Considering buying an 89 911

I have been considering an older model 911 and found a local guy selling a 89 (purchased from Original owner) with 90k miles. Its white coupe. According to description from seller has some wheel rash, body dents/dings, interior is fine. Engine is fine and clutch is fine (according to seller). I will find out more details later today I hope. He is asking $14,500 and he considers it a bargain. Sorry no pics at this time I already posted some questions on the Aircooled section but wanted to share with you guys as I noticed some of you folks own or have owned these older versions. I am assuming services will be needed and assuming the cosmetic stuff is not as bad is the price reasonable? I saw last year a White 89 with 100k miles (original ower) sold from dealer for $14,000. What do you air cooled guys think?

I sold my 85 targa with 112K on it for 12,500 this past September. Mine was in pretty good shape but had flaws. I think the guy got a great deal from me. The 89 has a log of advancements from he 85. So that sounds like a pretty good deal. Just make sure you get a pre sale inspection.

That car would have the G50 transmission. That and the 3.2 engine are pretty bullet proof. The '86 Carrera that I had didn't have the G50. It came on '87 and on. I sold mine 3 years ago with 86K miles for $20K. Still keeping the 996?

Quotes source posts: 8294560, 8294631

Thanks for info on price. Yes, I will be doing PPI Keeping the 996

89 = great car rear tail only good with front lip 90k miles - good dent? - what! - not if they are significant, repairing is not trivial $$$ if you can live with it OK but repairing is a lot of $, think re-sale too, might be hard to sell when you have had your fill and start looking for an 86' re-done fuch's - that CAN make them very ugly if not done right, like a bad paint job no paperwork history - I'm done....see ya later! even if you can live with it you will never sell the car to a real Porsche enthusiast - not gonna happen without paper history 14.5 is a fair price, maybe even a tad low - so if you can have fun and remember it will be tough to re-sell (read - sell low price) you might be OK... make a track rat out of it - sure! keep in mind its a $25k car, so you will be spending money to make the things right, or buy one that already is right

back on my paperwork soapbox let me tell you the value of that in my case, I was planning to change to Turbo tie rods, dug in the paper and found it already had been done (saved $$ on parts AND an alignment), was going to change the fuel filter... dug, OH... changed 10k miles ago. Leak down, oh... there is the last one (compair to the current) valve adjust.... hmmm, not that long ago, I opted to go and do this anyhow... I have a record of every oil change....since day 1!, new this and that, prices - labor, who did it, when.... where the car came from, how much it sold for to each of the owners, manuals for aftermarket parts, the book is invaluable to me - it has saved me $ and worry, and I know exactly what I have loosing that would hurt my car's value by many $1000's - trust me on this one

Thanks guys for the feedback on this subject. I went to see the car yesterday and met with seller. He used to work for Porsche as a mechanic and told me he purchased from original seller in NY and shipped last year to CA. Car has no rust and is not in showroom but engine sounded fine, oil was clean. Problem I had besides the cosmetics was that there was no records and I agree with Ivangene about resale value. I thought was a good deal if car was in a little bit better shape. I also found these 2 close to home - 85 - http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/2210539191.html Spoke with the owner and work was performed by him. He had receipts/records of parts, etc. Interesting color and love the wheels. 84 - http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/2210263924.html Love the red but not sure on price Both had higher miles but I guess if the required services were done I guess if price is right maybe?

red Porsche's are ugly you really need to venture over to the aircooled 911 forum to get good inputs on these....I know its tough, this board is so fun.... but you must

'84 all the way. If you take a look at make sure to pull the carpet up in the frunk, remove the plastic caps at the jacking points and look real good around the windshield molding. All tell tales for cancer. Whale tail and front spoiler on a mid 80's 911 is the most recognizable car on earth.

I like the brown one unique color - but that tan interior is tough to keep nice, looks great when its clean, for some reason I have troubles with photobucket pics on my PC, never opens them? anyhow the 84 has lots of pics in the link....missing front spoiler to ballance out the rear - like putting a GT2 wing on a NB 996 the red one seems like the guy knows the car and is not embarresed to show every detail...lots of pics, just opened some

Quotes source post: 8296458

I did already... wish me luck!! I will be right back...

Lots of upgrades between 84/85 and 89... Hvac improvements, G50 transmission, etc. And as the last Carrera year the 89s have a bit more cache. If the white car is a dog you should walk. But at 14.5 it could be a good car to start with and bring back to perfect condition over time.

just a word of caution if others haven't mentioned it. an air cooled car can empty your wallet just as fast, if not faster then a water pumper. buy cheap, get cheap.

89 would be my choice of the 911.... its really the last of the 911's. Lots of upgrades, mostly because of the legendary g50 and 3.2 combo.

huge threads RE: the G-50 vs the 915 - most would say the 915 isnt worth avoiding, in fact it is pretty damn great....the debate will never end much like the MKI vs MKII (or other)

'89 had the G50 and other technical upgrades of the '87 and '88, and was rated at 214 HP as I recall from memory. '84-'86 were rated at 207HP in US trim ('m too lazy to look it up right now). In 1989, Porsche included over a dozen items as standard equipment that were options on previous years (including '87 and '88), such as power mirrors, power door locks, power windows, standard 16" Fuchs rims (6" fr, 8" rr), and much more. In '88 and earlier, 15" rims were still the standard size, though 16" became available as an option. '88 and earlier standard wheel widths were 6" fr and 7" rr. I was the lucky guy who got the very last '89 911 Targa. It was a special order, We picked it up at the factory in July 1989, and my wife and I spent the next three weeks driving it through Europe, then shipped it home. I thought I would keep that car forever... until the '93 RSAmerica arrived, and the honeymoon was over (still married to same wife, though). I often wonder whatever became of that car after I traded (traitored?) it in for that new RSA. I ordered it in Grand Prix White, with blue interior, sport seats with blue plaid fabric inserts (hot, sweaty, leather seemed very wrong for an "open" car), M030 suspension, limited slip, raised steering wheel hub, short shifter linkage, rear window wiper, wheels painted white with matching caps and cloisonne crests, and (what I'm certain will cause plenty of controversy here), front spoiler only. Absolutely no issues on the Autobahn in that odd spoiler configuration, probably because the Targa roof design was enough of downforce all by itself with all that extra glass weight back there over the engine.

Just reading and I want to go topless in my 87 Targa (near 80 F highs this week). Maybe just to hear her scream for a (long) while. Not sure if I would rather take it over the 996 to Daytona (to see some good ol boys have it out), not to mention what we call the triangle, south from Tampa then to Daytona and back (or clockwise too). Regards,

I have owned my 86 coupe for 7 years and I will never ever sell it. My 86 has the 915 tranny and it's great don't know why it has such a bad rap.

Update - after agreeing to a price seller decided to pull off market and decided not to sell at all... bummer I guess he realized he will miss his 911 Hope I find the ONE someday