[Big Carl]

What is a fair price for the 5 volume set of factory service manuals?

I have a lead on the set with an asking price of $400, but I have no idea what the current market value is for these books.

 

Are they even worth having in paper form? Most of the information is readily available online as it is.

 

Thanks for your input!

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[flash]

lol - i was wondering that myself, as i have a complete set, in near mint condition (i ordered them brand new) including updates, and including the 944 set (many of the repairs are in there, and not in the 968 set)

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[Mark]

The set I bought including all of the 944 manuals cost me $75. I like having them in the garage when working on the car but I still look things up online in advance and sometimes use the tablet in the garage.

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[flash]

wow!  that's a screaming deal.  pretty sure i paid over $400 when i bought mine new.  then i had to buy all of the updates, one at a time

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[Big Carl]

Yeah this guy claims around $800-$1000 to buy new... 

Although you guys are talking about the 944 manuals as well, so I think he is quite a bit high.

 

Flash, if you come up with a price for your complete set shoot me a PM, I may be interested.

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[flash]

will do.  i have been on the fence about selling them, because i still have one 968, and guys still pop over for help once in a while.  but, it's increasingly unlikely that i would need them.  i'm a bit anal about selling books.  i've regretted it every time i have.  not sure how i feel about shop manuals though.

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[Kaj Hallstrom]

Most manuals are available in the internet and they are all free.

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[flash]

yes - many of us have the digital copy.  it's not "free" though.  porsche still owns it, still sells it, and pursues those sites that give it away.  it's a bit of a pain in the butt though if you actually work on the car.  much easier to have the printed pages in front of you, especially if you are working on wiring

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[MLB]

Pdf on smartfone or tablet works great for me in the garage!

Fits in my hand, zoom in out etc.

YMMV

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[flash]

lol - my eyes are way too old.  that stuff is too small for me.  i have a 27" monitor in the garage and i still prefer the printed page.

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[MLB]

I hear ya, my eyesight is not what it used to be, but for a little while yet, I can still pull stuff to within a couple inches of my eyes when necessary to see some details close up. But it takes longer and longer to readjust from near to distant vision and I can feel the eyestrain. Thats why Im trying to get everything on this car 'sorted' now cuz in a few years maybe it will be too frustrating to do the work anymore.

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[unknown4u]

Yep. Printed is much easier and you can make notes too ?

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[Big Carl]

Its nice to be able to pull out the pages you need and lay them out vs. trying to flip through a pdf with greasy fingers on your smartphone or tablet.

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[az968]

I took the CD with the wsm and P0ET and the Technik manuals I bought years ago to a large office supply company, printed two-sided and put in 8 binders for under $150. Much easier to work with and it doesn't break when I drop in in the engine compartment. Probably a copyright oversight on my part. But in looking at all the manuals today I don't see any language about copyrights or "don't copy" so maybe this material isn't as protected as one might think. Anyone have an original set to look at for copyrights? Just because Porsche still sells them doesn't mean they are copyrighted; the Bible is still sold, isn't copyrighted and it's older than Porsche.

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[ds968]

This thread is probably as good as any ..   Guys, check out this ( old but artful )   McLaren owners manual :

 

 https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/...y_April_17

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[ds968]

FYI :


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/porsche-r...00729.html

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[az968]

Wonder if Porsche will remimber they sold a model called a 968?

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[ste1999]

The PDF computer version surely gives the best of both worlds. I’ve been printing off a page that I want in the garage, takes seconds on a fast laser, then you can abuse the copy all you want, oil , handwritten notes whatever. Just run off another if it gets too messy. It was also handy to print some copies to send to the machine shop with the head. My manual was 16 ukp online. Only frustration is that it’s 1992 with no updates. Car is 1995, am sure some things have changed.... Don’t know how easy it is to track down updates online.

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[az968]

This article was discussing the owners manuals, which get lost through the ages.


I have the whole WSM and PET printed out and in binders so I can leaf thru it. Then print the relevant work page. I save those pages with my notes for future reference for work I may have to repeat in the future. I also carry a CD version in my trunk in case I'm out of town and need the info.


I have a series of suppliments for years after the 1992.

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