[87924gt]

There are several simple visual tests that can make you aware of a valve guide problem. The 1st would be to have someone start the car up and you stand behind it to look for the tell tale smoke blowing out the exhaust. The motor will smoke MORE if it's cold. The next is to check the exhaust tip for ANY oil residue. Do this before you start the motor up cold if possible. The exhaust will be black and should have a some what chacky feel if the motor is tight. If you feel just a little oil film than take a look at the motor up on a rack and look for the slightest weepage of oil from the gaskets. ALWAYS get a PPI from a Porsche shop that deals frequently with the year of car you're looking at. I don't prefer the newer dealers because they usually deal with much new cars and they generally don't have the people that know older cars.
The last 911 I bought was an '86 and it had 135K on the clock and here's what I based my purchase on. The owner had a 3-ring binder that had complete records from day one. He had eveything from the original stamp manual through the last service that was done to the car prior to my purchase. I put it on a rack and looked it over for my piece of mind and than drove it pretty hard for about an hour. I drove in traffic on the highway and even took it to a mall parking lot to check out reverse. I promptly stroked the check and drove it 2,200 miles in 2-1/2 days without a hic-up.
Do your homework, drive the car untill you're convinced that it's right for you and don't get caught up with your emotions.
Happy hunting,
Steve Ed