Enthusiast90

Hey everyone, new member here. Recently became interested in purchasing my first Porsche and have been stalking rennlist/pelicanparts forums the past 2 weeks which did nothing but assure me that I want to get a Porsche. When I mentioned this to a coworker/friend of mine he just so happen to have a project sitting under his house.. and I do mean a project lol. It has 185,000 miles. As far as I know (based off of what he has told me so far) mechanically it is in good shape and sails with the wind. It has been sitting for about 2-3 months since the ECU went out. Majority of the issues are cosmetic which you will see in my pictures below. The current issue is the ECU (GME?). He has brought it to 2 different shops and a Porsche dealership for opinions and they ran diagnostics. The general consensus was that the ECU got wet or something. He is persistent on trying to get me to buy it and just replace the ECU myself but I am being really persistent about him replacing the ECU before I buy it in case that turns out to not be the problem. Long story short.. He wants $1,500 for it, 185k miles, supposedly runs perfectly, obviously needs lots of cosmetic work (especially since I very much like to have my belongings looking sharp/clean so I have no problem sinking $2-3k into this car as long as it honestly does not have any serious transmission/engine issues beyond what I can learn to replace/fix myself.) I have a budget of about $300-500 a month to throw at the car to fix it overtime. I just need it to be in running condition for the winter because my main transportation currently is a motorcycle and I do not want to freeze my butt off like I did last year..

Things it definitely needs:
-ECU
-Windshield
-Sunroof is slightly bent/warped
-Some electrical fuses/relays replaced
-Weather strips causing leakage when its pouring rain
-Dashboard is cracked all over the place
-No seat belt buckles
-He says the car blows hot air which keeps it warm in the winter but the heater/ac does not work..
-Several dings/scratches that need to be popped out or bondo/sanded
-New carpets, dash, console basically all interior because I hate the maroon color
-Exhaust tip is bent and looks.. melted?


Basically what I am getting at.. Is this worth my time? Has anyone gotten a 944 in worse/similiar condition and managed to fix it up within a $2-3k budget? I am in love with this car and $1,500 seems like a good deal but I am far from knowing what I am talking about. Also can I possibly get some tips/lists of things I should be looking for mechanical/electrical wise that are obvious signs of serious issues?

Sorry if this post is newbish. Learning as I go.

Thanks,
Enthusiast90


Pics: The pictures do not quite do the paint job justice. It is the original paint and has a really nice shine to it still with minimum damage. Just some spots are cracking (not peeling). It is just really really dusty.

dmjames

Independent of anything else, the Fuchs rims (if original and not replicas) are worth well over $600, if not over $1k, so it's got that going for it if you get into it and it's more trouble and money than it's worth to fix up...

dmjames

Having said that, looking more closely at your list of stuff the car needs, I fear this car is likely to be an absolute basket-case, and will drive you more crazy than you're expecting. Figure you'll be spending at least as much as your $2-3k 'budget' just on mechanicals/electrical issues. You'll need to do the timing belt and almost certainly the water pump as well (unless your friend has documentation of the last change and it's recent), and that's over $500 just in parts, plus several hundred in tools and/or labor if you have a shop do it.

Also, note that that's not an early '85 model. If it's a 1985 car, then it's an 85.2- the oval dash that the 'late' cars have didn't show up until the mid-year refresh.

oefporschelover

I would buy the seats (if they are manual) !

thomnellie

Never owned a 944, but don't like the sound of the warped sunroof and electrical issues. Sounds like it could have gotten wet.

dmjames

Some level of electrical issues seems to be de rigeuer for these cars, it's just a question of severity. Not sure why, but some cars just seem to have pretty major issues with the insulation cracking up, and the grounds are very susceptible to getting dirty and not really working well. The grounds are a pretty easy problem to fix, but the split wires can be a real pain to track down.

Since the sunroof is removable, I'd bet that someone dropped it, set something on it, or dropped something on it- they can be pretty unwieldy once off the car.