Why so many engine rebuilds

dave allen · 22 Oct 2004

Hi all

I am new to the sight and am just starting to do my research before I go out and look for a 911. I don't want to spend more than £20,000, and if I can away with less I will be VERY happy.

My question is why are there so many 964's for sale with 'full engine rebuilds' at what appears to be a cost of 5-7,000- some with as little as 60,000 miles. One of my reasons for buying a 14 year old Porsche vs a newer mass production sports car is that they should be built better and threfore age and high mileage becomes less of an issue--- condition being everything.

If I see a nice 964 without an engine rebuld should I budget for having to do one soon ? If the engine is rebuilt by a reputable specialist should it then go on for every if serviced, or is it a rebuild every 60-100,000 miles?

lastly regarding price is there an accepted rule of thumb difference in proce between identical condition LHR and RHD cars ?

Apologies if these are common or stupid questions.

thanks dave

Migration info. Legacy thread was 19718

Jamie Summers · 22 Oct 2004

Top end rebuilds are fairly common at around the 100K mark - sometimes earlier, but it all depends on how the car has been used. Short journeys which don't let the engine get up to proper operating temp are v. bad for engines and cause excess wear. That said there are plenty of 911s around with 200K plus miles and no need for a rebuild. The valve stems are prone to wear and piston rings do too over time. A decent rebuild should be good for another 100k miles or more, but again dependent upon use.

As for price lhd v rhd - on a 964 you should look to a saving of c. £3K to £5K for similar condition / spec etc. Some people claim the lhd discount should be as high as £7K but in the real world it never seems to be that big. Definitely do consider lhd, there's a lot to be said for it. £20,000 can put you in a very respectable early lhd 993 !

Jamie

Migration info. Legacy thread was 19724

giles saville · 22 Oct 2004

As Jamie said rebuilds seem to depend upon how the car was used and when it was built. Early 964's are renowned (probably unfairly) for leaking cyclinder heads as a result of the lack of cyclinder head gaskets in the 89/90 cars. The later cars 91+ have this issue (and others) sorted by addition of said gaskets/seals and seem to suffer far less from oil leaks. The seriousness of these leaks seems to often dictate when rebuilds are needed. My LHD 964 is a 92 and having just had its 24k service is as dry as a bone and the engine feels very strong with good oil pressure throughout. My car has FOPSH and 85k on the clock and i hope (and expect) it to go well into the 100k+ area before such measures are needed (if ever). Many delaers i looked at had cars with 100k+ and were of the opinion that rebuilds were a long way off.

I also had a budget of about 18k when i looked and went for a later 92 LHD car over RHD as i found the LHD are often very well looked after and of the same or higher spec for less money. I spent 17.5k on my car and would expect to get atleast 15.5k for it now whilst an equivalent RHD of the same spec/history/condition would probably go for 18-20k esp from a dealer. You might squeeze into a early LHD 993 for 20k but i think it would be a struggle!! LDH is no problem atall driving in the UK and the only issue is hassle with car parking booths!!

Good luck with the search!

Migration info. Legacy thread was 19728

giles saville · 22 Oct 2004

p.s try the sites below if you have not already and you will know all there is to about the 964 and +/- points. I'm very happy with mine though in truth i'd have a 993 (esp turbo look) at the drop of a hat if i had the means!

www.rennlist.com

www.porsche964.co.uk

www.smartgroups.com
and search for the 964 group.

lastly you need to consider whilst 993 are newer cars and superior in some ways they do tend to command a 10k premium for a really very similar experience!!

Migration info. Legacy thread was 19729

Why so many engine rebuilds

dave allen

New member

Jamie Summers

Sao Paulo

giles saville

New member

giles saville

New member

Similar threads

Latest posts

New Threads

Porsche Model Range

Porsche 911

Porsche Hypercars

Other Current Porsche Model

Porsche Legacy Models

Forum statistics