rg588911

While running a car dealer last summer I took in a 1986 930 black/black. The car has 200k miles but I fell in love. It drove great. It had very minor paint on the doors (ding repair 80's style) but the car is orig otherwise. Every single record was kept by the first two owners. The window sticker through the stereo upgrade. THe motor was redone at about 150k and the second owner had all work done at Farnbacher Loles. 200k is a ton of miles, I know. But the car is tight and looks very nice. I can buy the car for $20,000 now which is about what I took the car in for on trade. I realize that this is not a "deal" but is it worth it? Do the records make for the worthyness of this high miler? I just do not know...

997for40

records/documentation plays a big role, it's nice to know that the car's been maintained properly. It's all about what you're planning to do with the car. If you're looking at it as an investment, probably not a good candidate but if you're going to use and enjoy it for a while it's a candidate. I guess in the market we are now, you can pick up a low mileage 930 in the low 30's.

Being the whole motor was done at 150K is a big plus.....just my .02

DDD

Tough question. On the one hand, no car with 200k miles in this market is worth buying...on the other hand that is a good price for a 930 if everything mechanically and cosmetically is really truly mint.

If you can afford to part with the money and the car won't give you any troubles for a while, there is no harm in it. Any car with 200k must be pretty reliable, no? The fact that this car was driven so much may be a good sign.

As long as it was not turned in because of hidden issues...do your homework.

jimculp

I think you can do better for $20K. Take the emotion out of it. (easy for me to say)

tarheelturbo

HAHA, Take emotion out of it!! I don't think theres anyone in the 930 arena that knows how to "take the emotion out of it" i haven't seen too many other cars on any kind get normally sensible people to spend ungodly amounts of moeny on them knowing that they'll never recoup it, in the name of love for the car!!
I'm not judging, I'm there too! i just find it humorous

On a serious note get everything you can for your buck, its worth the time and effort, for me i was able to find my car for $30k-ish, and it only had 26,700 original miles, with a brand new rebuild less than 100mi, and full CIS mods, Cage, harnesses, race seats, upgraded suspension, fikse, pretty much tracked out as you can get this side coilovers and EFI.. something to think about

rg588911

I met the owner and spent time with him when he turned it in. He was very nice and low key. He was sad to let it go and I dont think he came in looking to leave with a car. He bought an Audi S4 avant. I made the deal contingent on him doing the transaction that day because I figured he would otherwise have second thoughts parting with the 930. I was very impressed with the completeness of the records and how many little things were consistantly tended to over the years. Also the fact that this gentleman had done the latter work at Farnbacher Loles gave me even greater comfort. I just dont know what to do. Im confused and part of me feels like paying 10 grand more may not give me that much more car.

fullquack

Ok nobody else has been willing to be the devils advocate...sooo here goes nothing.
Sure 200k is a lot of miles, but if the chassis is solid & there are only 50k on the engine...well now.
As all of us on this forum know, you buy a 930 that's stock, then you drive it a bit....then you say to yourself " self, I sure would like this to handle a little better" soooo....you buy new shocks & struts. Then you say to yourself " Self, I'd sure like this to be a bit stiffer with less rear squat & body roll" soooo...you get new torsion bars & sway bars. Then you say to yourself......
As you can see you will have all new suspension & sundries in no time flat, interior upgrades follow etc. etc.
So do chassis miles really matter in the end? I don't think so!
Mark

Last930

I would think that it would depend on your goal - if you want a car that you can drive a lot without worrying about running up miles, road rash, etc. then this sounds good, assuming all the mechanicals check out. However, if you want a garage queen to wax, worship and drive several times per year only when the weather is perfect then you might want to hold out for an existing garage queen!

rg588911

Thanks for helping so far. I want a car that is solid and well taken care of. I do like stunning examples and I do enjoy detailing etc... I also like to drive and intend to put 5k per year on and IMHO I think a real looker that has big miles is kinda cool. It makes you want to put 100k more on.

rg588911

Maybe this will help narrow the focus. I currently have an 88 carrera and have done a lot of work to make it a really nice driver. It still needs some work though. It has had a repaint that looks good from 5 feet but is not great. It has had a fender replaced and the big thing is the miles. It shows 57k Based on the car fax it shows that there is a discrepancy potentially as much as 20k. I am in the car for $28ish with all the reconditioning. I have a buyer for $18k. I have enjoyed the car for 2.5 years and it is great but it isn't a 930. Sooooo, the real question is do I scrap my future plans with the 88, eat the loss and get a 2 owner, 200k mile car with far better pedigree and documentation or do I keep my bastard of an 88 which looks good and stock and keep spending dough on it.

DDD

From that point of view I would probably upgrade, all things being equal.

You just need to realize that all cars you buy are likely to see price weakness for a couple years due to worldwide deflation. But either your 930 or your carrera would deflate probably about the same so it is not like you can escape the market climate.

In other words the trade-up probably will not hurt you financially any more than what is coming in the marketplace anyway.

997for40

Sounds like you already made the decision...go with the 930. not a knock on the narrow body carrera but the wide bodies are awesome. I was in the market a few months ago and landed a factory turbo look carrera w/ 200K and still runs strong. It was going to be my daily driver that's why I didn't go with the turbo but gotta have the wide hips. ) Now my 997 is jealous, don't get to drive her that much....

Trader220

Here is the question no one asked. Is 20k the bottom line on the 930? That cars been on your lot since the summer and its price is not going up anytime in the next decade. Is the dealer paying to carry the car? If it is then its a no brainer for them to sell it to you for the price you can sell your 88. Its a free and clear swap too if you run the sale of both cars through the dealer and get the tax credit. If the dealer needs a piece you could be kind and toss em a 500 dollar or less bone. I am guessing all parties would be happy with that set up.

Keep us posted.

As long as the mechanicals are sound and the rest of the car is well attended to as you stated then its a really low risk deal IMO. Where's the price of that 930 going to be in 2 years with 10k more miles on it? Its not going to lose 50% of its value and if its as tight and well kept as you suspect then the yearly cost to own (utility cost of money aside) should be pretty reasonable. The only issue is if there is a major mechanical problem.

Thats as unemotional as I can put it. Swap the cars, and look at it from a really low risk point of view. Then if you add into it the fun of a 930 it gets pretty easy to do.

kleinbbc2

I would do what you are thinking of doing. Only thing I may walk from the turbo you are looking at and find a better one. You will have cash in your hand and thats buying power.. My buddy picked up a super nice 86 930 that looked like a 94 965 with all the bells you can do to the car for 20k. Guy had 50k in receipts. I'm waiting of him to sell it to me for 15k

Mark Houghton

This pretty much describes most of us that got bitten (or at least me anyway). I paid probably more for mine that I should have - with the miles it had and not as complete a service documentation as I would have liked - but I really haven't regretted it. The car was, and still is, in absolutely excellent condition.

I had the money, I had a moment of insanity, and I had a need for an ageless classic and to quench some nostalgia from an earlier love affair with these cars. I don't intend to sell it (and would only lose money in today's market)unless a decade or two from now it becomes worth some astronomical amount of money and I become too lame to drive it anymore.