85 911 Cab... no clue what to ask

[Matt Monson]

I’d buy your car, if I was in the market for one. I’m exactly your kind of buyer. I like it and the new improved ad is good.

[cabmandone]

Thanks Matt! I appreciate the feedback.

[cabmandone]

I did some looking through the binder of receipts that came with the car, first time since I've owned the car! I never really cared all that much about the things that had been done to the car since I knew the last owner had rebuilt the engine but that engine wasn't in the car anymore. Turns out I'd be the 5th owner (counting my brother). There's a CA emissions inspection from when it transferred from the first to the second owner. I have to go back through the receipts to figure out how it migrated from San Diego, where the car came from originally, to VA where my brother ended up buying it. It's kind of interesting! I have service receipts for the car showing mileage at the time of service. The first two owners put some miles on the car! I questioned the mileage on Carfax but my receipts seem to verify the car was driven a lot by the first two.

On a side note: My odometer stopped working the other day. I sent it out for repair a few months ago to have new gears put in. As I was driving I noticed the odometer and trip weren't moving. I got home, pulled the speedometer, and found the ground with the piggybacked wires wasn't connected. The female connector that goes onto the male spade of the speedometer was VERY loose and it wasn't making good connection which killed power to the odometer motor. The speedometer was still working! This made me wonder how anyone can really trust the mileage on these cars without service receipts documenting mileage.

[airkewldfan]

Great looking ride! Your effort really shows. I know some folks pay big bucks for matching numbers and a stack of expensive professional service records... but I am a lifelong VW(and one 911)guy that prides myself on doing all of my own work. To me it looks like a great car that's had a lot of love put into it.. Im dying to make an offer... I just not sure the wife would agree..

Good luck! Mark

[cabmandone]

Added these to my listing in the for sale section and figured I'd put them here too.

[cabmandone]

Seems I'm right in line with my price. No real history on this one. Mileage is unknown.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-porsche-911-cabriolet-15/

Finally went through the binder of receipts and I think I have ownership figured out. It was sold new to a Dunham in CA, Dunham owned it until the early 90's when it sold to a Taylor. Taylor moved to VA where it sold to Celley who sold it to my brother in VA who then sold it to me.

[cabmandone]

I put it on FB Marketplace just for fun. In no time I had 4 people interested! One asked if the car was still available within 1 minute of the listing going live. They asked for my number so I asked for theirs . The second one somehow tracked me down by calling my mom?? He offered to make the deal "easy" but offered me 8K less than my asking price. A third told me they thought I had the car priced high for what it is. I rattled off some BAT results and said "I think I have it priced right". The forth guy was somewhat local and wanted to go for a test drive. I met him at a halfway point, with 9mm strapped to my hip, and I drove him around in the car. He didn't make an offer but I had a nice evening top down drive in the car so I didn't mind.

[Rick Brooklyn]

I think that's a very good ad and the car looks like a great opportunity for someone who wants to drive. I wish I was in the market for a Carrera myself, I'd be all over it. Ignore the tire kickers and lowballers. Facebook marketplace has taken over the mantle of Greatest Cesspool of Bottom Feeders from Craigslist so expect the worst kind of time wasters.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Rick Brooklyn

I think that's a very good ad and the car looks like a great opportunity for someone who wants to drive. I wish I was in the market for a Carrera myself, I'd be all over it. Ignore the tire kickers and lowballers. Facebook marketplace has taken over the mantle of Greatest Cesspool of Bottom Feeders from Craigslist so expect the worst kind of time wasters.

I know the one guy was a dealer. The second guy probably the same. I think the guy I gave a ride to probably just wanted a ride in a classic 911 and that's okay. But yeah I think all the spammers, scammers and lowballers from CL moved to FBM.

I can afford to be patient. The right buyer will come along. I mostly listed on FBM because I had seen other 80's 911's on there from dealers and figured mine would stand out. The problem is, it's standing out to dealers!

[Matt Monson]

I take it as a sign of a good ad and a properly priced car when the dealers are nibbling on your line.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

I take it as a sign of a good ad and a properly priced car when the dealers are nibbling on your line.

Kind of what I thought too.

[David Borden]

The car looks great!

I would consider getting a leakdown test done. Assuming the numbers are favorable, it would go a long way with quelling concerns of the engines health and that should result in a higher selling price.

Todays market is a bit manic so its hard to say what the car will bring. A year ago that was a mid $20-30k car. My swag is between $30-35k. I do think you stand your best chance of top dollar by posting on BAT assuming you execute it well.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by David Borden

The car looks great!

I would consider getting a leakdown test done. Assuming the numbers are favorable, it would go a long way with quelling concerns of the engines health and that should result in a higher selling price.

Todays market is a bit manic so its hard to say what the car will bring. A year ago that was a mid $20-30k car. My swag is between $30-35k. I do think you stand your best chance of top dollar by posting on BAT assuming you execute it well.

I might do a dyno and a leak down test. The dyno just for fun. I have a good friend that will loan me the leak down tester. I just need to get my butt in gear and do it.

Something else I'm doing is tracking gas mileage on my 1100 mile round trip to see my brother. I've never really tracked what kind of mileage the car gets so that's mostly for curiousity. I did have one person ask me about fuel mileage.

[faapgar]

You got asked about mileage?Wow

[Ralph3.]

Anyone asking about gas mileage won’t be a buyer

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by faapgar

You got asked about mileage?Wow

I know! But surprisingly, on the tank I checked, running through the hills in WV and playing a good bit on RTE 50, I got about 23mpg. That's fairly impressive for the type of driving I was doing. The car rarely got into 4/5 once RTE 50 went 2 lane and on the 4 lane I was running 70-80mph. It was a nice... albeit warm... top down drive.

[Gadsby]

Originally Posted by David Borden

The car looks great!

I would consider getting a leakdown test done. Assuming the numbers are favorable, it would go a long way with quelling concerns of the engines health and that should result in a higher selling price.

Todays market is a bit manic so its hard to say what the car will bring. A year ago that was a mid $20-30k car. My swag is between $30-35k. I do think you stand your best chance of top dollar by posting on BAT assuming you execute it well.

I concur, i have a coupe waiting to start on bat, discrepancy on pricing is amazing!

[cabmandone]

Based on the number of contacts I have received form brokers and dealers on FB Marketplace, I figure my sell number of 35K is spot on. I've had about a half dozen 30K offers from brokers or dealers. One guy admitted he was just working for some guy in Cali and that three other people told the same guy they could get him my car for 34K. They were wrong naturally.. But this tells me I'm in the right ballpark.

I'm not going to go the BAT route. I'm hoping a good buyer will find my car here and understand just what it is based on the work I've done. I'm not even sure how I would go about advertising it on BAT to do justice to the amount of work that has been put into the car. Plus! I haven't been bothered with work getting in the way of fun so I've been driving the car more often! My motivation to sell diminishes with each drive.

[Matt Monson]

Sounds like the bait has brought in the sharks. Hopefully it won’t be too long before you land a regular fish.

[Rick Brooklyn]

I'm surprised it hasn't flown off the shelves at $35k honestly. It sounds like a very solid deal.