silverBean

This is why my car is a money pit. Yesterday, i was driving and lo and behold, the center console box hinge tore completely off. Great huh, sure its not that bad, but i am broke till payday next week cuz of parts i had to buy last paycheck. Then last night i was driving, got home, and darn the luck, my driver side window motor fried. It is stuck completley down. Absolutely marvelous!! Not to mention my front seal, i need to replace my water pump and belts, need a new fuel filter and my steering is squeky(sp). Gotta love the porsche!!! And i thought i was gonna be able to buy some new speakers next week...

Micah

Are you sure it's not just the window switch? Try changing them out. The center console is obnoxiously expensive. I believe there are still some metal-hinged aftermarket replacements floating around... pricey as well.

Get the belts done asap or you'll spend the next 5 paychecks on your car.

If you are really pressed for money(ie you don't have any in reserve) and this is your only vehicle, let me be the first to suggest that you get out now.

Micah

joseph mitro

truer words were never spoken.

this is my third 944, and yes they are money pits. but when you drive it, it all makes up for the money you spend. (of course, i AM paying off two separate maxxed-out credit cards now because of these cars!!)

xsboost90

my car is on the payment plan, whenever i have money, i pay it to the parts fund.

StupEd05

lol, my 944 was the most reliable car I have ever driven... well atleast for the first 6 months of ownership. Now its almost a moneypit, but those 6 months were awsome!

Mighty Shilling

Mine was great, until it spun a bearing....that took a lot of dough...

Randy_J

OK here's a simple fix for the center console that only costs pennies.... just remove the broken frame from the console and the lid... Now get a nice flat file and remove all rough edges along the torn plastic hinge line on both pieces.

Get some 2" wide duct tape, cut it into 1" wide strips a little shorter than the length of the frame. If you stick the tape to a plastic kitchen cutting board or a something that you can easily remove the 1" x 10" long strips without ruining the tape, that'll work.

Now here's the tricky part. Go to Starbux and pinch a few of the thin wood coffee stir sticks. Take one of these and insert it between the 2 broken frame pieces as you hold it gother together to create a very small gap - maybe 1/64". Apply the duct tape along the OUTSIDE Edge of the frame along the length of where the broken hinge used to be. Smooth down the duct tape along the entire length.

Now apply a 2nd layer on top of the one you just installed. To be really trick, apply a 3rd tape layer - but use black electrician's tape. Voila, a new hinge is born. Reassemble the lid and reinstall into the console.

I did this in an emergency a few weeks ago before I bought a new frame (cheap on eBay ~$22.50 new) and I don't even feel like changing it yet cause the duct tape hinge works perfectly!

Clint's 944

HA HA...I know what you mean. Gladly (knock on wood), my repairs has been petty small things. I still remember the day replaced the sun visor holder. As soon as I finished, I went to the store and as I was driving the passenger side broke!! Every month I set aside $200 for parts and I just keep buying stuff I may...or may not need!!! Still less than a car payment.

Dilberto

It is very true- these damn teenage cars are money-sucking good. However, when it comes to diversions in life we are passionate about......money suddenly becomes no object. My mother simply cannot understand why I continue to dump hard-earned money into an aging sports car. The worst part is....I have no rational explanation! Porschephiliacs have creative ways of justifying ownership expenses. Outsiders are befuddled at how we rever this material object heavenly status. All I can say is;

"To each(willing Porsche owner)....his own!(Carerra GT)"

PennyWise

Amen....

tifosiman

One thing to keep in mind is that it is a 19 year old car. Many cars are in the scrap-heap long before then.

silverBean

AS far as the window goes, the swith works, i can hear it trying to work. A friend of mine who has been working on cars said it may be the regulator. The door also vibrates a bit when i press either the up or down portion of the swith. The belts are my #1 prioirity, thats what i was gonna buy with my next maycheck. But seeing how i am a full time student and work 20-30 hours a week, making $6.35 an hour, money isn't something i see to often. I don't wanna throw in the towel just yet thogh, maybe when i somehow drop my transmission, thats when it will be leaving my driveway.

RMills944

MY 944 is dirt cheap! Of course I only put 100 miles on it in the last 8 months!

Mongo

The age plays such a big issue on practicality of our cars. IMO I don't mind it since I am aware of how old a car is and obviously nothing lasts forever. The best thing you can do is repair and restore.

Andy

Micah

The best thing you can do is repair and restore.

It could very easily be the worst thing. We can justify the repairs all-day as being age-related, technology-related, etc. and those reasons are largely true. I certainly was not arguing that I don't think it's worth it - otherwise I wouldn't be in this game either. However, one can easily pump every bit of money earned into "repairing and restoring" and have a catastrophic failure the next week... only to find the funds may not be available because of the fancy stereo and 968 mirrors that were just purchased.

That having been said, these cars can and will bite you when you least expect it. A belt can slip, a ring and pinion can go, a clutch center can explode and the list goes on and on. This can happen with a lot of vehicles - but with the 944 there are a lot of variables. It doesn't matter if they are age-related, design-related, whatever... what matters is that they can and do occur and that they can easily lead someone to financial ruin.

For each mishap listed (and as everyone knows there are many, many more things that can go wrong) then you are talking about 1/2 the vehicle's value in repairs. In more than a few cases, the repairs cost more than the value... and let's not think about the down-time associated in dealing with the problems as well.

I cringe every time I see someone on a limited budget who is dependent upon a 944 as their sole means of transportation. If the car goes, the ability to get to work goes. If the ability to get to work goes then the job goes... and after that it's more than a little difficult to get back on your feet.

Of course, if you have other vehicles, relatives helping you out, etc - it's not an issue. However, there are a lot of folks out there for whom this is not the case and that's more than a little bit scary.

I would keep 2-3k readily available if I had a 944 (NA or otherwise) as my only driver. If I couldn't do this, then I would make a serious effort to have another car in reserve.

Micah