Here is my 964 inspection report....what are your opinions?

[young_pup]

Hi guys

I mentioned before that i had 'bought' a 964. Well i bought it pending an inspection by Silverstone Porsche. The car is a slate grey 964 carrera 4 with 113k miles and 1990 H plate. All major work done except a top end rebuild, however there are no oil leaks from engine so both Porsche and some other well known specialists advised that its not worth bothering about...so here we are:

___________________________________________
As requested , list as per 111 point check

Carpets worn o/s

Side kick panels loose

Blanking missing from n/s kick panel

Seats require re-conditioning

Alcantara trim in poor condition

Windscreen chipped

Interior lights inop

Fog lamps inop

Rear lenses cracked

o/s/r side trim not secure

rust bubbles in n/s/f wing area near arch

rust bubbles in n/s sill at top of trim

gaiter missing from n/s/f damper

slight oil leak from timing cases and oil pipe from tank to engine

underseal scrapped away at front of boot floor

petrol flat required re-aligning

clutch pedal creaks

felt trim around sunroof in poor condition

air con not working

eng oil requires topping up

paint in poor condition around sunroof area

dme faults stored

heater faults stored


kind regards

Service Team Leader

Porsche Centre Silverstone
_________________________________________________


So...for a 15yr old car to me its not that bad. No major work required other than aircon.

Do you think the car is worth £14k? The paintwork overall is good. New clutch not so long ago.

Engine could be remapped as it shows up as fault on the diagnostic reading.

Any advice...HELP!

Richard

[BERGS2]

nothing major there - reminds me of the survey I had prior to buying my house last year:

loads of trivial shite like -

'carpets worn'

'requires decoration'

wtf? - its a 15 year old car!!!

heater & cosmetics rarely good in a 964 of that vintage - if the motor is good and the corrosion is minor I'd say it's a reasonable price - go with your head though!!

BERGS

[young_pup]

Go with my head...last time i did that i got a slap from my girlfriend!

Anyway good to get your feedback...wonder if ninemeister could chip in!

Richard

[aceparts_com]

Sounds bit like one I bought many years ago, and then went on to spend about £15K on it!
Depends if you're happy with it in the current condition or not? My mate recently paid a little bit more for a really nice 1993K tip coupe which needs very little, but here goes.

Carpets worn o/s £500 for new carpets if you fit yourself

Side kick panels loose - free

Blanking missing from n/s kick panel - 20

Seats require re-conditioning - don't bother, retrim £800

Alcantara trim in poor condition - £££

Windscreen chipped - Insurance £50

Interior lights inop - £2

Fog lamps inop - £2 bulb, £££ if not

Rear lenses cracked - £400

o/s/r side trim not secure - Free

rust bubbles in n/s/f wing area near arch - respray £2,500 minimum

rust bubbles in n/s sill at top of trim - as above

gaiter missing from n/s/f damper - £75 or new shocks £1000

slight oil leak from timing cases and oil pipe from tank to engine - Pipe is £250 plus fitting (my one split losing ALL the oil)

underseal scrapped away at front of boot floor - in with respray - off road use?

petrol flat required re-aligning - someone's sat on it

clutch pedal creaks - master, slave, clutch or grease £, ££, £££

felt trim around sunroof in poor condition ££

air con not working £, ££, £££

eng oil requires topping up - that's why it's not leaking any.

paint in poor condition around sunroof area - in with respray

dme faults stored - £££

heater faults stored - controller £££

So, if you're happy with it as it is, love it. If you want to put the faults right then the car should really be about 10K. Car will easily cost as much as a 993 by the time you've done a few bits.

>> Edited by aceparts_com on Friday 23 September 00:26

[Graham L]

dosent sound bad to me, as posted earlier it's an old ish car, and at least you know what youre getting into. Nice to have a list of little jobs to do! given that the motor is sound (bearing in mind i just spent £7k on a rebuild) i'd go for it...in a heatbeat. They really are great cars.

[james s]

I sold mine with 130k on the clock for 15.5 k 4 yrs ago. The condition was much better from the sound of your report. The mechanicss sound broadly OK, but its the paintwork that might bother me, and the general condition of the interier.
The former sounds like it has gone in a number of places, which always makes me wonder why? Some indpependants I know suggest the general condition of the interior is a reasonable guide as to how hard a life the car has had. Thought to be fair the lighter interiors tend to tire more quickly. My black one looked almost at new at 12 yrs.

If the car is cheap enought it may add up

Good luck whatever you do

[roygarth]

When was last service? Why hasn't PO fixed the little probs along the way? Little jobs are expensive if you can't/don't want to do them yourself. Are all 4 tyres the same and top brand? I'd be wary. £14K seems too much.

[domster]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

they are, but it doesn't stop them rusting completely... mainly if there's a knock, scrape or poor repair... plus it could be a drainage problem if water starts collecting somewhere because a drain is blocked.

Nothing major to worry about; I'd expect that kind of report on a 964 of that age. Even 'tidy' ones would probably have half the faults mentioned and some of it is just a lack of detailed maintenance (interior light etc.). It's a two minute job putting a new bulb in.

[gfreeman]

If the current owner couldn't be bothered to change a light bulb then could he be bothered to generally maintain it properly???

Like top up the oil?? er - no!
Sort out the logged faults?? er - no!

Sounds like a slightly unloved example to me....

[johnfm]

How many 964s have you looked at? Is this your first or 20th?

Without seeing lots of cars you are unable to really gauge what 'good' condition is. You could get yourself along to the next UK meeting of 964 drivers - there was one in North Wales the other weekend (look on the rennlist 964 board).

My advice would be to look at as many as you can - maybe go along to Henry 'Porsche Superstore' if you are down south. If not, trawl through autotrader and search for 964s within 20 miles of your postcode and go see them. Then you will know what this one is like in comparison.


Good luck - the 964 is a great , fun car.

[young_pup]

Thanks for the responses...i'm erring on the side of not buying.

What is a DME fault? costly?

The guy had just had a kid so was garaging the car. The interior condition to me looked excellent...shows what i'm missing!

Richard

[aceparts_com]

Buy from somewhere with a reputation like 911 virgin.

Better to pay a few K more now than in endless repairs.

[lemon yella rs]

opc's will pull the tiniest things out in there check. If you thought the interior looked immaculate why worry what the opc thinks. It sees brand new cars day in day out. Go and have a look on there forecourt and see how many holes you can pick in thier stock you'd be suprised.
The fault code read out "could" be very misleading. The fault memory stores all "faults" including errornous ones which are not actually genuine faults. The factory alarm for instance can throw up umpteen silly fault codes which mean little or nothing. It would have been nice for the opc to tell you or provide a print out of exactly what the fault codes were. simple things like a low battery can bring up several fault codes. I would not recommend taking a 964 to an opc for an inspection. An independant would make an awful lot more sense as they see far more 964's and would also be a lot more helpful imho.

[Ork]

I'd have to say looking at the report, while most of the items highlighted are minor in the context of a 15 year old 964, it clearly hasn't been loved by its previous owner.

Maybe they couldn't care less, maybe they didn't have the time or money to keep on top of the ware and tear and the repairs.

It is very easy to buy a crappy 911, it takes a bit of effort and a fair measure of luck to find a prince amoung the frogs. And believe me, it will cost you to get a rough car upto a nice standard. Similarly, just think how few people will be interested in a rough car when you come to sell it. Condition and evidence of having been loved is all.

Have you joined the Porsche Club Great Britain? An enthusiasts car is what you're after - 14K should get you a good early 964. Would you consider a less than popular colour? You might get more car for your money.

If it were my decision, I would ditch it and elevate my expectations.

[poorcardealer]

Hang on a second...........the car has been inspected by a OPC.they are used to servicing and looking after mostly cars that are under 5 years old generally......I would have expected a report of that ilk on a 15 year old car....a specialist would have been a better bet in my view but anyway.......doesnt sound like anything too drastic to me, so use the report as a bartering tool.......tell him you want £1500 off.......its a buyers market at the min and there are loads of cars to choose from, I would imagine any 15 year old 964 taken to an OPC for an inspection would come up with many age related faults

[warmfuzzies]

I would walk, if this is indicitive of the way the last owner has treated the car, what else lies awaiting beneath the surface, remember as has been said, OPC's have by now limited knowledge on these cars, get JZ or someone who knows them better to do this.

Oh and as for faults being logged, mine had only heater faults, all of which I have cured, simple things like Blower resistor and front left servo, cost less than £100, and now it can demist and heat very well indeed.

personally, I'd walk......or even run, unless the price was 10k or so.

kevin

>> Edited by warmfuzzies on Sunday 25th September 10:16 for seriously cr@p spelling

>> Edited by warmfuzzies on Sunday 25th September 11:00

[Pies]

Id be concerned about the engine oil level,if thewner cant be bothered to have this right what else has been skipped

AIMHO

[young_pup]

Hi guys

Thanks for all the responses. I have learnt some great lessons from this! Firstly i wish i'd had an independent look at the car...Porsche Silverstone didn't really advise on the faults and i think it was bad value for £140+vat.

Secondly I'll have a much keener eye this time around having decided not to go for this car.

No regrets though..without the inspection in the first place i would have bought a car that may have required substantial work!

Richard

[supersport]

Right decision, there are plenty of cars around that you don't need to settle for one that requires or potentially requires loads of expensive work.

It's all very well having a car with brilliant mechanicals if the body work is arsed! I think for £14 you should be able to get a decent car.

S

[domster]

supersport said:

I think for £14 you should be able to get a decent car. S

Assuming you go to Windy Miller Autosales, High Street, Trumpton