Dave

The electrical really isnt that bad, it's usually just a matter of finding the spot to clean and most of them have been covered here so a quick search of the archives will usually point you in the right direction. Since you plan to do most of the work, I'll mention a couple other things. Service manuals are available in 3 flavors, Haynes is the worst, factory manuals on CD are illegal (and not really mentioned on Rennlist other than to point out that they're illegal so as to not cause problems for Rennlist), that leaves the legal versions of the factory manuals, these were made only on microfiche (which I have and were discontinued years ago) or in book form (discontinued more recently but hard to find a new set). The best bet is Ebay, a good used set of books will be a couple hundred bucks but is worth it's weight in gold. The big PITA job on these cars is the clutch, about 15 hours!

theedge

Depending on how you want to do it, it could be several thousand in the first year. I think im up to about $1500 in the first 2 months, but so far im doing new tie rod assemblies, ball joint rebuild, new caster blocks, new rear brake pads, new shoes for parking brake, misc bits for the interior (console lid, new key), stainless steel braided fuel lines, fuel injector seals, then the obvious cleaning supplies, tools that I didnt have, fluids, etc. I try not to think of the total in gas so far, you wont have to worry as much since youre looking at an N/A. Next up for me is front control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, stainless steel braided brake lines, new front pads, better brake fluid and some other stuff. Oh and starter rebuild in there too.

Really it all depends on how **** you want to be with fixing stuff and things like that. This is all for my 944 Turbo, and thats my daily driver. Im at 2 months ownership now, only thing that actually broke was the starter, but that poor thing was worn to hell before I even got the car. Now with the rebuild... It starts better than a lot of new cars IMHO

Edit: Just so you know, im at almost 199k miles.

leav02

There's one advertised local: 89 944 NA w/160k miles needs clutch everything else is in very good condition for $2k OBO.

Does the clutch replacement require the engine to be removed? Can you remove the engine and trans together with the hood removed?

L8 APEKS

Leav,

The engine is in the front of the car. The trans is in the rear.

A new clutch will cost you about 800 for the kit. Assuming it runs well otherwise, if he took $1k for the car (adjusting for the potential ~$2k clutch job, plus anything else), if could be a fair deal.

I think others would disagree though. But there's no way of knowing without inspecting the car first-hand. Mileage is 1/10 as important as maintenance.

M758

Tranny comes out to get to the clutch. It comes out from the back.

Figure a clutch job at $1000 to $2000 if some one else does it. Or about $500 if you do it youself and a full weekends worth of work.

Book says 10-12 hrs for NA, but I figure 16-20 for on guy in his garage.

leav02

OK, so the transmission comes out like a 911 engine (down and back)? I've got alot of experience getting engines and transmissions out from under 914's, 912's and 911's so this should be fairly doable in my garage. I have'nt looked at the car yet, I was waiting to get opinions on any mileage related issues. As with any Porsche I've purchased, I'll make sure it has a goo service history and a PPI.

Anything specific to have checked during a PPI other than a leakdown?

capndar

I have used my 944 as a daily driver (now for sale-moving to a cab) and have found it to be quite suitable. Good gas mileage, very reliable...

Scootin159

Obviously a few people have already answered, but why not give ya another data point.
I've had my car 2 years, and it starts every time I turn the key. Ok, except for that one point when the starter died, but that can happen on any car. (original starter with about 100k miles on it).

I'd care less about mileage if it's got good maintenance. IMHO a 20k mile car with poor maintenance records is a WORSE car than a 150-180k car with good maintenance history.

Having driven mine through the worst snow season in NY history with mine (all I have to say is one weekend we got over 10' of snow, that's 10 FEET, not inches) these things handle great in the snow. I drove it for a while on bald all-seasons & it was 'alright', but once I got snows on, even the worse snow storm wasn't any worse than driving in a light rain.

Timing belt (30k replacement, 15k tensioning), Waterpump (60k replacement), Clutch (surface will hardly ever wear out, but the center will deteriorate over age). Those are the big ones, little ones are the sunroof gears strip out over time ($20 repair, but time consuming), and the rear hatch can 'delaminate' over time & sun exposure, causing a leak at the top of the rear window. Rust is rarely an issue, except underneeth the battery.

I've had mine for 2 years and have spend $3k on maintenance. That probably is excessivly high, but a LARGE part of that went into 'fixing it up' and making it as near-mint as possible. I'd say maybe only $500-$1000 of that was in actual nessesary maintenance. If I had better maintenance records I could've saved at least $1000-$1500 of that.

no problem.

Scootin159

To do the clutch you either need to pull the engine (comes out from the bottom, have to remove front suspension) or pull out the exhaust, transmission (it's fused with the rear differential in the rear of the car) and torque tube (driveshaft). I've seen it argued 50/50 as to which is easier, but basically expect to spend either $500 to do it yourself & a full weekend (or two)'s time, or pay someone up to $2000 to do it for you.

btw...$4k (after clutch job) for a '89 N/A in good shape with a good history is a fair/good price. Don't wory about the 160k miles, if it's been well maintained that car will easily surpass 250k before the first rebuild.

EDIT: BTW, I see your in Ohio....those Ohio guys are pretty nice, not sure where in OH they are, but it shouldn't be hard to turn out a crew of 4-5 guys for a clutch job in exchange for beer & pizza.

Luis de Prat

In my experience, the cost of maintenance drops significantly when you do your own work. Like has been said, if you keep up with maintenance, the cars are quite reliable. Given your mechanical experience, it sounds to me like you'd be a pretty satisfied 944 owner.

david fracolli

To second Scootin159 I drive my car year round in upstate New Yorkk too. I am 12 miles from Canada and as long as you have decent tires on the car it drives fine in the snow. With snow tires on the back and all seasons on the front I can drive the car places where my mother-in-law can't get her truck through with all seasons.
If the weather is really bad I just throw a couple of 40 pound bags of cat litter in the trunk. Have not got stuck yet in 3 winters of driving the car at least 30 miles every day and I'm from California so this snow driving is new to me!

'88-924S

One thing that hasn't been addressed-resale value.
I wouldn't expect to get back what you put in $$ wise. Unlike the 911, the 944's don't hold their value as well. I certainly am not trying to discourage you, you're already a Porsche guy, so you know a lot already.
I bought my '88 924S with 41k original miles on it for $4000. I've put in about the same, $3k-$4k, but keep in mind that $1600 of that was a shop doing the clutch for me(I know I pussed out.) The rest is parts only for belt and H2O pump, wheel bearings, sunroof gears, tires, tie rod ends, motor mounts, etc. I'm about to spend another $800-$1200 for new struts and tires and alignment, and as I write this I can't believe I've put that much into it and that I'm continuing to do so. However, I probably drive AT LEAST an hour a day just to drive the car, so I'm addicted completely and money means little compared to the joy.

Scootin159

Yeah, kinda funny...me & Mike both went driving for about 2 hours yesterday & never left town & never went anywhere, lol.

'88-924S

My GF thinks I spend more time with my car than her, and she's right!!!

gleamingred944

You need good snow tires. Bridgestone Blizzaks are probably the best. With a car that low, you won't handle foot-deep snow, but the primary danger in winter driving is ice, not snow.

Go for a top quality rust prevention spray - one that drips for a bit so it continues to flow over damaged areas throughout the winter. Then enjoy it! I do!