HEY GUYS. HERE IS A COPY OF THE PM I SENT HIM. IF ANY OF YOU OTHER "PREVIOUS PORSCHE OWNERS" WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOUR $.02, FEEL FREE...... Saw your post. Here is my advice. I am assuming you are young and are looking for your first "exotic car". I am offering you some advice based on what I did in my life so far. Forget about the Ferrari for now. Get a Porsche 911. They can be had for CHEAP and are AWESOME cars that will give you an introductory lesson in learning about exotic cars. Basically, when I graduated from school, I bought my first Porsche 911 the DAY after my trusty, rusty, 1985 Grand Am died on the freeway two weeks into my first "post college" job. I went and bought that 911 I had been eyeing up for weeks. Anyway, the 911 is THE best built, most reliable, sportscar in its class. The 1980's models can be had for cheap and are the best built of the Porsche motors IMO. I have owned two of them. Go to Autotrader and take a look at what you can get for under 11K. You would be suprised. The mileage will be higher, but that is a testament to how damn WELL they are built. You don't see Ferraris with 300,000+ miles. Porsches can get more mileage out of a motor than a fricken Honda!! Anyway, when I owned my Porsches I NEVER worried. In fact, I drove 14 hours home with my last one and there wasn't a single hiccup. I worry driving my damned Ferrari to the store!! They just are not reliable and that worries me. No problems yet (I bought the 328 which has THE most reliable motor in a Ferrari from what I have heard) but the worrying is killing me. In the years I owned Porsche 911s all I ever did was add oil, change oil, and add fuel. That's IT. With the Ferrari, I will probably spend $2000 per year just in preventative maintenance. And that is if NOTHING breaks. And I have a MINT condition Ferrari!! I averaged the money the previous owner spent per year on it to keep it up and it was $2500 per year!! Sucks. The 308 is even WORSE for maintenance since it is an earlier designed model. The 328 is an "improved" (internally, at least) 308 basically. Whoever told you the carbed cars are more desirable is full of ****. You should ask him if they are more desirable, then why are they CHEAPER?? (I guess they aren't cheaper than the EARLY FI cars though...) They are a pain in the ass to maintain and keep those carbs tuned. And they don't start half the time when they aren't tuned well. For you, the carbed car would be very UNDESIRABLE due to your lack of funds available for general maintenance. Now, when they ARE tuned well they are VERY nice and sound as good as ANYTHING!!! They will sound INCREDIBLE and will have more HP than their bretheren. But if you don't have the bucks to get it tuned every year, you are ****ed. It would have been 2 years before that car saw the road even if you had an unlimited budget. Parts are not easy to come by. Its not like other cars where you just make a call and order them. You have to plain FIND some of them sometimes. Get a 911. If you are young, you will be shocked at how many people will come up to you asking you how you afford it. And all that for CHEAP. I spent $11,000 on my first one and got a red 1980 SC with a BULLETPROOF 3.0 liter motor. It had a Targa top and was a GREAT little car. Got compliments galore. My last was a burgundy widebody 911 with a huge whale tail that was AWESOME. I bought the first at the age of 24 and the last at the age of 26. I am now 29 and got my first Ferrari a few months ago. Just so you know my story. Here's a link. Now I wouldn't tell you to BUY this car, but just giving you an idea of what is out there. http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=187621952&dealer_id=56764004&car_year=1986&make=POR&distance=0&lang=en&max_price=12000&model=911&end_year=2006&min_price=1&certified=&bkms=1125977204371&address=53532&search_type=both&advanced=&start_year=1981&isp=y&cardist=1637
In all fairness to that cars cost, its parts are worth enough to keep it up at $10K. The suspension, gearbox, most of the engine parts, possibly the heads if they didnt melt, are worth money. The interior is pretty fried, but perhaps the steering lock/ignition switch is salvageable. The front clip, grill, headlight buckets, bumper, the whole front of the car is useable as parts. It IS NOT a car to be restored today, as the the cost to repair it would exceed its value. 50 years from now could change that though. Just remember, the frame tubing has been burned and embrittled, making the integrity of the car questionable.
I honestly don't think the parts are worth more than $4K. And that is stretching it. I don't know what is worth money still on that car. I just would doubt (based on the pics) that there is anything of value in the motor. And who knows about the tranny?? Who knows. What I DO know is that, the "cost" of parting it out would REALLY chip away at that $4k price. Based of the look of the tires and wheels, I would guess that the brakes suck too. Just a guess. The front clip and the fenders and hood might be the only thing of value. I see the front turn signals are knocked out also. And the passenger side light housing looks damaged. It sits lower than it should. Which then begs the question as to what kind of condition are the hood and fenders in?? Probably BAD. I would guess there are NUMEROUS dents and things. Which significantly lowers the value even more. That might be as toasted of a car as I have ever seen in a 308. It DOES look like it was rear-ended. I wonder how the HECK this car is even being sold. Wonder what CARFAX says??
I wouldn't trust any electrical parts that came off that car, talk about a heat cycle. The car looks like the front clip can be saved. That's about it.
Since when does 911 == exotic? Certainly they're competent sports cars, but they're hardly rare or interesting. The stated budget is really too low to even support a Mondial really, maybe an early Lotus is a better bet if he wants a true exotic. I've seen running/driving S1 and S2s sell below 10K. I've also seen wedge TVRs selling in that range.
To the average Joe, a 911 would be considered an "exotic" in my opinion. It's not like I said a Corvette or anything....
Probably true. Everyone's driving white Ford Expedition/Explorers, Lexus/Camrys and Acura/Hondas. Any 911 up through the 993 is a borderline exotic. When I brought my 993 out to San Diego and registered it at the DMV, the clerk there (middle aged Asian lady) was really into it. To the general public, a 911 is up there. Corvettes are absolutely everywhere, in comparison.
...and you'll spend months (more probably years) having this car work performed and you won't even get to drive it until AFTER it is done. A friend had a "P" car and it was not cheap ($1000 for a clutch job) to maintain nor was it close to exotic. Remember that Porsche nearly went bankrupt in the early 90's until that consortium of Toyota Execs was hired to sort them out to produce the boxster and introduce "just in time" manufacturing techniques.
Ebay is a shady and scary place to buy a Ferrari (or anything else) sight unseen. This auction has two bidders already BOTH have zero feedback with one joining in Aug 2005 http://offer.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=4572612169 I'm not about to accuse anyone of shill bidding, but in the 9 years I've been on EBAY I've seen far worse things happen.
One thing I've never figured out about E-bay is why would the first bid be $101.00 and the second bid jump to $9000.00?? It seems crazy and makes this auction seem like a sham? This car is wasted and should not be rebuilt. If it was the last available 308 on the planet that would be one thing, but $9000.00??!
The reason Porsche almost went bankrupt in the early 90s was due to the C2 and C4. Those cars were notoriously horribly manufactured. Their trannies were JUNK and everyone found out quick. No one wanted to pay for a piece of junk for $80K+. Heck, those cars are STILL not worth more than their late 80s bretheren. Early 90s 911s can be JUNK.
I think you are being a little harsh here. 89-92 964's had problems with thier flywheels and engine oil leaks. Most would have been fixed by now. Otherwise, they are just as reliable as other 911's. As for pricing, the value of low mileage 87-89 Carrera's has shot up because they were the last of the classic 911's with torsion bars and the classic look. A 964 is a better car though.
Unless your a Ferrari mechanic and body specialist don't do it......you can buy a nice running car for what you will put into that one.....several for sale in ads section
Where is my sawzall??????????? I'll take the front clip, and both doors......ok, maybe the rear 1/4 panels... Crush the rest!
Probably am... With that being said, I would MUCH rather have a late 80s model than an early 90s. Although I think I could have a LOT of fun with that C4 on the track!!!
When my QV had a little "off road" excursion the rear deck had to be replaced....the part alone was $4500. When it arrived "factory fresh", it was bare metal, in rediculous shape.....wheel marks etc. My body shop had 30 hours + paint in the finishing, and another 40 hours trying to fit the thing as it was so far off. This looks like a 50-75K project. You can buy a beautiful carb 308 for $25K. Run Away! Dino
