Inspecting a Cab
 

Hey everyone,

I've got a friend that wants me to go and take an initial look with him at a 1989 anniversary edition (I don't know what this really means) cabriolette. I'll be honest with you and tell you that I am more of coupe guy, and I know nothing about cabs. Is there anything that one should look closely at when checking out a cab?

The car only has 7-8 thousand miles on it, so this adds another complication to the issue of inspecting the car. I've torn apart a 1989 3.2L engine and will hopefully rebuild get it into running condition some time down the road. But an engine with only 7-8K in 15 plus years? ? ? Is that even broken in, is there certain things that should specifically be checked out with a low milage car?

One other issue is that the car is 3 1/2 hours from anyone qualified to do an PPI. What do you do in a circumstance like this? Lastly what do you think a low milage anniversary edition cab is worth. I appreciate your help with this. I just want to be able to give sound advice.

Rich

mileage that low is kinda scary..is it a 'museum queen'? what about pictures..and does the car come with complete maintenance history? how many owners? think we need more info..good be good..could be bad..too hard to tell at this point.
ryan

Ryan, I don't know a lot of details either. I am pretty sure it is a one owner car, and has been a garage queen that has hardly been driven for the last 6 years. I agree that mileage that low could be an issue if the car was not at least run on occasion, and oil changed ect ect. The guy who is buying the car knows a lot about cars in general, but is no expert on air cooled 911's. I was even wrong on the year because the anniversary edition was a 1988 not a '89.

Does the Anniversary edition add any value to the car?

try to put the top up and down. If it is power, try that too. See if the boot fits.

well, that should mean it's a 3.2 and not a 3.6 anyway. probably one of the few 3.2's around without excessive valve guide wear..lol. anniversary probably adds some value, but not a significant amount, imho.
ryan

Don't know if this will be much help, but here is Bruce Anderson's Article on buying a Used 911 from Excellence magazine.

OK thanks guys I am doing some searching and finding a couple answers. It is a little confusing with the '88 to 89 stuff. As there were commerative cars in '88 for the 250,000th 911's to roll out of the plant, and in '89 there was a 25th anniversary for the 911 and they were special cars, but 500 of them were shipped into the US so I agree the value probably would not go up significantly. Any suggestions about long distance PPI's?

You might try requesting help from a more knowledgeable board member in the area of the sale. A new thread with a title like “PPI help wanted in (location of car)” might do the trick. Pelican members are great at helping each other out.

great idea, david.
ryan

my statement may go against the creed "you must get a reliable ppi from a reputable mechanic" response, but if you're friend is a "car guy" then do what I did, bring the check list from rennlist & complete you own ppi. however, a compression test is a must. bring a friend who happens to be an ase mechanic to complete the compression test & you'll be fine(worked for me). it's all I did (knock on wood). my wrench told me the leak down is more of a diagnosis to determine the source of low compression, hence, if compression is good, leak down should be ok. your friend should be saving $2.5k for the 1st year anyway to cover things even a "real" ppi might not pick up

only my .02, now bring the pain

(talk about too many quotations & too many parentheses)