Dino V

The major pitfall is maintenance negligence by previous owners. These cars aren't less reliable than any other car the same age/miles. Parts and maintenance cost more which results in a lot of basket cases by owners (who considered purchase price but not the expense of required maintenance). With regular/required maintenance done, they are very reliable.
As everyone else mentioned, the first thing I would do is belts and water pump if history is unknown. Again if no history, I would tackle all the fluids. Maybe even do the fuel pump and filter if it hasn't been done yet (fairly easy to do). Hopefully, clutch is already done and that eliminates 1 of the top most PIA maintenance items.

odurandina

I would!! oh Dear GOD I WOULD !! OK, it's not a friggin Esprit.

1. PS pump/lines that leak **** all over creation and trash (your control arm and stabilizer) bushings not long after replacement...
2. leaky, snarky oil pan/rear seal issues.
3. cooling system issues/Mexican oem replacement pumps that go little further than 1 timing belt cycle (and while you're down there, better to do the seals and replace the AC pump).
4. timing/balance shaft belt system/rollers/absurdly/insane/costly maintenance since day 1.
5. dme relay/fan relays..... keep spares in the car at all times. does Porsche even sell these??
6. **30 year old fully fried wiring/'80s laptop/engine management exposed to (vibrations, endless heat cycling, rotten weather, wet, dry, hot, cold, noxious and corrosive gasses, 200,000,000 bumps, potholes, etc).... leading to anytime/too often/reliability and ignition failures.
7. ROTTED OUT ALARMS shorting out the dme/computers... bypass sure isn't a 30 minute job.
8. oil cooler/radiator fluid milkshakes.
9. clutch costs more than the whole friggin car (~$3,000 at indy Metrowest Boston tech)... or..... how bout at the dealer?
10. change the friggin motor mounts often (or very often) or the engines will shake and rattle all the outrageously expensive engine support parts to bits in a relatively short time (including the radiator hoses.... food for thought when procrastinating on the fuel lines in the bay).
11. headgaskets man... thems damn headgaskets. good luck with that one the first go-round.

still, I'd prolly drive one though, if it weren't for having better options;

my choices.

968 v8
944 v8
968 TS
one of the recent 944 knock offs (faves: 370Z, G37, brz/toyotaish)
Mazda 4 door speedy.
Ford Focus speedy thing.
hell, even a Chrysler 200 v6 speedy thing!!
S2
944T
944 (I still miss my '87 S).


**I guess one could make the argument that the electrical systems on these cars aren't total dog**** (due to the fact that the majority of them can be started and driven down the road).... that is - until you find yourself stranded..... the cars are 30 years old, and plenty quite often run like it. consider that your average laptop ****s the bed after 3 or 4 years; now stick some crap '80S LAPTOP inside the engine bay of your car and expose it to (P-car 4 cylinder) vibrations, endless heat cycling, rotten weather, ROAD SALT, wet, dry, hot, cold, noxious and corrosive gasses, 200,000,000 bumps, potholes, etc....

people love to say that most of the cars are neglected. but the truth is–the Richter/magnitude scale also applies to cars: even the radiator hoses, show signs of added punishment; and despite the timing systems needing updates every 3~5 years, it's not a deal-breaker.... yet, with twenty million VW/Audi/Porsche/BMWs built with 4 cylinders running Bosch injection/engine management for the last 35 years, we're stuck with few options for fresh stand-alone wiring harness/engine management/MAF/sensors/AND no alarms, ect.....

not high maintenance? tell that all the people who loved their 944s, wanted to do the right thing.... gave it a fair effort....

but, where are they now? long gone from the forums in any case, (some even after no-start issues weren't successfully resolved).

yes, these cars are high maintenance (for Christ's sakes; the 968 engine is half a Ferrari engine)!!

Iceter

You guys kill me. Sounds like a real love/hate relationship some of you have with your cars.

Makes me feel like it's the perfect car for me.

Car is either an '83 or '84 and was traded in at a local Toyota dealer. Guy traded his pride and joy for a new car for his daughter. I cannot even guess how little the guy got in trade for this car. Base car, solid sheet metal with a really strong interior (obviously garaged). Pretty good repaint at some point and all the pieces seem to be there.

Anyway, the GM of the store is a neighbor of mine and I emailed him about it this morning. He thinks it's slated to go to the local classic car auction run by the owner of the dealership chain. That would be unfortunate for me as after all of your information and my research last night, there's no way I'm going to pay an auction price for this one. Hopefully, I can work something out with my neighbor before anyone else sees the car sitting on the back lot.

I graduated from high school in '87. I've got a 997.2 but a 944 was always one of my dream cars back in the day. Funny how you can get excited about something so old and slow. I'll keep you guys updated if anyone is interested.

mytrplseven

I'd offer him 3 grand, sans maintenance history, and if he says yes then plan on spending that much again, just to ensure the potentially catastrophic failure parts are replaced (Front of the motor stuff). The last (including current 951) three I bought I easily put 3 to 4 grand into (tires, brakes, belts, rollers, front struts, etc) so that's a fair estimation of what to expect. The fun of driving one of these great little cars on winding roads.....priceless. And, they use regular gas.

FRporscheman

In a lot of ways the early cars are better (though it's subjective). The fuel lines don't run directly over the exhaust, the computer is not right under the (probably rusted) battery tray, the window switches are way easier to use, many suspension parts like ball joints and strut mounts are way cheaper. And if you like Fuchs wheels, they only fit on '83-86. Watch out for the head light switch (it's not relayed so it may melt), finicky turn signal and/or wiper stalks, and the antenna motors can get stuck.

Speed is nice but it's not the only factor to a fun car. But if you don't grab this car, you might want to look at a 944 turbo or 944 S2.

lovemyp-car

Please excuse our resident cynic, and don't let him scare you off of a prospectively nice, reliable, fun little car. (ALLAN SHUT UP!!! )

One thing I try to pound into people's brains about these cars is this:
- These cars are old. Things wear out, break, rust out, fail etc...all old cars have this problem.
- Not only are these cars old, but they have been relatively inexpensive for a long time. This leads to our next point.
- People who buy inexpensive cars rarely buy them to dump loads of money in them, or to even spend regular amounts of money on them to do basic maintenance.
- This means that these old, (once upon a time expensive but now) inexpensive cars often get exposed to dumb kids (of which I used to be one) who buy them and then don't have the mechanical knowledge and money to properly maintain them over the long term (I learned, and got a decent job).
- The conclusion of this series of events is this: an unsuspecting, or uninformed buyer sees a decent looking car and assumes its mechanical condition is the same as is cosmetic/exterior condition...but wax and a car cover are a lot cheaper than replacing all of the rubber suspension bushings when they deteriorate/wear out, for example.

I have recently spent a lot of money on parts for a very cosmetically nice 1986 944 turbo, that came with a lot of nice parts (89 Turbo S engine with sub 45k original miles etc etc). I bought this car in pieces, put it together, and then discovered some pretty big problems I had not realized at first...like the torque tube being noisy, the clutch being incorrect (later failed), the fuel lines needing to be replaced, as well as some wonderful things the PO's have left me with.

Obviously Turbo's are more complicated, but the idea applies to all of these old cars. If you can afford to buy a nice one with a high stack of receipts, do it! But don't count yourself out of having to do any maintenance or replace anything on it...there will be old sensors, rubber bushings, and other parts that will need to be replaced sooner or later.

My ramblings aren't meant to scare you off, but merely to prepare you for that inevitable day when something breaks, because it will happen...but if the car has been recently maintained in terms of big items (clutch being on of the biggest) then everything else is pretty much routine for these old girls.

Good luck in your search
Ethan

odurandina

^^


for those who didn't get my text.....

free pancakes at I-hop all day.



*free up some $$$ to spend at Zims, Autohaus, AZ and German Auto Parts.

Butters944

Got your text, they weren't free! Forced me to make a donation to some fire-roasted children or something


To the OP, buy it if you have the chance, if you've read all these replies, even Allans and are still considering it, do it!

I've had my 944 for 5 years and drive it daily at college, been able to get away with only doing maintenance on spring/winter breaks for 30k miles so far

Otto Mechanic

I sell swearing at fasteners cheap BTW. Call me. $0.05 for a common cuss word, $0.10 for the more exotic kind.

Otto Mechanic

Ha! I made the short list.

Just as an aside, I happen to like the 1985 928 S3 quite a lot, and also favor the 924 Turbo (931) and the 914-6 in a 916 body.

I have no practical experience with the 944 S2, mine's been in the shop for 7 months now. What can I say your honor? I'm fat...

Otto Mechanic

+1 on Ethan's review. I'm going through an '89 S2 right now and though it may sound strange, I do this for fun. It's my hobby.

When you go to replace bushings (and unless the fellow you're buying the car from already did it, you will be replacing the bushings) check out Delrin. The rubber bushings that come stock on the car aren't happy about being soaked in power steering fluid for decades. My experience is they just sort of melt.

lovemyp-car

LOL Allan...I got your text. I don't like pancakes. Or Ihop...call me un-American if you want.

It's also funny, I've never bought parts from any of those vendors...hmmmm...

I enjoy the restoration aspect of my project as well...I'm currently collecting parts to replace the fuel system from the gas tank strainer to the FPR and Damper (except the metal lines...they are fine!), as well as a full tune up (Plugs, rotor, cap, wires, reference sensors etc). Then I will be replacing/rebuilding the steering rack as I blew out an end seal and dumped the fluid a year+ ago. Honestly though...my 951 didn't leak power steering fluid at all until it did...all at once...LOL

It's interesting/funny to me how a lot of people take some of these things for granted (leaky power steering, hatch squeaks/rattles blah blah blah)...all of these things are relatively inexpensive and easy to fix if you can turn a wrench and read a parts diagram/service manual/internet forum. I guess my love for these cars just makes them a high enough priority that I will buy the parts and invest the time to fix the problems.


Ethan

Iceter

Well, it didn't work out for me. The owner of the dealership runs a classic car auction here in Raleigh and they're going to run the car through that for maximum exposure and profitability. I can't say that I blame them, but I had really hoped that the GM of the Toyota store would want to flip the car immediately rather than wait a few months.

He claims it's a one owner car with full maintenance records. The thing's got 42k miles so it's either ready to drive or it's due for some expensive service. No way to tell at this point.

He gets me tickets to he auction so I'll follow it and see if it sells. If it's a no-sale, I may take another run at it.

Thanks for all of the information you guys have put out there. I'll be cruising Craigslist now that I have a baseline of knowledge about the cars. Much appreciated!

odurandina

a good many S2s are taken apart showing scored cylinders.....

possibly as a result of past headgasket failures??

in factory trim, the 968 blocks go much longer.

harveyf

You are correct sir. Good to see that you understand the crapshoot involved with a low mileage 30 year old car. You might PM sirspeedy2 and ask for a ride in his S2. He is local to Raleigh. I'm in New Hill. I can't add much to the already good discussion but am available for free advice. You will find a lot of 944's on Craigslist. Finding a good one is tough though.