81sc or 84 Carrera??

[kenpac]

You decide which to consider and move forward with PPI.

$12,500 for 1981sc coupe with 75k miles in excellent condition, with only some service history and at least 2 owners, all standard upgrades normal for SC, otherwise completely stock.

or

$14,000+ for 1983 Carrera coupe with 155k miles in excellent condition, new clutch and trans, new brakes, new tires. One owner with very detailed and meticulous service history.

or

Keep looking (trust me that's all I've been doing )

BTW This car will not be used as a daily, just some autox/DE and a couple times a month to work or play.

Thanks again everyone.

Lower miles wins hands down. Meticulous records cannot make up for 80K extra miles.

[Trust Me]

A little high for both cars in my oppinion. And I own an 81' SC!

[Colby]

I disagree. The odometers are so easy to disconnect and speedometers so easy to swap on these cars that mileage is one of the least important factors to me. Condition and repair history is far more relevant. Also, a neglected car w/ far less miles could be a worse bet than a higher mileage car that was better maintained. I thought 84 was the first year for the Carrera? Well anyways, the Carrera has many perks, electronic fuel injection (I'm not a big fan of the CIS in the SC's), better brakes, chain tensioner, oil cooler, etc. I personally would look for a good Carrera. 155k is getting up there in miles, but if a PPI finds it to be a solid ride, then I'd probably go that route. Ultimately, the decision is a personal one, as I'm sure you'll hear a wide range of varying opinions.

Colby

[Colby]

260,000 miles on my '84...original tranny and motor. Still going strong!

[nostatic]

155K miles means rebuild likely soon (unless it has already been done). That means it is more like a $20+K car.

If the SC has tensioner upgrade done and you get lucky (no broken head studs), you've got at least another 75K miles before you need to get into the engine.

If there are enough service records on the SC to trace the mileage, and indicate a well sorted car, I think that is the better "deal". Depends what a PPI shows (have them pull the valve covers to check the head studs on BOTH cars). My 40K mile car had limited records (2), but it was enough to verify the mileage and showed that the clutch had been redone. Beyond that, you're going to have to replace stuff anyway, as the cars are old.

The Carrera having the tranny and clutch done is a plus, but again, the engine will probably follow. If the clutch was done on the SC (highly likely) and if the tranny is smooth, you should be OK there.

You never get the miles back, no matter how much you put into the car...

[kenpac]

Originally posted by Trust Me
A little high for both cars in my oppinion. And I own an 81' SC!

I agree. I though the SC was a sure bet at $10-11k and the Carrera a taker at just over 12k. Either way a think both sellers are set on getting their number, but who knows.

[Trust Me]

Cash talks. Even screems at times.

[kenpac]

Originally posted by Colby
260,000 miles on my '84...original tranny and motor. Still going strong!

Wow!!!! That is impressive.

The SC may be a little high if it has needs. If it gets a good ppi and all the stuff works, no wrecks, good paint, it's not a bad price at all.

[kenpac]

Originally posted by nostatic
155K miles means rebuild likely soon . . . The Carrera having the tranny and clutch done is a plus, but again, the engine will probably follow. If the clutch was done on the SC (highly likely) and if the tranny is smooth, you should be OK there.

A rebuild shortly down the road is my concern. Although, the owner of the Carrera has had the oil changed every 5k and a major service done every 15k. The car was used as a daily, no track etc.

The SC does not have as good a history and the mileage previously reported in CarFax type services was showing 100k above what the odometer currently shows, the owner has documents that show this reported mileage to be a transcribing error and has since had the information corrected. Also the clutch, trans and engine are original.

[nostatic]

I can't believe the clutch in the SC is original. '81 was still rubber centered as I recall, and there is no way those would last 75K miles.

Are there enough service records to document the mileage?

Oil change every 5K? Heathen...3K is the accepted anal retentive figure. If it was a daily driver (as in stop-and-go traffic), I think it is probably getting tired. There are examples of 3.2 engines going high miles, but I would bet that most of those are on cars that see plenty of high speed freeway miles.

[GSpreeman]

The odometers are so easy to disconnect and speedometers so easy to swap on these cars that mileage is one of the least important factors to me.

Okay, so how do you pull this one off with carfax?

[Colby]

Carfax doesn't sit in your car and watch your miles. To the best of my understanding, it monitors mileage every time it's reported, usually at emission inspections, etc. So, one so inclined could drive around on a daily basis w/ the odometer disconnected and reconnect it every so often to let some miles tick. Every time miles are recorded, it appears the car is barely driven...maybe 5k miles a year. In reality, the driver is putting on 20k miles a year. Do this for 5 years and 25k miles is really 100k. Carfax, again this is to the best of my understanding (so correct me if I'm wrong) looks for inconsistencies... in '99 car mileage reported by BMV at 100k, in '00 it suddenly goes down to 95k. It doesn't report the rate at which mileage is put on the car if it's not contradictory.

[GSpreeman]

Ah, Colby, thought you'd found a way around that whole registration thing. What I would pay to pull 100-200K miles off my odometer.

[Sonic dB]

The Carerra is priced right....the SC is priced about 2K too high...

However....the Carerra is getting up there and would need full PPI, including all tests...to convice me that it wouldnt need a rebuild on the engine or tranny.

If you can get the guy closer to 10K$ on the SC...then hop on it...they will level out at that price and you wont lose anything.

Again PPI will tell everything about both cars...

[fogcity]

I have an '84 with 180,000 miles. I bought the Carrera because it came (from the factory specific to model year change) with a lot of upgrades I'd have (or would want) to do to the SC. I did have to put a rebuilt tranny in it - the engine seems very strong as is. Knock on wood, I've put 3500 miles on it as a daily driver without incident.

When I did my research I found that people had a general agreement that no matter which car you buy, have a 2k-3k reserve fund ready. For me, at least, that turned out to be very good advice.

The bottom line is that you have to throw a little cation to the wind and buy the one that feels right - otherwise you'll always be asking yourself "Should I have bought the other one?"

[Victor]

Some thoughts:

How many 20+ year old cars really have true odometer readings? An average of only 3,409 miles per year? Hmmmm.....

The old saying: "Buy on condition, not mileage". Please bear it in mind.

I think even US early 3.2's have 231HP. Piss weak by todays standards, but an old SC? I think youre talking in the realms of significantly less. Do you have a feel for how either of them drive?

There are plenty of other good reasons to buy a Carrera over an SC. I think the brakes are better, the airbox will not explode and the chain tensioners will not cause a divorce.

[nostatic]

My airbox won't explode (pop off valve installed), and I just had the tensioners done. I also don't worry about rod bolts or valve guide wear. And I don't carry a spare DME relay. Every iteration has its issues.

No US Carrera has 231HP. Early ones are 207, later are 217. They also weigh a bit more than an SC.

The bottom line is that you are right in that it is all about condition. But 3.5K miles a year isn't too surprising for a 911. Lots of garage queens out there.

[Victor]

Shame you lot never got the 231. I have driven a few and they are so much stronger than my (and others I have driven) 217, it's wierd.