Decision time - help me evaluate a purchase

[r-mm]

I've been looking for an 80-89 (sometimes til 94) coupe since Thanksgiving. Think I'm honing in on the finalist and would like a bit of advice before I make the leap. Car is an 87, GP White, 100k miles, 2 owners - current owner since 1994. Bone stock to the radio. This is (not the car I posted in marketplace discussion the other day BTW). The asking price is $19k and the seller seems respectfully disinterested in bargaining. Thinking there's maybe $500 max flexibility. The car is not local to me and is in a part of the world that there are few Porsche mechs. One guy came recommended and below is his evaluation of the car. I should also note that I am looking for a driver and will be parking the car on the street sometime, driving it into New York City, etc. I don't commute to work by car so although this will be my "daily" driver, I only drive maybe two times a week, mostly on weekends.

I'm especially interested in hearing from any of you that have recently bought a G50 coupe. My search wasn't limited to G50s, but I want to be sure I'm getting a fair deal in today's market.

I spent about an 1.5 hours looking it over and also drove it. I would rate the car overall as a solid 6/10. It is not kept as a show car. It is not particularly clean, or waxed or vacuumed or anything like that. However, it is not beat up or dented or torn or soiled either. It is kept essentially like any other older daily driver that is decently maintained.
Exterior - There are a couple of scratches, but no dents that I could see. The hood is a little funny. I cannot tell if it has been resprayed at some point or not. There is a funny spot where the paint is irregular, and there also is a spot where the pant is cracked that looks like someone may have tried to push out a large shallow dent. The hoods on these cars are very vulnerable, and it is easy to damage them. This is nothing that could not be repaired fairly easily if you wished. The rest of the paint is original. Wheels are a bit dull and faded, but not damaged and the tires are good.
Interior – Looks used but not abused. It is a little dirty with loose dust and debris, but not deeply soiled or stained that I could see. No tears or rips or holes in anything. Again, with a reconditioning it would stand up pretty nicely.
If someone wanted to take the time, a good reconditioning would have the car looking very presentable again, without question. With proper effort, I think the cosmetics could be 7-8/10 again.
Mechanical – The rear brake pads are perhaps at only 20-30%, but will go for quite a few more miles. I noted a cracked rear sway bar mount (VERY common) and the owner paid me to fix then and there (1hr). The AC has been removed (he has the parts). It has what I would call a moderate amount of oil seepage underneath, but nothing that would be abnormal for a 911 with 100k miles. Oil leaks are something you would do well to rationalize on these cars. You will lose your mind and your wallet otherwise. The main culprits seem to be the valve covers, which are easy to fix. There is oil seepage from the cam covers; a little more work, but not terrible. I think the o-ring seals on the oil cooler may be weeping as well. The oil hose from the cooler to the tank is likely due for replacement, as there is a lot of old “dusty” oil sludge accumulation in that area, as is usual. I think there be one or more 2-piece oil return tube leaking slightly. It is very possible that it would leak less if driven more. That is very common with these cars. Again, this amount of seepage is not anything abnormal for one of these cars. Yes it can be fixed if you are anal about such things and are willing to pay.
The car runs, drives, steers, stops, & shifts very nicely. Nothing to report there at all that I could sense. Again, it is a car that I would not be afraid to own myself.

[dshepp806]

What about the service history documentation side?

Best,

Doyle

[SoCalSK8r]

I bought a fully sorted '84 with perfect everything and 50k miles for $24k.

So I'd say $19k for something you can't get in front of a real Porsche mechanic for a proper PPI is a risk.

[911dean]

Sounds reasonably priced to me. My only question is, how rust free is it? Is the undercarriage free from rust? Is it from a climate where they use salt? If so, was it driven on salted roads?

I don't like rust and it's very costly to fix properly.


Dean

[SoCalSK8r]

Also, to pay that much without any leak down and compression #s would be foolish. I'd at least get that info. The report above is far from a useful PPI report.

[SCadaddle]

Um, no. I wouldn't even consider that one at that price. Keep looking, and when you do find "the one" you'll look back on this one and be glad.