Looking at purchasing 83 911 SC and have questions
 

I'm looking at purchasing my first Porsche which is an 83 911 SC. The car is in good condition, all original equipment. The car has just over 180K miles . The seller tells me that maintenance is up to date. What's a fair offer for this car. I'm concerned with the engine since it hasn't been rebuilt, leaks oil. i know this is common on every porsche but just looking for opinions?

Thanks

Excellence Magazine runs a good section on pricing for different models. If this 83 is at 180k miles without a rebuild and is leaking oil. Something to consider is that a proper rebuild is going to cost at min $5k. Your best bet is to have a PPI done and base the price on the maintenence required.

As cheap as you can!
And be prepared to put money into it. get a ppi and find out where your main problems are so you have a good starting point.

not enough info given to give much of a guess. but there aren't going to be many (none) 180K mile leaking, no engine rebuild SCs that are going to go for more than $11K or so. And down as low as $5K, depending on condition. So, $5K-$11K.

Also, don't believe the "they all leak" thing. That's just what sellers of leaking cars try to get you to believe.

Is it a Pelican car? (probably better maintained than others) What is the asking price? Any rust, accidents? Was it ever raced? How many previous owners? What receipts can the previous owner produce?

All sorts of questions that effect the selling price of a car like that.

Sooner or later...
 

5K maybe for the top end only and thats if you are lucky ... Had the top and bottom done and it cost 7K total (parts and labor) but that was 11 yrs ago.

I was thinking in the ballpark of $10K. I plan on having a PPI done on it but just looking it over myself, yes it looks great cosmetically for a 29year old car, but with 180K miles it could be more of a money pit than I bargined for.

I don't have all the history on the car, I know it's changed hands a few times. I was just looking for an average cost. What causes the oil leaks that's so common?

Usually, but not necessarily the oil return tubes.

well dont be discourage about the mileage when i bought my 2nd 911 a 86 the one in my garage i bought it with 356k miles on it. the sells manager at pioneer porsche owned it. he was owner #2 and he only put 5k miles on it. i drove it till it got to 530k miles on it. i would still be driving it if i didnt redo the whole car i put a widebody kit on it. the motor was still strong and never been rebuilt top or bottom. it was well maintened an driven by me like a porsche should be driven. i drove it hard. all to say the motor is well built.

i opted out for a 64k motor. i still wished i kept that motor to see if i could get it to a million miles. ill try it on the new one then.

gdluck if the body is in gd condition.along with the inside of the the car is 10k from 5-10k all day long. depending on the other variables, if the body isnt all that and interior isnt, 5k for the car

I paid $ 10K for my 83 SC which had I think about 185,000 miles on it (on non-rebuilt engine), needed paintwork due to faded paint, and had a few drips of oil. This was about 4.5 years ago.

A PPI=Pre Purchase Inspection from a wrench that has never seen the car is a good idea.

Oil leaks from the top of the motor components are the most annoying. The interior wear is the best indicator of how well it was treated.

Condition of tires is NOT an indication of worth....brakes and pads are a good thing to check as well as the condition of the brake fluid.

I hate Excellence magazine for fabricating an unrealistic value of the sc. Now every seller quotes +$27k for their nice lower miles sc.

Yes i think $10k is a fair price but he's asking a few thousand north of that so I'll most likely make an offer and see where it goes once I have an inspection done, etc. I have a few friends that own SC's 1980-82 and they paid between $8-10K, has the price really gone up that much on these since they are now antique status. The price for these cars is really absurd when you really stop and think about it. These cars are 30+ years old and they still sell for top dollar?

I find this a great way to figure out where the market is:

1978-1983 Porsche 911 | eBay

The Buy It Now prices show you want people think their car is worth and the bids show you how much people are willing to pay for it.

Cost Of Ownership
 

As we all know sooner or later all(well sorted) SC's are 20K(at least) cars. Matt 7127, if you truly love SC's accept this reality.

Just as a reference i paid $8500 for my 83 last summer with 125k miles. Previous owner had lots of records dating back to the original owner. I think alot of the price depends on where you are, how much you really want the car and how much the previous owner loves the car. Mr. NADA must love our cars :).

Nice, I never realized you could compare asking price and sold price like that? Thanks.

Yes, SCOE911, it's funny because I keep hearing that about it being a $20K car in the end. That's fine, I'm willing to pay that over the years to make it my own just don't want to pay that to start.

You still don't get it...the sooner you get it to that point the better...