[Jard]

Hi all, name is Jared and I am in Silver Spring, MD.

It's been my dream to own a 911 since high school and I drove a nice borrowed GPW Targa to my senior prom. Now that the kids (5 and 7 yo) are getting a bit older, it's time to buy the fun car I've always wanted. I've owned and raced Subarus since about 2003 and have been active in a bunch of local Subaru and rally forums. I was excited to find a local Porsche forum with the same feel!

I am mechanically inclined and able to the point of disassembling / changing / adjusting suspension, pulling motors, timing belts, brake work, etc. I would not attempt to rebuild a transmission or motor.

What I'm looking for:
A fun care to drive on nice days and maybe commute in it a few days a week in good weather. This will be a 3rd car for our family.

My ideal:
* 84 - 89 coupe or targa (I'm not seeing a ton of downside to a targa for my use cases, but I don't know the pitfalls of this gen - do they leak, rattle, etc?)
* white, silver, brown (no black and no red)
* working A/C (I know "working" is subjective in these cars)

I'm not worried about some exterior or interior blemishes but I don't want to be actively dealing with mitigating rust.

I am looking at 84 - 89 because I understand they already have the appropriate holes and mounting plates to install rear seatbelts with a shoulder belt. I also understand that people install rear seatbelts with shoulder belts into earlier cars but it requires drilling and reinforcing.

I'm monitoring BaT and eBay and I'm willing to travel to get a car or get it shipped but buying local would be much easier.

Thanks for looking!

[Chopper Dropper]

Usual advice is go for the newest car (88 or 89) G50 gear box, get full PPI hopefully records. Very reliable cars, Targas are great but can come with some noise, leaks and vibration. I have an 88, just reaching 200K miles including lot of track miles, still driven most days and still occasional "gentle" track use. AC is non functioning, never bothered to upgrade it, heat is good. Does not leak rain unless torrential and then just a little.
Dirk

[Jard]

Originally Posted by Chopper Dropper

Usual advice is go for the newest car (88 or 89) G50 gear box, get full PPI hopefully records. Very reliable cars, Targas are great but can come with some noise, leaks and vibration. I have an 88, just reaching 200K miles including lot of track miles, still driven most days and still occasional "gentle" track use. AC is non functioning, never bothered to upgrade it, heat is good. Does not leak rain unless torrential and then just a little.
Dirk

Thank you!

Am I missing a good local resource to look for cars? Obviously I'm hoping someone local sees this thread and has something close to my ideal to sell...

[Modian]

Check Pelican parts too, for cars, parts, and a ton of knowledge.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/

You can try pcarmarket, but I’m not sure how that’s doing.

https://www.pcarmarket.com/auction/all/

I’d also suggest driving both a G50 and 915 car. I thought I always wanted a G50, but ended up with an SC and I really enjoyed the rifle bolt feel of the 915 and cable clutch, especially with a Wevo shifter. It’s so different to the modern feeling G50, and like the manual steering, you can feel everything. This is assuming a recently rebuilt 915.

[Vicegrip]

We need a Budget.

[Jard]

Originally Posted by Vicegrip

We need a Budget.

I know, I know.

I didn't want it to be the highlight of the main post...

I want to be driving the car around for $40k.

edit: I think that's reasonable and there have been a few that sold recently on BaT that were really close - I even bid on one the other day - but they are all in California, so add 5% for the BaT fee and $2k (?) for shipping!

[Jard]

Originally Posted by Modian

Check Pelican parts too, for cars, parts, and a ton of knowledge.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/

You can try pcarmarket, but I’m not sure how that’s doing.

https://www.pcarmarket.com/auction/all/

I’d also suggest driving both a G50 and 915 car. I thought I always wanted a G50, but ended up with an SC and I really enjoyed the rifle bolt feel of the 915 and cable clutch, especially with a Wevo shifter. It’s so different to the modern feeling G50, and like the manual steering, you can feel everything. This is assuming a recently rebuilt 915.

Thanks!

I'm certainly not afraid of the 915 and received the same advice from another friend who prefers it. I just feel like I need to budget $4 - $6k for a 915 rebuild if history is unknown and then that takes away any savings from just buying a later G50 car.

[super90]

Keep in mind that a G50 is also going to be around 30 years old and may also need a rebuild. My advice, up your budget to around 50 and try to find a near perfect car.
PS: include SC’s in your search, great cars.

[BlackTalon]

Recommend you turn back the clock 5 years and pick one up for $11k-$12k.

[Modian]

Originally Posted by Jard

Thanks!

I'm certainly not afraid of the 915 and received the same advice from another friend who prefers it. I just feel like I need to budget $4 - $6k for a 915 rebuild if history is unknown and then that takes away any savings from just buying a later G50 car.

Maybe I’m looking at old prices, but I thought a 915 was 2-3k and a G50 was 6-8k? I thought I remembered reading you could rebuild a 915 3 times for the cost of a G50. Plus much simpler to do yourself.

I agree with paying more to get one sorted at least mechanically. My SC had a recently rebuilt 915. My 964 had a recently rebuilt engine and transmission. I was able to drive and enjoy both right away and just fix cosmetic things, slowly turning them into mine. Both had driver quality paint, which also allowed me to be less concerned about driving everywhere and parking anywhere. I put over double the miles on my 964 in the past year over my “daily”.