How long did it take you to find your 911?

[RSBob]

Found one for you if you are into the Miami Vice look: 1971 Porsche 911E - Oh, my ! - $62500 (Spokane)

[tirwin]

Let's see I guess it took me 10 years. A friend bought it in 2000 or 2001 and when I saw it I said "if you ever sell it and don't give me first right of refusal I'll kill you."

Nine years later he calls me at 4:30am (I was traveling on business and he didn't know it) and asks me if I want it. I said yes and went back to bed. Woke up a couple of hours later, called my wife and told her I just bought a Porsche and didn't even know how much I was paying for it. That went over like a whore in church.

Then he got cold feet and decided he couldn't part with it. So after getting let down and griping for months my wife told me to start looking for another one. So I did. Didn't have much luck but I was dragging my feet in a way. Kept coming up with excuses because I kept finding basket cases, idiot owners that made me scared to death the car hadn't been maintained or people who were a lot more proud of the car than it was worth -- or at least I wasn't willing to pay what they were asking.

Then my buddy calls up a year after he decided not to sell and offered it again. I said ok but no take-backs this time. Three days later it was in my garage.

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by porschenut

I've been scouring the G50 market on a daily basis for the last 4 months, what you said is pretty much the situation. I finally bought a coupe last week from Holt Motorsports, and paid a bundle for it. Tim and I talked a lot about the market, and what's happened is that so many of the really nice G50 Carreras have been bought by German buyers (dealers, primarily) over the last few years that it is getting very difficult to find top quality cars that are low mileage and 100% original. He said he may have to start selling Boxsters and Caymans. The other dealers of top end Carreras (Truspeed, Sloan, etc.) have all said the same. They are selling most of their best cars to German dealers who fly over here and buy up 6-12 at a time. In Germany, many of these cars are selling for the equivalent of $80,000 USD. That's why you're seeing dealers ask stupid money for Carreras and they don't budge on price - they don't have to. I decided I had to have a top quality car and was willing to pay for it, so I did. I believe the market for Carreras, and especially the G50 cars, is going to go much higher in the coming years as the supplies in the US dry up. Even exceptional 84-86 cars are selling for high 20's, low 30's all day long. Any Carrera you find at 25k and lower is going to have high mileage or something wrong with it (paintwork, accidents, non-original parts, or worse). The market is chock full of average to below average cars. The really nice ones command a hefty premium.

Interestingly enough, my car was purchased by its previous owner from Holt back when these cars were reasonably priced. When I bought the car from the PO, he had an offer that matched mine from a dealer but was a class act to hold our agreed price while allowing a PPI, a prerequisite the dealer didn't require.

Before I came across my car, I did call Holt about a clean white '89 with 51,000 miles on his lot and he wanted mid-40s. I nearly choked when he quoted me that.

I also found a beautiful 5X,000 mile slate grey '86 listed for mid-20s in California. I sent the pics to a friend with an exceptional eye for issues and despite a clean Carfax, he said with certainty the car had been in some kind of front-end collision and was able to point out some clear anomalies in the way the front fender fit and how the paint on the hood was clearly different than the rest of the car.

I'm glad you were able to find the right car for you. I never purchased my car with the intention of buying an investment and I don't want to not enjoy it as a result but I am keenly aware that G50 prices are going to continue their upward trend.

[rockryno]

Took me about 2 days. Sold my CTS unexpectedly, so I hit craigslist Denver. Found a 77, and an 81. Looked at them both. Took the 81 to a local Porsche tech, and then to my garage.



First Porsche, havent looked back since!

[Lapkritis]

Originally Posted by rockryno

Took me about 2 days. Sold my CTS unexpectedly, so I hit craigslist Denver. Found a 77, and an 81. Looked at them both. Took the 81 to a local Porsche tech, and then to my garage.



First Porsche, havent looked back since!

This forum is only missing a "like" feature. For people that have reliable employment or healthy savings it makes no sense to wait to buy. If you have an interest in these then find a decent example the you can enjoy and jump in. No use splitting hairs over a couple thousand while you could be enjoying your dream.

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by Lapkritis

This forum is only missing a "like" feature. For people that have reliable employment or healthy savings it makes no sense to wait to buy. If you have an interest in these then find a decent example the you can enjoy and jump in. No use splitting hairs over a couple thousand while you could be enjoying your dream.

I was dead set on getting a great deal and as my search wore on, I realized I was wasting time not finding the right deal. Now that I see it sitting in the garage with salt all over the road, I'm glad I didn't wait any longer. I was able to put 3000 miles of just cruising in the beautiful summer and fall weather.

[r-mm]

Two months and still looking...~20k price range, willing to go higher for the right one. Don't need a smoking deal but fairly sure there's a lot of fluff out there.

95% sure I want an SC or 3.2, flirt with 964s occasionally.

The thing thats hard for me is knowing how to value originality & history vs recent maintenance. Was just reflecting to a friend how at around 20k these cars seem to coalesce into two categories. Millage is often not a differentiator.

1. Longtime if not original owner. Fair weather driven, good records, but no major reconditioning. Pros are obvious, cons include worrying about all the maintenance items that I often see receipts for on #2 cars....

2. Checkered past cars with less history, maybe they sat for a while, but have had a major reconditioning within the last year or so, often with $5-15k in receipts. Brakes, shocks, fuel lines, clutch, maybe motor/trans rebuild or a partial respray. On the one hand you wonder why a ~100k mile car needed all this work, on the other hand you look at the #1 cars and wonder when not if they'll need the same work. Maybe not major engine/trans work, but stuff like fuel lines, clutch shocks, etc.

Maybe I'm over thinking it. I've bought a number of newer, less expensive cars & bikes site unseen at a distance and always had a good experience, but a $6k 2006 Ducati is a bit less of an investment than a 911...

[911dean]

Originally Posted by r-mm

Two months and still looking...~20k price range, willing to go higher for the right one. Don't need a smoking deal but fairly sure there's a lot of fluff out there.

95% sure I want an SC or 3.2, flirt with 964s occasionally.

The thing thats hard for me is knowing how to value originality & history vs recent maintenance. Was just reflecting to a friend how at around 20k these cars seem to coalesce into two categories. Millage is often not a differentiator.

1. Longtime if not original owner. Fair weather driven, good records, but no major reconditioning. Pros are obvious, cons include worrying about all the maintenance items that I often see receipts for on #2 cars....

2. Checkered past cars with less history, maybe they sat for a while, but have had a major reconditioning within the last year or so, often with $5-15k in receipts. Brakes, shocks, fuel lines, clutch, maybe motor/trans rebuild or a partial respray. On the one hand you wonder why a ~100k mile car needed all this work, on the other hand you look at the #1 cars and wonder when not if they'll need the same work. Maybe not major engine/trans work, but stuff like fuel lines, clutch shocks, etc.

Maybe I'm over thinking it. I've bought a number of newer, less expensive cars & bikes site unseen at a distance and always had a good experience, but a $6k 2006 Ducati is a bit less of an investment than a 911...

This comes with the territory. 30 year old cars usually need something. Most important to me is an excellent body with original paint and no rust. This includes underbody and all fastners. I also like everything to be there.

Dean

[sm70911]

Looked for about a year, 8 months of that seriously. But I was specifically looking for a Meteor grey coupe. Saw this car advertised on LA Craigslist 72k miles with original paint, and no accidents, and fairly complete history then owner took it off the market. Luckily it popped back up again 5 months later. The owner was reluctant to sell to an out of state buyer.But with Techweenies help I was able to get it. I am forever grateful to the Bill for the help and the deal he brokered me on the car. Car had had a lot of work done to the suspension and recently been serviced when I got it.
I've addressed some minor issues seals and fixed the AC for the lady. I took a risk on the car needing Valve guides. Now 10K miles later they are being done but that said I wouldn't change a thing. Its a great car.

[MrBonus]

Meteor Grey is such a great color!

[Storage Man]

Wow great color

[Storage Man]

Originally Posted by MrBonus

I was dead set on getting a great deal and as my search wore on, I realized I was wasting time not finding the right deal. Now that I see it sitting in the garage with salt all over the road, I'm glad I didn't wait any longer. I was able to put 3000 miles of just cruising in the beautiful summer and fall weather.

Wow!

[Storage Man]

I'm looking for a coup or a targa with no color requirements other than having a metallic.
Is LA the best market to watch on Craig's list?

[Storage Man]

All these photo's are making me nuts man.....
The pain.....the pain...

[Storage Man]

Originally Posted by sm70911

Looked for about a year, 8 months of that seriously. But I was specifically looking for a Meteor grey coupe. Saw this car advertised on LA Craigslist 72k miles with original paint, and no accidents, and fairly complete history then owner took it off the market. Luckily it popped back up again 5 months later. The owner was reluctant to sell to an out of state buyer.But with Techweenies help I was able to get it. I am forever grateful to the Bill for the help and the deal he brokered me on the car. Car had had a lot of work done to the suspension and recently been serviced when I got it. I paid $16k
I've addressed some minor issues seals and fixed the AC for the lady. I took a risk on the car needing Valve guides. Now 10K miles later they are being done but that said I wouldn't change a thing. Its a great car.

Great phot...this is Killing me...

[r-mm]

Originally Posted by sm70911

I took a risk on the car needing Valve guides. Now 10K miles later they are being done but that said I wouldn't change a thing. Its a great car.

Can you clarify what you mean by this? Are you saying that you took a chance simply by buying a semi high mile Carrera that hasn't had the valve guides replaced, or that you knew something was up (smoke etc)?

[Chuck.H]

Originally Posted by Storage Man

I'm looking for a coup or a targa with no color requirements other than having a metallic.
Is LA the best market to watch on Craig's list?

South Florida (Miami area) is also a Porsche hotspot, might want to try there also.

Regarding the original thread, it took me about a year to find mine, but this was pre-widespread internet (1993) so my knowlege base was VASTLY reduced compared to what is available now. I knew I wanted a wide-body, but really didn't have too much data to decide between say G50 and non-G50 cars... I consider myself lucky to have found the exact car I wanted.

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 345k miles

[megerian]

I spent 8 years (not kidding) because I had such narrow criteria, and I didn't want to settle for something that wasn't what I wanted. So be patient, or expand your criteria. I spent time on all the sites listed, and eventually found it on Ebay classifieds.

[Storage Man]

TruSpeed has some nice offerings.
Has anyone had experiences with them?

BTW, was thinking of joining PCA but I'm not currently an owner with a VIN# to use...is there a work around to this?

[megerian]

Yes - PCA has the "quest" program for people that want to join PCA but do not have a VIN# to enter.