I think that,
A) the $4600 engine service bill was fabricted
B) the $4600 engine service was unnecesary

If it is due to the car being idle for a long time then the seller needs to preface with that saying something like.....due to setting for 10 years this this and this was needed..........

yah mon, my first reaction is why did the motor need rebuilt at 54K? my 78 930 has 54K and runs fine and has the original clutch that grabs like new. car does look nice though.

$4,600 could have been for the clutch , chain tensioner upgrade, reseal motor, tune up, valve adjustment, vacum & fuel lines etc.

I would ask for a receipt.

(My co-worker was qoted $4,000 to fix the transmission on her Ford Focus)

The motor in my SC was rebuilt at 65,000 miles. Motor was pulled for a bad T-stat and then one of the valve springs needed replacement, but while he was in there he decided to replace the head studs before they snapped and had the heads rebuilt by competition engineering, new clutch etc....

I just bought my 83 for $9000, granted it's got 3x the mileage that one has, but it's been maintained appropriately and has the same goodies or more. 54K miles is weird number... not quite low enough to be a museum piece, but too low for a car that was used as it should have been ! It's been driven very little which is not a great thing, and I really would not pay $20K+ for such a car when you can buy a nice one for a lot less or a 3.2 carrera with a G50 for that money... Sorry, that just sounds super high for me... The SC is a "driver " 911, not a collectible yet, so it seems high !

deschodt +1 and do you have any pics of your SC? I got my 83 for $11 but it sounds like yours is in better shape than mine. $20+k at least in my location will get you a damn nice Carerra too.

Picts as requested
 

Picts as requested - this is what $9000 bought me - bearing in mind this used to be my car so I knew it was a good one despite the 167000 miles. It needed Shocks and new shifter bushings...

I got it lowered but the picts are not on the web yet, sorry !!

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/911SCfront.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/911SCrear.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/911_official.jpg

I see a lot of 911s for sale on ebay, Panorama, cars.com
Few actually sell on ebay--the bidding is usually below the reserve price.

I've read there are more old 911s around than any other car. Hence, there are a lot of old ones for sale--many in good condition.

If you're looking for a specific car, maybe that's more difficult...
I agree the older cars hold their price--better than most.

Picts as requested - this is what $9000 bought me - bearing in mind this used to be my car so I knew it was a good one despite the 167000 miles. It needed Shocks and new shifter bushings...

I got it lowered but the picts are not on the web yet, sorry !!

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/911SCfront.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/911SCrear.jpg

Great buy!

deshodt, nice color man. So this isnt the same car with the dead rats, rust, no brakes, etc... and all that you were talking about on the "did you get a PPI" thread I take it?

wow tough crowd, I feel the need to chime in here and clear a few things up since I took those photo's and know the owner.

I've yet to see a nicer SC, but then again, i've never been to Parade. Yes it's expensive, but you get what you pay for. I seem to remember a super nice metalic black SC with 90k that recently sold for 19kish. So while the price is above most SC's I don't think it's outrageous.

I do remember seeing the reciept for the 4600 service so it's not fabricated. He's the type of guy who does things all in, so if the car had a few leaks, everything was done.

Owner is a very fussy motorcycle enthusiest who bought the car from a close friend of his. It's been a well cared for car since new and it shows. It was not picked up to be flipped ect, he has owned the car for a while now and i've only seen it on the road a few times. He is a true motorcyle guy and is always traveling with no time to use it.

Owner does not check these boards but I do, and I have more pics ect. I'd be happy to help any serious buyers or clear up any confusion.

Thanks
Mike



:)

I hate to say this but, I'm going to anyways...An SC is a great car to drive, I made mine my daily driver and had 194,000 miles on it. It's a heck of a car and is quite nice in the looks dept. The thing that I hate most about these cars (which isn't much considering what you get out of performance)
is the extra cheap interiors. Cardboard door pockets, plastic handles, cheap auto window switches, ugly seats, carpet that cost and arm and a leg to replace and terrible A/C and heat. Now, If I were to spend under 12K These things wouldn't be such a problem. But if you are spending double that then I would move up to a higher mileage 993 or even a 996. There is much more comfort in these cars and they are newer, faster and still a Porsche!

Well, glad to hear you chime in Mike. You have to admit, that if all you have is a short write up and a couple pictures, you have to make assumptions.

You really should go take that car on a drive and take pictures in a better area. It would keep the focus on the vehicle and not the surroundings.

Good Luck, George

That describes almost every unrealistic classic car seller until they get to the point where they really need to sell and then must accept what the market will buy their car for.

The mistake some owners make is calculating maintenance and upgrades into the price they paid for the car. To me maintenance and upgrades are just part of the monthly cost of driving the car (just like fuel and oil).

Not to hijack this thread - apologies about that - but no, this is not the car with rats, no PPI and spliced... This is the Karmic forces at work paying me back for being an honest guy and landing me a good deal on a solid old SC...

Back to the thread at hand, really, I think people who ask 20-25K for an SC had better talk about a rare Paris-Dakar SC or something with a 3.6 993 engine in it !

We all would like to think our cars are worth a ton, but the only 911s that are appreciating are pre-73.5 cars, which sell for that and more because they are classic... All others are on a slow or slower downwards slope, and there is nothing about an SC that makes me believe it'll be the next classic. Seems like the market spoke: Early cars - then 87-89 carreras, then 993s...

I love mine, but you have to be realistic, they are less powerful than 77 cars and 84-89 carreras and heavier than early cars... They are the best workhorse out there in the 911 range !

If you want to defend a 20+K Sc, that is perfectly fine, but you're probably throwing money out the window as a low mileage 35 year old 911 is not always a great car... I am sure the car that started this thread is a fine example, but that means 16-18K tops to me !

Once gain: $9000 below (+2000 of repairs and seats)... How much worse is it for 1/2 the price ? (2% leakdown on all cylinders). They're out there...and mileage is not so important as a good PPI and good head studs ! ;-)

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/SC4.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/SC3.jpg

http://members.rennlist.com/greg/SC2.jpg

Yhea but deschodt you have to admit and I think you even did in your post that you’re SC and that price is not at all typical for a SC of your caliber. You must have bought it off of a family member or something. I think my SC is likely way more typical and in line with the $20k theory. You know the whole buy it for $10 then put another $10 into it and it is where the car that started this thread is. I came into my Pcar purchase wanting and searching for over 2 years for a longhood but when it came down to it I could not justify paying more for a much less dependable longhood than a good daily driver rolling resto SC. Plus my mechanic who is really sharp and only works on Pcars drove all the way to San Fran to buy a longhood and he can't even keep his on the road and running so how would I be able to. The SC is what it is and that is not meant to mean anything bad about it but it is a daily driver workhorse and for the most part very dependable, fun, and something I can own for a long time but if I want any satisfaction out of the transaction that equals me handing the keys over to someone else then that someone is going to need to be my son who isn't even born yet. If I sold my SC today I could make my money back on it but if I go further in plans and expense that I want then I will not get my money back but then again I can't care less b/c I didnt buy the car as a investment I bought it as a car that I can drive, backdate its looks, and maybe start tracking it. Unless from someone totally stuck in the 80s this guy will never get that for the 81SC.

Right, I agree that is a good buy - then again it's got 3x the mileage of the car that started the thread... I think a decent SC should be had for 12-16 though ! 8-10K cars are generally cars that will need work, some deal in the 10-12 category if you are lucky ! I agree with the 20K theory too, but if you are buying a 25K SC, there really is no guarantee it won't need work, especially with low mileage, which is not always a good thing for a flat 6 !

You are right about resale money.. One could buy a 997 and lose $15K driving off the lot, or one could buy a $15K SC and sell it for $15K next year - all the SC costs in my opinion is maintenance. The car is free ;-) (if bought well)

To me, there's nothing like the classic SC styling. That's the 911 look they retained through the 80s but drifted away from in the 90s. The 996s and 7s have a rounded look which isn't 911; they even abandoned the PORSCHE logo across the rear tailight, which I think was a mistake. But these later model 911s have sold very well...they have bigger, more powerful engines and are faster.

Over the last ten yeras I have modded my SC so that it barely resembles the car from which I started. I am trying (kind of) to sell it to buy a 996. So far I have had zero calls at $20K CDN (about $18K US), and I am not the least bit surprised. In fact, unless I want to give away the equivalent of a truckload of aftermarket high performance parts it looks like I am keeping this car forever. It could be worse.

Over the years I've driven a lot of the 3.0 SC and 3.2 Carrera cars both stock and modified, 915's and G50's. The SC's are cool, and retain a bit of early car flavour, but the 3.2 Carreras are ultimately a more sensible buy.

For $23K you can buy a really nice 915 3.2 litre car, or nowadays even an decent G50 but I personally wouldn't wouldn't give anything up to get into a G50.

I don't expect the owner will drop his asking price by $5K, and he well shouldn't. Somewhere out there is a guy who wants a pristine guards red SC, and this willl be an excellent car for him.

If I had to do it again, right now, I'd look for a nice 84 to 86 Carrera for $15K or so. I bet you'd could do very well....maybe even a cab if that's your thing.