ScottyGT

Lets say I have 5000 to spend on a 944. Around 800 for any problems that arise after I purchase it. I am only 16 years old and an 80's 944 is a serious dream car. I am wondering is it feasible that I could afford the maintenance and upkeep with going into bankruptcy? Is it impossible to find parts and are they really hard to work on? I'd really appreciate your responses
Collin

pearldrum944

Welcome, I think $5,000 is enough for a 944 and for some maintenance, but $800 won't go too far if you have major problems. Parts are pretty easy to find, there are several online stores and you can find any part on rennlist. I don't find 944s very hard to work on. Like any car there are jobs that are much more difficult than others but overall it's not too different. Good luck finding one.

PorscheDoc

Which answer do you want? The truth or what you want to hear?

Macfreak007

well I pulled it off, buying a car for $1500 when i was 15, doing all my own work with about $1000...
but, I got LUCKY!

if you plan to do ALL of your own work it is possible, and in my opinon, buy a cheaper car than $5000 your gonna need alot of money for parts...

Mike C.

What sort of wrenching experience do you have? Although I wouldn't say these cars are very difficult to work on, I'm not sure if it's a good car to begin learning on. That could get expensive...

PorscheDoc

If you can do all the work yourself, and have access to lots of tools and garage space, etc, then you might be able to find a decent NA for 5k. Realistically plan on dumping that 800 into it pretty quick. I think most people would agree on this board that maintenance runs $1k+ a year, doing most of the work yourself. So you are getting to that age of getting out of high school, going to college (hopefully that is your plan), and these cars are not the greatest cars to have on a students budget, so you need to sit back and think about your decision carefully. Sometimes you get lucky and find a car that doesn't need much, but there is just as good of a chance that you will get something beat down, especially if you don't know much about these cars and what to look for.

ScottyGT

Before I turned 16 I bought an 87 Pontiac fiero gt for 1500. For those that do not know it is a mid engine car and the reason it was so cheap was because it need clutch work. So with the hlep of my neighbor I did it myself. Now Im selling the car for 5000 (its been up for 2 weeks and Ive gotten 3 responses.) Ive always loved the 944s but if its not reasonble than Im not going to do it. Thanks for your responses hopefully I'll get some more. O and this is the car. http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ca...sp=y&cardist=0

Eyal 951

just do it and get a job, your gonna do it anyway... non of us were making sense when we bought the cars... i mean, an NA is much more reliable then a turbo, so you should be able to daily drive it.
~Eyal

RobbyK

I would hold out more it takes research and time. I was 15 when I got mine for $4200 and since I have put another $5000 into it. Mind you that is extreme but I am a perfectionist,they are not cheap cars. Becauses they were not the "in" porsche a lot of them were neglected and took people like us on the board to bring them back together. A lot of stuff comes up that you don't except so its always good to have an extra $1000 on hand. Mind you if I had to do it again I would in a heart beat, but these car take a lot of care and its not everyones thing when they start becoming pits.

Travis - sflraver

I got my NA for 2500 and this is what I did so far

Timing belts / rollers ($300)
Ball joints ($65)
Coolant hoses($60)
Rotors($120)
Pads ($80)
Steering rack reseal($70)
intake gaskets($20)

Things not needed but I upgraded:
Koni Yellows front and back ($250 used)
Welt 250lb springs in the front ($120)
MO30 sway bar in the front ($350)
Throttle Cam ($29)
Cone filter ($35)
Victo-Racers ($600 mounted and heat cycled)
wide band O2 ($350)


Just my experience with the NA... now the Turbo is another story..

KuHL 951

My 17 YO drives the 83. Here's my talley so far:
Car with 15K..........$2500
Brake pads.............$came with car
Clutch seals,etc.......$550
Throttle Cam...........A gift from a friend
Tires......................$400
6-blade Turbo fan upgrade...$45
Rear shocks.............$100
Front wheel bearings....$30
Shifter fix.................$5
Spare 86 motor...came with car
Starter.....$180

This is a solid car needing only a timing belt in 10K but the front seals are going out so it will be much sooner. This group here will help you through any repairs you are willing to tackle yourself. Doing your own work will cut down on your maintenace and give you the satisfaction of getting to know your car better. Personally I would look for a car with a recent clutch job, that one is a killer if the car needs one at purchase time.

pcarfan944

If you look hard enough you can find a nice 944 for under $5,000, but no matter how you roll the dice, all that money (including the $800) is going to be gone pretty quick. The reason I say this is because most 944s for sale will require some kind of repair, or preventive maintenance to be done. Sometimes you'll find one that needs nothing, but before I bought mine I must have looked at ten 944s and they all had at least a small to do list. A small to do list in a 944 costing four digits, of course...

My first car was a MKIII Toyota Supra, which was a great first car. Boring reliability, fun to drive, targa top, and of course it looked good pulling out of the parking lot in front of everyone so it did a good job of boosting my over-inflated highschool ego. I would recommend a Supra as a good alternative to a 944, I think it would probably be kinder to you on a highschool budget, yet you can still look cool.

L8 APEKS

Lots of good advice here.

If your'e working, or have a SOLID, reliable source of income...you might be OK.

Otherwise...you won't be prepared for "surprises" if and when they pop up, and your car will end up sitting in the driveway for a year before you have the money to fix it.

Take your time. Be careful. There will ALWAYS be another 944!

Clowd

I'm 17, got my first one when I was 16, and here's my advice:

If you find a good one, and you don't mind little imperfections, I'm sure you can handle it. I can. Barely.

I even have two.. although I'm still working on paying for one of them, and that means if something major goes wrong with the one I'm driving now, it's going to be a little while till I can fix it.

I got my NA 944 for $2900, and have only done routine stuff since I got it, oil changes and whatnot.. but pretty soon it's going to be another $600 or so for a clutch, and another couple hundred for while-I'm-in-there's.. and having to get my friends to shuffle me around while the car is out of action, too.

So, I got pretty lucky.. but it was after months of searching and looking for the right car.

In my experience with my car, they are extremely reliable.. I drive the poor thing every day, in the extreme snow and extreme heat. It never lets up. I've driven it up and down, here and there, 4 people in the car, 1 person in the car. I've put a lot of miles on it, and it loves it. Probably... 8k in about 6 months? I don't know if that's a lot, I probably wouldn't have put that many miles on it if it wasn't as much fun to drive as it is.

That said.. the car isn't perfect. Cracked dash, little dents here and there, big ol' oil stain under the passenger seat, oil pressure gauge that works maybe half the time, little stuff..

For $5800, you could possibly get a turbo. Although, it would be tough, not only finding a deal like I did, but then for affording any possible maintainence issues. I got mine for $5500, full records, excellent condition.. If all goes normally.. I honestly, besides maybe belts, will not have to do anything major to this car for at least 15-20k miles. Although, I'm sure something will pop up.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it though, because I'm living proof that it's possible. Your insurance will not be any higher than it already is.. in fact, the insurance on my 944 is cheaper than it was on my Maxima.

Maybe I'm just an extremely lucky individual?

Chris_924s

Welcome to Rennllist!

I will say one thing- 8 years of paying for Preventative Maintenance of daily driving is still cheaper than a car payment.

It takes money to feed these cars, you may find a nice example for less- keep as much cash in your pocket as you can. Opt for a 3000$ example with visual flaws over a great looking but non-running example. Higher miles should not worry, but comfort you. GET one that has receipts for work done.

TAKE YOUR TIME. test drive several and be prepared to let "a good one" go. Patience is your friend in this transaction.

Check with your local PCA- this may be your best bet and will open your search to better maintained vehicles.

HTH.