Advice Needed - 911 SC content
 

Hi folks,

I have a '79 911 SC with about 130,000 miles on it. It's a white targa in good shape. I've owned it since June '05. I've enjoyed the car immensely, but now find myself in a position that dictates I sell it.

I had a PPI done when I bought it - no major issues were identified. Compression and leak-down tests showed a strong engine. It continues to pull strong. Had a fender bender a year after I got it (numskull tried to turn in front of me and didnt make it.) Dented the headlight assemblies, but all was fixed and looks good as new. Bodyshop did quality work.

Here's the rub. One afternoon after filling up the tank, I inadvertently reset the trip while rolling. Since then, the Odometer and tripmeter have not worked. This was about 5 tanks ago. I've been told that this is something that i can fix myself, but I'm a bit concerned about breaking into a guage. I've done most of the maintenance on the car myself, so I'm not averse to doing the work - just don't want to screw it up.

Here's my question: if I choose to sell it as is, will I take a big hit on the price by leaving the guage unfixed? My wife and I have been doing alot of work on our home - this is the main reason I'm selling - so I haven't been able to dedicate much time to working on the car lately. I would ideally like to get somewhere close to $12K for the car. Any thoughts? Am I in the right ballpark pricewise - I'm really not sure how (or if) the market has changed for these cars since summer '05. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Frank

My thought.

If I were a potential buyer, I would consider the fact that the ODO doesn't work as a big issue. First of all, what is the real mileage? Second, if this is broken, what else am I going to find.

You might consider sending it out to North Hollywood Speedometer or someplace similar to get the plastic gears replaced. If you want to tackle it yourself, the parts are available and there was a recent post on getting the bezel off with common tools.

Thanks for the reply Dave. I agree and have decided to send the unit out for a rebuild. I've been told by a local shop that it'll take no more than two weeks to get the things fixed and back in the car.

it isnt really all that hard to replace the odometer gear. Just takes patience. And resetting it while moving is likely what broke it.

Not a big deal at all, and if you have some documentation of milage, it should not affect the value of the car. Do you have a recipt showing milage for a service or state inspection sticker?, -look for something that documents the milage, -and keep it with your records. If it were are 20k mile car for example, then it would be more of a pain I think, because the potential buyers would likely be keenly concerned with accuracy of the Odometer. But on a car with 130k +, personally I dont think it matters much, so long as you get it fixed, and working before you sell the car. Tell the potenial sellers, show them your documentation etc...

Typo- at end should have been potential buyers!

yeah, I plan to be as forthright about the car as possible. I have documentation of the mileage. I can demonstrate that the car hasn't been abused or anything like that. Frankly, I wish I could keep it, but with the expenses associated with a wife and two kids and home renovations on top of that, there's just no way. It was certainly fun while it lasted though. Thanks again for the responses.

Frank