faithless

Hoffman, UDPride, exactly how I feel, A+ posts.

When you buy a car like this, you are essentially rolling the dice. Sometimes you luck out and its not AS bad as it could be, other times your life has just become about fixing a car...and not driving it. Unless you disassemble the whole damn engine on the PO's driveway, you'll never know what kind of monster is lurking beneath...

lleroyb

I would encourage you to buy a clean 944. I am on my second one and agree that it is cheaper to buy a well maintained one for top dollar than resurrect a POS. These cars do need periodic work, much of which you can do yourself. I am over 50 and wish I could have bougt something as good as a 19 year old 944 when I was 19. My first car was a Sunbeam Alpine, talk about a money pit POS. I honestly worked on it more than I drove it, by far. Good luck on your search.

Mark--924

I bought a '77 924 for $1500 when I was 16 and I still have it. It helps to have a father who's mechanically-inclined, so we did most of the work ourselves, and it hasn't broken my budget (yet). It breaks down almost every other weekend but usually nothing major. Just make sure you have a backup plan because things can get ugly in a hurry. But boy is it fun to drive.

Camaro_Muncher

Umm about two years late dude.

FSAEracer03

I will be the partial dissenter in this thread. Though I agree that the notion of getting what you pay for generally holds true, there are some clauses not yet described here.

1) Paying $8000 for a 944 doesn't necessarily mean it's worth $8000. In fact, it probably isn't.
2) Don't look in the interior for your determining factors on buying the car. Dashes without cracks and seats without tears do not a good car make.
3) Don't be shy to take on a project car if it meets certain criterion.

Excuse the Yoda/Olde English talk in number two, but it really holds true. The main thing you need to determine worthiness for purchase are the mechanicals.

1) Take a look under the car in visual inspection: are there any fluid leaks? Check out the car's suspension with weighted shakes at all four corners. Ask about the timing belt and balance shaft belt history.

2) Start the car up: how many cranks does it take to start? How well does it idle? How well does it respond to varied throttle inputs (especially abrupt application)?

3) Go for a test drive: To further test the chassis, the easiest way to check its status go on an empty-ish road with some space and crank the wheel left to right multiple times and judge the chassis's reaction. Check the throttle response once again, this time in gear. Check the backlash in the transaxle by bringing the revs up and allowing the car to engine-brake (it's more than that... pm me for more details on that). Test the brakes. If they feel weak, lock them up and see where they pull (obviously do this in a proper area, such as an empty parking lot). Check the alignment. Check the clutch's engagement point. Does it overheat? Don't feel bashful in test driving a car you are considering purchasing. If the owner doesn't want you to open it up at all, they might be hiding something.

Though there are more points on the general "easy-PPI checklist," this is a solid start. Just see how the car is mechanically and to hell with cosmetics, I say! If you are hoping to learn how to work on these cars, I definitely recommend buying a 944 instead of a 951! They are great cars to work on, and you can learn a lot with some time, wrenches and a willingness to ask questions.

Either way, welcome to Rennlist, and happy Porsche motoring!

-Kevin Reagan

FSAEracer03

Oh wtf.... haha. SOMEBODY ELSE LOOKING FOR PRE-PURCHASE ADVISE.... FRIGGIN' READ THIS -^


THANK YOU! ****!!

Naplesguy06

I bet youll spend 2 grand per year. This car isnt for daily driving, maybe in the eighties it was but not in this period of time. But I will tell you one thing, looking at a gurads red one with 18 inch turbo cup rims in your garage before you go to bed will give you a boner. I love this car more than my twin turbo gen 3 RX-7. But then again im 37 and an 80's man. Good Luck, do your homework.

czar

I have to disagree with you there. Since I've gotten a few glitches settled with mine, I'm using it as a daily driver. I do have a backup car, but my fiance's been driving that on a regular basis. With regular and routine maintenance, it should be as dependable as any other car out there. Maybe less so with a turbo because they are more complex, but if it's taken care of, it shouldn't let you down.

Dales944

Man, for a 944 board, you guys sure seem down on the product.
I bought my '83 for less than 1900. I put less than 1K (500+ in tires alone) into it. Then, I drove it DAILY for three years! I don't know why the Heck somebody thinks these cars need 2K/year?
I'm fortunate to have a lot of friends/relatives who help me maintain the car. I've learned a whole lot about maintenance, and I've even learned how to properly saw one of these babies up and fit in the back of a Ranger.
But, for less than $3K, I've had a great time!!!

Chris_924s

Dale- It's a realistic expectation from a unresponsive PO that fuels these numbers/ bitterness. poorly treated cars are problematic.

It's a marque of the age where a lot of irresposnible PO's have practically beat these cars to death- the purchase rules apply to this caveat when buying one.

I can attest to the Daily drivership of my car- 10 years worth, and how little it does cost to run- but I gotta tell ya- every time I start it with a 3 year old belt I wonder.. I've been thru 2 belt changes and due for a third next year (on the expedited "be safe, not sorry" Renn-Rules.")

harrisonrick

Wow dude...you got alot of advice on what to do.

My advice...buy the newest car you can afford that has the most up to date maintenance records.

Simple.

Neinfofo

Money per year for maintenance/repairs is usually determined on how you drive your 20 year old car unless you had some really crappy PO's. Drive the **** out of it all the time and then be prepared to spend some money for maintenance/repairs. Mine has 185K (and a daily driver) and I realize that if I try to drive it like I stole it that I am going to be putting some money into the engine or the drive train. She is not baby'd but I don't abuse her either.

CCCP

Wow, this is an old thread. I actually remember posting this question 2 years ago. Anywho I'm on Porsche number 2 now, an 85.5 which I'm currently rebuilding the engine on. Should be done sometime this winter and be ready for the '07 track season .

Tony K

Good job, Boston!


For the daily driver comments above, I'll just chime in:

1983 944, bought 1998, added 92k miles in 5 years or so, driven hard but not stupidly. No backup car.
1985.5 944, bought 2003, added 60k miles in 2.5 years, driven fast but carefully. No backup car.

- Tony

Mark--924

Yeah that's right, it was two years old. But it is an eternal question...