Carrera value - one owner - 210,000 miles

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Talked to a private owner offering an 87' coupe with 210,000 miles. He says he has kept up with the maintenance and has always been garage kept. "looks like a brand new car"

Can't wait to see the pictures...

With that high mileage, I wonder if it will be "kept" at my local Porsche mechanics garage.

What is the value? The consensus for a 150k mileage car seemed to have been 14-16k.

What do you think?

Color is Nougat brown. Not my first choice, but color would not keep me from buying a Porsche if it is mechanically solid and priced right.

[GregB7S4]

pros:
-G50
-good cosmetically(per owner)

cons:
-mileage
-color

Get a PPI with leak down and see what the mechanic says. Run a carfax. Recent clutch? Are there records indivating regular maintenance. What part of the country has it been in(hopefully not in snowbelt). FWIW I was looking at an 85 with 165k miles for $13k but I found out car had likely been hit. With that many miles I would certainly not go much beyond $13k.

[trader220]

12 or 13 tops plan on a top end at minimum soon, PPI is a must. I would steer clear myself, too many parts have exceeded their engineered life cycle.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

The owner told me that the motor and transmission have not been rebuilt, and "nor do they need it".

[JeffreyNMemphis]

Anyone following this conversation might be interested in this link...

I found the topic of high mileage cars after I posted.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=323816&highlight=high+m ileage

[the]

He'll have a hard time getting more than $10,000 for it.

[JR_NYC]

$10k max

[GothingNC]

Originally posted by JR_NYC
$10k max

I agree.

An 85 Coupe with 245,000 milessold in my area for $9,000. This was with a rfresh rebuilt motor (Top & Bottom end) and a G-50 conversion. Paint was OK and the interior looked worn, glass seals dried out and needed struts,bushings. He was orginally asking 14,000 but after 16 months he lowered the price.

[matt13421342]

I third the motion for $10k or less tops. For $14k you can find a quite nice driver from that era, with far fewer miles and potentially more high mile maintenance that can be accounted for.

[goat]

Originally posted by trader220
12 or 13 tops plan on a top end at minimum soon, PPI is a must. I would steer clear myself, too many parts have exceeded their engineered life cycle.

I would think the same. Major rebuild might come up very soon, engine suspesion ect. then after that it will still be the same color. Unless the color really grows on you...

[umfan866]

Hi -- if its the same guy I talked to today, he's in California and asking 15,500 and expecting no-one to question the price. He's the only owner, always serviced it at a Porsche shop (except for some oil changes), has 100% of receipts, it has a few dings, it has a repaint since someone backed into the front right enough to majorly damage the clearcoat and his guy said it was easier to repaint the whole car than various body panels. He said the color really grows on you, but I really can't go for that brown. On the top-end he said it never needed it because it never burns oil and he's changed the oil religiously ever 4 months or 3-4k miles. He said he has put in two clutches over the life of the car so far.

I wish him well getting 15,500. Even if it looks impeccable those kinds of miles scare most people away. He says he's gotten a lot of interest but so far the car is not sold.

[JeffreyNMemphis]

That is the same car! He is getting lots of interest because of the low advertised price without stating the mileage. I asked him for pictures and he sent me body shots of both sides and only the passenger seat. When pressed for the drivers seat photo, it revealed duct tape holding the seat together where he slid in and out of the car daily for the last twenty years.

I will say this for him and his Porsche. He definitely got his money's worth out of that car! We should all be so lucky to own a car that only required oil changes and two clutches in 210,000 miles.

I looked at a 1985 Carrera today with 99k miles. Owner told me over the phone that the tires were new, the car is excellent and needs nothing for $16,500.00. The PPI revealed why car pulled to the left, seized brake caliper. Needs a brake job, alignment, oil return tubes, several other things, A/C not working and no estimate possible (can't get to the parts under the trunk carpet because a huge amplifier is bolted down). The new tires were purchased in 1999 and have dry rot up front and worn to safety marks on rear. The shop gave me an estimate of about 6k to address these issues.

As I am writing this, I don't want to disparage someone else's stuff. It is a 911 with a good body and original paint. The interior is in good shape, aside from the extra speakers everywhere. The engine passed the leakdown test with good numbers. It has a $2,000 stereo, that draws enough power to drain the battery if the car is not driven daily and needs a trickle charger.

The owner told me that he was flexible on the price before I saw the PPI. He must have known that the issues were going to be expensive. He does have a file with some stiff repair bills in it.

If all of the maintenance issues were corrected, the car would be worth $16,500.00. But I can't see him taking 6k off his price. At least not yet.

The old addage, "you get what you pay for" is something to consider when fishing along the bottom of the Porsche market. I have seen a lot of cars going for 10k ish. I can only imagine what kind of money you would have to put into them. Somebody on the forum said that a Porsche Carrera is a $20,000 car, you will pay for it all at once with a really nice one, or nickel and dime your way there starting with a cheap one.

I have a deeper appreciation and respect for the guys here who put sweat equity and treasure into preserving their cars.

[Christien]

[i]
The old addage, "you get what you pay for" is something to consider when fishing along the bottom of the Porsche market. [/B]

I think you hit the nail on the head here about fishing along the bottom of the market. I think that's probably how most of us get into it, I know I did. I bought my 911 for $10500 CDN and while it's not yet a $20K car, it's almost there. In all fairness, though, I wanted a car that I could tinker a bit with that wasn't a total project car, which is pretty much exactly what I got. Then when I bought the 83 I bought cheap, expecting to turn it into a track car. That changed and it seems there's always something little breaking. (right now I either enter through the passenger side or 'dukes of hazzard' it through the window because the driver's side door handle/lock came apart the other day)

I'm done with that now, though. I'm on a semi-serious hunt for a 3.2 or 993 cabrio, and no "bottom fishing", as you put it. I'm not even looking at high mileage, bargain cars.

[the]

Originally posted by JeffreyNMemphis
It has a $2,000 stereo, that draws enough power to drain the battery if the car is not driven daily and needs a trickle charger.

For $2000, you'd think they would have wired the stereo correctly so it doesn't drain the battery when the car is not being driven!!

[goat]

Originally posted by the
For $2000, you'd think they would have wired the stereo correctly so it doesn't drain the battery when the car is not being driven!!

Gotta agree on that one....