1985 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2

The 911 was supplied new by Follet Porsche of London on the 18th of October 1985. The service history booklet shows that the same firm serviced the Porsche up to 1995, after which point it was serviced by Two Plus Two, an independent Porsche specialist based in Brierley Hill in the West Midlands.

Sadly, the car appears to have become an insurance loss around this time in its life; there is no information or records of the accident or subsequent repair, just a gap in its service records, MOTs, and road tax of around 14 years until January 2010 when the vehicle was bought by Gantspeed Engineering, another well-known independent Porsche specialist.

Based in Boston in Lincolnshire, Gantspeed Engineering recommissioned the 911 with a full service, a new clutch, new exhaust crossover pipes, and a new set of tyres; at this point the odometer was reading 69,470 miles and there is a letter in the history file to confirm the work that was undertaken. Gantspeed used the car itself or a while, including taking it for a blast down to Monaco in the South of France at one point.

The present owner has enjoyed the car for just over seven years in total, buying it on the 27th of April 2012 with an odometer reading of 73,048 miles. Having had regular summer use, it has now covered 89,913 miles in total. Presumably, having been in the care of a Porsche specialist, and then had 16,000 miles driven by one owner, the car does not appear to have any serious lingering effects from its 1990s history, but we obviously encourage any prospective bidders to verify for themselves prior to bidding.

Always garaged when it isn’t being used, he’s covered an average of around 2,500 miles a year in it during his time with the car but a final hurrah in Cornwall this summer demonstrated that his developing arthritis means that now is the time to let it go to a new home.

Having nothing but good memories of his time with the car, it is being offered with a very sensible reserve and he would be delighted to show it off to prospective bidders at his home in Lincoln.

The exterior of the car is finished in an attractive metallic mid-blue. The flanks are taut and free of ripples, and the car’s shutlines are every bit as good as we’ve come to expect of a Porsche of this period.

Fitted with a ‘whale tail’ rear spoiler, the paintwork is good and the finish still glistens and shines nicely. The owner tells us that the “underside of the car is clean and oil-free being regularly touched up with Waxoyl. The paintwork on the body still retains a good shine, is clean and tidy with only very small signs of light rust around the area where it joins the bumper bars.”

We’ve spotted some touched-in stonechips and a few small scuffs in the photographs but that’s only to be expected given the age of the car; we’d always rather see a few signs of use on a car that has been regularly exercised than an unblemished car that is rarely driven. Nothing kills a car faster than inactivity and a developing patina is the price you pay to keep it fully fettled and running beautifully.

The alloy wheels are in a generally good condition; the only evidence of its Category 4 status is the passenger side door plate and slight damage to one of the rear wheels.

The matching Bridgestone tyres are past their best and really could do with replacing. Still, buying new tyres is just about the most fun you can have buying consumable items for your classic sportscar, isn’t it?

The blue interior is very of-the-period but that’s a positive thing, right? After all, if you’re going to drive a period car then you might as well go all-in and get something that has a strong 80’s vibe going.

So, while we might not specify our new Porsche 911 with an interior like this, it really is very charming. Its condition is good, but then it is from a time when Porsche still built its cars up to a standard rather than down to a price.

The part-leather, part-velour front seats are in a very good condition and the only sign of wear is some gentle wear to the outer edge of the driver’s seat. This could, we think, be easily disguised with some leather dye followed by feeding the leather with a decent hide food. Neither job would be difficult or expensive but if you doubt your ability to do it on a DIY basis then a professional would be able to sort it out for you very cheaply. The rear seats are very good.

The headlining is clean and taut, and the door cards and carpets are in a similarly good condition. Lifting the latter shows clean, rust-free floor pans, which is always a relief when you’re considering classic Porsche ownership.

The dashboard top is free of cracks, which is another indication that the car hasn’t been misused and has been kept garaged and out of the sun when it wasn’t being used. The blue vinyl trim on the front face of the dashboard is good, too.

The owner tells us that all the electric toys and gauges, including the electric sunroof, seat adjustment, door mirrors, headlight washers, windows and central locking “are in good working order.”

The only problems he has told us about are a blown speaker in the driver’s door, and the Sony radio-cassette player, which doesn’t hold pre-set stations in its memory. This hasn’t been a problem for him as “I enjoy listening to the engine and exhaust more!”

The current owner has kept the car’s service history up-to-date using a combination of home servicing, plus professional work from Karline, another independent Porsche specialist, as well a local firm, Shakespeare St. Garage.

The owner tells us that the only foreseeable expenditure he knows of, aside from the tyres we’ve already mentioned, is the need for a new rear silencer.

The vendor states that all worked suitably on the recent run to Cornwall.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s mileage. The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus some old tax discs. The MOT certificate itself expires in April 2020.

There are two keys with the car. The original toolkit, jack and space-saver spare wheel are unused. The compressor, which is used to inflate the tyre on the spare wheel, is not the original; a replacement had to be sourced as a previous owner retained the original.

The stamped service history book is present.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of the car’s paperwork.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would always encourage – then please contact the owner to arrange an appointment.

The 911 has been a stalwart of the sportscar world for decades, and rightly so. Few cars offer such an intoxicating blend of performance, usability, and reliability – and its reputation for unpredictable handling is hugely overstated; if you find yourself using it to explain your latest accident, then may we suggest you direct your attention towards some high-performance driver tuition rather than blaming the car?

This example is sold with only a couple of jobs that need doing and after a period when the price of even rough 911s reach frankly silly levels, the market has steadied again, which has brought them back down to a more sensible level and one that is again within the reach of the ordinary enthusiast.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that we think this one will sell for between £21,000 and £25,000, at which price point it offers a great value, huge entertainment, and almost certainly a safe place to keep your money.

Plus, the reserve is set even lower, so you might just be able to snaffle yourself a bargain…

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen in Lincoln; 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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.