Otto Mechanic

Fascisti!

-- Old woman selling villa in "Under the Tuscan Sun", 2003, Touchstone Pictures.

V2Rocket

(how mine looked until 2010)

Otto Mechanic

Spencer, dare I ask how your car got to Pittsburgh?

Fickle. They're all fickle...

Otto Mechanic

Better off with a 928. About the same price, cheaper parts, bigger engine. Better looking.

Financedog

Ricky Gray

Hi All,

I just wanted to say thanks for all the helpful insight from a few months ago. Following a lot of the advice on this forum I opted not to purchase the 85 944 at the beginning of my thread.

I'm still hunting for the right one. Last night this caught my eye and I wanted to ask your thoughts because it's a lot less polished than the ones I've been looking at. I'm not afraid of a project if it's a smart project. But if this is asking for trouble I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thank you!

1989 944 S2 w/120k miles
Timing belt was done 1.5 years ago.
Clutch, master, and slave replaced in January.
Owner reports engine and tranny in excellent condition.
Reports body is in good condition but needs paint, interior work, and brake rotors. Says it has Koni shocks that "might" need to be replaced.
Says he purchased it as a project but his finances have changed and has too much on his plate right now.
Asking $5k.

S2s seem hard to come by. Does this seem more along a potential diamond in the rough or a nightmare waiting to happen?

Thanks again for all the support.

Dan Martinic

finally!

Having had a 1989 928 S4 and knowing a bunch of 928 guys here in DFW I do not think the words "928" and "cheap(er)" should ever be used in same sentence...

Swenny

I admire the guys that can keep a 928 running. Tons of cash and tons of time to get a decent vehicle on the road. But who's crazier? The 924,944,928 or 968 guys? I've worked on my Porsches all hours of the day and night. Spent every last cent buying parts. All that I do with my free time is read about cars and watch car programs or work on my vehicles. I've even taken the bus to work because I didn't like a sound coming from under the hood one morning. Instead of going to work I should have gone to the doctors office and had this 924S removed from my ***. It would have been cheaper than keeping it.

Tom R.

looks rough, but it is 30 years old. tough to find a S2. if you get it for five and put seven into it you are approaching nice Boxster S money. I had 3 S2s. They are wonderful cars. I wouldn't walk because it is rough, the price took it into account. Worth a PPI to see if there is rust. The interior is a lot of little pieces. Nothing major.

mike77

I owned an S2. Was a great car but rust is an issue with them. Check very carefully on the sills for rust bubbles. The plastic trim on the bottom of the sill catches dirt and also the drain holes get blocked. The sills rust from the inside out. Another spot is the bit of body work behind the rear wheels. Get your head right under. There is an air vent in the door jamb, it clips out. If you can get the owner to remove it you can get a mobile in to take a picture of the inside of the sill to check for signs of rust.

Otto Mechanic

Diamond in the rough. Needs new seats, I may be able to help there since I'll soon be replacing mine from the '89 S2 with Sparco Ergo racing seats anyway, not sure yet and they're blue so probably not much help.

$5K for an S2 (in Alpine White no less) with 120K on it is a good deal. I'd recommend pursuit.

Regards,

Otto Mechanic

.

You're probably right about that....

Otto Mechanic

Rust is no more an issue with the S2 than with any other car, which of course means rust is always an issue.

The S2 is not especially prone to problems with rust. In fact it's a very well protected (zinc plated) monocoque car in that respect. If the car has rust, that's an unexpected problem.

If it happens to be a car from northern climes, subject to constant exposure to salt on roads, that may be a concern. If the zinc plating has been compromised (by a collision for example), that could be a problem.

I'll agree they're great cars.

Regards,

Wisconsin Joe

Interesting thread drift.

I own one of each. 83 944, 85 Euro 928 S2.

Both are amazing cars, in their own right.
Very different 'personalities'.
Despite somewhat similar appearances, very different cars. One of my neighbors thought I had painted my white 944 dark green when I got my 928.

While neither is cheap to own, both are quite reliable, as long as all the 'catch up' work is taken care of.
One important thing: Despite how low the prices went (they are coming up), they were very expensive cars when new. The 928 cost as much as a mid-sized house. The 944 stickered at 3/4 to 2/3 of the 928 IIRC. Parts & qualified labor reflect that cost. Not what you pay for them now.
The only place 'cheap' applies with the 928 is to the idiot PO who had no clue what they had or how to work on it. I've been pretty lucky, but the horror stories of "PO Idiocy" are notorious. 944s don't seem quite as bad.

Both the 928 & 944 crowd have serious mental issues. Obsessive behavior, willingness to spend stupid amounts of money on 30+ year old cars, hours & hours spent on 'research', or wrenching, or cleaning, or on here, chatting with others.
I think we have more in common with each other than with the 'normal' people.
I'm good with that.