How many miles are too many miles?

[techweenie]

In 2002, I bought a 72 911 on eBay and the guy's wife (apparently miffed over the selling price) wrote 499,000 as the mileage on the title. Dick(less) move, i thought, but they have 5-digit odometers, so I wasn't too concerned.

I later sold the car and that didn't bother the buyer.

BUT since I do a lot of 'matchmaking' I find the largest portion of 911 shoppers don't want >150K mile cars. They consider that "high miles," even though an 84 Carrera would have had to only go 4,285 miles per year to hit that number.

There are high mile cars out there at big discounts. I bought an 85 Carrera with 225K miles in 2010, for what I figure was a 55-60% discount at the time.

What's your personal limit on (chassis) mileage?

for 1965-73 911s

For 74-89 911s

For 964 & 993s

[kc911s]

Miles aren’t scary if there is paperwork for engine work/rebuild(s).

[-Levi-]

Originally Posted by kc911s

Miles aren’t scary if there is paperwork for engine work/rebuild(s).

This!!!

300k and up I tend to avoid. But if it had a total resto I wouldn’t thing twice

[manbridge 74]

The issue with high miles is more possibilities for people to have kludged them up along the way. One mans restoration is another mans disaster....

[Hi_Fi_Guy]

A 50,000 mile car with no service can be worse than a 300,000 mile car with proper care and maintenance. But the car listed with 50,000 miles will get more interested parties every time.

[nixtfy]

I would consider any car with under 200,000 miles.. I initially consider a car by how the owner maintains the car with records, wrecks, color. I will not touch a car In the rust belt.

I like a good driver.

[pmax]

Lots of variables here, I'll take a higher mileage Motronic engine vs one running out of tune carbs anytime, for example.

For the older cars, it's all about chassis rust, rust and rust. Mileage, who knows what that is ?

[NYNick]

Someone close to me got a tip of a 3.2 for sale at a pretty low price. Upon inspection, we found some fixable rust and a broken speedo, among other things. While they were on the test drive I went through the paper work, did the math and determined the car had about 300K on it and about 90K since the last rebuild. I recognized the rebuilder however, spoke to him and he remembered the car, the rebuild and the work. He told me other stuff might go wrong with the car, but he virtually guaranteed it wouldn't be that rebuilt engine.

After a little work and not much money, that car is now happily on the road, looking great, running great and fast as hell. He's into it for about half of what he could sell it for.

Parts are replaceable, engines are rebuildable. With the proper work and maintenance, these cars will last forever.

[flskala]

With all due respect, I feel anyone that believes the mileage on any air cooled 911 really needs to have their head examined. I've had more odometers stop than I can count but I've gotten them fixed within a few weeks. I doubt very much people rush to get these fixed. Just my .02

[MrBonus]

182,454 exactly.

[QueWhy]

When we start talking about 20-30-40 year old cars mileage becomes irrelevant, condition and history are everything.

[Christien]

Originally Posted by Hi_Fi_Guy

A 50,000 mile car with no service can be worse than a 300,000 mile car with proper care and maintenance. But the car listed with 50,000 miles will get more interested parties every time.

+1. When I bought my 87 a couple years ago, it had 37k miles on the odometer. PPI showed poor leakdown/compression #s in #6 and needed a top-end. The shop that did the rebuild said it was likely due to sitting too much, something about the valve guides are made of brass and oil just sitting there for long periods can corrode it, hence the lack of compression.

[voitureltd]

Originally Posted by techweenie

.

What's your personal limit on (chassis) mileage?

for 1965-73 911s

For 74-89 911s

For 964 & 993s

About 2K every year miles considering these miles not put on in bad weather from new. If from a salty coastal air climate well cleaned regularly after exposure. If then usually all a buyer needs to take care of any obvious wear or time related service or cosmetic ( rubber etc ) issues.

[War584]

My feeling is once you cross 150K on any of these just keep on driving. Rinse, repair...and repeat. Protect it from the weather and enjoy them for what they are and were intended to be.

[1979-930]

For a driver there is no limit. Depends on how good the deal is and if I’m ok with the risk or known repairs.

If I were looking of a time capsule 50k would be the limit


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[techweenie]

Yeah, I'm with most of you. I've had two later 911s with 200K miles on them; my current car has 110K.

I'm always amazed at the crazy premiums the super low mileage cars bring.

I mentioned chassis mileage for a reason -- the drivetrain is going to need regular rebuilding on a cycle. But the chassis parts that wear out often blindside you. And the shell of the car can get flexed enough so that it just doesn't feel 'right' in aggressive driving. But I've found that in 50K mile cars, and driven 200K mile cars that felt like new.

So I approach 911s with high miles as "on sale." Only thing is, they can be very hard to sell when the time comes.

[oldenglish]

1979sc coupe 215,000 miles, driven lots and doing just fine.
I do wonder about resale though.

[ficke]

Funny thing about mileage, if you separate the engine from the chassis nobody cares any more on either, rust , accident damage, leak down is what people look for. But if you leave them together mileage is important for both regardless of the earlier mentioned attributes.

[LakeCleElum]

So easy for a dishonest seller to tamper with odometer and paperwork. I don't think is matter that much. How do you trust a low mileage seller w/o a lot of good records?

[G450X]

Mileage that impacts pricing per type generally goes down with the age of the vehicle, and of course if the vehicle is a lower production type or a “special” - Carrera RS, Club Sport, M491, Roadster, Turbos, etc..

I think most enthusiasts are a bit of a different buyer and will focus more on condition, while a collector will focus more on type, colors, and documented mileage.

‘65-‘73 is a very broad group, with early models being the least affected by mileage. Does anybody really care if a ‘65 911 has over 200k miles? 356’s don’t seem to be affected much either, especially the early ones (similar to early 911’s). Maybe “run of the mill 911’s,” like a standard ‘69 T it does somewhat, but I think a documented low mileage original (remember these old ones were easy to pull the odometer cable out) will always command a premium, and of course the type (“S”).

The mileage concerns increase with newer types. Does anyone want a post G series air cooled 911 with 300k miles without a binder of documented repairs? If the price is right maybe...

My thoughts are that the majority of buyers would like an under 200k mile air cooled car, unless they are really early cars or special types. When I was in the market (ended up with a 160k mile SC), 200k was kinda my rule of thumb for all “G” models I was interested in.

I looked at a lot of “low mile” cars, which of course weren’t low mile cars and were rather rough - someone had swapped odometers and/or pulled the speedo feed circuit/cable. My SC retained the ridiculous 85 mph speedometer and had interior wear commensurate with the indicated mileage. I gave up trusting mileage and bought based on condition.