Buying Tips
Lets start with Mileage...
A low mileage car is worth more than a high mileage car? Yes, this is a fact,
but is it better and more reliable? Not always.
The first thing you will learn is that you have to buy your car on condition
and not mileage. A car with 70,000 miles that has been more or less serviced
every 15,000 miles (give or take) is not better than a 120,000 Mile car that
has been to an Official Porsche Centre all its life and had an engine rebuild
at 90,000 miles.
Many high mile Porsches are so because of motorway mileage, this type of mileage
is not so much of a strain on the engine and in many cases high mileage well
looked after cars offer great value.
Remember buy on condition...
Bodywork
Most cars that are 10-15 years old will not have perfect paint. We, however,
prefer to have any bodywork done before we sell the car. We don’t mean
damage, more like a bonnet with stone chips etc.
We like our cars to look as good as possible even if it means less profit.
Having our own body shop makes this viable. Some dealers will spend as little
as possible on their stock as it reduces profit but we do not work on that philosophy.
Most of our cars will have very good bodywork if not perfect. If it’s
50/50 or needs fixing we will do it...
Model Information
The Porsche 911 964; it’s a car that feels much more modern and refined
than the 911 3.2 it replaced, yet it largely retained the wonderful classic
style of the original 911. Indeed, the 964 doesn’t feel that much different
to the 993, the 911 that came after it, and which is more sought after but much
more expensive to buy.
The cost? Well, here in the United Kingdom a 964 could be
yours for as little as £13,000 if you don’t mind left-hand drive.
Decent right-hand drive’s start at around £17,000. Cheaper 911’s
are available but there are some points that need looking into or your 911 could
soon become a money pit.
The 964 was built from 1989 to 1993. At the time of its launch it was claimed
by Porsche to be 87 per cent new compared with the Carrera 3.2, the main reason
being the inclusion of much technology from the 959 supercar, not least the
four-wheel-drive transmission. Other advances over the Carrera 3.2 included
coilspring suspension, anti-lock brakes, and an electronically controlled heating
system. The 911, at long last, was in danger of actually seeming quite
modern.
Although the basic 911 body shape remained unchanged (at least on the surface;
underneath it was much altered to accommodate the new suspension and transmission),
it now featured deformable front and rear bumpers, and a neat retractable spoiler.
This last item raised automatically at 50mph to give much-needed downforce,
and it also aided engine cooling. It then retracted when the car’s speed
dropped below 7mph, so the 911’s classic profile was maintained. It
was a neat trick that earned the new car a lot of attention.
The engine, too, was updated. Still loosely based on that of the Carrera 3.2,
it was increased in capacity to 3.6 litres. Dual distributors fed two spark
plugs per cylinder; these were claimed to improve combustion efficiency and
thus allow the ignition timing to be retarded, allowing the engine to run on
95-octane fuel even though the compression ratio was still a relatively high
11.3:1.
The cylinder heads were new, and featured ceramic liners for the exhaust ports,
claimed to reduce head temperatures by as much as 40 degrees Celsius. Cooling
was further improved by a 12-blade fan, while an enlarged front-mounted oil-cooler
eliminated the need for an engine-mounted cooler as in the previous cars.
A new Bosch Motronic engine-management system looked after both the ignition
and fuelinjection systems. Maximum power was claimed to be 250bhp at 6100rpm
– a useful increase over the Carrera 3.2’s 231bhp.
In the case of the Carrera 4 – the first 964 to appear – power was
fed to all four wheels via Porsche’s all-new G64 gearbox, and a viscous-coupling
centre differential with a rear-biased torque split. The rear-drive version,
the Carrera 2, appeared in 1990, this using an updated version of the G50 gearbox
from the Carrera 3.2.
Also in 1990 came the Targa and Cabriolet, both models available
in two and four-wheel-drive forms. And in the same year Tiptronic transmission
was offered for the first time in a 911, with fully automatic and semi-automatic
sequential modes. Tiptronic was available only in the Carrera 2, though.
The 964 had a relatively short production life, being discontinued after just
four years, at the end of 1993. It was replaced by the 993, which benefited
from a significantly restyled body, a six-speed gearbox, new rear suspension,
and slightly more power.
Values
Porsche 996
My least favorite car, and with good reason. The change to water cooled engines
killed off the escence the Porsche marque and is a completely different driving
experience. If you are an incompetent city trader (the good ones have Ferraris,
why?) or a successful estate agent you will probably want one of these. Boring.
1994 to 1997 - 993 Carrera 2/4
There is a big premium for the latest models but there is much more value
in the earlier 993’s. There is not that much price difference between
L and M plates. LHD is generally £3-5K less. Mileage is more important
to the value than the older cars but don’t be fooled these engines last
forever. Well looked after, high mileage cars offer the best value.
1989 to 1993 - 964 Carrera 2/4
1989-1991 (G and H plates) are about the same money, slightly more for a J-reg.
K-reg still demands a premium. History is very important, I would want to see
invoices, some evidence of money that has been spent or both. You can easily
buy a 964 and land yourself a £4,000+ engine rebuild bill if you are not
careful. Some people will only buy a car with a recently rebuilt engine for
peace of mind. When it comes to these cars spend your upper limit not your lower
one, you will be paid back over the course of your ownership.
1984-1989 - 911 3.2 Carrera
The older they get the more you have to ignore number of previous owners and
mileage etc. Buy on condition. If it is good, it is good. Simple as that.
A file of receipts showing that the money has been spent is much better than
a low mileage car with the stamps in the book but no sign of paper work to
back it up. Therefore you can find an early car that is worth much more than
a later one.
For older cars, use the same advice as the 3.2.
964 RS
Arguably the best ‘drivers car’ ever made. Drive one and you’ll
see what I mean. Prices of these however are going up and not down, Got any
spare cash? This car will perform better than you ISA ever will. Up about
£8K in the last 18 months!! Good ones start at £32,000! A definite
future classic.
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