Value of an 911 SC With Broken Head Studs?

Doug&Julie · 12-31-2011, 06:01 AM

Just curious on what you guys think the value of a 911 SC would be with (3) broken head studs? Or maybe the easier way to think is how much should be deducted for such a vehicle?

The owner claims about a $4500 fix, but I've always heard closer to $6k? Would you deduct this complete cost from the value of an otherwise good car?

Thanks in advance!

G450X · G450X's Garage

With good 911SC's going for relatively "cheap" these days (good $12k, very good $15k up) with few (or no) issues, a broken stud engine would be a good chip to push the price lower. How much lower is tough to say, but don't expect $6k off a $12K (otherwise nice) SC - that would be a give away price. There are really so any variables on a used early 911 that it's tough to call.

It will almost always be cheaper in the long run to find a good/sorted car in the first place with the extra equipment that you want (i.e., SSI's/M&K/Monty) in place and a good solid engine and transmission with a recent build, etc..

If the broken stud car is in a really nice or rare color combo (that you really want) and otherwise excellent with low miles, maybe $3k or so off might suffice, but it all depends on high the initial asking price is. At $16k asking, a $12k offer might be in order. At $12k asking, a $9k offer may be in order. A broken head stud is a known problem and if all else checks out, should not be a deal breaker - at the right price. I'd say it would be easy in this economy to be patient and look for that nice SC or Carrera that already has a top end rebuild and/or 915 rebuild from a reputable shop for a bit more that a high mile original with issues ahead of it.

I think most of the $6k up stud replacement that is commonly listed is the "while you're in there" stuff that makes sense to replace on a high mile engine (top end rebuild), and whether a shop does all the work, or whether your labor could perform some (or most) of the disassembly and/or repair. Id say a straight stud replacement on an otherwise sound engine would be closer to $2k at an honest shop with some of your labor (R & R the engine for example), or maybe $3k if the shop does all the work.

6300 RPMs · 12-31-2011, 10:46 AM

Had a 5k reserve, but it blew by that the first day. What is it with these cars that makes people crazy?

Porsche : 911 Porsche : 911 | eBay

G450X · G450X's Garage

check out the 1956 356 on ebay now. It's a pile of rust coupe and it's almost at $5k!!

911SC & Carrera's are the deal of the century compared to most 356's out there....

Doug&Julie · 01-01-2012, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKYNYRD

Had a 5k reserve, but it blew by that the first day. What is it with these cars that makes people crazy?

Porsche : 911 Porsche : 911 | eBay

That's the one. Had it listed on CL for $11k. With all the other "needs" it's beyond what I would want to pay at $7300. Crazy story behind it...not sure why that's important. Still....pretty car.

Doug&Julie · 01-01-2012, 09:25 AM

G450X thanks for the good info. I think I agree with your price ranges. The advantage (to me) of getting a car and having it "fixed" is you can make sure it's done right. It's a long term investment, for sure, but there's something to that. The investment is better if I can get the "need to be fixed" car even cheaper. Dreaming, I know....

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug&Julie

G450X thanks for the good info. I think I agree with your price ranges. The advantage (to me) of getting a car and having it "fixed" is you can make sure it's done right. It's a long term investment, for sure, but there's something to that. The investment is better if I can get the "need to be fixed" car even cheaper. Dreaming, I know....

G450X gave you good advice. $3K off, you spend $6K and have a well-documented rebuild, you have a car with a value that's above market (to the right buyer) by $3K. My philosophy with these cars is to keep your investment at market value or less so you are not too far "upside down" if there are life or needs changes. I think SCs and Carreras are decent values right now, though some prospective sellers are jumping the gun with asking prices in 993 territory.

Doug&Julie · 01-02-2012, 11:22 AM

Wish I could buy your car tech! Alas...I have no budget...

Anybody know how long one can drive a car with broken head studs before you need to fix it?

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Doug, the progression of the broken head stud is that the combustion product will burn its way out of the mounting surface between cylinder and head. If you can hear it, damage has been done. I know on pulled studs (2.7 engines mostly) the cylinder can "chatter," moving against the case spigot and head. In other words, it's a progressive failure. I'm not sure anyone can give a mileage estimate of "safe operation." But you'd need to know for one thing, how long the stud has been broken. I know of folks who've driven 2 to 5K miles with broken head studs. But the sooner you address it, the fewer expensive parts you need to replace.

6300 RPMs · 01-06-2012, 08:38 AM

$11,311................. Stupid people.... Funny thing is it had a "buy it now" price of $7500, but he was willing to take 5k .......... Wish I could get more then double what I want when selling a car!

Doug&Julie · 01-06-2012, 11:26 AM

Wanna take bets on if it gets relisted?

G450X · G450X's Garage

There is a wrecked high mile '79 SC on copart.com that already has a $5k offer with several days to go.

I was considering parting it if it went reasonable (I was hoping for around $5k with all the fees involved) since it had big port heads and sport seats, but it's already past that mark!

Autoban · Autoban's Garage

My experiance on old cars is to take the estimate of the repair and then add at least 50% for things you don't know about and find when you start taking the engine apart. it all depends how long the car was run with the broken studs.