'82 911SC Pricing Advice

[mansueti]

Tomorrow I am going to drive a '82 911SC with 120K miles on it. He is asking $11,900. Here is the scoop from my initial conversation with the owner:

Exterior is in good to very good condition
Interior is only fair - he suggests replacing seats and carpet
Headliner is good
A/C does not work well
No records from any previous except the seller
Seller is unsure if the following is on this car:
-Carrera Chain Tensioner Upgrade
-Spring Centered Clutch upgrade
-Airbox with popoff valve
-Any partial or full engine rebuild (due to higher mileage)

Hope to get more info during the test drive. Looking at ballpark numbers. If the car is acceptable and I get it for about $11,000 (that may be a bit high) and I have to put in the Chain Tensioner, Spring Centered Clutch, and Airbox with popoff valve. Let's say those updates cost about $2000 (is that in the right ballpark for those repairs) and I spend another $500 on various other repairs, I will have $13,500 into the car. Does that seem reasonable?

I will definitely get a PPI done; Turns out there is a very good Porsche mechanic only 2-3 miles from where the car is currectly.

Your feedback on this sales scenario would be greatly appreciated.....

Chris

[yelcab1]

I would offer $9K, the seats and the interior needing replacement means the car is neglected / abused some what. Questionable engine tranny means you may need to spend some money quick. If the seller does not want to clean up the car before the sales, then he is opening himself to a low offer.

I can easily see you dumping $5K into this car immediately, so go low on the offer.

[anthony]

Chain tensioners and pop-off valve only requires a 3 minute visual inspection. Look inside the airbox for the popoff valve and if the chain tensioner housings have oil lines then they are pressure fed.

At 120K miles, it probably has a newer clutch disc. I wouldn't worry about that as long as the clutch engages/disengages good.

[mansueti]

Thanks all for the reply....I will provide more feedback after the test drive tomorrow....

[HardDrive]

If it helps, I just paid $11350 for a 1982 Targa with 83k miles on it. Very good condition. Interior very good. Former owner had replaced the carpets, and seats had be recovered 5+ years ago.

It had the chain tensioners on already. The only thing 'wrong' was a bad turn signal, $150. I opted to have the alternator replaced for $380, because I did not like some of the electrical 'odditys' going on (glad I did).

$11900 is not outrageous, but it really comes down to the condition. I am thinking less than $10k from what you have said.

[mansueti]

Just got back from the test drive on this 911SC. Here is the scoop:

* The exterior in general look pretty good. Paint (Dark Green) in not faded. There are several localized issues that include:
-Front Spoiler (the sheet metal under the front bumper) has a bunch of rust spots; I think it needs to be replaced or fixed/repainted (if that is possible)
- It appears the base of the radio antenna was pushed back which torque’d the sheet metal around the antenna base. One side is pulled up a bit, the other side is crimped in a bit. Basically, a 3” circle around the antenna base is bents and the paint is cracked and a bit of rust is visible under the cracks. Not sure if this is an expensive (relatively) repair or not
- The passenger side headlamp rim is wrinkled and retaining ring is not tight against the headlamp assembly. This needs to be corrected.

* New tires are needed in the front; back tires are OK
* Cruise Control does not work
* A/C is suspect on how well it works
* Electric Windows, mirrors and sunroof are operational
* Rear view mirror is not on windshield; sitting in the glove box
- Original Radio

*Brown Interior is in poor to fair shape. Driver’s seat has 2 wear holes in it; each 1” by 2”. Headliner is OK with only 1 small tear. Dash is in OK shape with some cracks (about 1”) in one spot. Back seats seemed to be OK. Floor mats in decent shape. Carpet underneath is stained in so so shape with some stains.

Went on a test drive. I am still a novice in trying to determine any mechanical issue that may be present. The seller did say that in order to put the car into first gear, it need to be close to or be fully stopped. What would that mean? In general shifting seemed OK with some rough spots of putting into the correct gear. I heard more wind noise then I expected; this may be an issue of a driver side window seal.

Again, the seller did NOT know if the Carrera Chain Tensioner upgrade, Airbox Popoff value, or Spring Clutch upgrade had been done yet and, due to my lack of knowledge, I could not check my self.

That is the scoop. It seems like a combination of some costly repairs/upgrades (Chain tensioner, some body work, new seats, etc) are required along with some more minors ones to make it a good car all around.

With what I have explained, what would you folks expect the approx costs for the following repairs:
-repair or replace the front spoiler
- repair body work around the antenna base,
- fix head lamp rim
- fix cruise
- fix A/C
- new tires
- re-upholstered or new seats
- fix the cracks in the dash (is that can be done without full replacement)
- new carpet
- Chain Tensioner
- Airbox popoff value

I think I am looking about $5000 of upgrades/repairs. Let me know if that is in the ballpark. I know I do not have to do everything.

[Rot 911]

That sounds like a car that has been neglected. I would definitely have a PPI done before any purchase as I would have some concerns regarding oil changes, tune ups, etc. Sounds like an $8000 car to me.

[ken_xman]

keep looking.....
sounds like a rag. You are better off spending more on a better car, than less on a fixer.

[Evans, Marv]

Like Ken said. Keep looking. This one isn't for you.

[HardDrive]

As above. Keep looking.

The problems listed are just the ones you know about! This car has obviously not been cared for, which has some scary implication in the engine bay.

There are plenty of fish in the sea....re-bait the hook and keep on fishing...

[Noel]

That car would fall into the Poor category for Excellence pricing. Also, West Coast cars seem to be priced lower than East Coast cars, especially North East cars.

If it were me, I would run, not walk away from this car. There are too many nice ones out there. For $15K you should be able to find a great SC that needs almost nothing.

[nostatic]

rust bad. walk away. this car has not been loved

[mansueti]

Thanks all for the advice. As I was writing my last email, listing all the issues I found, I am leaning toward walking on this one. Rust and potential neglect will haunt me with bills down the line. Noel stated "For $15K you should be able to find a great SC that needs almost nothing." Well I have been looking for quite some time and there are not too many SC for $15K in the Michigan area, let alone good ones. But the search goes on......

[Noel]

Originally posted by mansueti
Thanks all for the advice. As I was writing my last email, listing all the issues I found, I am leaning toward walking on this one. Rust and potential neglect will haunt me with bills down the line. Noel stated "For $15K you should be able to find a great SC that needs almost nothing." Well I have been looking for quite some time and there are not too many SC for $15K in the Michigan area, let alone good ones. But the search goes on......

Just curious. Are you finding many that are above or below that price? My buddy found an original paint 81SC in MI for $16.5K It was a former concous car and was absolutely perfect. This was two years ago.

[gerry100]

Patience and more patience.

You could buy this car ,spend $5-6 K and after all that aggravation ,still not be sure what's next.

Or wait for one that has been cared for with records kept for less total $ and you'll be driving it sooner.

[gerry100]

Oh yeah, Iwouldn't worry about the ACV not working well on anyone of these older 911s. Even if everything is up to snuff, the system is marginal.

[Paul Crowther]

I bought my 82 for 10,500 3 years ago and have only changed the oil on it, along with new hood struts. 175,000+ miles w/chain tensioners and routine work over it's life ($12-15,000 by all the previous owners). Excellent metal, good paint, excellent interior except worn seats. Drives solid, shifts well, a couple drips here and there. I've already had enough fun with it that if I need expensive work I'll pay it gladly.

My point: Look for one that seems like it needs little or nothing, with no scary mysteries, and you may luck out like I did. Since you never get out of it what you put into it, let the previous owner do most of the works for you.

Paul

[Franklin]

Chris, have you looked at the Porsches for sale forum? One of the first listings is an SC that makes what your describing a junk yard dog. Don't buy a fixemup. Let someone else spend the thousands and thousands required to bring one back to life. Run away, Run away.

[jfw834]

just wanted to add that even a potentially near perfect car will have it's issues, and these cars, while being very reliable and long lasting, have many things that break and require lots of attention. CIS is a main thing...lots of stupid little things that can make and SC run like crap. also....forget about air conditioning....NONE of them work on an SC and the few that do either someone put THOUSANDS into it, or has reworked the system or both. I had seen hundreds of scs and carreras in my shopping and i can count the ones with working AC on one hand.

That said, you will know when you get to the right one....i did with my 79.....it was just the one. just be patient.

[mansueti]

Thanks for for all the advice. I have been a bit discouraged in finding the right car but all the posts have motivated me to keep looking. As far as finding a decent car in MI, Once and a while a good comes up. My search is a bit limited since I do not want a black or red car. Those colors are not my favorite (even though they seem to be the most popular). Seems like there are quite a few targas (again, I do not want a targa) too. Seems to be a good many 964s. I may have to start looking at them.....