Opinions on this low mileage G50 coupe

[oh snap]

Hello, I am new to the board but have been reading and gathering information for the past few months in order to buy a 911. Thank you all for your contributions to the community. Knowing there is a support group like this makes owning a 25 year old German sports car a little less intimidating.

Anyway, I now have cash in hand, and there is a car available from a Vancouver dealer that has my interest. I'd like some feedback from the experts about its price.

It is an 88, no sunroof, sport package coupe with 98k Kms and service records. It is not my first choice in colour but navy on grey leather is not unappealing. The asking price is just below CAD$29,000.

From what I've read on the boards, the Porsche market is still "recovering." I have recently seen comparable cars go for CAD$22k and USD$18k. The former an 87 with 105k Kms locally and the latter an 84 with 40k miles in Seattle. Both in good shape from enthusiast owners, but neither as nice as the 88. Factoring that the Canadian market is smaller, that the car is a clean G50 car with records and that the dealer also "needs a cut," I made a cash offer for CAD$24k contingent on my taking the car for a PPI and it coming back spotless. He is holding at 26 for cash.

I think 24k is a very fair offer, perhaps even generous. It is not an especially rare car, that is, it’s not a turbo look or a special order colour. Sunroof delete is a plus but not a necessity. However, it is one of the nicest that is currently available in the region. I'd appreciate some feedback to squash (or support???) the "you could be driving a 911 right now, who cares about money" voice in the back of my mind, as after taking a week to justify a max of 24k, I find myself considering a counter offer

Thanks

[WPOZZZ]

I too, think $24k CAD is generous. As you said, the Porsche market is still recovering and the dealer would be remiss not to take the offer. Just sit tight and hold on the $24k. Heck, I'd tell them the longer you make me wait, my offer drops $1k per week. There are a lot of other G50 coupes available. You just have to wait for the right one to come along.

Btw, are those custom rear seats? I have never seen seat bottoms like those.

[oh snap]

Thanks for the feedback. I am not sure about the rear seats. I haven't been in the Porsche world long enough to pick up on the subtle differences. I had to image search "Porsche rear seats" to realize what you meant. The seller has another 88 for sale with the same seats however. It could be the way they came for the Canadian market, or maybe a dealer option here? Id love to hear if anyone knows.

[Macroni]

I would hold out.... Great looking car!

[Christien]

Typical asking price in Canada, but you can have the same car if you search it out for yourself for thousands cheaper. I'm a dealer, among other things, and I'm looking for a similar car, similar (or a bit higher mileage) to buy and sell locally for low to mid 20s, and that includes profit. No reason you couldn't land a car in Canada for 20k.

And yes, somebody has customized those back seats - they remind me of the back seats in my 83 944.

[speedracer]

That is a nice car and Alex, the owner of that dealership seems to have get a lot of nice cars. They all seem to sell within a month or two of listing so he is doing something right. Check the sold area of his site. I agree though that you could likely find a private seller and get a similar car for less. Just depends if you want to do the legwork yourself.

[oh snap]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will hold on my offer. I am patient and willing to do the legwork on my own. I appreciate that dealers need to make money for their service and I felt I accounted for that offer. Maybe it will sell for his asking price to someone with less time and more money than I have.


As to the seats, the copper car he has on his site has the same ones. I wonder if is a local thing or if the dealer had them recovered this way.

[dave m]

For what it's worth, I've never seen a sunroof delete '88. Maybe because I don't see that many ROW '88s, but I would definitely pay more for a sunroof delete car. Very cool.

[wgwollet]

Well.......there is nothing special about the car.........you are in Canada and its getting cold so its a great time to buy....I hear no sun roof coupes are the best.........but thats for racing...I own a 1986 coupe and a 1973 targa.....

It would be worth you to check Porsche sites and buy from a private owner.....its better to buy a US version.........

[umfan866]

Hi,

I am Canadian, living in San Francisco. I can appreciate getting across the border etc and the hassles that go with it (been there. Nevertheless, around here, even though prices are high for the US, that car is still overpriced at 24k - maybe in the old days, but esp since the Canadian Dollar is now par with the US. The exterior is nice but that's an ugly interior color- and if the seats have been modifed- who knows what else has been tampered with? Have you run a VIN check, smog history check, and/or public records check?- it is often surprising what shows up (eg prior accidents) and it can give you bargaining power. 88's often have valve guide wear and need a top-end rebuild - has that been done, or if not, do the receipts say that it may need to be done in the notes (read them carefully)- I took a car in for a PPI once and my mechanic pulled a spark plug, found oil in the cylinder head, and then scolded me for not reading the receipts which note clearly that a top-end rebuild may want to be considered soon!! Also- does the A/C work, and is the dash free of cracks? Both of those are telltaile signs of good care. I wouldn't pay a dime over 20k for that car- for 24k here I'm looking at a driver 993 (1995 or 1996) in decent shape -- e.g. see the one recently from Dallas in the classified section that sold. HOld out! Let the dealer sell to someone who falls in love with the car and does not do as much background research as you!! BTW whats your ideal color in case I see something around here... Marvin.

[Poor-sche Lover]

As far as the seats go, I remember reading a while ago that the Japanese import cars all had rear seats that were fully upholstered like that. Good luck!

[peon77]

I say stick to your guns $24 is very fair for the dealer, but I believe that you find exactly the car you want then don't let it slip away by trying to get the best deal possible. If you don't buy exactly what you want you'll end up buying it later. What makes the car worth a price? Your in canadia and its local, 60 k miles, G50, non-sunroof, its a must if you are taller than 180 cm plan on ever wearing a helmet in your car. I love that color combo you wont have the Guards red/ black int just like every one else. Remember other people are looking too. Get aPPI

[tom84930]

I think $24,000 Canadian is more than fair. Don't budge when he comes back with $25,000. It's a nice car, and I really like the sunroof delete. But, come on, this remains a buyer's market. Winter is just beginning, and there are lots of Porsches out there looking for homes. On another forum, some guy has supposedly found a 996TT with 80,000 miles for under $30,000. Even if 996s aren't much-loved cars, that kind of price is reflective of the sorry state of the used Porsche market. Hang tough.

[dienstuhr]

Another Canadian chiming in...

While I'd love to see that car sell for high-20s (it merely increases the value of my '85) to be honest I think $24K is quite high given the strength of the C$. The US market has plenty of these cars for $20K or less.

HOWEVER if this is the car you are in love with then go for it!!

Cheers

d.

[oh snap]

Originally Posted by Poor-sche Lover

As far as the seats go, I remember reading a while ago that the Japanese import cars all had rear seats that were fully upholstered like that. Good luck!

This makes sense. Our laws allow for relatively easy import of foreign cars 15 years or older, so it is common for to import Japanese market cars. This is probably where the dealer is finding his inventory of low mile european cars.

Umfan, I have not had the car checked out. The dealer said the car has been inspected and serviced by a shop in Vancouver. I wanted to make sure I could buy the car within my price range before I sent it for my own independant PPI. Thank you for the list of questions to ask though, it will come in handy

I like unique colours. My ideal car would be one of the lighter blues i think. Iris or Minerva, or maybe slate blue or lagoon green. The Cashmere car in the marketplace is quite interesting too, though I'm not sure it was available on 3.2s. I also have a big soft sport for GP white, despite being fairly common. The two previous cars I "missed out" on were GP white.

Thanks to everyone for the reinforcement. Youve given me lots of ammo to respond with

[speedracer]

Originally Posted by oh snap

it will come in handy

I like unique colours. My ideal car would be one of the lighter blues i think. Iris or Minerva, or maybe slate blue or lagoon green. The Cashmere car in the marketplace is quite interesting too, though I'm not sure it was available on 3.2s. I also have a big soft sport for GP white, despite being fairly common. The two previous cars I "missed out" on were GP white.

Thanks to everyone for the reinforcement. Youve given me lots of ammo to respond with

Don't settle. There are a lot of cars out there for sale. Just be patient and it will pay off eventually.

My first 911 was a great car but wasn't in my top 3 for color choices. Even though I loved the car I found was always drooling over the others that were my ideal colors. At the time I was looking there weren't any of them for sale but of course after I bought several were available over the next year or so.

[oh snap]

Originally Posted by speedracer

Don't settle. There are a lot of cars out there for sale. Just be patient and it will pay off eventually.

My first 911 was a great car but wasn't in my top 3 for color choices. Even though I loved the car I found was always drooling over the others that were my ideal colors. At the time I was looking there weren't any of them for sale but of course after I bought several were available over the next year or so.

Thats always the way it goes. I'll keep this in mind in case the temptation of a guard's red car comes along (sorry to the guard's red lovers )

[Macroni]

Originally Posted by dienstuhr

The US market has plenty of these cars for $20K or less.

I do not agree w/ that......

[umfan866]

Oh Snap,

Get the color you want-- and only go for your non-ideal color if its an incredible deal that you just can't pass up.

I often used cars.com which even has an iPhone app for searching.
A quick scan of 87-89 cars for 22k and under shows about 10 or 12 including these in blue, white from the same dealer:

http://showroom.auction123.com/auto_haus_motors/inventory/8416/WP0EB0917HS161876.html

http://showroom.auction123.com/auto_haus_motors/inventory/8416/WP0AB0917JS120636.html

What I meant on the background check was - before making an offer, get the VIN and run itthrough carfax.com or autocheck.com as
you would be surprised - you don't know how many owners who "all the sudden remember" an accident once I show them
what their carfax report has on it - it's awesome 1st-line protection.

And BTW it is NOT so easy to find a nice clean 87-89 GUARDS RED 911 which is what I want. If you do see one, PM me:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/529152-wtb-red-porsche-911-coupe-1987-1989-1995-bay-area.html

[umfan866]

Here's a nice light blue one also:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listin gId=52194900&listingRecNum=31&criteria=prMx%3D2500 0%26sf1Dir%3DDESC%26prMn%3D0%26alMdId%3D20567%26mk Id%3D20081%26stkTyp%3DU%26bsId%3D20203%26mdId%3D20 567%26rd%3D100000%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-bsId-mkId-mdId-pseudoPrice-pseudoYear%26zc%3D94403%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dpric e%26yrMn%3D1978%26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26yrMx%3D1988%26al MkId%3D20081%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=na tional