Best 911 for £15k weekend car for my mate?

[BigBazza]

Hi Guys,

Appreiate the info I seek is all out there somewhere in this forum but I have quite specific requirements and i'm in a hurry!
My mate is 40 next week and his wife had planned to get him a nice watch. She has just txt me tonight to say he has mentioned he would like a nice classic 911 and can I help her find a good one sharpish!!

She has a budget circa £15k so being a Porsche virgin (long term P'her & driven a few but never owned) I am asking for advice on what is going to be the best bet? 1999/2000 cars seem to be ridiculously cheap so there is obviously a reason for that. Was thinking maybe 1980's vintage but he's not particularly practical so would like one that just starts, runs and doesn't need too much work to keep it like that!
Any suggestion or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

BB

[GT Two]

I reckon a nice, well maintained 964 C4 will be just the ticket.

[BigBazza]

Thanks for that, just had a look through, some lovely motors! If anyone can point out a particular one or anything I need to avoid please feel free!

[Sneaky Schnell]

Brilliant idea but won't work in practice.

Although I understand what she is trying to do, you can't buy a 911 of that vintage in a hurry unless you get lucky. When I was looking for mine my partner was very cool with me spending lots of time on sites like PH, autotrader etc. One Christmas morning a few years ago I opened an envelope she gave me which had a computer print out inside. On the page was a photo of a burgundy 3.2 cab with 17" turbo style wheels and some text. Without looking at the text, eyes still fixed on the car I thought OMFG, what the fk has she done? Doesn't she know I'm looking for a G50 coupe with original Fuches....

Luckily she hadn't gone out and bought me the wrong car. What she had actually done (which I would have realised if I read the text straight away) was call everybody she could selling a 911 which she thought I would like and convinced one of them to rent her one for a weekend as she knew I really wanted one.

We met a really cool guy who took me for a spin, showed me around the car and let me take it away for the weekend - no issues. It was the first air-cooled Porsche I had ever driven and although it wan't the car for me it was probably the best gift I have ever received, mainly because I realised that she got me.

Tell you friend to hang on to the cash and maybe buy him a 911 experience or something else similar. Part of the fun of buying a car is the search. She wouldn't want to deprive him of that and maybe she can contribute in another way. It sounds like she gets him.

[davek_964]

Sneaky Schnell said:

Brilliant idea but won't work in practice.

Although I understand what she is trying to do, you can't buy a 911 of that vintage in a hurry unless you get lucky.

Agreed. We're not talking Ford Focus's here - it will take time to find a good example, and for £15k you should be able to get a good example (I also vote for the 964).

Note that a 996 is definitely not a classic. You want 993 or older - don't bother looking at prices of watercooled cars if it's a classic 911 he wants.

[golfer99]

964 ticks the boxes

[RC]

Not a 911 but that money buys you the iconic 968 CS

[shoestring7]

This one:

http://www.impactbumpers.com/forum/index.php?showt...


SS7

[boxsey]

She sounds like the ideal wife! However, I agree with the others that buying a 20+ year old 911 as a surprise present could be a disaster.

[monthefish]

Don't listen to the naysayers.

Yes, there is a risk with what is being proposed BUT buy from a reputable Indy and you can't go far wrong.

Go into the PH classifieds, do a search for pre-89, trade only and bobs your uncle.

How about this for £12k? (or around £13/14k with the full Virgin warranty)


http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2225957.htm

[davek_964]

monthefish said:

Don't listen to the naysayers.

Yes, there is a risk with what is being proposed BUT buy from a reputable Indy and you can't go far wrong.

Go into the PH classifieds, do a search for pre-89, trade only and bobs your uncle.

How about this for £12k? (or around £13/14k with the full Virgin warranty)


http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2225957.htm

I bought my 964 from a reputable indy. At the time I knew very little about them - which means I didn't know all the things that needed fixing on it.

[thegoose]

Sneaky Schnell said:

Brilliant idea but won't work in practice.

Although I understand what she is trying to do, you can't buy a 911 of that vintage in a hurry unless you get lucky.

That's very true but you could always increase your luck by looking hard - it takes time though and you may not manage it, depends if you want to put the effort in when it may all come to nothing.

Google "classic 911 rental" and a few options come up - the closest I found was a "1990" car but the picture showed a 3.2 not a 964. I'd suggest securing a rental (to be delivered on his birthday maybe?) and still looking for one to buy if you have time.

I totally get the idea - for my "still 39th" last year I had an 80's party with these on display

[monthefish]

davek_964 said:

I bought my 964 from a reputable indy. At the time I knew very little about them - which means I didn't know all the things that needed fixing on it.

Didn't the reputable indy fix them?

[davek_964]

monthefish said:

davek_964 said:

I bought my 964 from a reputable indy. At the time I knew very little about them - which means I didn't know all the things that needed fixing on it.

Didn't the reputable indy fix them?

I bought it from the reputable indy you mentioned - at the bug price, a long time ago.

[monthefish]

davek_964 said:

monthefish said:

davek_964 said:

I bought my 964 from a reputable indy. At the time I knew very little about them - which means I didn't know all the things that needed fixing on it.

Didn't the reputable indy fix them?

I bought it from the reputable indy you mentioned - at the bug price, a long time ago.

I don't want to derail the thread by going into specific cars/dealer stories - the above was just one example I found during the briefest of searches.

I think that, if the OP's friends' wife walked into 911 Virgin and offered their budget of £15k for that particular car, they would probably get an iron-clad warranty with bells on.

[davek_964]

monthefish said:

davek_964 said:

monthefish said:

davek_964 said:

I bought my 964 from a reputable indy. At the time I knew very little about them - which means I didn't know all the things that needed fixing on it.

Didn't the reputable indy fix them?

I bought it from the reputable indy you mentioned - at the bug price, a long time ago.

I don't want to derail the thread by going into specific cars/dealer stories - the above was just one example I found during the briefest of searches.

I think that, if the OP's friends' wife walked into 911 Virgin and offered their budget of £15k for that particular car, they would probably get an iron-clad warranty with bells on.

Indeed. However, my point was also a general one - that even if a car does have a warranty - and even from an reputable dealer - doesn't mean it doesn't have problems. Even if you have a warranty, it takes the shine off the car when it repeatedly needs stuff fixing - even if you're not paying for it. Hence the point that I - and several others have made - this is not something that should be rushed. It's a second hand car - and in addition, an old second hand car. The idea that it's a dealer with a good reputation - hence it's a safe buy - is a bit simplistic in my opinion, warranty or not.

[monthefish]

davek_964 said:

The idea that it's a dealer with a good reputation - hence it's a safe buy - is a bit simplistic in my opinion, warranty or not.

I didn't say it was "a safe buy".

What I said was:

monthefish said:

Yes, there is a risk with what is being proposed BUT buy from a reputable Indy and you can't go far wrong.

There is always a risk with buying any car. New/used/old private sale/dealer sale/indy sale - whatever. Even a brand new car can develop problems (which will be fixed under warranty) which will equally "take the shine off the car" as you have correctly identified.

The purpose of my post was to disagree with the view that
"Brilliant idea but won't work in practice" (which you then agreed with, perhaps as a result of your own (negative?) experience in buying a car via the fairly unique 'bug price' method?).

There are no guarantees with ANY car purchase, but I maintain that buying from a good indy is about as safe as you can get when shopping for a classic 911.

Edited by monthefish on Friday 19th November 13:24

[davek_964]

monthefish said:

The purpose of my post was to disagree with the view that
"Brilliant idea but won't work in practice" (which you then agreed with, perhaps as a result of your own (negative?) experience in buying a car via the fairly unique 'bug price' method?).

No, I wouldn't say it has anything to do with my experience particularly. I simply believe that buying a 20+ year old car takes a fair bit of research and time, and going straight to a dealer is not a simple short cut.

However - I think it's clear we disagree, and since we're all entitled to our opinions there isn't a great deal more to say.

[christer]

davek_964 said:

Indeed. However, my point was also a general one - that even if a car does have a warranty - and even from an reputable dealer - doesn't mean it doesn't have problems. Even if you have a warranty, it takes the shine off the car when it repeatedly needs stuff fixing - even if you're not paying for it. Hence the point that I - and several others have made - this is not something that should be rushed. It's a second hand car - and in addition, an old second hand car. The idea that it's a dealer with a good reputation - hence it's a safe buy - is a bit simplistic in my opinion, warranty or not.

+1

[christer]

monthefish said:

davek_964 said:

The idea that it's a dealer with a good reputation - hence it's a safe buy - is a bit simplistic in my opinion, warranty or not.

I didn't say it was "a safe buy".

What I said was:

monthefish said:

Yes, there is a risk with what is being proposed BUT buy from a reputable Indy and you can't go far wrong.

There is always a risk with buying any car. New/used/old private sale/dealer sale/indy sale - whatever. Even a brand new car can develop problems (which will be fixed under warranty) which will equally "take the shine off the car" as you have correctly identified.

The purpose of my post was to disagree with the view that
"Brilliant idea but won't work in practice" (which you then agreed with, perhaps as a result of your own (negative?) experience in buying a car via the fairly unique 'bug price' method?).

There are no guarantees with ANY car purchase, but I maintain that buying from a good indy is about as safe as you can get when shopping for a classic 911.

Edited by monthefish on Friday 19th November 13:24

There is a difference in wanting to be right and being right. Talking about what you said in immense detail is not going to change that

I think most people would agree though that buying an older classic car for someone else with no clue what you are doing (no offence OP) within a week is probably not a recipe for a resounding success? Yes, its possible to be lucky of course - and the OP will have to make that decision.