Today’s Tempting Porsche is one I actually bid on. SOOOO tempting. I’m sad to say I didn’t win it, but glad to say I didn’t overbid it! It’s a 1977 930 (911 Turbo) I found on eBay Motors. It’s brown, with a mostly brown interior. Here’s a little bit of the description:
This is a very straight ’77 930 with a clean, clear title. Car has a current New Jersey registration. This was originally a California car and doesn’t have any east coast crud on it. I originally bought this car in 2005 to turn into a normally aspirated track car, but I ended up finding a more appropriate non-sunroof car. While this car is in very nice physical shape, there are a number of parts from other years and models that make it less appealing from an originality standpoint. As I have several Porsche projects in progress and this car is located 500 miles away from where I live most of the time, it is unlikely that I will be able to answer your questions or provide additional photos prior to bid close, so this auction will be somewhat of a mystery bag. To compensate, bidding starts at $10,000, which is a fair amount for a clean, non-salvage, rolling chassis plus the beautiful, Harvey Weidman restored wheels on this car (try to find a “new” set for less than $3000) and new tires. You decide how much more you want to bid on top of that. To offer some perspective, I have been offered $10,000 for the car minus the engine, so I hope to get more through this auction.
Based on the answered questions in the auction, additional description, and my email exchanges with the owner, it sounds like the was in decent shape with some nice upgrades. Course the car is on the other side of the U.S. from where I live, so I was going to fly in with my son and drive back together. A last minute joy ride in a car I had no idea about. That was part of the thrill.
The car ended up going for $15776 which is still a great price. I figured somewhere around $6,000 to $10,000 in paint, repairs, interior work, etc. Even on the high side, you should end up with a pretty nice car for $25,000. Doesn’t end up being a steal, but you should still be able to get out of it what you’re into it.
I’m still hoping for a 1978 or 1979 930 some day.
nice car, though the e-bay description was a bit vague, and had the seller been able to provide more info or answer more detailed questions about it, I’m betting he might have gotten a bit more for it. personally, I’d have a hard time bidding on a car that the seller describes as a mystery car for obvious reasons, but also because Scooby Doo drove the Mystery Machine. too risky.
I hear you ruthless, but I’m a big scooby doo fan!
Looks like a fun car! Just out of curiosity, have you ever bought a car from Ebay before??
@Joe, I haven’t. Always kind of poo poo’d the idea. There are some great deals on eBay right now though.
nice car.i’m sure someone is very happy.
even brown looks good on this car!
well from friends i’ve heard both sides about buying on ebay. one has got screwed and one got a great deal. i’m sure there are more positives than negatives!!
I feel bad for you that you missed out on it! NICE car to start with! It would have been great to read about your updates to the car here on the blog . Have to get some more ebay sniping practice in 🙂
Although I love the 930, I haven’t seen the brown on too many Porsche’s, so not sure I would buy this car. I guess since it is not all original you could paint it and put a new interior in and go drivin’.
seen a few older brown 911’s,assumed it was an original color.
Joe, I bought a car from e-bay once, sight unseen, and had it shipped here to Connecticut from Florida. I thought I had gotten a great deal on a 1988 Alfa Romeo Spider for $5000, but when it arrived, I had to fork over $1700 for a new top, and another $700 in repairs, including a radiator rebuild. Add in the $275 for shipping, and I paid exactly what book value was no the car at the time. Not a horrible experience, but not the bargain I thought I had gotten.
If I ever did it again, I’d want to see the car before buying it.
I don’t like it.
I bought my current everyday drive on ebay and made out pretty well. I think you have to be objective and take emotion out of buying sight unseen cars on ebay, Buy from a seller with lots of feedback and mostly positive, Car sellers on ebay will almost always have negative comments here and there, Car buying is emotional and some people expect perfection in the transaction and when they dont get the absolute, out comes the acid tongue lol, So you have to look at legitimate claims.
Have to be knowledgeable about the particular car you are buying too, Some cars have those standard problems that may develop over time that are a trait in almost every one or a great majority that left the factory . Be aware of those and expect that particular car suffers from the trait.
I have a friend that bought a couple sports cars on ebay and both were good deals. One was a Porsche 911, and he said he would do it again.
Very nice car indeed, but maintainence cost is a draw back.
@Ryan, just out of curiosity, what were you willing to shell out for this one? Or, if you’d rather not disclose, what would you consider a really great deal on this one? $13k?
Andrew, my top bid was $13,800. I really wanted to get in for under $13k, but let my emotions get the best of me. The thought of the cross country adventure with my son in a car I love, that I wasn’t sure would even make the trip, was as enticing as the car itself. In hindsight, I would gladly pay $16k for that experience. Course the experience is partly made by the great deal.
i like the car, but definitely not the color (in or out) – its just SOOO 70s lol
That would be a pretty great experience. Thanks Ryan.