Nervous noobie w/qusetion

[emmodg]

Found an '82 SC, 1 owner, 107k in Florida.

The owner says there's NO rust! I had the car checked out by a garage down there - they found nothing wrong with it except the paint finish isn't concourse and a small dent in lower rear valence. Th owner says the driver's seat has a small tear. Has new shocks, battery and tires. He's asking $9200 and I can probably get it for $8700 - does this seem too cheap?? Car looks pretty good. The ONLY catch here - the garage that checked it out didn't pull compression or run a leak down on it... the owner says he had compression "checked" a year or two ago and said it checked fine. What'ya think? Too cheap and thus something fishy? I would be coming down to Florida from Virginia to drive it back up.

Oh yeah, it does not have Carrera Tensioners or blow off valve - I would have to do that myself..

Thanks!
J.B.

[Oh Haha]

Good looks can be deceptive.

Have a shop independant of the seller and familiar with 911s do a full PPI BEFORE you decide. A compression test can tell you alot.

A "cheap" 911 can quickly turn expensive if you get a POS.

No offense intended to the owner/seller.

List your location if you're comfortable doing it. Pelicans are all over FLA and I'm sure one of them would take a gander at the car and give you an opinion.

[Por_sha911]

BIG question: How much does this garage know about air-cooled Porsche?
Also, do they know the seller? If so, get an independent garage that knows air-cooled to do a full PPI including leak-down.

Is the car currently driven? Do you have all maintenance records? Is the AC cold right now (watch out for "just needs a recharge"). As far as price is concerned, that can reasonable considering age and mileage IF other things check out. The only thing worse than paying a lot for a car is buying a cheap car and paying way too much when done with repairs to make it right.

Read post #34 on here: Likely Buying first 3.2 Carrera Today - Thoughts Please! to see what a quality PPI report looks like.

[sobamaflyer]

I'm not really surprised by the price, sounds like it's a nice driver-quality car that if I were to surmise needs just a little TLC. Don't be shocked if the A/C doesn't work at that price and it needs some (quite a bit) of tiny minor things to be perfect, but nothing that would stop you from enjoying the h3ll out of it.

It'd be a good idea to get a PPI certainly and get the compression and/or leakdown numbers, I think if it was me and you were worried about it slipping away I'd mention this to the owner, if he balks at it DEFINATELY do it or time to walk. If he is unconcerned and you otherwise get a good feeling proceed with cautious optimism. There's no doubt a PPI from a proper Porsche shop is the way to go, but it's up to you to weigh your chances.

.......we are in a time of people in a bind, need to sell toys for whatever they can get out of them. And at the same moment many less people have the resources to throw at new toys, so don't let that price make you think there's something wrong.

[GaryR]

PPI including a check of all exhaust studs cause chances are if they are original they are either broken or soon will be. The tensioners will cost you a few hundred, pop-off a hundred or so (installed)..

[emmodg]

Thanks, everyone, for all your help!

The car is in Fort Lauderdale if there is anyone near that would want to check it out...

[Bob Kontak]

GaryR has real good advice re: head studs. Consider their replacement a sunk cost. Once you do that then you get the heads re-worked when disassembled. It just makes economic sense.

If the car does not have the pop-off valve or chain tensioners then it also does not have a front oil radiator. Just the trombone type most likely. The chain tensioners are not as critical as the head studs. They are more advanced than the old style but will require replacement for your peace of mind.

I would not rely on a "regular" Porsche guy to inspect. Pay a Porsche professional.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by emmodg

The car is in Fort Lauderdale if there is anyone near that would want to check it out...

There are many good Porsche shops in Ft. Lauderdale. Foreign Affairs, German Performance, AutoBahn Performance, etc.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

There are many good Porsche shops in Ft. Lauderdale. Foreign Affairs, German Performance, AutoBahn Performance, etc.

A compression test is a small price to pay as opposed to find out later... Plus it give you a baseline for the future. Have the plug change at the same time.

I'm guessing $100 because my PPI with Compression test was 2.5 Hour @ $90/hrs and the compression test did not take an hour (Yeah was right in the mechanic face because I wanted to see the gauge; jauge, spurweite, calibre or any other way you would like to pronounce it

[enjefriy]

GaryR is spot on. Wen I got mine, the exhaust stud was indeed broke. Found it wen investigating an oil leak from the cylinder. Finding it before the purchase was my saving grace. The purchase deal included that the engine be overhauled first. Otherwise that wud hav been a nightmarish start to my Porsche experience

[GaryR]

And to answer the next question, plan on at least $5000.00 for the top end rebuild (depends on the shop) and you won't be too disappointed. A DIY including rod bearings can be done for around $2500.00 as long as you don't need any major parts.. but don't bet on it. With new P/C's it will double that real quick.

[Bob Kontak]

On the positive side, SC P/C's normally last well past 100k (in a maintained car) before replacement is mandatory.

[JFairman]

On top of everything said, I can practically gaurentee there is rust somewhere that either hasn't been seen or hasn't come all the way through to the outer surface yet.

Florida cars rust in different places than cars in other states due to condensation in the inner surfaces of the upper sections around the roof and windsheild on semi cool incredibly humid nights, the salt in the air near the coast, and caked on sand thrown up into the wheel wells especially in the upper corners of the door jam around the rear lid pull handle that will stay wet for a while with salty water when wetted with tire spray if you're caught in a Florida rain shower.

Take the battery out and look for rust hidden under there too.

If it's rust free, the head studs are intact and it runs good in all respects, and you do your own work on the car it may be a good car and decent price.

[L8Brakr]

+1 on checking underneath the battery. Also jack up the car and tap the area aroud the LF A-arm mounting location. Always check for front pan corrosion, even in newer cars.