89 Carerra

[DKeen]

I am considering this car. Any thoughts about what it is worth and whether it looks worthy of a bid.

Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2476883464

[K. Roman]

I can't believe there is already rust.
I'd be afraid.

[Rot 911]

Not bad and low miles. But for hardly being driven and never in the snow or rain, how did it get those rust bubbles on the lower passenger side front window. Also, did you notice the passenger side arm rest is pushed down into the storage bin? Again, not bad, but the bids are starting to get up there.

[Jgordon]

I have an 89, and I have a bubble of rust in almost the exact same place. The car looks pretty clean, and it seems pretty fairly priced. I'd expect a couple thousand more before the auction closes.

[Rich Lambert]

We bought an '89 Carrera back in '93, and it had rust in the same place.

[bigrubberjeep]

Look at the VIN, it's an 87 not an 88 or an 89 -

Also Rust for a 87 is not normal unless it's been outdoors plenty. Also for 26K I would go with something much newer unles your stuck on a Carrera then I would go for a Turbo with a little higher milage.

[preeble]

Even if others have this rust, I still would be thinking about it - a car shouldn't rust if it has never been exposed to rain or snow, especially if it only has 24k miles and was given TLC its whole life.

I would want to address this rust if I owned the car and it will surely cost some money to get it fixed - so that has to be priced into your bid for the car.

BTW... I just purchased an 87 and it doesn't have rust in that location or anywhere else.

[89911]

My brothers 87 had slight surface rust right at the corner of the windshield. Water can pool there and it is common. His had a rough life and had over 100K on it. Car must of sat outside for some of its life. Don't forget, this car is over 15 years old. If everything else check out, the low milage is attractive, as long as there is some regular service. Maintenance should of been done on a scheduled interval (oil change yearly) rather then milage based.

[Beethoven]

This is a nice car, but certainly not worth the 26k it's going for at the moment. A car can either be showroom condition, or have rust, but not both. All this "I'm selling this for a friend"-business makes me nervous, too.
For this kind of money you can buy an '88 from one of the fancy dealers and get a warranty, too.

[MotoSook]

$26K!!!

If you are not stuck on a Carrera....I know of a nice 930 with 15K miles on the engine and a documented full stripe and repaint...you might be able to get it for 26K or right about there. The owner and the car are well known...try me...you'll see.

You can e-mail me for the contact if you are interested (souk at comcast.net), car is in Chicago area.

[SRISER]

No, this is a J program car so it is a 1988 model year. They were produced from August 87 to July 88. This is an early production year car. THIS IS NOT A 1989!!

Maybe 22-24.5k for it. Rust plus some interior issues and the fact that it is a year older than advertized.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally posted by bigrubberjeep
Look at the VIN, it's an 87 not an 88 or an 89 -

Also Rust for a 87 is not normal unless it's been outdoors plenty. Also for 26K I would go with something much newer unles your stuck on a Carrera then I would go for a Turbo with a little higher milage.

It's definitely an `88. The production dates are always earlier than the model year for the States. But regardless, for a car with any rust, that is being "sold for a friend", he'd be lucky to get the current $27k. The big thing that sticks out to me though is the speedometer/odometer. Unless it was special-ordered, that doesn't look like the correct gauge. I haven't seen any post-1987 US 911's with the inner kilometer ring. It would be something I would be sure to look into, especially when the claimed mileage is so low.

[SRISER]

Eric:

You are right. That speedo is wrong. Nothing like my '88 speedo.

1. Rust
2. Wrong speedo
3. Listed as a newer year
4. "Selling for a friend"

equals RUN!

[preeble]

You know - when I was looking at the pictures also, I noticed that the odometer/speedometer gauge looked different than my 87, but I didn't say anything in case they changed slightly from the years (which I didn't think happened).

So, I too would be hesitant about this car. Sounds like whoever is bidding $27k on this car may have a bad suprise waiting for him.

Seats show more wear than they should.

[DKeen]

Thanks guys. Definitly a no-bid at 27K. I was having a hard time justifying a bit this morning at 23K.

Just a sanity check here. Do you think that I should even be looking for a car on ebay? Seems there will always be too many unknowns unless I can personally see the car, have it PPIed, and researched before bidding. None of which is likely. Have you guys had bids accepted contingent upon a satisfactory PPI?

[FLAT6FAN]

Something is off with this car. The interior is not what I expected from a car with so few miles.

[preeble]

Nothing wrong with buying a car off of ebay as long as you can see it and get a PPI performed before you bid. As a seller, ebay is a great way to get visibility on a car.

However buying a car that is not located within a few hours drive is tough because then you have to deal with either shipping charges or airfare to fly out and drive it home (plus the additional miles on the car).

These cars are still fairly common, so it may be worth it to wait for a car that you can drive and see. One thing that I have noticed is that there are usually no longer any 'good deals' on ebay - so if the price is cheap, it usually means that there is something wrong with the car.

[RickM]

Originally posted by DKeen
Just a sanity check here. Do you think that I should even be looking for a car on ebay? Seems there will always be too many unknowns unless I can personally see the car, have it PPIed, and researched before bidding.

I think you answered your own question. If it's local you can easily "personally see the car, have it PPIed, and researched before bidding. "

You can get "sold down the river" just as easily through AutoTrader or the local classified section.

[Crachian]

In your car searching, always look for rust behind the rear quarter window rubber.

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