Anorak

Hi, I'm 15 almost 16 and I've found a 1987 944 for sale near me with a recently rebuilt engine. The body is in great condition and it seems to me like a good deal at 8900. I was wondering if the rebuilt engine would be better than one not rebuilt and if the price is fair?

djantlive

Sounds like a nice car. I am not sure if 944 makes a good first car choice. Older cars have more issues and it can be $1-2k for each repairs especially if you don't know of a good Porsche shop. You can get a golf Gti or civic si which are good alternatives.

I have 5 cars ranging from $6000-120,000. The 944 brings me lots of pleasure in ways I can't explain. It is the only car that I have driven that is fun and exciting going at the speed limit. Every time I drive it, I wish I had this car when it was new

sweetskillsrk

I got a 944 as my first car when I was 17 and I hated/loved it. Being an '87 that you're interested in, you have to think, it's 30 years old (happy birthday, haha) so it's going to have issues. That being said my '88 944 was $3900 and the one you're looking at is $8900 so I imagine its going to be in MUCH better shape than the one I have, but again, it's 30 years old so it will need some work at some point.

How mechanically inclined are you? If you do a lot of your own work, it won't be too bad, but djantlive is right, most normal repairs on 944s are $1-2k. After owning my 944 for about 4 years, it spent about 1 year plus of that time sitting because of various things that went wrong with it (sunroof motor, DME, radiator, fan relay, water pump/timing belt/rollers). After I graduated high school, I took mine to college with me and it was great, but I also spent a lot of nights out in the parking lot wrenching. djantlive is right, it's a really fun car and not everybody has them so it's a fun drive, but part of the deal is the age/repair side of things. Hopefully the current owner has good records of repairs so you know kinda what to expect over the next few years too.

Not at all trying to discourage you, just simply trying to be honest so you know what you're getting yourself into. That being said, we'd love to see some pics!

V2Rocket

Even a very clean 944 with a fresh engine isn't worth ~$9k.
Maybe $5k.

Anorak

@sweetskillsrk I'm not sure how to tag people but I'm not very mechanically inclined. I've cleaned carbs on bikes and changed batteries but never anything big. I'd love to learn how to work on engines. I will say, I know how most of the part of an engine work.

porscharu

Don't do it. Spend your spare cash on taking girls out on dates not repairing a 30 y/o Porsche. What happens the first time you need to dump 1k into it? Can you afford to take that hit because it is going to happen.

944 porsche

I agree with V2. $9k sounds like a lot for any daily driver 944. Maybe post some pictures or other details like mileage.

The question you ask is simply going to get opinions. Ultimately you'll have to make your own decision based on what is important to you. Personally I get much more pleasure out of driving my 944 then any newer "more reliable transportation".

Aside from the purchase price though I would go for 944 as a first car. The back hatch actually provides plenty of room for hauling around stuff. Great gas mileage for a sports car. Great body who doesn't like one of those LOL.

The bottom line is you have to be okay with tinkering on the car yourself. If you are somewhat handy and interested you can find a lot of help on this board for repairs that you may need to do. In addition to that I would set aside about 1-2k for the repair that comes along that's over your head.

If you have no interest in learning how to work on this car then steer clear. It will be way too expensive to pay someone to fix every little thing that goes wrong. On the flip side if you enjoy tinkering on it you'll make a list of everything that needs to be fixed and you'll chip away at it in your spare time. I'm super busy these days but whenever I have a free afternoon I pull out my list and take care of another job. My 944 will never be perfect but I enjoy every minute of maintaining it.

Let us know what you decide.

EliteThink

seems expensive, you can get a great newer car for 9k with mods. also, 944 people are kinda craycray, not sure you want to join us :-)

sweetskillsrk

I agree wholeheartedly, well put.

As far as the price though, yeah, its seems pretty dang high. A 944, sure, this 944, maybe not. I would spend less and have more money leftover for repairs, tinkering, etc.

Mr Exotherm

My first post here but I have years of Porsche ownership experience. Lots of good advice in this thread. My guess is at $8900 the seller is trying to recoup all of the engine rebuild cost. Too bad for him. Unless the thing is in absolutely fantastic shape the ask is too, too much. If you really want to explore this machine further I'd recommend finding someone on Rennlist that is local to you or make contact with your local PCA chapter and ask for some help in evaluating the car. You may be surprised how willing us old guys are to help a young guy like yourself out. Based on the contacts you make you might even find a much better deal on a different car.

mro763

That's too much. You can find an S2 for that price. Ok so they rebuilt the engine. How about the transmission/clutch torque tube, condition of brakes, tires, suspension. Does everything work on the car? It better be dam near perfect for that price or I would not consider it. I am sure you can find a good clean one for around 5K or less. Good luck, and if you do get one, you will love it!