Cliff Ruckstuhl

It had crossed my mind since I love my 951 so much to see if my son would be interested in a 85 or 86 944 NA car. He is but if I buy it for him, gave him the "sorry Charlie" but while paying half his car insurance today (he pays the other half) I asked how much it would cost if we did this. I was expecting it to be an real ugly amount. Much to my surprise it was only about $10.00 a month more then we were paying for his 93 Ford Probe GT insurance. I know some might not think a 17 year kid should have a 944 and he does not want one becsue of driving it in the show. But his Probe GT was pretty quick till the transmission started slipping in 3rd gear. The cost to fix it was like working on our car's. But not it belongs to someone else.

Cliff 88 951

James86-951

The cars are old enough that they no longer have the performance values attached to their ratings. (My 951 didn't have ANY performance rating for my State Farm agent.) Furthermore, the Probe will have a higher rating due to the losses over the past few years. Most 944's are now in garages or are driven by competent people. (Not every schmo will have one.)

The caveat is that they will total it in a loss VERY quickly.

ryeske944

I got my NA when I was 15 and started driving it myself when I was 17. I think it's a great car for someone his age as long as he is into Porsches and especially if he has an interest in performance driving. The NA is a great car to learn on because of the engine/drivetrain layout, the 50/50 weight differential, and the overall handling characteristics. It's a good car to have to learn the fundamentals of driving at a higher level, and it's not fast enough to really get him into trouble. If I had a 951 when I first started driving, I probably would have gotten into trouble, but I feel that the NA had just enough power to have fun with but not enough to easily surpass the limits of the car.

v944god

Cliff why not just give him the 951? Imagine that.

ErichCS

Hey Cliff - I agree with some others here, i first bought my 924S when i was 15 and it sat for a year and a half till i had my license. I think it was a great car for someone interested in sports cars and performacne driving to start with. The car is not dangerously fast for the road for a young driver with the ocassion stupid manuvers. In fact many times the car has saved me from where i know something worse could have happened if i hadnt been driving such a perfect handling/braking car....

Oh yea and my insurance is cheap, just over a grand a year. My sister with an accident on a BMW is over 3000!

And, seriously though...wouldnt you rather your impressionable son get into Porsche's at a young age, rather than some Honda etc....? If you introduce him to Rennlist maybe he'll get real interested!!

Just my opinion Goodluck
-Erich

Cliff Ruckstuhl

He just turned 17 I have talked to him about it but I think that damn Play Station 2 seems to be higher on the list. He thinks the Honda Fast and the Furious scene is pretty cool. But lucky for me he has not gone down that road.

I had thought about doing some of the driving school stuff with him but it would require him having his own car. I can't let the wife drive my 951 let alone my son. As a matter of fact the list to drive my car with my friends is pretty long but NO WAY. I did let my brother drive it and was very nervious about that even though he is a deputy Sheriff.

Cliff 88 951

odie

It all depends on the insurance company. My cars are with USAA. Same exact liability rate for a Porsche or Pontiac. Zero differene when I went from 914 to CJ Jeep to 300ZX Turbo to Fiero to Volvo to YJ Jeep. ZERO rate change.

Now comp/coll...totaly different rules with USAA.

But each ins company does it different.

I'd be interested in how much your annual liability increased when you added your son. A $10 annual increase for changing your son's car is pretty negligible.

inactiveuser92616

when getting insurance on my 1987 NA its was actually about $50 cheaper /6 months than my base model 1993 geo storm. Weird.

Techno Duck

I would really recommend the 924S or N/A 944 as a first car. As stated above, they are not overly fast and its not even worth drag racing in it. They do however handle amazingly well and have great braking distances (i mean that in a good way =P). Im 18 now, got the car when i just turned 17. It has surley saved me from some pretty close calls due to its peformance. Its also a good idea as its not easy to find bolt on stuff for the car that is cheap. Which means hes less likley to be blowing money on the thing left and right.

If i were to have gotten a 5.0 Mustang as i had originally planned (aside from paying the insurance...) i probably would have dumped alot of money on intakes, exhausts...etc by now.

cantal10

I'm only 17 and i had my 92 968 from when i was 16 until a few months ago. My dad made me sell it because i was spending a lot of money on maintainance, but that was just to get it up to par. That car was amazing, i'm still in love with and always will be. I now drive a 95 bmw 325is and its a great car but no 968. Once all the maintainance costs are out of the way these cars are awesome to drive. Come spring time i hope to have a 944 turbo to play with before i go to college. 944 would be a good car to start off with. Good luck

cantal10

o yea my insurance wasn't that bad under my parents plan, about $2000-2200 a year, so like $200 a month. I'm sure a 944 would be a lot less considering its an older car and smaller engine displacement. My one friend has an 86 944 and another has a 86 944 turbo, and they pay a moderate amount.

Cliff Ruckstuhl

I think the insurance for him under my name and having him driving the 944 as his car came out to $125/month. That is with the A/B good student discount and with taking this safe driving class offered by State Farm. When I got the insurance for my 951 it was just $80/year more then my wifes 92 Honda Prelude. I think it is about $720.00/year for the insurance for my 951. Being that we live in NW Ohio our insurance tends to not be all that bad cost wise. Compared to Jersey where my father lives.

Cliff 88 951