Bad cars everywhere. Is it just me?

[LiveFromNY]

I'm either having really bad luck or I just have a lot to learn about these early cars.

I'm new to these cars but a longtime Porsche collector. I just recently decided to add a couple long hoods to my collection and I'm really beginning to appreciate these cars for the pure driving experience they offer. I got lucky on my first car - well taken car of, a time capsule really. It's a special car and I don't expect to get that lucky every time. But since then I've looked at four other cars and paid for four inspections. All looked like solid cars and I expected all to pass a PPI. But none did. And, trust me, I'm not being overly picky. I'm a car guy and I understand what happens to cars over 50 years.

I guess I'm surprised because this is so different for me. I've probably paid for 15 air-cooled PPI's prior to this and only twice have I had an issue that stopped me from buying the car. And now 4 in a row? Can someone with more experience in the early cars tell me - is this normal? Should I expect to look this hard to find a solid car? Does the fact that these cars are 10-20 years older then what I usually buy make that big of a difference?

[mrgreenjeans]

YES, most of the cars anywhere outside of the s.w. are really prone to being rusty.

unless they have been hidden away from nearly day one in a musty old barn.

Then you have vermin

[luke-44]

Very nice collection, John. I can't wait to be able to expand my garage space - we have a lot of similarity in taste. I would suggest trying some of the more renowned sellers. I'm fairly new to the longnoses as well but I seem to hear repeatedly good things about Rhodes Scholars and Autokennel. Good luck with the hunt.

[LiveFromNY]

Very nice collection, John. I can't wait to be able to expand my garage space - we have a lot of similarity in taste. I would suggest trying some of the more renowned sellers. I'm fairly new to the longnoses as well but I seem to hear repeatedly good things about Rhodes Scholars and Autokennel. Good luck with the hunt.

That's a good suggestion. Maybe I need to aim a little higher.

I just had a car inspected that was being sold by what I consider to be a fairly well-respected dealer here in TX. The car failed badly. The dealer then inspected it themselves. Yes, they said, there are some issues but it's not as bad as your mechanic stated and they offered me a discount. I told them how about you fix the car and I'll pay the original price? Nope. Take it as is or leave it. What does that tell me? They don't want to fix the car either because my mechanic might be right.

Sigh

[69S-S/R]

PM sent. Thanks.

[Louie]

for long hoods...everyone pays retail for a decent car. The deals are long gone. Just wait for more auction results to see how much these little cars have increased in value over the last 12 months. $150k is the new normal for a nice later model S. There have been 2-3 67S prices in the last 12 months for over $200k (I have been told). Others on this site know the market vastly better vs me and hopefully will chime in.

If you are looking for investment grade early 911Ses do yourself a favor and only buy cars that are all there. The parts have hard to find and not cheap. Marconi on this site has a very very nice 69S (if it hasn't sold already). Assume that unless the car has been freshly restored (correctly) that it has rust. They all have rust.

Maybe consider 'newer' air cooled 911s. People LOVE their 964s....

I drove a 89 Speedster the other day. Seriously fun car. I was literally about the write the check when it sold to another buyer....

[Macroni]

Louie,
Thanks for the shout out. It is sold and the buyer got more than he paid for.

NY,
Watch this board and be patient. Cars, nice cars are out there. I also would only let an area expert (example: Rick Cabel in New England, Ed Mayo in Texas, Tony Gerace in S. CA.) do your PPIs. They know good cars and have the ability to look beyond a superficial situation which might disqualify an excellent long term prospect. Also what are you looking for T,E or S, S/R, another targa?

Let the board help we all know where the hidden cars are.

Luke

[beh911]

What you are observing is symptomatic of market conditions discussed on the golden green 69S thread.

I think we are also seeing a lot of cars come to market that are at key points in the 'resurrection' (major mechanicals, oops too much rust for me, wow these things are time and money sinks)

Then you have the opportunists just trying to cash in on the run up in values and are pulling them out of lakes to get them to market, sometimes painting them while still wet. If you follow me.

Just hang tight. People with good cars are watching the market as well. Good ones will show up over time

[Ant22]

Having bought in the last 6 months I can share the advice I received. Buy on what you can see, an unrestored car won't hide as much as a restored car might (reference 72 targa E bought in St Louis). The inspections said it was a great car but needed lots if little things done as it had been stored for 10 years. Cue engine, gearbox & brake rebuilds ... no point doing half of the job. At least I know all has been done right.
Another consideration ... matching numbers cars are sky rocketing in value, if you are looking for a car not necessarily investment, buying a non matching numbers car is a lot cheaper & many are super cool hot-rods that have been worked on for many years by really passionate enthusiasts.
Good luck.

[Dmill]

It's true..there really aren't any good old 911's out there.....I personally wouldn't buy any of them...they all suck...they are all rusty as heck...and most are unsafe to drive as the bodies are paper thin or the rust has compromised the car in some fashion....they break down all the time are impossible to maintain, you can't find any parts and all the people who own them are a bunch of know it all jerks who aren't very friendly...If I were you, I would abandon my search and buy something much more fun to drive like a Ferrari....plus those folks are much more fun to hang around with and one big advangage of a Ferrari over an old Porsche...you can actually use them they aren't just lawn ornaments like the old Porsches are...plus, the old Porsche leak oil all the time....I would venture to bet that in a couple of years the EPA will ban them from public roads..