I test drove a 944 today, but want to talk to an expert

[Hallsy01]

rubystone said:

So £2k to sort the sills and about a grand to do the belts, chain, idlers, water pump? So a £7k car with over 100k miles on it without paperwork to back up service and belts and with external rust on sills (which means the inside is going to be rotten) is a £10k car once done?

What's the going rate for s good 944 S2 with 100k plus miles on the clock with evidence of sills, belts, service? Is it £10k or do they appear for less?

Just trying to understand the economics. Is it better to pay closer to £12k for a lower mileage car with good history and original sills (once one has inspected the inside by pulling the vents off the doorshuts and using a flexible light at the least) ?

On s couple of cars I looked at, the outer sills didn't have the 'v' indentation that seems to be present on cars with original sills. Is there a pattern part that replaces the outer sills?

Thanks

Personally, I would rather buy a car on original sills with minor corrosion (i.e. cosmetic but not MOT failure) with the contingency fund to have them replaced to a good standard. That way, you are more likely to pay a fair price for the car in first place, and have the peace of mind that they will be repaired well in your ownership - inside & out. If you can find one on original sills with no signs of internal corrosion, then great.

Otherwise, you could buy a polished turd, with freshly repaired sills - only to find they had a quick fix to sell, and you end up having to replace them down the line anyway.

[skinny]

Interesting viewpoint. My 944 S2 will be up for sale in May, as soon as it's got a fresh MOT on it, but i figured it would be probably be easier to sell if i also got the sills done. It's not bad, just a small section in front of the rear wheels - been quoted £500-700 by a specialist for cut out, replace, and paint.

[Hallsy01]

Skinny - for most people, yes, freshly repaired & painted sills would be a plus point, I'm just one of those guys that likes to know what lurks beneath!! You'd get an easier sale and higher price for a freshly repaired car, of course, but I was just saying that someone considering a restoration car - it probably works out more cost effective to buy one that you know needs repairing, and then to make sure it has been done properly.

My 951 has had the sills replaced previously, but it nags away at me that I'd like to remove them to be sure that the inners have been repaired fully, that and to replace the aftermarket sills with OE ones - but that's just me being picky really. I've had the car almost two years and not needed to do anything yet, so you could say I was worrying about nothing!?

But when I sold my 944S, I had it MOT'd just before selling and it failed on sill corrosion. So I decided to sell as was with a fair reduction to suit repair cost. The guy who bought it had it looked at and it only needed a small repair in the end, so he got a good car at a good price. Trouble is, until you have a proper look, it's not easy to say for sure. Unless you have a decent endoscope.

[GC8]

Hallsy01 said:

Indeed they do - often the profile is slightly different on aftermarket sill panels as well.

There is one seller on ebay who makes an aftermarket sill panel and has added the jacking diamond, but to my eye, it looks a bit smaller than oe.

Link appreciated.

[Hallsy01]

Here you go Simon...

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=2...

As you can see, he also does the rear quarter bottom. He also sells front wing repair panels.

I have no affiliation to the seller, but I did get talking to him when he first started making the panels - I made the suggestion to add the diamond stamping to get closer to oe, but it does look a bit smaller in the pics - hard to say.

I did post the links on pcgb/tipec, but general consensus was they were too close to oe sill price.

I thought they looked quite good from the photos, better than most aftermarket repair panels.

[GC8]

hartlandcarr said:

There is some rust in the ends of the sills, but still in unimportant areas. It will need attention at some point in the not too distant future mind you.

These are not wise words. If you can see anything then it already needs a lot of attention. I realise that you you don't want to hear this, but I am right and you are mistaken.

[GC8]

Hallsy01 said:

Here you go Simon...

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=2...

As you can see, he also does the rear quarter bottom. He also sells front wing repair panels.

I have no affiliation to the seller, but I did get talking to him when he first started making the panels - I made the suggestion to add the diamond stamping to get closer to oe, but it does look a bit smaller in the pics - hard to say.

I did post the links on pcgb/tipec, but general consensus was they were too close to oe sill price.

I thought they looked quite good from the photos, better than most aftermarket repair panels.

Thanks Andy. I think I recall these, but had clearly forgotten about them. They don't look bad, but their price is highly speculative, I think.

Genuine sills are nice but most of the panel is wasted, as theyre a crash repair panel and the expensive bit doesn't corrode.