Car valuation advice needed

Hi All, I regretfully have to sell my 911 as I'm selling my house and moving to a condo. I am looking for valuation advice. It is a 2004 40 Jahre with 90K miles. It has been diagnosed with scoring in two cylinders, burns about a quart of oil every 600-700 miles, and has a tick in the engine noticeable at idle. No smoking yet, and still pulls strong. The interior is mint, the exterior very good with some stone chips in the hood and a dimple in the back bumper. OEM wheels with minor corrosion but look great. Has new Bilstein dampers, water pump, and fresh brakes & rotors. Since buying it two years ago I have been taking all the recommended steps to stave off further damage, but know that the engine is on borrowed time. Question is, what's a reasonable asking price for the car? The value seems to be greater than that of a roller, but what interest would be there if I ask more than what a roller is worth?

Quotes source post: 19744517

being a 40 Jahre, its probably worth more to the right person to save it. The question would be around the engine condition, I think - does it qualify for a core exchange from Porsche for a small block or from Vertex for a full reman exchange or can it be rebuilt by someone like Slakker Racing? If it doesn't qualify as a core exchange, the car is basically a roller IMHO, although a great starting point being a limited edition car.

Value is always hard to judge. In reality and I have sold hundreds of cars it�s whatever you can get for it. Unfortunately with an engine rebuild being so pricey for a 996 selling it will be difficult. Difficult means lower number. Plus it sounds like you actually want it to sell so I would price aggressively.

That roller sitting on PCA for so long is disheartening but about what I expected. Funny thing about an M96 short block. I contacted the Porsche Classic dealer in my state about doing this. The service Mgr did everything he could to avoid giving me an estimate, first with vague numbers then not returning phone calls. When I finally caught him on the phone he blurted out $80k.(I felt like he picked that number to get rid of me.) This over several months so I don't think I was hounding him. Maybe I get the Slakker engine then sell it. A no-win situation.

�The service Mgr did everything he could to avoid giving me an estimate, first with vague numbers then not returning phone calls. When I finally caught him on the phone he blurted out $80k.(I felt like he picked that number to get rid of me.)� Yeah, ^^^that guy^^^ is clearly a d*ick!!! I�d have a talk with the general manager if I were you� Maybe even call another �local� Porsche dealer. You can get a properly done rebuild with nickies, forged rods & pistons, head work, etc. for $25 - $35k(depending on displacement and other variables) so $80k for a short block is nothing short of absolute stupidity. Good luck - hope you get it figured out

To spend $40k on a slakker motor then sell the car is foolish unless your keeping it sell the roller and invest the motor money on another good running Porsche

Autoatlanta has short locks listed for around $10k�

Quotes source post: 19745262

Give Rick Fischer a call tomorrow at Fischer Motorsports in Barrington. He just did a short block for another Rennlister for a very good price.

If you keep an eye up on CoPart site insurance companies are totaling out 996 cars for various reasons sometimes a minor hit, engines usually OK and can be a source for an alternative option. Rich

Quotes source post: 19744517

The 40 Jahre's x51 345HP M96/03S engine is what makes a 40 Jahre. Yours is busted, really sorry for you, that really suks... JFYI, some Porsche x51 trivia... A few expensive differences from the regular 3.6 m96. The heads are different, the valves are different, cams different, intake is different, compression ratio is different. x51 DME is calibrated for all these parts. These are a few of the main things I remember.. Not sure if the CR is determined from the different head or the pistons..? IIRR, also read somewhere the x51 had, different sump baffles, different sump, and additional oil pump and oil lines..? Maybe someone that knows more about these x51 differences can chime in. That brings us to more than likely considerably more expensive x51 rebuild & x51 parts than a run of the mill m96... Rebuild of any m96 engine after bore score has circulated aluminum grit thru out the engine/heads for a considerable amount of time/mileage, will need an extensive, expensive rebuild. The x51 should be built by someone that knows this engines differences, & with real x51 parts if one wants to keep the car a real 40 Jahre.The #'s stamped into the block and heads tells the story... IMHO, Taking this car on even as a roller, that will be rebuilt as a 40 Jahre is a real gamble without tearing down engine and seeing what damage is done. And what parts can be reused/reconditioned.... On the other hand, a oem x51 engine makes a respectable amount of power compared to a 3.4 or even a 3.6. It is the pinnacle of the m96 engines . So a extensive meticulous rebuild might be warranted for many Porsche guys... If I was ever going to build a m96 car, the x51 Jahre would be the one. The one that deserves a meticulous, perfectly balanced, documented, rebuild with some nice big bore nik'd cylinders/etc.... The only 2000 built, m96 car that maybe has the most potential to be of real value in the future. My point is, a regular 3.6 will get the car going for sure, but for the purist among us, it won't be the more valuable 40 Jahre any longer.

Quotes source post: 19744517

IMHO, the general buyer pool won't know the unique performance characteristics of the 40AE. To them, it "looks" no different than any other 996 coupe. I know this from personal experience. Two popped up in my area in the low 20s. Both had about the same amount of miles that your car has, but I didn't move forward with an offer. Part of me has regret because they are beautiful cars inside and out. My gut feeling was the engine would need to be rebuilt, but both sellers had no clue about cylinder bore scoring and IMS bearing failure on these engines. My advice would be to present all documentation (i.e. Carfax, DME report, sevice history and images of cylinder scoring) and be completely upfront about the engine with potential buyers. It's fair game to say something like, "The rare Porsche X51 engine in this ad runs strong with no loss of power throughout all gears, but after recent engine inspection, the Porsche mechanic noted that cylinders 5 & 6 have the onset of cylinder scoring. Please review attached images. The engine does not exhibit a CEL and has good vitals per the DME report. The engine consumes about a quart of oil per every 600-700 miles which is still within normal consumption range. The buyer of this Porsche 40AE should plan to have the X51 engine rebuilt in the future to protect your investment and mitigate the chances of catastrophic engine failure..." Full disclosure is the key when describing the condition of the car and engine. When listing it, be sure to note the X51 engine and why the car would be worth the investment down the road. Don't be a Debbie Downer about the car, but again don't hide the facts. I'm not sure what you have in the car, but try to at least break even OR just keep the car and rebuild the engine.

OP - Keep it or sell it? The car is no longer a serious collectible. It is a serious sports car, no matter. You either build the motor to keep or sell a running roller. I see two options if you want to keep it: 1) Stay original at a 3.6 and have LN do the work on block, heads to Len Hoffman, etc. 2) Send the car to Brandon’s shop (Slakker) and have the full treatment displacement increase, big sump, etc. First option is more purist, second more driver. You’ll never sell it for what you put in, but I’m willing to bet your money that you’d be hard pressed to find a more capable car for anywhere close to what you’d have in it with a healthy engine. Sell it and maybe you find a buyer who wants to up-engine the car anyway. I have a 3.8 rebuild (IMSB casualty) in my regular old 02 C2 and have spent on aero and suspension, as well. Newer M2s and RC-Fs, C8s, pony cars have more horses, but I can still put them in my rear view mirror. I often look at other newer cars, but I’m still happy with what’s in my garage. Good luck!

I'll chime in as I was in a somewhat similar situation and am a current 40AE car owner. My car was a bit of a basket case as it had a partial X51 package - did not have the heads but did have all the other bits. I purchased the car knowing this and used it as a part of the negotiation. All the other things that make the 40AE different / "special" including the FULL leather interior (includes even the pillars), LSD, sport suspension, better cooling via larger rads and etc were the reasons why I purchased it anyway. Fast forward 3yrs into my ownership, I did a rebuild working with Brandon from Slakker and upgraded the motor to a 4.1L displacement. While the X51 package, including the heads, make a noticeable difference from a standard M96, the difference would not have been as great if rebuilding the entire motor with a displacement bump. I had the option to upgrade back to X51 heads but the benefits in terms of power were too small to justify the additional cost. After the rebuild, the engine would not be a true X51 anyway and with the custom tune the motor makes GT3 level HP figures with even more torque. At the end of the day only 800 40AE cars were sold to US and not all of them are around anymore. The 40AE is a fantastic platform to build on so I would value it a bit higher than a standard C2 Carrera. How much, I don't know. If you were to keep the car, I'd highly recommend working with Brandon to evaluate your options. It's possible the engine is not a total write off as well. Mine was also burning oil at similar rate and had some piston damage (whole other story) but we were able to complete the rebuild.

@hatchetf15 I�m curious why you categorize the two build options differently? Why wouldn�t the LN/Hoffman combo be a good �driver� as well? I think you could upsize the engine when going with LN.

Quotes source post: 19746800

The first option would be keeping a more “original” 3.6 X51 mostly classic/stock, except with better longevity adding the cylinder coating and stronger internals.

I love all the "keep the car" comments...his very first post says he is moving into a condo and can't keep it. OP, if that truly is your only course of action available, I agree with ZuffenZeus. Just be honest. Pick a range (which a few previous posts have done) - higher than a roller, lower than a car without bore scoring, and list it. Market will let you know pretty quick if it is too high (or too low )

Quotes source post: 19747100

... and if you just don't want to deal with it and would rather have a quick check in hand, Carvana will let you detail an engine issue and still buy your car. It might be good enough to just get out of it if you want. You can do it all online, at the very least it'll give you an indicative value.

Thanks to all for your input! Based upon the "keep it" comments I did reassess, and found a corner outdoor secure parking spot that's not too far away. I'm now looking for a great car cover, and have narrowed it down to CA Car Cover Superweave or Covercraft Weathershield HP. I'm now considering an engine rebuild. The idea of keeping it a stock X51 vs an overbore Slakker or FSI has got me thinking. My car still has fairly good pull, damage and all. Would an X51-spec fresh engine be that much different? I also notice that while FSI Stage I & Stage II blocks go from 3.6-3.8L, Slakker goes all the way to 4.1. I'd think that would be a strong point in Slakker's favor, but perhaps also makes it less reliable?

The FSI website is out of date. I'd recommend opening a ticket through their ticketing system to get the latest information. I don't think they're doing any 3.6 -> 3.6 or 3.6 -> 3.8 builds anymore. It's all 4.0 and up.

Pretty sure FSI does 4.0L fairly regularly unless you want to keep the stock displacement. Slakker does 4.1 as the most popular option. I actually considered keeping the stock displacement for a short bit but the cost to go to 4.1L was so little for so much benefit it would make no sense not to go that way. Any rebuild you do, especially with nikasil cylinders will only increase dependability. I have close to 8k miles on my rebuild since May.

Quotes source post: 19753374

Awesome news about the parking spot! Regarding the engine rebuild, the Slakker 4.1L is a hardened endurance racing engine based on Hartech's closed deck cylinders that's refined enough for street and hardened enough for track. We completely mill out the old cylinders and install Hartech's replacement cylinder kits, essentially locking in the cylinders from top to bottom while increasing both cooling surface area and flow. I'll be in Willows, CA this weekend supporting a Slakker 4.1L 987.1 pushing 409hp, equipped with a Motec M150 ECU we've set up and tuned for the 1000 Miles of Thunderhill. All of this to say that there is no trade off for reliability with our 4.1L.

Quotes source post: 19747952

Thanks for the info about Carvana. I have my Targa listed for sale and the offer isn't too bad. Certainly lower than private party, but it's definitely tempting.

Quotes source post: 19754821

Yes, FSI does 4.0 and larger builds. Definitely go with larger displacement, it�s not a pristine collectible.

To me the 40AE/X51 would be no less valuable with a displacement increase when rebuilding the engine...( 4.0 /4.1 or whatever) Also FWIW the 996.2 X51 components are all the "top end" components ..ie .heads, cams,valves, intake...The bottom end is the same as the regular 3.6 save the X51 oil pan baffles...Plus the headers are larger .. On the other hand the 996.1 X51 ( rare) all the "Top End" components are different PLUS it has the dual scavenge pump on bank 2 ( the 996.2 x51 didn't have this) ... also on the bottom end pistons were changed ( only just for more valve clearance from the high lift cams...).. So basically the 996.1 had the additional Scavenge pump on bank 2 plus pistons with notches for valve clearance...all other x51 components were equal.. The 996.1 X51 engine was planed to be used in competition if the GT3 engine had any issues..( little known fact)

I wonder how long these posts will be allowed to stay up.

Do the Audi switch.....seems to be the thing most are doing now I guess. Don't know much about to but have heard that some are taking the Audi 6 cyclinder turbo and building them to like 450+ hp's and dropping them in 996's.

Quotes source post: 19760746

I read about that. Very interesting approach. Decided against it because a) I don't wrench myself and b) I would not be local to the shop that does this.