86' 911 carrera

need some insight, only porsche ever owned was a 66' 911s  never ran . bmw fan for years but always loved the 911   what should i look for when buying a 86-911 carrera?
miles range from 45k to 90k  and prices range 17-20k  coupe only  no cabs
looking from minn.  to  fla.  they are plentiful but i don't want to have to put
5k into it before i get some time in the car.   thanks,  zim.

Be very careful of cars in both the north, and the deep south like florida and texas.  In minnesota, they use a ton of salt on the roads in the winters.  In florida and texas the salt water on the coast will corrode every damn nut and bolt in the car.  Makes a real pain to work on.  I would find an independant Porsche shop in the area, and pay the $300 or so and get a full Pre-Purchase Inspection including leakdown and compression tests.  

thanks for the quick response doc.... living  in ohio most of my life and some time in fla. i've bought many a beater car for the northern winters and know all about the salt decay..it's ruined many a great car,
have also heard the same of the gulf coast autos however, the 911 i'm looking at in fla. has 45k on it and
being 20years old i'm guessing has not seen much road time. i will definitly get an inspection done but wanted to know things like ... tensioners?  oil leaks, bushings....
what would be the top five points to check, after a rust inspection?   thanks,  zim 

Of course you need to look at oil leaks and such.  With a garage queen with low miles, it is probably going to have significant oil leaks, unless the owner has taken good care of it and had them replaced as they start to leak.  The PPI will catch everything like that.