Too many cars on the market not to at least consider them. The pictures of this P-car scare me. Wait for the right car Katie. In the long run you will not regret it.

Guess what....on a pre-galvanized car, a "little" visible rust usually means this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1171934993.jpg

I have lived it.....

Katie-

Here's my take. I'm 28, so I can't be *that* much older than you. I've only been out of college for six years.

When I was in college, I wanted a VW Corrado VR6 badly. I rationalized it six ways sideways, took out a loan, and had the car of my 20-year-old-kid's dreams....replacing a horrific 83 944. This Volkswagen - as cool as it was - was a constant pain in the ass and racking up the miles on it doing dd duty destroyed it and my savings account.

I look back and think: on one hand, I loved the car, loved going to VW gatherings, dyno days, tinkering with it, driving it etc. On the other, it cost me a lot of money and I think of other experiences I could have had with that money...travel etc. Things that may have enriched me and made me a more well rounded person instead.

I have never gotten as wound up over a car since. Well, til I discovered how fun to drive 911s are. Still not quite having learned my lesson, I bought a 1974 911 because I had just enough money to buy it in its sorry shape (rust, low compression, clutch on the way out). I was lucky to flip it and get out from under it unscathed, but that was several years ago and since then I have just focused on saving, paying off any debt (student loans, credit cards etc), and worrying about 'the big picture'.

I'm in a position now where I'm just waiting for the 'right' car to come along, a position where the purchase won't represent such a large % of my relatively meager net worth (in comparison to a lot of PP forums members anyway). In the meantime, I'll just keep racking up the miles on my 12 year old BMW 325is, saving and investing.

I definitely know what it means to 'want it NOW'. How 'bout a nice 944S2?

my very small 2cents:

A personal observation:
I have an 80 targa I drove once and was hooked. I knew I wanted to someday hot rod it. I scraped together all I could and bought it CASH. 3 mo later I was hearing a broken head stud. 20K later I have a hot rod, big motor with big HP. 20K more and I will have my dream car.

Ultimately, was it worth the 53K? The so called gold plated porsche (a good book you may enjoy reading)? My wife and many many pelicans will say no. I say I LOVE tinkering with it all the time. Do I love it more than buying a brand new corvette? I damned well better...


This car sounds like it needs someone who WANTS to tune/rebuild/modify, I mean get in there all the time. If it is a semi rusted longhood with a 3.0l turbo (porsche factory set up) motor installed you might have a situation where you could buy it and part it out for profit, assuming you have the time, place, and know how. If it is an aftermarket turbo kit it would be alot riskier.


Based on your question "where is the turbo?" I am not sure you are this type of person.

Not to put you locals who know where this car is on the spot, but maybe you guys can go with her? I think these guys could identify what you are looking at with some certainty. They might even help you look for a nice PPI place.

CHECK THOSE HEAD STUDS!!!

Well, people are trying to estimate or guess at what they cannot see from what they can see. I think you should get more real information on the car. If you pay $200 for a PPI and it causes you to reject the car, then you will have paid tuition to learn a little more about the cars.

The early cars are not all that common anymore - esp. an "S".

BUT, the car does look a bit -ah- 'rough' or poorly taken care of, from what we can see. Make everybody list what they don't like! Some of the items in the list on p.5 were nothing in and of themselves (tho they suggest an uncaring owner). The rust we can see is no big deal (YET!).

I will list that the reflectors are cockeyed and the panels seen uneven.

One more time -- get real data. Don't rely on just inferences - either way.

My personal observation;

Porsche911girl threads get a lot of attention.

lol rust bucket

i think maby ill change my name to porsche930chick :)

you would need a much bigger PM box ;)

LOL porsche 911DUDE

And if you don't have a really big pair of intercoolers, even more hot air:D

Wow, this is the most compelling thread I have read yet! I do not know if group therapy can be so revealing. Lot's of vulnerability being displayed as well as commentary from around the world. Katie has got Matteo the current builder of a $100k+ Pcar peering in windows for her, Incredible.
Well thought out, well written and caring.... Amazing. This situation brings back similar experiences for all of us.
I have recently purchased two cars and I am now worried that I just fell in love with the color. With all that said; Katie take advantage of all this experience, and sound advice.

These kinds of buy/sell questions come up every couple of years, and usually turn out rather memorable. Sometimes they have involved youngsters with wide-eyed aspirations ... other times, divorce court loomed on the horizon?

Katie,

Don't take any of the previous comments as personal, even though they may seem judgemental. Most so far have been sincere, if a bit blunt and off-the-wall. Some only see humor in the thread, and have nothing to add to the decision process.

Just for some background info, I have no kids ... but I am five years older than your father, and I have a 25-year old niece who is close and still going to school working towards a BS in Nursing. She has not been 100% successful in maintaining her academic goals, either.

From your first pics, I don't see a car that is worth $12K, and it probably isn't a 1973 911S at all, just another misrepresented, poorly maintained 911T with some new badges after an accident and poor repair work that was never finished to professional standards. It certainly isn't ready to be driven as a daily driver by a college student.

If your father is mechanically inclined, then he should be involved in the evaluation of this car at some point. If he sees a flicker of spirit in the car, then I suspect he will be much more inclined to become a team member, and willing to take on a long-term project with his daughter to bring back some former glory and pleasure from that car's past ... perhaps even if it means sitting in storage for months while you finish school without having to deal with it as a distraction away from school activities and important educational commitments.

You have the opportunity to let this car become a wedge between you and your parents, or it could become a long-term, unifying member of the family, including your grandmother!

Let us know what the VIN number is, both inside the trunk, and on the pillar visible through the windshield. Look for evidence of removal, tampering, and damage to both VIN plates. Pop-rivets can be replaced, but R&R without some visible traces of damage is very hard to do by amateurs ... and that car hasn't had any professional body technicians near it in a long, long time! Hopefully, you have access to a high-quality digital or 35 mm camera to take some 'family' pics with ... that could be the beginning of a large album in the future!

Good luck!

"ho-made turbo conversion", with a sloppily placed $14 glasspack from Pep Boys (complete with pipe-clamp holding it up), is probably the best reason to walk away from this car.

that and they got the rear flares wrong.

Have you checked out this one?
Seems to be in much nicer condition.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/323235-71-911t-e-sale-ne.html

I've always like the VR6 Corrados but I've heard too many horror stories (Ghetto hood release, Timing chain) and the parts are about as expensive as the Porsche parts. I would love to have a Mk1 Scrirocco one day

Agreed. Lenny is a good guy too!

I know it's a hard decision when you "fall-in-love" but there are plenty more to choose from and plenty of sellers willing to help you part with your money.

show me the pictures:D

Katie

forget the purple one... Go for this one.... A no brainer if you want an early car...

I still think that for your 1st 911 you want a decent SC. You can find them in your price range...

You do not NEED to buy it now. The search is half of the fun.
Plus you could polish your stick driving abilities.

Oh and as a side note we just spent $2k to fix a "MINT" 20k miles 993.... These cars are expensive... Parts are expensive, specialize labor is expensive...

Get a car in decent running condition.