What's it Worth?

[Scuba Steve]

edit: The car is for sale now on this thread:
For Sale - 1987 924S

The good:
ALL paperwork since I got the car 4 years ago. Previous owner only supplied a picture or two.
New timing and balance belt. Rollers and water pump were ok
Clutch replaced maybe 15K ago.
I've been through every accessory on the car - rebuilt the alternator, repaired a/c, power steering, brakes, …
Paint looks nice.
New spark plug wires.
Billsteins in the rear, about 1.5 years old
DME rebuilt, new transistors to idle air valve
Head completely reworked 25K miles ago
Leakdown under 2% in all cylinders, engine has 174,000 miles
More or less every seal in the engine has been replaced except for the oil pan
All rubber in the engine compartment has been replaced
New clutch hydraulics (though slave cylinder was rebuilt)
Script seats good except for driver's seat (split in vynil)
Passed WA emissions with flying colors, test is good for next year if tabs are renewed prior to 3/1/09
I'm sure I could find a whole lot more to write about after going through the paperwork.

The bad
Something happened in 1990 - not sure what exactly but the title is marked 'unknown loss'
The dash has cracks.
Wheels could stand to be refinished.

Things that don't work
Clock
Defroster vent (have part, was waiting to buy a new dash before I installed it)
Cruise control (missing bracket that attaches cable to pedal, have non-cruise turn signal if someone wants to delete)
Windshield washer

[hpservertech]

I dont see why you couldn't get $2500, if not a little bit more.

[Scuba Steve]

Great! I really considered putting it up on Craigslist for more, but I'd rather sell it to someone who knows 944s. Or a coworker since we have a pretty good classified ads system. Call me crazy... maybe I've invested too much energy on it. I keep thinking it'd make a great track car.

[CJFusco]

How's the paint and body work? How is the rest of the interior? Does it run and rev smoothly?

If all the above are in good order, I feel like you could ask for more than $2500.

[hpservertech]

And if you put it out on CL, list it for twice what you want to get. Will help your mind out having to deal with the scammers and all the other tire kickers.

[speedracing944]

I would go a little higher than 2500. At 2500 the car would be a steal.

Speedy

[CJFusco]

If paint, body, interior, and running condition were all up to snuff, I'd say ask for $3500 and see what happens.

[Dave L]

I think the title is the issue, even though it was a long time ago funny titles will always scare off some buyers. When I was looking for a replacement to my 944 I "looked" at a titled car, they guy at the body shop who was selling it told me the damage was minimal but I didnt give it a second look and gave it zero consideration. I think $2500 is fair.

[Scuba Steve]

Thanks for the advice. If it didn't have a marked title I'd go 3,500 in a heartbeat. It's what's really making the price difficult... I didn't factor it in because the previous owner didn't tell me that little detail and I bought it dead with a blown timing belt long long ago. I'm feeling a lot more like 3,000 now.

Paint and bodywork - looks fine. Few stone chips on the passenger side mirror and maybe one or two up front but it looks pretty good. There are a couple of stone dings below the door guard. Otherwise fine.

The engine revs up just fine. All the work while the engine was apart to fix the bent valves paid off. Last year I drove it here from TX and didn't think twice about it. Of course today the o-ring at the water pump block-off plate gave out and the dealer wants more for the plate and o-ring than it costs here with 1-day shipping. I'll fix that before selling the car.

The interior - the car was from Texas and the dash has seen better days. Carpet inside is fine, but pretty faded in the hatch area. The seats are in great shape with the exception of the vinyl trim piece around the top of the rear seat and the split in the vinyl on the driver's seat. I never got around to replacing it. It has a rattle somewhere in the console I've never been able to track down. Steering wheel is ok, doors look great.

I'm a neat freak so the interior and exterior are very clean.

[hpservertech]

It's really what a buyer is prepared to spend. Most of us know that any accident in these cars is enough for most insurance companies to total them. That's most likely the funny thing on the title history. It doesn't take much with these cars.

I wouldn't worry too much about that part though. Records will speak for themselves. The uneducated buyer though wont even bother looking at title history so it might not even come up.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by hpservertech

.
The uneducated buyer though wont even bother looking at title history so it might not even come up.

true.. i'm known of doing that.

[Scuba Steve]

I thought it was something that had to be disclosed...?

[hpservertech]

I think it depends on the state. Most states though it's Buyer Beware.

Full disclosure though is required on real estate, but not usually on vehicles.

Besides, if Carfax didn't exist, how would you know the title history on a 20+ year old car that can be moved from state to state, or to Canada/Mexico & back?

[Scuba Steve]

The car is now for sale on this thread:
For Sale - 1987 924S

[coastie]

I bought my 87 944 in massachusetts with a new hampshire rebuilt title. when i applied for a massachusetts title they sent me a clean title without hesitation. i'm told in ma there is no such thing as rebuilt its either salvaged or clean. so from state to state who knows.








1987 944 work in progress
2002 grand cherokee
2005 silverado
20' tiara pursuit fishing machine

[Scuba Steve]

I've been gone a while - moved to San Antonio, TX now and the car is for sale for $2,500. Not a lot of these cars in this part of the world... just a parts car for $1,000.