Guy bought cheapest Porsche 911 he's ever seen from Craigslist but has absolutely no idea what's waiting for him
- Content creator bought the ‘cheapest’ Porsche 911 he’d ever seen
- He bought it from several states away, sight-unseen
- However, the route to making it roadworthy wasn’t a smooth one
Published on Jan 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jan 08, 2025 at 8:12 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A Maryland-based content creator fulfilled his goal of buying the ‘cheapest’ Porsche 911.
The 1999 Porsche 911 (996) was listed for $6,000.
His plan was to restore it for $10,000.
However, the road that followed wasn’t entirely smooth.
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The ‘cheapest’ Porsche 911
After trying to buy a cheap Porsche 911 ‘for years’, Lee Carter from ScrapLife Garage, US, found the manual transmission car on Craigslist.
It was a steal at just $6,000 – and bought sight unseen from several states away.
While it was clean both inside and out, it had some mechanical issues – and the engine was the biggest challenge.
These problems ranged from coolant contamination to a cracked cylinder head.
He wasn’t the first content creator to take a punt on a Porsche.
Edwin Klinkenberg Evans and Alex Kersten, the two Brits behind the Top Dead Center YouTube channel, bought a fire-damaged Porsche 911 for £5,000 ($6267).
Able to do most of the repairs themselves in the end it cost them a total of £10,692 ($13,413) to repair the Porsche 911 and make it track-ready.
The restoration
The goal was to avoid costs escalating and restore the car for under $10,000.
Despite Carter’s optimism and some parts of the car being better than expected for its age, setbacks included broken components and unforeseen repairs.
This resulted in the initial budget being blown.
He was still able to replace non-serviceable parts like the IMS bearing and address oil and coolant leaks.
Damaged steering components and engine wear proved complicated, but Carter was able to leverage DIY tools and techniques to tackle the issues.
When its major issues were resolved – it was time to fire it up.
The car started and drove flawlessly, exceeding all the content creator’s expectations and making the gamble he’d taken a worthwhile investment.
Similarly, a 1977 Porsche 911 Targa that had been abandoned for 20 years in a forest was restored to the work of art it once was.
With a dual English and French degree and NCTJ diploma, Amelia began her career doing award-winning writing and editing for titles and brands spanning Women's Health, the Telegraph, Boots, and Vitality. Amelia joined the SB Media family in September of 2023, bringing her expertise in SEO and reader takeaway. As Lead Editor, her superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a shareable story.
