the 911 - a good buy?
Discussion
Hi people, this is my first time on the Pork forum, and it's only really for a mercenary reason but I hope you can help 
I have recently come in to some money (of which I can spend about £11,000) & would like a sports car - I have cast my eyes over a ginetta g33, a chim 4.0l, and various other bits of kit, but I really want a 911. Questions are, what should I look for? If it has a FSH from porsche will it still be reliable? what usually goes wrong? how much is it to service?
Do you guys think it's a good idea?
Thanks in advance
I have recently come in to some money (of which I can spend about £11,000) & would like a sports car - I have cast my eyes over a ginetta g33, a chim 4.0l, and various other bits of kit, but I really want a 911. Questions are, what should I look for? If it has a FSH from porsche will it still be reliable? what usually goes wrong? how much is it to service?
Do you guys think it's a good idea?
Thanks in advance
You may not realise it now but that its possibly the broadest question you can ask.
Your £11k will streach to anything from a tatty pre impact bumper (pre '74) 911, through to the nicest mid 70's 2.7 Lux in the world, through good 911SC's LHD & RHD good 3.2 Carreras mainly LHD & a few RHD if you look carefully and well into tatty LHD 964's and even RHD 964's that need quite a lot of work.
So what is it you are after??
Your £11k will streach to anything from a tatty pre impact bumper (pre '74) 911, through to the nicest mid 70's 2.7 Lux in the world, through good 911SC's LHD & RHD good 3.2 Carreras mainly LHD & a few RHD if you look carefully and well into tatty LHD 964's and even RHD 964's that need quite a lot of work.
So what is it you are after??
At the risk of incurring the wrath of my fellow jelly mouldists, might one suggest alternate kicks, derived in the form of a truly great GT, surely from the palette of Rubenesque inspiration, aka the 928?
I speak from experience in recommending a pukka 928S4 for this kind of outlay.
And what more could you wish for? Glorious, woofling 5.0 litre nuclear power station of a soundtrack 'neath the hood, and a stupendous platform for mauling those stunning French D-routes at 150+ mph, all day and all night long...
Aah..
One of the very finest cars ever to grace the automotive firmament and massively preposterous value.
Buy one. Today; no excuses!
I speak from experience in recommending a pukka 928S4 for this kind of outlay.
And what more could you wish for? Glorious, woofling 5.0 litre nuclear power station of a soundtrack 'neath the hood, and a stupendous platform for mauling those stunning French D-routes at 150+ mph, all day and all night long...
Aah..
One of the very finest cars ever to grace the automotive firmament and massively preposterous value. Buy one. Today; no excuses!
derestrictor said: At the risk of incurring the wrath of my fellow jelly mouldists, might one suggest alternate kicks, derived in the form of a truly great GT, surely from the palette of Rubenesque inspiration, aka the 928?
Nope. Original poster clearly said "but I really want a 911"
iguana said: You may not realise it now but that its possibly the broadest question you can ask.
Your £11k will streach to anything from a tatty pre impact bumper (pre '74) 911, through to the nicest mid 70's 2.7 Lux in the world, through good 911SC's LHD & RHD good 3.2 Carreras mainly LHD & a few RHD if you look carefully and well into tatty LHD 964's and even RHD 964's that need quite a lot of work.
So what is it you are after??
2.7 lux =
- what kind of mileages can these beauties take? Are there any major things that need changing at regular intervals? much appreciated, folks
what is it you like about the 2.7 lux????
For this money I would get a very good 911 3.0 SC rhd.
This is an evolution of the 2.7 and in some eyes is seen as one of the best 911 period.The 2.7 engine is not particularly great and i am talking about in the lux rather than the '72 911 RS before someone posts back shooting me down.
For this money I would get a very good 911 3.0 SC rhd.
This is an evolution of the 2.7 and in some eyes is seen as one of the best 911 period.The 2.7 engine is not particularly great and i am talking about in the lux rather than the '72 911 RS before someone posts back shooting me down.
My choice for the money:
Carrera 3.2 with a G50 box, post 1987.
You can certainly get a stunning LHD one for that dosh, maybe a doggier RHD one.
They don't rust as much as the older ones, and the G50 makes it feel much more modern.
If minimax reads all the books, reads all the guides, looks at all the autotraders, I bet you a pint of shandy at PistonFest that he will come to this conclusion
Carrera 3.2 with a G50 box, post 1987.
You can certainly get a stunning LHD one for that dosh, maybe a doggier RHD one.
They don't rust as much as the older ones, and the G50 makes it feel much more modern.
If minimax reads all the books, reads all the guides, looks at all the autotraders, I bet you a pint of shandy at PistonFest that he will come to this conclusion
I have had 2 1989 3.2 and love them,,,but when you say Doggier version you end up paying more and maybe a lot more to put right..With £11k there is genuinely no point buying a car that may cost £15 all to buy and get sorted.Far better to get a sound example for your money,there are obviously risks to the wallet in owning these older cars.
If you are buying a doggier 3.2 then you may need to spend £8k with say £3k ready to get it right.I am not aware of 3.2 being at this level.
There shouldn't be any difference between rustproofing on SC & 3.2 both galvanised ...You do get problems on both in terms of rust,around window seals,arches and as a result of poor accident damage repair.
If you are buying a doggier 3.2 then you may need to spend £8k with say £3k ready to get it right.I am not aware of 3.2 being at this level.
There shouldn't be any difference between rustproofing on SC & 3.2 both galvanised ...You do get problems on both in terms of rust,around window seals,arches and as a result of poor accident damage repair.
clubsport said: 928 is truly a great car...but with £11k to spend buy the car for £6k and kep the balance for running costs.
Paul - £6k on a 928 would possibly (probably) be a false economy; I genuinely think £10k is approximately the minimum for one of these babies. The cheapies have always been rougher than a Bangkok femme de la nuit, from what I've seen. (Maybe you could get away with an S or an S2 for this money though?)
Toodles.
clubsport said:
There shouldn't be any difference between rustproofing on SC & 3.2 both galvanised ...You do get problems on both in terms of rust,around window seals,arches and as a result of poor accident damage repair.
Aha, but there is!
You wouldn't think so, but IIRC Porsche improved their galvanisation considerably with the 3.2 onwards. Different technique or something.
I have certainly seen the evidence - ie lots of rusty 3.0s and earlier, hardly any rusty 3.2s.
You are spot on about the doggy comment. I wasn't recommending the doggier one. Rather that a decent LHD one could be got on budget, and that more pennies would have to be found for a decent RHD example.
Cheers
Domster
RoadRunner said: For your budget I wouldn't get a Porsche, unless your a big fan of 70's tartan trim and choccy brown plastic. Why not buy a Lotus Elise. Awesome fun and cheap as chips to run.
Bog off to the Elise forum, Paul. Everyone knows they are noddy cars that break down more than they should and run out of steam at 75 mph
Although it's not a bad point. If you could put up with the flimsier build then they are cheaper in terms of petrol, tyres etc.
Great comments from Roadrunner there - truly awful trim in some of the earlier stuff - especially prevalent in those horrible 2.7s of the mid 1970s...but nowadays a 3.0 Turbo with red and black tartan trim, a Durant and chrome trim is considered a "classic" isn't it...I remember the times when black look, square mirrors and even a Dage sport flat front were de rigeur for disguising an early Turbo 
3.2 Carreras do tend to rot less than SCs but that may be down to many factors, not least of all age. But ther are so few good condition SCs about that a 3.2 is th best bet. Personally I'd buy on condition first - the 915 'box is sweet as a nut if properly set up and maintained - often its the clutches that let these down, not the boxes...
All IMHO of course
3.2 Carreras do tend to rot less than SCs but that may be down to many factors, not least of all age. But ther are so few good condition SCs about that a 3.2 is th best bet. Personally I'd buy on condition first - the 915 'box is sweet as a nut if properly set up and maintained - often its the clutches that let these down, not the boxes...
All IMHO of course
der you are right a cheap 928 is a false economy and my barge pole wouldn't be anywhere near one..i was just trying to add a bit of colour along the lines of don't blow all your hard earned on one,save a good chunk for running costs.
Dom,
SC '78-late '83
3.2 '83- '89
I really am not aware of any great change in rust proofing procedures,,it could be that aan early SC could be 11 years older than a late 3.2..I have seen some mid '80s 3.2 in bad shape bodily,,the galvanising was good and a big help.Porsche only gave these cars a 10 year body perforation warranty as long as the car was inspected as part of the service procedure.
Dom,
SC '78-late '83
3.2 '83- '89
I really am not aware of any great change in rust proofing procedures,,it could be that aan early SC could be 11 years older than a late 3.2..I have seen some mid '80s 3.2 in bad shape bodily,,the galvanising was good and a big help.Porsche only gave these cars a 10 year body perforation warranty as long as the car was inspected as part of the service procedure.
Porsche rust proofing was launched in 1975 with a 5 year warranty, which was increased to 6 a year later. From 1985, the 3.2 had a 10 year one.
Could this be a change in rust proofing quality? Or just Porsche being more confident or generous? The plot thickens
Will check it out if I have the time.
Otherwise we will just have to settle the argument with a couple of pugil sticks at Pistonfest
Cheers
Dom
Could this be a change in rust proofing quality? Or just Porsche being more confident or generous? The plot thickens
Will check it out if I have the time.
Otherwise we will just have to settle the argument with a couple of pugil sticks at Pistonfest
Cheers
Dom
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