site this innit!!!
Learning a lot myself, also looking at burying a 911 carrera 3.2 if my budget will allow, got between 10-12k to spend, jesus this is hard work!!!

[8|]

 

[jerry911sc]

Hi Sean

In case you are still looking for an SC you might be interested in my experience of buying an SC recently. I'm new to them myself so I'll just try and relate my story.

To get to the point- I bought a car which has a good history both recent and long term. It was also in genuinely good condition. The shell is particularly good. However, like many cars that come up for sale it hadn't been getting as much use or expenditure as it needed over the previous 12 months or so. It is also 22 years old The car cost £10.5k. A quick inspection & service set me back another £600. So that wasn't too bad and I looked forward to several months of happy motoring with.....

The cold air blower had other ideas as it expired a few days later with a dramatic amount of smoke on it's first proper outing to the Goodwood Revival. Never mind. We had a good giggle and it was £65 or so for a new part and not a difficult job.

After 260 miles or so (5 days of ownership) the clutch had other ideas as well. That means a trip to the specialist, JZ Machtech in this case.

A new clutch was needed and make that a new flywheel as well because once the engine is out and the clutch stripped down you might as well (and it did need it). Then the heater flapper boxes were rusted shut so they needed changing anyway and the heater control cables have had it (not as straight forward as it sounds). There are a couple of seals that need replacing and a few other bits and pieces eg worn selector fork, bolts, oil for the gearbox and engine etc..... So already you are heading for £2k. On top of that I am still waiting to hear if the hot air blower motor works....

While the car is at JZ I'm also going to get the geometry adjusted because the tyres aren't wearing properly and the front tyres could do with changing.

The good news is that nothing serious or really unexpected has happened (fingers crossed) it's just sooner than I'd expected.

So for what it's worth I think you can choose to buy on condition and pay more or you can go the other way. But whichever route, you have to be realistic and accept that it is going to cost. If you plan to get a car that is good enough to keep or sell without losing your shirt my guess is that it is likely to cost you £12k to £14k over the first year or so one way or another.

I spent a lot of time looking at SC's before buying. Sadly as I'm sure you've seen already a lot of the ones that are up for sale are really not much good and rust is a real problem with many of them. I'd suggest that if you go for a cheaper car to begin with you have to make sure the shell is good or it could become a real headache. Even the smaller body repairs like new wings and new lock plates, add up pretty fast.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[bones]

Hi Sean welcome sorry you have a baptism of fire but I couldn't disagree with you more about spending £12,000-£14,000 in the first year of ownership . Did you mean £2,000 £4,000? If you are serious about the higher figure then you have bought the wrong car. £10,500 should have bought you a peach . Heater flapper boxes and the cables are about £100.00 in parts and labour should be 2-3 hours tops, even allowing for welding on new studs. If you spent 2k at JZ which includes a service what do you spend the other 10k on?

 

[jerry911sc]

Hi Pete. Oops that wasn't as clear as I had intended. I meant £12- 14k including the car in the first 12 months.

Maybe it is a little high but if I list it out you can see where the costs have come from:

With mine the £10500 was the purchase price, plus £600 for a specialist to inspect/ service inc new wheel bearing and a couple of minor things.

Plus JZ towards £2k clutch kit, flywheel, release fork, guide tube, bolts, repair to engine carrier, heater boxes, cables, new gearbox selector, engine sump gasket, rear main seal, gearbox earth strap, tracking, new sound proofing mat, engine oil and filter (again), cylinder loss test. Not forgetting the cold air blower. The estimate from JZ is exactly £1807.15 including Vat. This excludes tyres and the Hot Air Blower (which is TBC) and anything else that might come up. I could save a few quid by doing the heater mat and cold air blower myself.

Well aware that I am new to all this from what I have seen and learnt so far I just think that for someone to expect to get a good car for under £10k is asking a lot and that it would be prudent to plan to have at least a couple of grand more to spend. What I have seen around £7500- £8500k needed at £££'s spend on bodywork & paint.

Now I've really asked for a kicking! But as long as it makes interesting reading.

All the best

Jerry

 

[Guest]

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for your post, From what I've seen I'd agree with you that 14k is a lot more realistic for a decent car, despite a lot of people and magazines suggesting good cars can be had for 10k everything I looked at for 10k over the last 6 months seemed to still have corosion and or mechanical work needed which would push it close to 14. Sadly, that means I wont be buying a 911 and have recently stopped looking.

In a few years I'll be moving to Australia and my original plan was to find a good 911 here (as there's a lot more choice) and ship it to Australia when I go, which would cost me 4k in shipping and duty, leaving me with a cost of 14k landed in Australia - a little more than they sell for but worth it for a couple of years playing with it in Europe. At 14k to purchase in the UK it isn't really worth exporting one as the duty would go up and I'd end up with a car owing me 19k. A good car in Australia is worth about 10-12k and because of the dry climate rust isn't a problem, this probably won't stop the gearbox failing the day after I buy but at least I won't have to deal with corosion - so I'm going to be patient, I've wanted one for about 20 years a few more won't hurt.

Thanks for everyone's advice, particularly Bones, who took the time to talk me through what to look for.

Sean

 

[bones]

Lol ..... Can you imagine if you did have to spend 12k though after purchase? Why don't you take a look at 'Running Reoprts' Jerry and put your experiences in there as a new owner what you have to say is very valuable information to other prospective new owners, funny how clutches inveriably seem to need replacing soon after a new owner takes to the wheel. Read the giude and start regularly posting it's amazing how quickly it turns into a diary. Perhaps a few other SC owners would like to detail their daily, weekly, monthly time with the car too. You can talk about drives out, servicing, dents, cleaning, whatever you like just remember it's a family forum!