Porsche specialists in south east?

[KingRichard]

Hi, I'm thinking about a porsche as a second car... late seventies/eighties 911, maybe a 928.

Porsche dealer prices for servicing, maintainence are certainly sobering. I'm not a cheapskate, but I will be on a budget and would prefer to look after any new purchase properly, than skimp because I can't afford to keep it in top nick.

I've heard of specialists selling NOS parts and cheaper labour rates etc. how do you find these people compared to a main dealer?

by the way, my budget is somewhere between £5-10k for a car and I would be open to suggestions on other models if you have any.

[simon clark]

Hi Richard,

Specialist wise there is Paragon in Five Ashes, La Rose in Sevenoaks Area, both of which seem ok to me.

Really for the budget you're talking, it would need to be a 944 or possibly 968 I would imagine. However I have a very limited knowledge of 911's but I suspect they are a lot more money.

I have a 944 S2 and apart from the fact it is going to get costly to run, I do about 25k miles a year in it, it is a great car.

If you're local to Tonbridge, drop me an email and I'll take you out for a ride

Cheers

Simon

[diver944]

My exeperience is that for older cars a good Porsche independant is far better than an OPC. The official dealer sees very few older cars now and just does not have the knowledge base to look after them for anything more complicated than changing the oil and servicing.

You will struggle to find a decent 911 for your budget that will not need at least the same amount spending again to bring it up to scratch.

[diver944]

You 'could' find a decent 928 in your budget but make sure to have it properly inspected as bills could easily mount up. There are a lot of tricky electrics in these V8 beasts

I think your best bet would be a 944 (S2 or Turbo). £6-7k will get you a good S2, and 8-9k will find an immaculate one. Add a thousand onto both those ranges for a similar Turbo.

Pistonheads buyers guide here:

www.pistonheads.com/porsche/default.asp?storyId=6090

The secret with old Porsche is to physically look and drive many of them. There are a lot of old dogs out there that should be priced at the extreme low end of the market, but often the owner has an inflated view of their car and you will see these priced with the good ones

Forget mileage and year, judge each car individually on condition and maintenance. A good car will come complete with a complete history from the current owner and he will be reluctant to sell to just anybody You'll be able to spot his anorak a mile off and he should know 'a lot' about the car.

Good luck and let us know how you go,and what cars you're looking at.

[KingRichard]

The names Dave btw, Richard as in dick... get it now?

Would be great to get a ride in one to see how they should go, and I will look into some of the specialists to get some idea on servicing etc... was the 968 based on the 928? also i've seen some 924 turbo's for sale... are these rarer? i've never heard of them before... do they still have a Audi engine or different?

Is there any special editions or extras I should look out for to help maintain value?

your very helpful, cheers!