Value of my Friend's Red Carrera

Jim Smolka · 06-30-2002, 04:03 AM

A buddy of mine who live near by is selling his '87 Carrera Targa. Probably, the nicest 911's that I have seen in a long time. Incredible car to drive. No oil leaks. Looks like original paint. The car has 130K miles. Very original condition. Always well cared for and has maintenance records etc. He also has the stock engine lid. Nice interior, though the seat bolsters could use some attention.

We are trying to determine the value of this car, I was thinking around $18,000 USD

What do you guys think?

(He bought a 964 and his wife won't let him keep both)

Porsche911NYC · Porsche911NYC's Garage

Tell us more about that special plate he has. I was in the Marines and can see he was awarded the Bronze Star.

walt · walt's Garage

Bruce Anderson's market update in the August issue of Excellence has the 87 Targa listed as: Poor - 16,655, Good - 18,936 and Excellent - 25,350.

Looks like a nice car.

Jim T · 06-30-2002, 06:54 AM

I think $18K is about right.
IMO he'll have an easier time selling if he puts the original decklid back on.

Doug E · 06-30-2002, 06:54 AM

Assuming everything is OK with the engine and tranny I'd probably start around 22 and see what happens but I'd put the other lid back on.

18 is probably on the low side but I'm not sure what the current market conditions are.

yelcab1 · 06-30-2002, 09:07 AM

If he is considering selling a Porsche to a "buddy" then he must be very confident that the resulting sale and ownership will not ruin your friendship (try knowingly selling a lemon to your buddy and see if the friendship lasts). It looks good, I even leave the wing. It is worth ... 20-22K to me. I, personally, would not haggle too much with a friend. A good friendship is always worth more than $ to me.

Jim Smolka · 10:20 AM

yelcab1,

Yes, I would love to buy the car, but I don't have funds for another Porsche

We figured at $18K, it would be a good deal for someone.

speeder · 06-30-2002, 09:49 AM

Jim, $18,000 is a very fair price for that car in the condition you describe. Might be able to get a little more for it, (I don't know the market there), but for an easy, no-hassle sale it's a good figure.

As for B.A.'s prices, they are a bit high for these cars. His price gathering methodology is flawed, to say the least, he even so much as admits it. Good luck to you and your friend!

silverc4s · silverc4s's Garage

Jim,
That is a really pretty targa, and having both decklids is a plus, I am sure...
Keith Martin's book has 87-89 Carrera Targa at $22,500 to $25,000. It seems the miles may be on the high side here (15 yrs at 5K per year is ~75K mi), but if the car is really nice _you say it it is_ then it should fit in this area somewhere. i would say that $18,000 is too low, he should ask for more, and see what develops..

Good Luck,

Jim Smolka · 06-30-2002, 10:29 AM

Here is another picture of the car.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

If it were in LA, $18K would be just about right, could go plus or minus few $K depending on condition.

MBAtarga · 06-30-2002, 12:18 PM

I'd say 18k is too low. If the condition throughout matches the pictures, I'd say he should easily get a few thousand more.

glickster · 06-30-2002, 01:39 PM

Stock targa, high mileage. Hard to judge from pix. At 130,000, the car is either on its 3rd clutch or in need of a clutch soon. Also, if the engine hasn't had the top end (or top & bottom) rebuilt, it may be needing that soon. After 15 years things start to wear out. The maintenance history is really important when considering cars of this vintage.

So, depending upon what's been (or hasn't been) done (and without seeing those maintence records), the car could be worth as little as 12.5-15k to 21-22.5k.

yelcab1 · 06-30-2002, 01:45 PM

I heard Boeing in Seattle just let go a few thousand employees. Jeff Bezos is not exactly hiring 1000 employees in Seattle. Bill Gates is not luring that many to his Redmond campus either. People with $18K spare change for a toy is not itching to spend it in Seattle. If your friend wants to sell it, price it low and get what he can. If he prices it too high, well ... that is one way to hang on to it, I guess.

speeder · 06-30-2002, 05:18 PM

Yelcab, The car is in North Carolina.

Jim Smolka · 06-30-2002, 09:01 PM

Ok, Now I am bummed.

The car was sold this evening...
So many toys, so little time.

zuerchers · 06-30-2002, 10:11 PM

what did he sell it for?

glickster · 07-01-2002, 06:12 AM

The envelope, please . . . ?

Jim Smolka · 07-01-2002, 07:23 AM

Since it is not my car, I cannot divulge the selling price, but it was somewhere near the amount I posted earlier.

I just wished I had the cash to have purchased the Carrera. It is getting harder to find them excellent condition.