To sell whole, to part out or to keep?? Help me.

[Fronnzy]

I have a 1987 911. This car is a good looking driver.



The motor is strong. Leaks at the valve covers but what else is new. It has 104k miles.

The body looks good. There is no rust. There are some small dents but it's white and they are really hard to see. It was once painted but only for age, there is no evidence of any body damage/repairs and the carfax is clean. The paint job was decent. I used to do paint work, so i picked up the signs. Many wouldn't notice.

The interior is good, it has RS door panels (which are great and near new condition but some like original). It has a rip in the driver seat. The dash is correct, straight and has no cracks. Clock and all gauges work. Centre console has a couple cracks. it cleans up pretty good.

Has a new clutch and new tires. big sticky rubber. 7 and 9's. Polished fuchs.

It leaks at the valve cover. the external oil cooler lines are leaking, it needs the CV's done in the back on both side. Starting to knock pass side. Brakes are good for now, but rotors could using machining and some new pads.

Here's the thing. I would like to free up some cash for another project. In the canadian market these cars are fetching $20-28k. It must be worth that in parts. It would be shame to break her up because it's a great car with only maintenance issues, no real trouble. But it's fall. the market is dry. What price would it move for? Am I dumb for thinking $16k should take this away, or do I keep it over the winter. Fix the leaks and CV and rip in the seat and get over $20 in the spring?

Any offers, thought, opinions appreciated.

B.

[techweenie]

Most of our cars are worth more as parts. However, you could wait for maybe two years to realize the full advantage of selling it that way.

[rnln]

Keep it or sell it, your decision. But to part it out? I would think the nly reason t opart the car out if you can't drive it anymore or the bill of reparing is as big as the car cost.

[scottb]

Originally Posted by techweenie

Most of our cars are worth more as parts. However, you could wait for maybe two years to realize the full advantage of selling it that way.

Excellent point. You're trying to generate cash now, it seems, and parting it out will likely result in it taking a lot longer to recoup your investment.

[911s55]

There are hundreds of cars appreciatively and regularly driven that are in much inferior condition with more service issues than yours.

Your call

[Bobboloo]

It would be way way easier to fix the problems you mentioned than part the car out. When you consider what your time is worth do you really make more parting it? I'm not so sure. Remember dismantling is just part of the job. Correspondence and packing for shipping takes gobs of time.

If it were me I would fix the oil leaks, CV joints and then take the time to take lots of pictures of the car. Pick out the best ones and then run an ad.

[ianc]

Two things:

1) You will blow more in time, frustration and bent knuckles trying to part the car than you will realize in profit over selling it whole.

2) If you stoop to parting a clean, well-running classic Porsche just to try to make a few extra $$$, you will incur such an ungodly amount of negative Karma that it will probably ruin the rest of your life, and I will hate you forever.

Easy choice, right?

ianc

[euro911sc]

Yes its probably worth more in parts... if you EVER can sell them all individually AND in a short amount of time. Trust me... 3 years from now your wife will go, "Honey, its time to throw out that 911 crap in the garage..." There goes what ever profit you might have imagined...

In reality, it is NOT worth more in parts when you take into consideration the time value of money and your time to part it... You will loose your shirt on it. The car is only worth more in parts to a professional dismantler because they can get it done and sold ASAP.

Take it to your local wrench and have him quote the repair costs so you know how much your taking in discount. Take that off your all fixed up value and you will see where you end up.

+ 1 on the Karma thing

Best regards,

Michael

[89911]

Agree with the post. You are not PartsHeaven and don't have a staff to take phone calls and check inventory. Anyone that comes up with the comparison of a car being worth more for it's part then whole is simply using the value of parts from a place like PartHeaven and adding them all up. What they are forgetting is removing , storage, marketing..... I can't even begin to tell you how much work it would be to sell all the stuff on eBay if your considering that route. A salvaged car, yes. A runner that needs a little work, no.

[spooldup]

As for the CVs, I had a similar situation with my car and what the knocking ended up being was that the car sat for so long that the limited slip was dry. If your car has the 220 option and has sat for any period of time, take it out and get it up to "operating temperature" then put fresh gear lube in it. I can not say this is the cure and you may have worn CVs but after I spent the time and money on new CVs resulting in not solving the noise , the long drive then gearbox lube change fixed the problem. Just my personal experience with the suspected CV noise.

[OldTee]

No advice but a bench mark. Last fall I bought a 87 Targa for $8K knowing it needed, at a minimum, a clutch and CVs. It had 98K miles on it, a good interior and it had not been taken care of. Some repaired accident damage. When I went to adjust the valves I found a broken stud and elected to rebuild the engine. It now sports new brakes (calibers and rotors), new brake lines, new axles, new CVs, all new Wheel bearings, battery, clutch, shocks and both front struts and all new bushings. All work done in my garage by me. I don't think I got a particularly good bargain but now the car is on the road and running well. Your car sounds like a fix-er upper and there are people out there that are interested.

[Nine9six]

While parting is certainly a pain in the a$$, the bent knuckles, shipping, and logging who wants what, is only half the issue. No one has mentioned all the emails and jacks you will come in contact with. Some with money, some with needs and no money; but its all part of the process.
I had a 98 Ducati 748 superbike with an 01 996 motor, and a list of upgrades that would make an "R" model jeolous. Bottom line; I couldnt get $8 for the bike as a whole.
Here I am 1 week after listing the parting and I have $7K in hand, with another $6k in parts including a clean titled frame, bodywork, fuel tank, gages...

[ianc]

Parting bike vs. parting car = big difference.

Besides, isn't anyone else even remotely bothered by the idea of trashing a perfectly good 911 for a few extra bucks? I think it's appalling to even consider it...

ianc

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by techweenie

Most of our cars are worth more as parts. However, you could wait for maybe two years to realize the full advantage of selling it that way.

I still have a part from the VERY 1st parts car I bought

[S785Carrera]

So............ How much do you want for those wheels??

[n8marx]

As a data point, I am looking for basically this exact same car right down to the color. Problem is, as stated in your initial post, I'm looking to buy in the Spring mostly due to house projects I need to finish over the winter. The repairs are no problem, the dents can be fixed and I'd mount a tail and a chin spoiler. Other than that, I'm looking for your car. If you still have the car to sell in the Spring I'll be looking you up.

[Dantilla]

I've parted out a few 944s to support my race habit.

I own a warehouse, so I could keep the cars inside, nice and neat, up on jackstands far enough apart to open the doors without bumping the next car. And no neighbors complaining about the junk car under the blue tarp beside the house.

The warehouse has bright lights, a compressed air system, a big exhaust fan, and plenty of room to move cars around.

Sounds like fun, huh?

It was for a while, but eventually I had a hulk hauler come get what was left, and I rented out the warehouse space. That generates far more cash, and takes so much less time than taking parts off cars, boxing them up and running them to UPS or FedEx for a few bucks.