paredown

I've been watching two auctions on BAT--that both recently finished.

A decent condition S2 with 142k miles and some deferred maintenance issues-TB etc- (I think the seller may have had health problems or just lost interest?) sold for only $7500. It had some challenges (ABS was disconnected; airbag steering wheel was gone/ABS not working) but it was an 'honest' car from my perspective.

The second coupe was lower mileage--only 38k--and seemed to attract more attention. Still it only went for $19,500.

If I were caught up on some other commitments, I would have bid on the cheaper of the two--despite the work required, I simply liked it better.

Does this make me a masochist? Or a bottom feeder?

Van

Yes.


Yes.


Welcome to the reality of 944 ownership!

MAGK944

Baring all the low mile collectors cars and very high milers, 944 pricing is simple. If good examples are selling for say $15k and you find the same model for $10k, you will quickly spend $5k to make it good. Conclusion: buy the best you can afford. GL

FRporscheman

Another reality of 944 ownership is that it makes a lot more sense if you can work on it yourself, and buying one that needs some work will give you a chance to get good at it. And feel vested in it. And then become attached to it so you put more money into it than it'll ever be worth.

FWIW, I've noticed that the S2 price curve seems to dip lower at the bottom of the range. I.e. a $15k S2 is priced at $15k, but ones that should be $7k are found at $5k. I bet that $7500 S2 was nicer than the number 7500 makes me think it was.

paredown

Yes it was pretty nice. Interior was in great shape, paint was as well. The owner of the higher mileage car took a little heat for not selling a car with all the maintenance done--but stated (quite correctly I think) that he had the choice--do all the maintenance (and probably price a bunch of folks who could do their own work out of being able to afford the car), or selling it 'as is'. He chose the latter--although I think he could have probably got much more for the car by doing the TB/fluid changes/steering wheel replacement/ABS restore.

It even came with a collection of parts for some of the work needed.

Still wrapped up in house projects, so I will continue my education.

Otto Mechanic

It always comes down to whether you want to do it yourself. If you want a well sorted S2 expect to pay around $17,000 for it. If you want a "fixer-upper" it's about $10K less. Not hard.

Some of us enjoy restoring the cars so we look for mildly neglected ones and restore them ourselves, others just want a car they can enjoy out of the box. It's really your choice.

FRporscheman

By the way, ABS = antilock braking system. Airbags = SRS (secondary restraint system).

And I have the same dilemma with one of my 951s right now - I'm trying to sell it, and I started off with it in need of several repairs, and priced lower, but I had no interest. I fixed several things, raised the price, and tried again, and some interest but very little. Now I'm in the middle of fixing everything I can and just pricing it higher.

I really thought it would be best to keep the price low and leave some things for the next person to fix the way he/she wants (e.g. no stereo), but I guess most people want a sorted and complete car. Or maybe it's that they want a sorted car for the price of a fixer upper.....

RJ80

I sold my very nice, very original '89 S2 in Zermatt Silver on BaT earlier this year. With 128k miles and all service current besides motor mounts, I got nearly $16k, not much less than the 32k-mile car that just sold.

That said, I think the "low-mileage" car was suspect -- either the miles weren't accurate or the car did not live a pampered life, as mine had. The condition for the miles just didn't add up.

For what it's worth, I think 944s have had their market rise for the time being and will probably be stagnant over the next several years. But if you bought your car to drive, who really cares anyway?

I like a lot of different cars, so I sold mine after I was ready to try something new and before the bills started piling up. Ended up making several thousand dollars on the sale (I had about $9k in the car), but that wasn't the point of my ownership -- it was to enjoy the car, which I did for about five thousand miles.

paredown

Yes--the cheaper car had both the driver side airbag wheel missing/passenger air bag removed but included and the ABS was disconnected. I probably didn't make that clear.

The seller's original plan was to track the car--and had been told that the airbags could be triggered inadvertently on the track. Not sure what happened with the ABS.

paredown

Yes--the higher mileage car actually looked better, at least the interior (no dash cracks) and the exterior was at least as good.

Otto Mechanic

I did a recent survey on this subject, the popular vote was to keep the SRS (airbag system) for track use.

As I understand, some regions of the PCA will disallow cars that have safety restraint systems compromised or disabled?

djantlive

I wouldn't be surprised. With a small and old car, you definitely want the airbags and abs working. My abs wasn't working when I bought it. It stops so much better now after it was fixed. Turned out to be just a $50 ABS relay!

FRporscheman

I don't have a lot of faith in the airbags; I disabled them on my track car. To give you an idea of just how old they are, take a look at this list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billbo...ingles_of_1989

Otto Mechanic

Poison.

A band recently made famous by the epic tragedy "Hot Tub Time Machine".

I think I got that message. but I'm still missing a Yacht.

jbrob007

It's amazing to me the difference in pricing between the S2 and the Base models. Yes the S2s are a faster/better car so they should cost more, but $10K - $15K or even more...? I picked up a VERY nice base 944 automatic ( I know - nobody wants an automatic ) in Silver over Burgundy with an Aero package and 100K on the clock. It's for my kid so the automatic (which is slower) was actually a GOOD thing. It was garage kept all it's life, but needed the usual deferred maintenance. The interior was 9 of 10 and paint 8 of 10 because of the usual road rash on the front bumper. No wrecks and all original paint. The car was $3800. After a DIY TB, balance belt, front engine & cam tower seals, brake shoes & rotors, oil coolant seals, motor mounts, all fluids, etc, I'm up to approx $4500 total. Tires will cost another $550 or so. Also, I'm digging the low cost of parts as compared to my 928... At approx $5K it's very hard to complain about the price of the base models if you want a nicely sorted 944 to drive... I'd like to have a sorted S2 or Turbo, but at $10K - $20K more... not so much. Don't overlook the very affordable base models - they make great daily drivers and are still a stylish fun car.