1987 911 3.2 240k Km's - should i buy it?

[torseilertsen]

Hi all!

I am a new to Porsche's, but i have a 87' Coupe that I'm considering. It looks great, all original, newer crashed, it has about 240.000 Km's on its back, driven in Norway. New clutch and some oil hoses/gaskets(?) around the oil tank this summer.

There are some small bubbles on the dor bars(...) and i understand this could be alarming. I bought an endoscope (camera with LED lights) to get a view inside the fenders. If i cant see any rust does that mean there is'nt any? Is it at all possible to stick the 10mm lense in all the places i need to look? Kidney bowls or what you call it. And should i worry about the mileage? He says the cars purs lice a cat, and no oil sweat.

Any other tips on what to look for?
Please excuse my poor English...

Greetings from Oslo!

[Hnichols]

240K km is what, about 140K miles (too lazy to calculate it!). I'm not surprised it runs smoothly, but the key questions would be: how much oil does it consume (number of km's per liter; and smoke). As everyone here will tell you, you need a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) by an experienced Porsche mechanic, esp. if you're new to Porsches. That'll tell you what kind of shape the motor is in.

Also, does the owner have complete service records? Also very important.

Any rust on a galvanized car is a red flag. With most cars any visible rust is often the tip of the iceberg.

I don't know what the market for old porsches is in Norway. Here in the US it would be easy to say keep looking. But that's the luxury of living in a large country with plenty of old 911s around.

And, by the way, your English is quite good. Good luck!

[torseilertsen]

Hi Hnichols and thanks for your reply!

About 140K miles is accurate enough. about oil, the owner says is uses less than it is supposed to!? he says 1litre (quarter gallon) pr 1000Kms/550 miles is what you should expect, bu he actually refill less than that. Assuming he's not lying, this is a good sign?

About the price, he's asking about 35.000$. importing cars to Norway is expensive. Toll is calculated from horsepower, emissions, weight and age. Toll on a 87 911 32 is about 15.000$ + VAT + freight, so what he is asking is equivalent to 13-15.000$ in the US. This is allso a euro Porsche, which is preferable to me :-)

Attached a photo of the car as well.

[torseilertsen]

[Hnichols]

Others here will chime in and can correct me, but the oil consumption seems a bit higher than normal. If the consumption gets to about 300-400 miles per quart (basically a liter), then it's time for a top end (valve) job, if not sooner. 800-1000miles per quart is closer to normal I think, unless "normal" is a 911 in need of a valve job.

Most likely the issue is the valve guides, the weak link on the otherwise robust 3.2 motor. Someone driving behind you will notice a puff of blue smoke when you ease off the gas; you might see some smoke at idle.

For comparative purposes, my '88 has 113 000 mi, a little less than yours, and burns a qt. every 800 or so miles. I see some smoke, but not an excessive amount, on deceleration and sometimes at idle. I'll need new valve guides in the not too distant future, but it's OK for now. Your car might need attention sooner. I would think there would be some noticeable smoke. True?

On the positive side, '87 is the right year, and "yours" is a terrific color.

[torseilertsen]

Hi!

Thanks again, I'll try to take a look at the car Monday (a couple of hours) preferably in daylight. I'll make sure to look for that blue smoke. Maybe I'll try to mount my Gopro camera to get an idea of what comes out of the pipe.

I'll allso try to figure out what the valve guide job cost me over here.

When it comes to color i try not to be to selective, the marked here is to narrow, but it really shows the spirit of 87. Maybe i should grow a matching poodle hairstyle, and get myself some white pants and a red leather jacket. I guess the color is the main reason why the car is not sold already.

The interior is even worse - wine read/purple-ish. It allso shows some signs of wear. Is it possible to get hold of new chairs, dash etc?

About the year, the 87-89 Carrera 3.2 G50 are said to be the "bullit proff" ones, true?

[torseilertsen]

[Bob Kontak]

$15k US sounds reasonable especially with values increasing.