[G450X]

and it's a good time to buy one. They're great drivers and "great 911's" in the 911 lineage.

I've got an '82 SC coupe, lots of miles (160k+), and besides using a quart of oil every 500 miles or so, it runs/drives great.

I hope you have some mechanical skills as any 25+ year old car will have some "needs," and many of them are cheap/easy fixes - if the owner does the work that is! I love working on mine, even though the wife constantly gives me crap! I also have a BMW M3 ('05 e46) which has been great (almost zero problems, leaky rear view mirror was all) but it's "too reliable," nothing to fix! Working on the car helps you bond to it, and DIY projects (if not too big, like major engine/trans/paint work) provide great satisfaction.

Use the search function to find many pre-purchase tips, and when you find one that you really like, spring for the PPI to see if danger lurks, and then proceed.

One important factor is that many people buy cheap to get one, and then don't have the "up keep" funds necessary to properly develop a nice driver. Paint and bodywork is expensive these days, similar to a full mechanical rebuild of the engine/transmission.

The most important factor is getting what you want and will be proud to drive, as far as the basic type (coupe, targa, or cabriolet) and color. I like the bright color 911's, and think that (orange?) SC targa looks pretty good.

Be careful when looking for accident damage. A clean carfax may be crap. I'd check the front/rear chassis points for original welds, etc.. Check the gaps of all panels, and the spacers for the latch plates and hinges for the doors - they should all be similar (not 5 shims on 1 and 1 on the other) with good gaps. measure the fender height on all corners and the suspension adjustments to see if one is set high and/or the other low to get it at an even stance. I'd request an alignment as part of the PPI to make sure there were no "gross" chassis issues. Check the fuse box and relay points for corrosion (flood car??), quite a few of those "floating" around which will almost always cause running issues.

Improper accident repair and/or paint issues, as well as the normal mechanical concerns are usually the big dollar issues. I wanted to be able to drive my 911, so a low mile garage queen was out (plus they're too expensive), even though many people tried to steer me to one.

I'd venture to guess you want a nice looking driver that won't break the bank, which is possible. If you want a worse case scenario, look at the last few Excellence magazine articles on the chap who bought a sub $9k carmel colored '78SC that looked pretty good. He farms out all the work, and has spent silly money on that SC ($18k for paint, $10k+ engine, etc., etc.). If the gent could afford to dump that much coin, he should have bought a much nicer one to begin with - late 80's G-50 low mile 911's in fantastic shape are $25-$30k vehicles. He could have bought a nice pre '74 911E, or possibly an S (or 993, the list is long) with the coin he blew!

Keep expectations realistic, and I think you may be another happy 911 owner soon....