1984 911 - sitting for 3 years - car port - worth

lanmandan60 · 03-04-2014, 05:44 PM

Three things. I am looking at a Porsche 911 carrera cabriolet convertible 1984 that has been parked for 3 years without starting or being moved. It has over 150k miles. (yes have read most all forums and technical spec regarding what to look for).

What should I do before I try to start the car?

What would a car be worth in this situation - rust on doors and some surface rust?

Is there a top dollar figure if engine is running and transmission functions poperly?

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

Depends on the rust and its history. Lot of threads on hibernating and starting them up.

Obviously all the fluids, tires and a new battery. What does the owner say besides "it was running when he parked it?"

BTW, it's a dry sump and holds 12 quarts of oil. Don't buy expensive oil as you will likely dump it soon, use a proper oil filter. Good idea to get a Bentley manual and READ it.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 03-04-2014, 06:13 PM

the very first thing I'd do is pull the lower valve covers and look for broken head studs.

rusnak · 03-04-2014, 07:00 PM

Rust is bad. I would probably focus on that before moving on to other things such as the engine. You need to fully understand how much rust there is, and where.

RedCoupe · 03-04-2014, 07:53 PM

I would pay to have someone who really knows 911 bodies have a look. Severe rust can be lurking beneath a skin that doesn't look too bad, but could cost thousands and thousands to fix correctly. Add the cost of repairing a rusty body to any major engine or trans work, and your car might be much more expensive than buying one is pristine condition.

lanmandan60 · 03-04-2014, 08:25 PM

Thanks all, very helpful!

intakexhaust · intakexhaust's Garage

No exact science on valuation but first impression pics help somewhat. Do you have any knowledge of whats lurking underneath or hiding? Top value? Worth double in parts. But, if not your motive to flip or part out, take a look at clean and correct '84 Cabriolet prices. Deduct what you would need for the car in question. Body work is a huge expense, especially if you job it out. Mechanicals are another. Add up all the other stuff such as trim, top, etc...

Bottom line, unless your good as a DIY with mechanical and body work, plus resourceful in obtaining parts you might have something worthwhile. If not, to bring a rough 911 up to par is a loser if you job it all out. Its very apparent in expenditures vs. buying a nice clean car. For the time being disregard it being a cabriolet and keep in mind, these are completely different in valuation of the earlier long nose cars.

COLB · COLB's Garage

Quote:

What would a car be worth in this situation - rust on doors and some surface rust?

Is there a top dollar figure if engine is running and transmission functions poperly?

In the condition you describe, I would assume it is a "parts car" until proven otherwise -- which gives it a floor value of about $10-12k if complete (including original wheels, engine, transmission, & seats). This is true even if it is a little rusty, so long as the rust is localized and most of the body panels are intact and usable.

If it starts, shifts, drives, and can pass DMV inspection (And local smog) then is is worth a couple grand more.

Realize these are just rule of thumb calculations -- it would take a lot more info to get a real assessment of value. Further, most experienced Porsche buyers (who don't run breakyards) wouldn't buy a car like that at even $8-10k because -- as earlier posters have suggested -- it just costs too much to get them "right."

Unless you are doing it for the fun of repairing a needy car, and want a low buy-in, you are usually better off choosing a less needy car. It will be cheaper in the long run, and possible worth more when you are done.

Eli W · 11:17 AM

Agree with all the above.

Personally a rusty car is not something I would be interested in at all, because I want a car to drive and enjoy not to restore.

You would be extremely lucky if it has just the rust spots that you can see, pulling up the carpet or the back seats might reveal a horror story. A leaky top and a car that spent time outdoors in the weather could be really bad.

I ran into a SC that looked to be euro spec but because of all the cosmetic issues and body work it was just not worth anywhere near the price the sell was trying to get.