Potential 993 purchase, could use some help on price

First of all congrats. 993s are great cars. I am currently in the hunt for a long hood, but am also thinking of a993. It is the last of the air cooled cars. Looks like you are doing your homework - good for you, So many folks do not. As far as price, throw out what you feel the car is worth. Do NOT worry about being “insulting”. Worst the seller can do is say no. Your offer is at lest a starting point. This is a business transaction. The way I look at these transactions is if they get “insulted” then they are too attached, unrealistic to market, etc. If so, time to move on. There are a lot of great cars for sale right now and more of a buyers market. Some sellers have not adjusted to that. Also, look at PCARMARKET. Some good cars there without the nonsense of BAT. Keep searching and don’t compromise.

 

Sounds like an honest seller, which obviously counts for a lot. I’m not sure I’d go for a respray with a replacement fender.. it probably was hit, though maybe not badly.

It probably needs an engine reseal at some point, which is normal at 100k miles. $5k-$6k sounds low to me.

But… it’s a “stories” car. That would give me pause. Maybe hunt for something like this, which might actually be less expensive in the long run and easier to sell eventually:

https://www.holtmotorsports.com/inventory/1997-Porsche-Carrera-C-2-coupe-6-speed/1997993C2

Easy for me to recommend that you keep looking… but that’s my first thought.




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Sharp car.

The new windscreen and seals was probably $2500+ Odd story but when I bought my 964 from Tim it was all original as advertised but arrived with three star cracks in the center of the glass. There are those who value having an original windscreen, but with those cracks I thought it was unsightly … so Tim covered the cost of the replacement from Porsche. Made the car feel new.

Good luck — hope this is The One.


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I have found that numbers are all over the place. To me first and foremost is finding the right car, Then negotiate the number.

 

Don't dismiss the 95 cars ... they may lack the Varioram but they are also not plagued by the secondary air injection (SAI) passages becoming clogged and causing the car to fail emissions with a check engine light ... the 95 car is OBD1 and that system does not flag for that. (It really doesn't feel that much different without Varioram, if you chip the car it will be about the same performance.) People jump through hoops trying to clean out those passages with chemicals or attaching bass guitar strings to drills to try to ream the carbon out of them but the real fix is to replace the valve guides ... they are notoriously soft guides from the factory and they wear out quickly, especially the exhaust guides. They need to be replaced with phosphor bronze guides and then the car will never need any attention to the SAI system again. If the car is using oil at all it's almost a sure bet the exhaust guides are shot, mine were toast at 50k miles on my former 97 cab and the car was using a quart every 1500 miles. Did the guides and the car never used a drop until I sold it with 98k miles on it. The SAI passages through the cylinder head are still going to clog on a 95 car but it will not fail emissions as a result. The passages only blow air to heat up the cats on a cold start, clogged passages do not affect how the car runs at all. Some people will just pull the check engine bulb out, so you want to make sure it's working when you start the car.

I would also take a hard look at the door check straps, they are notorious for tearing the metal out on the inside jamb, not a hard fix but usually required. If the door has any play in it it will have to be repaired. If the AC is not blowing cold, be careful, it could be an evaporator leak and the evaporator is a real bear to get to and replace.

If you are looking at a Carrera 4 you want to get the car on the lift and spin the rear wheels, the front wheels should turn slowly. If the front wheels don't move, the drive shaft between front and rear is probably snapped and you would never notice on a test drive because most of the time the car is rear wheel drive unless it's sensing slippage so it feels fine. I had a 95 Carrera 4 that had a snapped driveshaft and the PPI did not catch it. If someone spun the car doing something stupid that can snap that shaft clean in half.

I don't like those leakdown numbers ... might be time to just do the top end and never worry about the guides again -- if it's the right car and you can price it accordingly. You would want to shop around ... I took mine to a shop that did track cars where changing valve guides is like changing socks and at the time (2007) it cost me $5k to do the top end where the other independents were twice as much. Everything else on the engine was just fine and needed nothing. Did a new clutch and lightweight flywheel for the cost of the kit, which was a no-brainer with the engine out.

They are wonderful cars ... I've had several ... but they are aging and things will just wear out eventually.

 

This. Any air-cooled 911 is going to need components replaced at this point. If you find a keeper to start with, these costs are a satisfying investment.

Good point about the OBD2 and check engine light. My ‘96 didn’t have this but it was lower mileage. Valve guides are very doable but I would factor in a five-figure service visit.

Truth is my 964 has been 100 percent reliable but the service and component replacement costs are comparable to my 308 QV. Mostly aging HVAC bits.

 

Just drove my 993 today, absolutely love it. Had a 95 C2 years ago. Great car.

Have a 96 c4s now and do enjoy the varioram engine more. Not like it's a huge power increase but certainly noticeable as varioram comes in, especially induction sound.

I've not heard of the driveshaft snapping on the awd cars, just thought the fluid coupler could be ruined in certain circumstances.

 

I have been looking for a long hood, but I do like the 993 Cab. Anybody comes across a nice one any color but black, would be interested.

 

Porsche 993 VarioRam vs. non-VarioRam: https://drives.today/posts/34/tech/torque-show-porsche-varioram/shane-o-donoghue.html

 

I was glad to see the classic Targa aesthetic return with the 991. But the 991/992 have a much different feel to the earlier 911s — much larger and more complicated. For a daily driver, doubtless the better car. For an exotic weekend toy, I’d still go air-cooled. They get more classic every year.


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Agree an oil cooled 993 would make for a more fun weekender. Both of my weekenders have that same visceral driver first ethos that post-2005 cars don’t.

 

We take Zelle and cash.

I wouldn’t recommend it to non-enthusiasts but the 993 and 964 were sold as daily-drivable sports cars, and the stuff missing from these cars is stuff I don’t really need. I could easily drive my 964 every day if I had safe covered parking, and my 993 was equally fine. They are more than fast and agile enough for public roads.

The weak a/c in the 3.2 and earlier 911s would be problematic for me in the California desert, but again these cars got regular use and racked up ample mileage in their era. The first Porsche I ever shopped — and could not really afford at the time — was a used 1987 Carrera Targa black/black. It was probably 4-5 years old and had IIRC -35,000 miles… in Cleveland, which has miserable roads and winter road salt that destroys anything metal. Short driving season, so that was pretty intensive use. My brother’s first 911 was a 964 Targa in the early ‘90s, and I think it had well over 50,000 miles when he bought it.

So, rambling post, but when I read how the 991/992 are daily drivers and the earlier 911s aren’t it always feels like society is getting soft. Other than snow, when you wanted a Jeep, these 911s were driven daily.



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Good to hear that the 993 may work out for you. I also had a 991.1 Targa 4 GTS. It was a great car, but was quite bland after I got used to it a bit. Top mechanism is wonderful and I love that Porsche brought it back. However, there is a tremendous amount of wind noise with the top down in those cars. I would much rather have my air. They’re more interesting and fun to drive and as bullfighter has said, they really can be used as daily if you want to.

 

Gorgeous! Welcome (back) to the club.


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