‘88 Cabriolet w/G50 valuation help

[Ten13]

Hey there, I’m considering purchasing a NorCal-native ‘88 911 Cabriolet with 171k on the odometer from a neighbor. It is not yet officially for sale, but he’s getting closer to getting over the emotions of selling a car he loves but seldom drives.

Some details: original Grand Prix White paint over tan leather-optioned interior. Front seats are worn, commensurate with mileage. I believe this car has been garaged for most of its life, based on dashboard and interior/exterior soft-tissue condition. It is equipped with the G50 transmission, and a ‘top-end rebuild’ was done at Valhalla approximately 10k miles ago (with documentation, which I have not seen). Has optional white painted wheels, recent tires, and passes CA SMOG, no problem. Everything works (including A/C), but has aftermarket CD player. I hope to test drive it in the coming weeks. A concern is that is blows a cloud of white smoke on cold startup after sitting for a bit. Runs great except for that (I have only started it in his garage). I’ve never seen this, but some have written that it’s common for this engine. THoughts on that?

As I’ve mostly been in the 914 and w123 Mercedes world, the value of these 80’s Carreras eludes me a bit. They seem to be all over the map, depending on where they are listed.

I’m not looking for an investment, just a fun car that has as good a chance of being reliable as any P-Car of the era. My perspective is that the money could sit in my bank account, or I could drive it around for a while. I perform my own work, short of alignments and machining. Selling party would prefer not to deal with an online sale, it seems, and has a number in mind. I would love to get some opinions on this particular car’s value, given mileage and true rust-free / unmolested condition, before disclosing his asking price.

Thanks in advance!
-Greg