What year 930 should I buy?

I have been thinking about buying a 930 turbo. What year is "the Best". Steve

the newer 930 you can afford.

89 would be the last year of the 930 if I'm not mistaken then you get into the 91 C2 Turbo model which is 50K +

I had a bad experience with a 1984 930 Turbo....which I ended up selling for my now 83sc (more reliable on long trips)



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83 sc euro cab

89

Steve If you are a turbo lover, any of the intercooled years will be a fine place to start. I say start, because everybody with a turbo lusts for even more power. I happen to have the 89 and the 5spd G50 is a nice upgrade. 5th is pretty tall so it is reserved for expressway cruising or arrest me if I stop warp drive.
david 89 turbo cab

89 is the best, its the newest of the old chassis, and the only one with the 5 speed.

I think the 86-88 US cars are the best values, though. They are not usually all that much more than the US 78-79 cars, but are much, much newer and nicer, in all respects. The 89 is nicer, but for some reason commands a lot more than the 86-88, which are pretty close in most regards.

The 70s Turbos are starting to border on antiques, IMO, while the 80s cars are more modern and useable even as daily drivers.

You probably shouldn't. I saw a statistic once "~75% of 930's were wrecked within months of purchase, because the owners didn't understand what they were buying"

if that stat were true (depending on how you read it), there would not be any 911 turbos left!

They weren't totaled, 95% had rear damage of varying severity.

79 if you can find one :


This beast will give you everything you need for speed. Creature comforts, then 87 or later turbo. Raw power and potential, then 78 or 78
John 79

I agree with John

Keith
79 930

Steve,

I'm in a similar situation. I'd like to sell my Carrera and buy a Turbo, but which one? When I was shopping for my Carrera 7 years ago I ended up with the newest car I could afford. I began looking at late '70's SCs, too slow (sorry guys), early Carrera's, no G-50 Transmission, no hydraulic clutch, no fan on oil cooler, etc. Finally I decided on an '87. I could afford it and it had the more up to date technology.

Fast forward to today. I'd like to buy a Turbo and I going through the same thing. '70's Turbo? No too old, no intercooler, not much more power than my Carrera, etc. '80's Turbo? Still a 4 speed, what's up with that? (yes '89's are 5), Old tech suspension, still an old car. '90 Turbo, much better. I drove a '91, low miles, very good body and 1 year warrenty from the dealer, $43K. Not bad at all. I almost bought it. So close. Then I drove 3.6 Turbo, WOW. This the bomb. The bottom end of the powerband is way fat and the car simpely flies. I just need another 10K.

So I guess the point of these rambling is buy the newest car you can afford or not afford.

Good Luck!

Pete

PS: Anyone want to buy a very nice '87 Targa with all of the correct updates?

I found a 79 930 with under 10k miles 1 owner in "pristine condition" for $40k. Is this s good deal? The 89 I saw had 50k miles also in perfect condition they are asking $35k. Which would be a wise choice. I am looking for a keeper that will see only Sunday drives.Steve

1976 if you're into restoration and authenticity, and 1989 if you're into the best performance. 1989 had the five-speed. You can also get a turbo-look Carrera for much less if you're into the looks more than the Turbo itself. The turbo cars are an interesting breed. Some people don't like them - rent or borrow one before you buy...

-Wayne

Contrary to a suggestion earlier in this thread, the '78 and '79 turbos had intercoolers.

The best deal (bang for buck) for a 930 is a well taken care of '78 or '79 turbo (you're more likely to find a '79, since there were very few '78s, but the two cars are indistinguishable), IF what you are looking for is the raw, no b.s. Porsche turbo driving experience. You can get solid cars, if you look carefully, in the $25-$35,000 range.

And you can tinker with 'em to your heart's content for more power, broader torque band, etc.

For Sundays at the track, can't imagine why you would want to spend the premium for a late 80s car. For a daily driver, maybe. The '89 G50/50 makes gear choice an easier proposition, but you can upgrade that, too, on the earlier cars, or just create enough power and torque with your engine mods that the 4 speed does just fine

Bruce McDermott
'78 930

No one mentioned this so I guess I will. One important difference between the '79 and the '86 is the dash. The '86 has the much more modern looking Carrera dash with the big vents and nice a/c controls. They also come with 9" Fuchs on the rear with 245/45/16 unlike the earlier ones with 8" and 225/50/16. I'm not sure but I think the early 3.3s also had the front floating rotors which are much more expensive to replace. The '86 on also have electric seats and a generally better finished interior but they weigh slightly more than the early ones. The driving experience is the same though. For euro models, the '83 onwards had more torque (318 vs 303) due to revised exhaust.

I would avoid low mileage old cars. A lot of the components go wrong from lack of use and age so paying a premium that will also diminish with use makes no sense. If it were my money, I would go for a car with excellent body and interior and do a full performance rebuild on the engine. Hope this helps.