How long did it take you to find your 911?

[Storage Man]

UPDATE:
Thanks to all who posted encouraging post and photos. It has taken me about three weeks of serious looking to find the right car. Photo of my 86 Targa last page. Let the snow go away now.....
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First time poster here.


It seems even with a generous budget it's a challenge to find an original 911. Most cars listed for a US customer like myself are over priced or have issues.

Pelican classifieds are great, any other places I should be keeping and eye on?

E mail if needed.

[Nico911]

You're right. But, to me, it's not even about budget. People that took care well of their car are rare. Lots of cars are what I call boxes, which I don't want to buy, even for a very low cost.

I've been seriously looking for about 6 months now and I believe I found the one.

Good luck and don't give up !

[MrBonus]

It took me roughly 6 months. Outside of Pelican/Rennlist, I found a lot of owners unresponsive or even indignant when the notion of PPI was mentioned. Dealers in general have put their prices in the stratosphere and I found a lot of dealer cars that were in my price range (Sub $30,000) had some serious bodywork that didn't show up on the Carfax.

[Daves911L]

Oddly enough, all of my cars have always found me.

[mikesride]

2.5 years. and then about seven weeks of back and forth negotiating. Then having to wait another three weeks before we could get everything together. He drove the car to Vegas, I flew down from Canada. Best road trip home EVER!!!!

[TV74911S]

For the '90 I just bought, two-to-three years on and off. The big issue for me was that there were few decent 964's in my neck of the woods that weren't cabs or Targas. Over this period, I compiled a fairly lengthy list of sites specializing in Porsche sales and service but even that didn't provide much to choose from. In the end it took a bit of digging and pursuing the "unobvious" which in my case meant going back through an old CL post that I had kept to find that the car had not been sold and was still available if I was interested. I wound up getting a 23 year old car with service records back to new with less than 32K miles on it that I plan to keep for quite some time.

[TV74911S]

one avenue that I do suggest you try are Porsche service specialists in your area. If you are not familiar with who they are, go to the web site of your local PCA chapter (who also post cars for sale) or to the Porsche web site who has a list cut by state. These guys generally may either know someone who is looking to sell or may have some inventory for sale themselves. These cars are generally never advertised, because most of the shops are primarily about service. Most will sell pretty solid cars although they might not be totally original.

The '74 s in my signature was purchased this way. It was a referral from AutoSport Engineering in Stow MA who had serviced the car and knew it was for sale. It had a recent body and engine restoration and was in really good shape and I enjoyed for 18 years before moving to the '90.

[Drisump]

I would consider joining the PCA if you're having trouble finding good cars. The members are often quite particular in maintaining their cars and it has a potential depth of networking that is hard to beat. I have no idea of your expectations for the $, but expect to pay a healthy amount for a cherry, well maintained ride. Easily > $20k and that is for an SC or 3.2. The earlier, 60's-early 70's go for WAY more than that. The cheapest generation are the cars in the middle years (mid 70's). If particular, unusual colours or spec are part of your equation, expect to be looking for quite some time. Good luck with the search.

[AshEvan]

I have owned 4 Porsches and you should embrace the recommendations of this board as the posters serve as a great source of advice. Dont, rush, enjoy the journey, and define the criteria you will use to evaluate 911's you are considering. Some sources to considerr are:

1. Cars on sale on this board
2. Local PCA clubs
3. Local Porsche repair shops
4. Craigslist / Ebay (be cautious)

As previously posted, the best scenario is an original owner, with service documentation to support the care of the car. This is becoming more rare as time goes by, but they are out there. We are all just caretakers of our Porsches for the next owner, so hope you find a caretaker who took great care of his 911.

Once you find a worthy candidate, you will find all kinds of valuable perspectives on this board when you post the condition and charateristics of the 911 you are considering to buy. Pelican serves as a great buyer consultation source that I wish I had when I bought my first Porsche, a 1968. I made every buyer mistake known to man . . . . . . but that 68 still provided me with years of fun (and expense and frustration that could have been avoided with knowledge of this board).

Have fun and post pics once you find your Porsche.

[TonyGO]

well it took me about 25 years till i could actually afford mine, but here it is, never give up!

[AshEvan]

Originally Posted by TonyGO

well it took me about 25 years till i could actually afford mine, but here it is, never give up!

LOVE THE COLOR . . . . sweet ride

[OsoMoore]

Porsche Club of America has a special 6-month subscription for prospective buyers. They have a good Classified section in the back.
I looked for 6 months and found my car after looking via Craigslist, PorschaTrader.com, and these wonderful boards here. I actually found the car on Craigslist and discovered the seller was a Pelican (as was the owner before him).

I made a spreadsheet of asking prices, mileage, location, and notes. Then as I found cars I called owners for info and gathered information. A piece of advice I've heard - don't buy the first one you drive.

(I bought mine without having driven any Porsche in 10 years).

[AshEvan]

Tony,

Lets grab coffee at 2 PM this afternoon at Starbucks at bottom of Hawthorne by the ocean.

[panos]

Took me a little bit more than a year to get my car...and even longer to put it all together exactly how i want it

[timmy2]

A couple of years of looking at all sources too find my "fixer upper". Finally found one on Craislist fairly priced and almost local so I went for it.

Just remember they are all +$20,000 cars. Some are inexpensive to buy and require work, others are expensive to buy and require work...

[tdw28210]

18 months...and then found a M491 on craigslist...not kididng

[Nick Triesch]

Took me about a year looking on San Diego Craigs list. Finally found mine in Temecula. Had all the records and the PPI was only a few thousand miles from when I bought it. Wife bought it for her husband but he just parked it in his garage for six years and started it up once in a while. Mine now! I almost bought from Euromasters! Thank God I did not. They went belly up a while up. Cool shop though.

[E Sully]

It took me about 2 weeks for my 1973 911T. In 1987 I mentioned to my brother I wanted to buy fun car, maybe a classic Mustang. A week later he told me about a Porsche ad in Auto trader. The car was a 90 minute drive, so we made a call and took a ride. There it was, a little surface rust, (yea right) 5 original Fuchs, 1 1972 Fuchs, 4 7x15 Cookie Cutters, and a nice car cover. It started, ran nicely, shifted tougher than any car I had driven before, especially 1st to 2nd. We went home, I thought about it for a few days and gave him a call. We settled on $6,000 and I picked it up with a U Haul trailer that weekend. I drove it daily for years. It was a lot easier back then when no one thought they were worth much. It scares me when I look at what some are going for today. This car and my 1976 Suzuki GT 380L motorcycle just seem to keep holding their value.

[Arne2]

I put my 240Z on the market in August 2011, with the intent to buy a 911 when it sold. Started keeping track of everything offered in the Pac NW so as to be ready. The deal on the 240Z was sealed in early October. (It stayed in my garage until Halloween awaiting shipment to Norway.) Since I knew what cars were available, I was able to make a deal on the Porsche in short order, picking it up about 2 weeks after I had payment for the Z. I actually picked up the Porsche 3 days before the transporter picked up the Datsun.

So depending on how you count, I was looking for either 3 months, or 2 weeks.

[theclaw]

Originally Posted by Arne2

I put my 240Z on the market in August 2011, with the intent to buy a 911 when it sold. Started keeping track of everything offered in the Pac NW so as to be ready. The deal on the 240Z was sealed in early October. (It stayed in my garage until Halloween awaiting shipment to Norway.) Since I knew what cars were available, I was able to make a deal on the Porsche in short order, picking it up about 2 weeks after I had payment for the Z. I actually picked up the Porsche 3 days before the transporter picked up the Datsun.

So depending on how you count, I was looking for either 3 months, or 2 weeks.

I know this board is biased but I love those old Z's. My dad's second wife had a 260Z and except for some electrical gremlins was an awesome car. I took it all over the Bay Area in the '70s.


I looked on and off for about 8 months then the right car just popped up. A friend of mine and I started shopping the same time. We both sold our race bikes at the same time and decided to get an "old Porsche". He tried very hard but struck out everytime. I was only casually looking. He lived about 150 miles away. I walked into a shop and the right car, at the right price, was right there. I pulled the trigger. My buddy was pissed I had it so easy. Eventually, a sweet '74 Targa found him.