1992 Porsche 968

First registered on 2 June 1992, this 6-speed manual 968 has covered around 115,000 miles and has been in the same hands for over 13 years.

Previous ownership has seen the car traverse the UK from South Wales to Cheshire, then Derby and Nottingham, before hitting South London, then Surrey before ending up back in the capital in East Finchley.

In around 2000 it was reportedly subject to vandalism, denting body panels and smashing windows and the headlamps. Due to the bodywork costs alone, the insurers declared the car a write-off and listed it as a Category D. PH Sports Cars of Derby subsequently bought the 968 from the insurance company and repaired and restored the car to A1 road condition.

Several years later, in April 2007, the current owner bought the car looking for a practical everyday modern classic that he could use and enjoy. Living in North London, he didn’t drive it daily but had an enjoyable and reliable weekly run to Bracknell and back for work. Now that he’s working in the EV space, he’s driving a Tesla and has too many cars to find parking spaces for, so reluctantly the faithful old 968 has to go.

Pearlescent Nachtblau or Midnight Blue - which this 968 is finished in - is one of Porsche’s classic colours. A welcome change from the soulless whites, silvers and blacks, it gives the car a much more understated and refined look than Signal Green or Speed Yellow.

Whilst the paint is fairly solid, aside from a few areas around the wheel arches, the exterior isn’t in the best condition. The car has been road-parked - albeit at the end of a cul-de-sac - since 2007 and shows a number of scuffs, chips scrapes and scratches all around the car, most notably on both bumpers, the spoiler and the trailing edge of the sunroof panel. There’s also a slight ding in the waistline of the passenger door. At the front nose of the car, the threaded hole for the towing eye is missing its plastic cover.

None of these appear to be major issues that would demand a full respray but, as ever, we would recommend a personal inspection to see the condition of the car for yourself. Use the ‘Contact Seller’ button to make contact with the vendor to arrange an appointment or, if you’d prefer not to travel, set up a video call with him.

The 17-inch Cup alloy wheels with crested centre caps are in a good to fair condition with some scuffing and scratching around the rims. All are shod in matching Falken tyres which appear in good order.

Like the outside, the cream leather and grey vinyl interior could do with some cosmetic attention. The seat bolsters are heavily creased and showing wear, with the driver’s seat side bolster actually having worn through to the foam. An inspection by a good seat trimmer would discover the extent of repair required or a new owner could choose to swap them out for Porsche sports seats.

The steering wheel rim is also heavily worn, as is the gear stick cover. A previous phone cradle installation now reveals unfilled screw holes in the side of the centre console. Once repairs are done, the upholstery all round would benefit from a thorough clean and renourishing treatment. Whilst the carpets appear intact with protective over mats, they could also do with a refresh.

The centre console sports a replacement Panasonic CD Radio and also a Pure DAB adaptor which as well as digital radio, plays MP3s from a USB drive. Both these and all other electrical equipment is reportedly working as it should, in fact the vendor can’t think of anything that isn’t working on the car.

Whilst the engine bay could do with a blow out of the dead leaves and sycamore seeds, it is otherwise in a good, honest condition; showing well-maintained mechanicals and ancillaries renewed where necessary. There’s a light surface rust on the bonnet landing strip at the front but otherwise the engine bay and bonnet appear in good order.

In one of the photos, it looks like there is oil seeping out of the number three cylinder but the owner reports that he has never had a problem with oil leaks or oil pressure, nor has his garage mentioned it so it is likely just a spill during the recent oil-change service.

The undersides of the car are as you might expect for a car approaching 30 years old, with rust establishing on the surfaces of anything unprotected. The most recent MOT didn’t discover any structural corrosion but did call out advisories for the brake lines starting to rust.

In the boot, the grey carpet linings are present, intact and fairly clean, although missing the odd fastening clip. The luggage cover is likely an original and is the full length version with the split which enables covering any items on the folded rear seats. The boot lid/hatch is showing some verdigris and corrosion around the undersides of the spoiler. Also with the car is a Porsche tyre compressor which is required to inflate the Vredestein Space Master spare.

Whilst the current MOT is valid until January 2021, this includes the 6-month COVID extension so it is worth noting that the car hasn’t been independently inspected since July 2019, although it was serviced earlier this month. The MOT history shows annual testing since the start of online records and continual usage with typically 2-4k miles covered each year.

The maintenance booklet includes annual servicing stamps from a number of independent Porsche specialists:

1993-7 - Merlin Cambria Porsche - Cardiff

2004 - Charles Ivey - Fulham

2005-6 - Complete Car Maintenance - Surrey

2007-20 - Autowerke - London

Other paperwork in the history file shows that the cam belts and timing chain were replaced in 2010 by Jaz Porsche in Wembley. The car comes with its document wallet containing the owner’s manuals and service book, two sets of keys and alarm fobs plus an emergency alarm override key.

With the prices of Clubsports having risen to ridiculous levels, and the equally good 968 Sports heading in the same direction, the standard 968 offers the more prudent buyer a good entry point into transaxle Porsche ownership. The vendor reports that driving-wise, this 968 is bang on point; very capable, still quick (by ‘90s standards) and handles well with no unexpected noises or rattles.

Reliable but in need of cosmetic attention, we think this mechanically well-loved example with a good history will sell for between £6,000 and £9,000. At that price it sounds like something of a bargain but as the owner has agreed to offer it on a NO RESERVE basis, it will sell from the very first bid.

So, why not pop in a cheeky bid and see what happens? You could be the lucky new owner who gets to choose how best to add value to the car inside and out.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in London; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.