Thinking about selling my '87 Carrera

[polizei]

Hey Guys,

I'm thinking about selling my '87 Carrera Coupe w/ G50 Transmission, and I wanted to get a sense for what it would go for. Details below and details to follow.

82,000 miles on car; 5,000 miles on engine
Grand Prix White with Burgundy Leather Interior
Front and Rear Spoiler

Engine
Complete Engine Rebuild with Blue Prints in 2012 by Specialty Cars in Allentown, PA
3.4L Displacement with New Mahle Cylinders
9.6:1 Compression with Hemi-spherical domed New Mahle Pistons
Twin Plugged w/ 964/993 Distributor
Elgin Super C2 Cams
Supertec Head Studs
ARP Rod Bolts
Titanium Valve Retainers
Motronic EFI with Steve Wong Chip running 93 Octane
185F Operating Temp at 70F Ambient

Brakes/Suspension
Boxster S Brakes & Turbo Master Cylinder
22mm Front / 29mm Rear Torsion Bars
Bilstein Sport Shocks front and rear
Turbo Tie Rods
Wevo Engine Mounts
G50 Transmission with Wevo mounts
Reinforced Factory Rear Sway Bar Mounts
All suspension bushings replaced in 2012

Other
D-Zug HIDs with Euro H4 Trim Rings
Gauges Rebuilt by NHS - LED Back Lit
Cold A/C - All Lines Replaced in 2012, New condenser, New Evaporator, R134A

I'm sure I'm missing a few things, but as you can tell, this car has been taken care of. Curious to hear your input

[MrBonus]

Do you have any photos?

I would guess somewhere in the $36,000 - 40,000 range given the mileage and engine but that can change if the paint and body are rough.

[COLB]

Sounds like a very cool car.

What are the cosmetics like? Interior condition, paint, wiring/switchgear, etc?

If the interior & exterior are as well cared for as the mechanicals, and if it were a stock rebuild, I think you would be in the $34-36k range.

But based on your description, this sounds like one of the rare $20k+ rebuilds that some seem to think are common (and rebuilds like this obviously are not!) I look forward to someone with more experience weighing in on how to assess the value of performance engines. As a SWAG, I think a conservative estimate of the value of major work is generally about a net of 50 cents on the dollar in resale.

Given what you spent on the upgrades, I personally think you are looking north of $45k -- offered with the big variable that I have very limited knowledge of how a specialty engine build like yours affects the price.

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by COLB

Sounds like a very cool car.

What are the cosmetics like? Interior condition, paint, wiring/switchgear, etc?

If the interior & exterior are as well cared for as the mechanicals, and if it were a stock rebuild, I think you would be in the $34-36k range.

But based on your description, this sounds like one of the rare $20k+ rebuilds that some seem to think are common (and rebuilds like this obviously are not!) I look forward to someone with more experience weighing in on how to assess the value of performance engines. As a SWAG, I think a conservative estimate of the value of major work is generally about a net of 50 cents on the dollar in resale.

Given what you spent on the upgrades, I personally think you are looking north of $45k -- offered with the big variable that I have very limited knowledge of how a specialty engine build like yours affects the price.

To this point, that obscenely priced '86 RUF 3.4 car sat for months at $44,000 private party. While I think the value is there, I don't think the buyers necessarily are. I think there is always going to be that struggle between this being non-original despite being a substantial upgrade over stock which is why I'd only give it a modest bump in value over a standard G50 3.2.

[COLB]

Originally Posted by MrBonus

To this point, that obscenely priced '86 RUF 3.4 car sat for months at $44,000 private party. While I think the value is there, I don't think the buyers necessarily are. I think there is always going to be that struggle between this being non-original despite being a substantial upgrade over stock which is why I'd only give it a modest bump in value over a standard G50 3.2.

I saw the thread -- when was the (claimed?) RUF car priced at $44k? If it was a year ago, that may not mean much. If it was last month, and it is now sitting at $65k, the previous price may not say much about current value in the heated Spring market.

But still a good data point to consider -- and I guess it is a relatively comparable car.

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by COLB

I saw the thread -- when was the (claimed?) RUF car priced at $44k? If it was a year ago, that may not mean much. If it was last month, and it is now sitting at $65k, the previous price may not say much about current value in the heated Spring market.

But still a good data point to consider -- and I guess it is a relatively comparable car.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-marketplace-discussion/810998-thread-we-will-discuss-1986-ruf-coupe.html

Post #7

Of course, I agree that if this was listed a year or two ago, it would be nearly irrelevant (and Hagerty agrees).



That said, the $40,000 range does still appear to be special territory for 3.2s, even for the best of the breed, and this car is particularly unique in this market where drivability and originality are often butting heads.

[MrBonus]

I am also partially basing my value on this car:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/809354-1987-911-carrera-coupe.html

Which is white (and has 50k more miles) but a fresh top end and clutch job. It's at $34,900 and has sat longer than I would have expected. Of course, it's not a full 3.4 rebuild...

[christiandk]

Being modded and all....mid 20's, imo. Edited from high 20's.

40K territory and justified:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/811012-1989-porsche-911-slate-grey-metallic-coupe-silk-grey-leather-76k-miles.html

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by christiandk

Being modded and all....high 20's, imo.

40K territory and justified:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/811012-1989-porsche-911-slate-grey-metallic-coupe-silk-grey-leather-76k-miles.html

That car is just gorgeous.

[polizei]

Thank you for your feedback!

Unfortunately, I don't have up-close photos or interior pics readily available. It would probably be next week before I can post them. Overall, I'd say the exterior is 7 or 8 out of 10 and the interior is an 8 or 9 out of 10. There are some visible stone chips on the front bumper and side view mirrors, and there's some light wear on the driver's seat near the outside of the car. It's in excellent condition but not concourse.

The only problem I can think of on the car is that windshield wipers don't work on variable speed.

Here are some pics of the car. Some of these pictures were taken before I added the H4 Euro Black Trim Rings.

On its way to get the engine installed:




Anniversary Pictures (note that the gap on the front trunk/bumper has been corrected):

[MrBonus]

Do you have the original Fuchs?

[christiandk]

Originally Posted by MrBonus

That car is just gorgeous.

Oh yes!

Cant be many in that color. Does the paint in front of the doors look a little too "thick"? Probably just the pictures and the way it shines......

[polizei]

No Fuchs, unfortunately. With the current Boxster S brakes, 17" rims are required.

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by polizei

No Fuchs, unfortunately. With the current Boxster S brakes, 17" rims are required.

It'd probably look great with some 17" Fuch replicas. Would probably help resale too.

That's a hard one to value but it certainly is a detractor from value.

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by christiandk

Oh yes!

Cant be many in that color. Does the paint in front of the doors look a little too "thick"? Probably just the pictures and the way it shines......

I'm horrible at judging paint in photos. The pessimist in me tends to believe that most of these dealer photos are hiding some sort of body damage though.

[NYNick]

I was looking at a beautiful SC/RS clone that had a twin plug 3.8 and a complete, top of the line suspension upgrade and rebuild. Nothing but the best in this car. It sat for almost a year at $40k, and finally sold at $37K.

Different animal I know, but probably a similar type buyer.

[The Donster]

Well, according to your Hagerty graph, the value of a 1987 911 didn't change at all from 2007 to January 2014, then shot up by about $10K in the last 5 months. Do you really think that's an accurate reflection of the air cooled Porsche market over the last several years?

[MrBonus]

Originally Posted by The Donster

Well, according to your Hagerty graph, the value of a 1987 911 didn't change at all from 2007 to January 2014, then shot up by about $10K in the last 5 months. Do you really think that's an accurate reflection of the air cooled Porsche market over the last several years?

I don't know. Ask PML.

[COLB]

If you are going to sell it, I would go with body color trim rings, and put some Fuchs alloys on it -- and sell the cup wheels to offset the cost (EDIT -- I forgot about the Boxster brakes -- guess that isn't an option)

7 of 10 exterior and 8 of 10 interior will pull it down into the 30s -- especially with non-stock appearance items.

What someone is willing to pay for a twin-plug 3.4 motor remains the question for which there is no easy answer.

[christiandk]

Originally Posted by COLB

If you are going to sell it, I would go with body color trim rings, and put some Fuchs alloys on it -- and sell the cup wheels to offset the cost (EDIT -- I forgot about the Boxster brakes -- guess that isn't an option)

7 of 10 exterior and 8 of 10 interior will pull it down into the 30s -- especially with non-stock appearance items.

What someone is willing to pay for a twin-plug 3.4 motor remains the question for which there is no easy answer.

Colb, DOWN into 30's. It is a mid 20's car. Dont give the guy false hopes....no offence