ithinkibuy968

Hello,

I am buying a 1986 944 with 65,000 miles. It is being sold for $8000.

It has no rust and it needs two new calipers and tires. The paint is also not in the best condition, it has some rock chips and swirl marks all over. I am hesitant to purchase it because it has been sitting for 5 years.

My questions are:

1) Is $8000 a good price? What is it realistically worth/could easily sell for?
2) Is it a bad idea to buy one that has sat for 5 years? What will likely break as a result?
3) What maintenance/repairs NEEDS to be done? Approximate cost and difficulty?
4) What maintenance/repairs is a good precaution to be done? Approximate cost and difficulty?

Thanks so much guys!

NelaK

First of all - unless there is documentation proving the miles, don't add too much value to it 'only' being 65,000 miles. The odometer is only 5 digits and the car will magically go back to being a 0 mile car in about 35,000 miles. After 33 years, I'm more inclined to believe the odometer has rolled over rather than the car was only driven 2000 miles/year on average for it's life. Its not worth arguing with the current owner over it, just be skeptical.

- After 5 years, ALL the standard maintenance should be done. Timing belt, water pump, oil change, coolant, brake fluid, air filter, transmission oil etc. Add fuel filter to the list too.
- Speaking of the fuel filter - if the fuel tank sat empty the entire time and it's a metal tank, there could be rust on the inside of the tank. If it sat full, all the fuel has probably gone bad and should probably be drained and refilled with fresh gas.
- All the soft rubber and plastic parts need to be inspected to make sure they haven't rotted away.
- Add new tires to the list. Manufacturers recommend 6 years for tires and most likely the existing tires have been on there for longer, plus they've been sitting on one section of the tire for 5 years.
- It will probably need a new battery
- The other issue is that all the o-rings, seals and gaskets might start failing. Its not guaranteed but its worth watching out for.
- All the electrical switches, relays etc have possibly built up corrosion on the contacts. They may need to be removed and cleaned or using them a few times might clean off the corrosion. Either way - expect electrical gremlins. Some of which may fix themselves, some of which will require manual intervention.
- What do you mean by it needs new calipers? Did you mean rotors?

Everything above is DIYable if you're handy. I would budget about $1500 for the maintenance if you're doing it all yourself. If you're paying someone, it could get very expensive since its all very time consuming stuff and most mechanics would prefer to just start replacing parts rather than cleaning or fixing them.

And this is all just maintenance items - the car needs a good look over and a test drive to identify any other issues. The inspection should preferably be done by a good mechanic that is familiar with these cars and is not emotionally invested in the purchase. I know when I get my heart set on something, I'll start overlooking issues.

As for price - without seeing pictures or more details on the car, its hard to say. I think that $8000 is a bit high. I don't know where you're located but I'm in Canada and I'll quote Canadian values in Canadian dollars from VMR and Hagerty (Kelly Black Book values are over inflated and don't even cover older cars).

VMR:

• Fair: $3425
• Clean: $6625
• Excellent: $10,375

Hagerty:

• Fair: $4800
• Good: $9600
• Excellent: $25,300
• Concours: $38,100

Its definitely not going to be Hagerty's "Excellent" or "Concours". Excellent would be a car in perfect condition like it rolled off the factory floor with a full documented history and Concours is special cars with significant history AND that are in such pristine condition that you could eat off the underside. The top two value categories are always heavily skewed by specific cars that end up demanding crazy prices for various reasons.

"Good" is a car that is in great condition. It might have wear and tear but you can hop in, and drive it with no excuses and no concerns about issues. Everything works as it should.

"Fair" is a car that has issues but they aren't serious.

VMR doesn't explain their ratings but I'd guess they range between Hagerty's Fair to Good.

Based off those and the very limited information you've given - I'd guestimate a car that has sat for 5 years, and has paint issues would be around $4000 to $6000 and that's assuming there are no actual issues but then you need to ask - why has the car sat for 5 years? Cars are often left to sit because something went wrong and the owner couldn't be bothered to fix it.

If the car had all it's maintenance done and was driving with no issues, maybe an argument can be made for $8000.

All the numbers I quoted are all in Canadian Dollars and reflect the Canadian market. Your local market might be very different.

Ky944TurboNewbie

In 86, the odometer is 6 digits, but milage is easily manipulated so it would need a lot of documentation to prove the miles before I would believe it.

$8k is crazy high for a car that has been sitting for 5 years and regardless of the milage is a major project.

Ky944TurboNewbie

I'll try to give a more direct answer to you actual questions.

1) Is $8000 a good price? What is it realistically worth/could easily sell for? If it has been sitting 5 years, it is worth about $1k give or take a few hundred depending on options.
2) Is it a bad idea to buy one that has sat for 5 years? What will likely break as a result?
3) What maintenance/repairs NEEDS to be done? Approximate cost and difficulty? For starters, the Timing Belt, Balance Belt, Front of Engine Seals, Fuel Lines.
4) What maintenance/repairs is a good precaution to be done? Approximate cost and difficulty? I just listed the basics that can cause the engine to break or catch fire. In addition to these, Venturi Delete, All Fluids, Tires, and anything rubber that hasn't been documented as already being replaced. Are you doing it yourself? If so, set aside $5k for this and the other WYIT jobs. If you are paying someone else to do it, set aside $10k. Cross your fingers that the clutch has already been replaced or the rubber center will not hold long and it will need to be done also. Minimum $2k to get someone to do this. $1k if done yourself.

Wisconsin Joe

In order:

1) No. What sort of records does it come with? WHY was it sitting? (this is important) WHERE was it sitting (what sort of storage conditions)? (this is also important)
2) Not necessarily, but understand that a car that has been sitting will need a lot of attention. What may or may not break is largely dependent on what sort of condition it was in when it was parked and what sort of condition it was stored in.
3) Everything. TB/WP, oil, coolant, brake fluid, fuel in tank & filter (possibly pump), maybe the 'rubber bits' - Coolant hoses, vacuum lines (again depends on when they were last changed and how it was stored) Cost maybe $1k - $1500 in parts, some of it is a bit involved, but nothing a reasonably experienced 'DIYer' couldn't handle.
4) Depends. Electricals should be gone through. Fuel lines may be a good idea (again, records and storage). Trans fluid

The mileage is pretty irrelevant. It may or may not be accurate. And these cars can easily go a couple hundred thousand, if properly cared for. This one isn't 'super low' or even 'low enough' to matter that much. Condition and records would be more important. And the condition of this one isn't 'good'. Probably not even 'fair'.

Check out Clark's Garage. Probably the best site for these cars.
Pelican has some good info. They like to give a 'difficulty rating' for the job, and you can find parts prices right there.


Take a look at the write ups for the jobs mentioned above and decide what you can and cannot do yourself.
If you are paying to have it done, plan on paying a lot. Most of the stuff needed is pretty labor intensive.

mazdaverx7

As others have mentioned, documentation is huge with the low mile cars with a high asking price. Maintenance records area must. The asking price is as stated above, pretty high for the amount of time its been sitting and the work it needs. The fact that the seller is not willing to invest money into the car to get it in top running condition is a sign that the car may have been neglected as far as maintenance is concerned. If you are asking a premium, the car must be in premium condition. You already know its going to need brakes as the seller stated, it will need tires, a full timing/balance belt/water pump job, filters, fuel system cleaning, coolant flush, oil change etc. We could go on and on, but as it sits, I would feel more comfortable around 3k for the car. No indication of documentation, potentially more issues that the seller is aware if, and improper long term storage take away the value from the low miles. Do you have pictures available that you can share of the car?

audi49

Agree with all the other feedback here. Do you have a link to the actual car? Also, I think it depends on what you want to get out of the car. Do you want to show the car? Will it be a daily driver? etc.

Tom R.

$8,000 is insane. Price a paint job, and maintenance that must be done to get it up to snuff and you are in low mileage Boxster territory. There are better cars out there for $15 grand. And $15 grand is where you will be if you start with a car that sat for five years at $8 grand. That is a $2,500 project, not a daily driver. Don't let the Porsche badge seduce you. Did you smell the interior after it sat for five years? Bet there is moisture in there.

There are links to FAQs. Read them, read them again, then read them two more times. Then figure out the time each task will take, and the cost of the parts. Figure out what you will have invested in a 33 year old 150HP car before you take your first drive. Then, if you must have a 944 look for one that had all of that work done. Drive it right away, and have a few thousand left over for gas, and girls. Or, give up being social and spend your time trying to get the thing running.