[kilodawg]

Bite my head off why don't you.....Sorry you don't have your car yet but don't jump my case for it.

If I'd told you I found him the car for $17K and I talked him down to $15 that would be bragging. I told you he paid top dollar...

Besides I don't need to brag about stupid crap like this but I will still offer to help.

Read your own post....You have already begun rationalizing spending $35K for that car (not that you will). My point is that with an attitude like that and frustration over time you WILL wind up spending more than you should. If you spent $35K on that car (as you said you were considering in your first post) you WOULD be throwing money away! The second half of my point was again not to brag but to give you an idea of what you can find and what is possible. In fact even better is possible.

Now on to your second notion regarding reliability. Again recall I said "whatever" I said that exactly because I don't really care what particular year you lust over. However, you would have to argue really well to convince people that the '89 was the most reliable 911 ever built. Not that it wasn't an excellent year but each year has it's pros and cons as well as their passionate followers. In fact the latter Carrera years ('87 thru '89) are all very similar.

Another thing to consider is the fact that after 20 years reliability is probably just as significantly affected by how the car was used and how well it was maintained. You are probably more likely to find that an '84 with 95K miles and excellent maintenance history is far more reliable than an '89 garage queen with only 15K miles. So what I'm saying is that there are significant other factors in play here other than what a book tells you.

Read some more and see if you don't come to the conclusion that you have narrowed your sights just a little too tightly. When you get very specific on what you want you will most likely spend more time looking and pay more as well.

Now to the sad part of the story and the part you really don't want to here. There is no easy way to find the right car. You may get lucky and find one tomorrow and you may wind up waiting 8 months. The best advice like I said before is to be patient.

Aside from the forums (Pelican, Rennlist, PCA etc.), Ebay, Autotrader, and reseller outfits you might want to consider contacting local repair shops. The local wrenches in your area frequently have the best line on cars that are close by are a known commodity. Also contact you local PCA region (not just Panorama).

A key point from my experience (not bragging) is that the different sources you search will have different seller mentalities. The resellers will usually have the highest prices but sometimes the nicest cars. Each, however, should be carefully researched because there are resellers that have bad reputations. Autotrader and Ebay can be hit or miss. I have had the best luck with local sellers. You have to hunt them out but if you find one you can easily determine what they have and in my experience the prices have always been more reasonable. A last option is to get a broker who will do the work for you. For a nominal fee (around $500 if the car is purchased) they will take on the task of tracking down the car you want.....

None of this was meant to chastise you but you still have a lot to learn. Don't get frustrated enjoy the hunt...