leav02

I am toying with the idea of purchasing a 944 (normally aspirated) as a daily driver and have a few questions.

1) How reliable are these cars?

2) Should high mileage scare me off if the car has a good maint. history?

3) How do these things handle snow?

4) What are the problem areas I should watch out for?

5) Overall cost of regular maintenance?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Pearceman3

1) they can be very reliable cars with the right maintinance
2) No, a good maintenance history with these cars is vital
3) Not extremely well... snow tires help of course
4) if timing belt/water pump/rollers have not been changed in a the last few years that must be done asap
5) expect 1 G in the first year

Bhj0887

1. If well taken care of these cars are reliable
2. Records help, but as in all cars..old parts break, regardless of maintenance.
3. With some good snow tires, they get you around well, with all-seasons be prepared to do 20 mph if you can get out of the driveway.
4. Timing belt failure is a fairly common and costly repair on these cars
5. Expect to pay more than $200 for a normal tune up (wires, plugs, cap rotor)

I'm not trying to steer you away from the car but some things are expensive and some aren't. If you don't do you own work be prepared to dig deep into those pockets.

leav02

Thanks for the reply, could you explain what the $1k would consist of during the first year?

leav02

How difficult are they to work on? Any special tools required?

I've owned many Porsches (911, 964, 912, 914) over the years but not a 944. I have a fairly comprehansive metric tool set and have done alot of my own work in the past.

Thanks,

Bhj0887

There are always things that happen. I've had mine for about 3 months and I've spent somewhere around $300, but when I got mine it was in a box..literally the whole front end was in peices.

Techno Duck

1) Fairly reliable if you take care of the preintive maitenence which involves mainly the front end service such as belts, rollers and waterpump. Short of that i wouldnt expect anything out of the ordinary for a car pushing 15+ years old to go wrong. The few problems i had with my 924S were mainly rubber and gaskets, id say problems that woud have taken place on any car of this age.

3) Pretty well considering they are so low to the ground and are rear wheel drive. I find my 924S to be very forgiving in the snow even on all-seasons. As long as you take it easy, you should have no problem. Of course driving in anything more than 2-3 inches can be tough considering the height of the car. Ive never gotten stuck however, even after the ride home from school in 3+ inches.

4) Front end service like pearceman said.

5) Varys depending on whos doing the work. Significantly cheaper if you can do the work yourself. Parts can be expensive, it really depends on what specifically you need, and if your buying it at the dealer or from an online merchant. If youve ever owned a mid 90's model VW, id say prices are right on par.

Bhj0887

As long as you know what your doing, you can work on it. There are a couple of special tools (timing belt tensioner, toe in adjuster)

Pearceman3

im only speaking from what i have heard on the board (i bought a nice low milage na which hasnt needed any attention yet ...it was a lil more expensive then the cheaper 944s) but if your belt water pump and rollers need replacing that would cost around $800 then a tune up to the tune of $200..sometimes these cars love money.

leav02

Are there any special areas where I should watch for rust?

Any electrical issues specific to this model?

Dave

I'd take exception with a couple of those answers. A 944 with proper snow tires is an excelent winter vehicle unless you are in an area that doesn't have snowplows, 3-4" of snow is something to look forward to but once it's deeper than 5" or so the front airdam becomes a plow. My 944 is easily better in the snow than any FWD I've ever had and much better than any other RWD. If you want something better in the snow, you will need all wheel drive. Belts are the biggest thing but clutches, ball joints and motor mounts are also things to keep an eye on.
Putting a set number on anual maintance is imposible, especially without an idea of the annual mileage you expect to drive, how/where you drive, your taste in consumables (tires, brake pads, etc.) and who's doing the work. For example, figure the belts/rollers are $250 in parts every 30,000 miles, add $500 for labor if you don't do it your self, there are 2 retensionings in between that will run ~$150 if you pay a shop. Waterpumps are changed with every other belt change, so that's another few hundred every 60,000 miles. If you drive 60k miles/year you're looking at $2000 in belts and waterpumps alone, if you drive 5k miles/year you will need to do the belts every 4 years and waterpump every 8 years (never excede 4 years on belts regardless of the number of miles). Tires can be $70 Krap-hmos or $200 SO3s and how long they last is up to you, brake pads can go from $60-300/set, depends on what you want and how you use 'em (I never expected to run KFP pads when I bought the car ).
What do you consider high mileage? these cars are 15+ years old and no matter how many miles they have, things can break. Maintanence helps but it's no guarantee.

Start with a PPI!

Dave

Only rust area is under the battery, the bodies don't rust unless they've been damaged. The entire electrical system has issues, nothing major usually but there's a lot of minor stuff. Most is a result of corrosion at the grounds due to age, nothing a good cleaning won't cure but sometimes finding it can be a PITA. The electrical system is not oversized so lighting upgrades and big amps are going to be an issue.

leav02

Dave,
Thanks for the reply!

I put about 8k-10k in mileage on my daily drivers. The snow around here isn't bad and they plow pretty often so it sounds like it shouldn't be a problem. Most of the mechanical stuff I can handle but I hate tracing electrical gremlins... :-(

Pearceman3

dont buy a 944 with rust on the body

M758

I was just thinking on Sunday how nice 944's are for daily drivers. They are not expensive to maintain, but can be expensive to fix. So and car that is old and little worn (nearly all cars) will require some dollars fix things that have broken or worn due to miles and age. That is just relatilty with 15 to 20 year old cars. The parts can be expensive, but it is not to bad if you can wrench on them. I do that so its no big deal.

You do need to keep a careful eye on the car. Listen for odd noised, etc. Catch them early and they are not issues. Wait until it breaks and they can be a nightmare. The actual costs to maintain are to that great. Belts are like $100 for both and can be done yourself. Clutchs are probably the most expensive wear item. They are $400 to $600 and take 10 to 20 hrs labor to replace them. Of course on an old car you will also fine alot of other stuff to replace while you are there.

So if you can maintain the car and fix it when issues come up they work great. I do recommend another car just in case. I do not think they are great ONLY cars. They are too old and if something breaks must be fixed. Driving with them "ready to break" or with broken parts is not good. That is why a spare car is important.