When it comes to selling an air-cooled Porsche 911 these days, the need to present the subject car in the best light positive has become increasingly important. For a while there, you could throw up a ratty 911 and still see very real money; lately, that has been changing as economic trends make the speculation game harder to win. While some might argue that keeps inventory down, the good news is that shifts such as these tend to prioritize higher quality specimens that are worth the asking price. The seller of this 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera claims it is completely original and comes with a healthy stack of books and records. Find it here on eBay for $65,000 or best offer.
The owner claims to be just the second caretaker for this 911, which has 99,604 miles on the clock. For being just shy of 100,000, the paint and leather condition is outstanding. While you’ll want to bring a paint meter to any in-person inspection to validate these claims, it does indicate that the 911 has benefitted from a high standard of care and attention to detail if it retains factory paint in this sort of condition. Guards Red over black is perhaps one of the most classic 911 color schemes, and we always like seeing one of these with the Fuchs wheel with black centers.
Though we’re only presented with a few photos of books and records, it does look like a healthy stack of paperwork accompanies this 911. The engine bay is just what we like to see in cars like these: clean, but not overly detailed (meaning it’s not coated in layers of Armor All); factory labels and stickers still in place; and no obvious signs of fluid leakage (although, looking underneath the car is more helpful for determining whether any leaks are present.) The 911 Carrera has always been celebrated for its impressive reliability for a borderline exotic model, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see 200,000 miles on this engine with proper maintenance.
The 911 strikes me as being the best kind of example to buy. First, it’s listed by a presumably long-term caretaker who has clearly cherished the car for however many years he has owned it. It’s not photographed to such a degree that you can’t get a clear sense of what you’re buying, which has become a bit of an issue with online auction platforms where sellers have gone crazy with photo editing software. Everything about this 911 strikes me as honest, and frankly, the asking price doesn’t offend me at all. I would see if a deal can be struck at $55K and go home happy.
Fully agree with your comments, Jeff.
I think this example will hit the mark at $62,000 from what I’ve seen recently.
A very nice 1980’s era 911, for sure.
Nice car,but I think I hurt my neck looking at the
eBay pictures.
Resale red is what your 911 needed to be in the 80’s. Silver and black were cool too but all those 70 colors were a no go for buyers. I remember helping a customer find his first “entry level” 911 from the 84-88 period with a 100k on the clock for 20K tops. That would have been 15 years ago. My first 911 cost me $7500 back in 1995. Those were the days.
I know I may have upset some with my 356 comments, but in an about face, if I somehow come into some large sum of money, which gets less and less likely, you can bet your sweet bippy( Laugh-In) I’d have one of these. This isn’t a VW, my friends, probably the most awesome car on the planet. I think a cop would stop you while standing still. I can hear it now, “oh, you up to something with this here car, son”. Last summer, I rented a new Malibu for a trip to Portland. The trip was awful, and while the car was nice, got great mileage, it was as boring as a,,,well, new rule, can’t offend anyone,,,it just was. Now I see ads for rental cars that AREN’T boring. While I certainly have no use for one at my age, maybe a cool car would spice up the trip some. Got to be better than a Malibu.
There is one glaring problem, no, no,, not what you might expect from me, price, another new rule, but this car does the speed limit in 3rd gear. I can only imagine 100 mph doesn’t seem any different than 60. Sadly, we don’t live in a country that condones that type of driving, even though, our interstates are designed for high speed, it just isn’t the Autobahn. Beautiful car.
Nice car, or so it seems-what’s with the sideways pictures and no photos of underneath? A car this expensive and exotic should have more decent photos..but then again a dealer is selling it.
Have to agree – wtf! this is a dealer? sideways pix, no underneath pix, no video – amateur hour – would be suspect especially at this price.
Nope upon second look – this isn’t a dealer – just someone that isn’t familiar with rotating his pix. Should revise, have some cold start, driving video, and some underside pix. I’m sure someone will scoop it up sight unseen – but I would make sure to see some of these details before purchasing at top dollar.
great
85K$ & no shark fins???
My second Porsche was a new ’86 that looked just like this one. One of the best and most reliable cars I’ve ever owned. Would love to buy it but my wife and I already have six vehicles. No more room.
Any air-cooled Porsche 911 is a beautiful, awesome car. I’d absolutely love to have one. BUT! And there’s always a but, the thing that bothers me about these cars are the fact that you can buy a newer, nicer and far faster with better handling, water-cooled 911 for less than what this car costs. I’m kinda spoiled by modern luxuries like working air conditioning, satellite navigation and good oem sound systems in a car with well over 300 horsepower and good gas mileage to boot.
Once again- I dream of owning an air-cooled 911, but it really wasn’t all that long ago that the owner would be lucky to get $20k for this 911, and that sticks in my craw. Classic 911’s are trading for ridiculous money as far as I’m concerned. But I’d still love to own one.
You might be able to buy a newer one for that kind of money,
but this is SO much better looking.
I’d think that if you bought this that you’d need a way to attach
your driver’s license to the outside of the driver’s door window.That
way,you wouldn’t have to dig it out every time you got pulled over.
I don’t disagree with you at all, anglia. And I would imagine you’d get pulled over by cops who know what kind of car you’re driving just so they could look at it!
My absolute dream 911 would be a 911RS from 1973-75, but that ain’t happening until I win the mega millions jackpot. But I’d settle for an extremely well done replica.
Got a 1989, white Cabriolet that I bought in 2000; still drive it everyday with more than 200K miles on it. $20K back then is probably worth double that now.. If you want to drive this; there will be an engine rebuild at 180K so that will put you back $10K ahead; plus a clutch job if this hasn’t already had one. Other than that why all the concerns on the underbelly; if this is original body the underside is probably just fine.. Rock solid car. If you want one look for Cali, AZ, TX, non-road salt states and you are fine. Parts easily bought on the aftermarket and just need to find a good/fair mechanic. These cars are a blast to drive and still get the thumbs up daily..