New and need help

[Brian in Tucson]

Originally Posted by jccash

In Florida you can buy very nice 986’s for $8-$12k all day long.


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Tucson, too. But what would be the fun in that?

[Unholy986]

OK, here's what I've found out. Car doesn't look too bad considering age, paint faded, but salvageable. interior can work with. Did try to start the car and no movement from Tach. Leads me to believe the crank sensor as I believe this also sends a signal to the fuel relay as well. Current owner also believes its the sensor as he already has the part, but no desire or time to install as hes moving across country with the Air Force.
He stated that he has already, in the past 7yrs, replaced many items such as the O2, water pump, belts, etc...

All electronics seemed to work, top worked.

I believe I can buy for $2000 as is. I'm sure I can get it running as I do work on a lot of cars, but how well it runs, drives, shifts, after is the unknown.

Tell me this, if I do sink $2K into it, worst case and it doesn't run as should, how hard would it be to get $2K back out of it?

I am an electrical engineer by trade and the electronics portion of these cars don't scare me much.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Unholy986

Tell me this, if I do sink $2K into it, worst case and it doesn't run as should, how hard would it be to get $2K back out of it?

It really depends on the total cost of the list of items that need repair.

Worst case: if the car needs a replacement engine, replacement transmission, and complete suspension refresh, the total repair bill could be over $10K which means that the car is worth close to $0 as it sits.

Best case: All it needs is a CPS replacement and you got a nice $6K car for a little over $2K.

Or anywhere in between those two extremes.

But regardless of what it needs, you could probably sell it to a salvage yard for $2K so there might be a bit of a safety net built into the deal.

I will say that its rare for a seller to not install a $100 part that he already has that would instantly increase the value of the car that he's selling by $3K-$4K. Is he completely stupid or lying? I would tend to vote for lying because I don't think that anyone is that stupid, but I could be wrong.

Bottom line: It's a roll of the dice.

Do ya feel lucky? ...

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by thstone

It really depends on the total cost of the list of items that need repair.

Worst case: if the car needs a replacement engine, replacement transmission, and complete suspension refresh, the total repair bill could be over $10K which means that the car is worth close to $0 as it sits.

Best case: All it needs is a CPS replacement and you got a nice $6K car for a little over $2K.

Or anywhere in between those two extremes.

But regardless of what it needs, you could probably sell it to a salvage yard for $2K so there might be a bit of a safety net built into the deal.

I will say that its rare for a seller to not install a $100 part that he already has that would instantly increase the value of the car that he's selling by $3K-$4K. Is he completely stupid or lying? I would tend to vote for lying because I don't think that anyone is that stupid, but I could be wrong.

Bottom line: It's a roll of the dice.

Do ya feel lucky? ...

Yes. You could be wrong. My 86 has parts that, if installed, would grant me an extra couple grand. Pennie parts. I simply don't care about the financial loss. Some people don't. Some live on the edge, and that extra $327.86 just does't matter so much as moving across the country.

When I was younger, and I had a car to sell that I tired of... I courted the tirekickers. Many of them seemed a little suspicious of how meticulous I kept my vehicles, and some even suggested that I might be lying... and detailing to cover hidden problems. I told them to f*ck off, and leave my yard.

Have a nice day.