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Looking at getting a new car, a porsche 968 looking at 2 but they're the exact opposite , one is 120k miles at £7000 vs a 65k miles at £12,000. So whats peoples opinion invest all my cash in the mint example or save a fortune with enough to fix any problems when they occur. Or wait and find one with averge milage at an average price?
age and relative specs?
both 1993 coupes specs are pretty much identical
If you can afford it i'd say go for the £12k one, lovely cars!
If there are newish tyres, brakes and sevice components and lots of evidence of good maintenance then I would be tempted by the cheaper one.
You really need to go and see/drive them both.
Agree that you have to see both and see what needs to be fixed and factor this into the price of both and what is the actual history re where serviced, how many owners etc. Also how long are you keeping it for / expected mileage as that might affect the resale value - most people will go for the lower mileage example. Also when are any cam belts etc. to be changed?
I agree with CHB & the others, see which one looks better maintained. Does the service book have all the stamps. 120k isn't a lot for a well maintained car, equally if you try hard enough you can fubar an engine in less then ten miles.
Don't count on saving money by buying the cheapo - big repairs won't some cheap, even on an old car.
My car is 12 years old with 208,000 miles on the clock and its not a make renowned for reliability, I just make sure it gets serviced. Every so often I get a high ish service bill for wear and tear items but its still cheaper than replacing it.
thanks , thing is i am not very mechnical when it comes to cars, so will be getting the AA check, one is private the cheaper one and the other is trade
stonemonkey, don't use the AA. Use a Porsche specialist who knows these cars and what problems they get. The AA guys are good but don't have the knowledge to understand complex cars. It may cost you an extra £100 but will be so worth it. Any Porsche forum or dealer should be able to recommend someone
Also, if the lower mileage car has been idle for a while, that's not good IIRC?
A specialist car, 65k = low mileage... that's a joke, right? Buy either of those and the purchase price may very well be the least of your worries! Run away!
go to a porsche forum if you have not already.
Get an expert as already advised to have a look.
from my experience people who are not mechanically minded should stay away from classic/vintage cars unless they have very deep pockets, have done loads of research into what they are buying and have a local specialist they can trust. I have seen some right states over the years inc one that was sold/purchased as a show/class winning car(MGB). How that ever won anything 🙄
Inlaw bought a beetle convertible from a couple who had the full service history inc mots etc for the whole of it`s ownership. Well it would take me too long to list what was wrong with that car 👿
Or join a forum & buy from someone trusted and/or use the forum knowledge of the car itself.
I wish I had a worry like yours - which Porsche should I buy... 🙁
I wouldn't buy any sports car with that kind of mileage. £12k can get you a lot of sports car else where.
Also, if I had £12k I'd be buying a 911......
Most of the wear on an engine is while its warming up. The number of cold starts has more to do with it than the total mileage. I'd far rather buy a high mileage fleet car that has been well maintained than Mrs Dither's little runabout that only ever did trips to the shops.
Big drawback with a lot of low mileage cars is that they have stood a long time without running or moving. Rubber degrades with time, so the tyres can be shot even if they have plenty of tread, plus if the car hasn't moved all the weight has been on one side of the tyre, that's not good either. If the engine hasn't run for a long time the oil sits in the sump and the seals get dried out, first time it restarts and runs it leaks like a sieve. You could be looking at a set of tyres and a lot of work on the engine.