Swagger93

I think it would be more proper to say "just as reliable as my N/A," but not as a general rule. Turbo cars have turbo car problems. Sometimes you get lucky and get 200k with no issues, but it's incorrect to say that the Turbo is as reliable as the N/A. Even Excellence acknowledges this as a reason to buy the S2 or 968 over the 951.

I keep my cars maintained and both Turbos I've had/have broke/are still breaking all the time. Pre-turbo exhaust pipes keep cracking (is there a scheduled replacement interval less than 100k for these?), the TPS failed (scheduled interval?), wastegate wore out (scheduled interval?), heater valve failed (as i was saying...), cycling valve, destroyed vacuum and soft brake lines because of turbo heat, and a myriad other things. I've had two N/As, however, and both needed virtually no work despite having higher milage, being in worse condition, and coming with less service documentation.

bearone

a year and a 1/2 as dd.

87951

xsboost90

updates to the headers will keep from replacing every year- although i think maybe the 87+ ones had a problem as well. Of course our 924s had a broken exhaust pipe when we bought that! Replacing the wastegate w/a real one like a tial will keep from having problems w/ that, and hell, the car is 20+ yrs old, of course the vac lines are toasted! I guess when i get a car, i go through everything i can think of, and then usually i dont have many problems after that. If you buy one and wait for stuff to break then you will be replacing stuff anyway.

Douglas Sorrells

I use my 86 951 as a daily driver. I bought it with a freshly rebuild engine last July. Now I immediatly had to replace the oil pan gasket as it had been installed incorrectly. Then I pulled the transmission & repaced it with my LSD. Pulled the clutch & replaced it when my new one. Pulled to turbo & replaced it with my SFR stage II. Replaced the entire exhaust system with a 3" Lindsey. Put it all back together and have put over 20,000 miles on it since. These are great cars that once fixed right will stay fixed for some time. However they are 20 years old and regular maintaince should be expected.

Serge944

The 944 series, overall, are very reliable. Its just the constant maintenance and wrenching that give them a bad name. I drove my 86 944 45k miles in 1.5 years and it never stranded me.

Having a 2nd car will make you a happier person. I enjoy working on cars, but when you "have to" work on them at inopportune times, it's absolute sh*t.

Swagger93

I don't think that most of the items I listed are items anyone would replace by default after purchasing a car. Most of the items that have failed on my turbos are things that looked fine and arn't on a scheduled maintenance list. People joke about how stuff breaks on the 951 all the time. I worked as a waiter one year and a guy game in with an E46 M3 and we bantered about cars, and he said he had a 951 that "was an awesome car, but I was spending 1,000 dollars a month at the shop just to keep it running." My friend Paul with an 86 951 has 42,000 dollars (the largest stack of receipts I've ever seen) in maintenance records from the dealership and Mraz Imports (respected import shop in Milwaukee) from 1986-1999, including a complete engine replacement (cracked block), and his car with 130k on the body and 26k on the motor still has pipes cracking and has since he bought it in 2000 replaced the trans (syncros), torque tube (bearings failed), crossover pipe, and KLR. Juan, a guy who owns a tire shop and hangs out with Damian (LeadFoot944) and I has stuck thousands (#2 bearing and headgasket failure included) into his car just to keep it running correctly.

I also know a neighbor of mine who has an 87 951 with 200k+ that has barely touched a thing on it, and drives it hard every day. I'm not trying to say that the car can't be reliable, but if you're trying to tell me it's as reliable as a vastly less complex version of the same model then that's just absurd.

Ebby_951S

My '88 Turbo S is my daily driver. 25 high speed freeway miles each way for work, no regrets. Only had one setback- the fuel pump crapped out on me when I tried to start it up after work one day. Otherwise it has been very reliable.

Porschefile

944's can be just fine for a daily driver. Just thoroughly check over whichever car you are considering, and preferrably have a PPI done. A n/a model is generally going to be cheaper/easier to maintain and more reliable as there is less that can go wrong. I drove mine for 1.5yrs as well and put 65k miles on it. I only spent ~$2.5k in maintenance, including oil changes, brakes, suspension, etc. The only time mine ever left me stranded was my own fault since I knew my clutch slave was going out but I ignored it. Preventative and constant maintenance is the key. BTW, I got up to 32mpg driving mostly highway (and staying out of boost, not easy I know!). Normally it would be around 26-28mpg highway.

xsboost90

thats the problem, paying for someone else to work on the car adds up fast!

ive had many many other cars that have been total pains in the rear, these cars seem to hold up alot better. Try driving a 914 and then tell me about cars that break!

Peckster

There's an electric water pump in the 951 to prevent coking after shutdown.

I use mine as a daliy driver, at least 10K a year when there's no salt on the roads. I'm averaging $5-6k a year in maintenace, but most of the big ticket items have been done. I hope.

If you want to daily drive, you have to pay.

95Juan

soooooooooo true. when you're friends are going out, and you're stuck having to do work on the 944/951 with no means of getting anywhere, it's a kick in the nuts.

i have a brilliant idea- i'll buy another 944!




951 as a DD, i dont think so. mine has left me "stranded" once or twice, nothing major, but maintenance is too high, even if you do all the work yourself.

it's a toy. between a 951 and a Scion. honestly, i'd rather drive the scion every day. the 951 just gets tiring and you get annoyed with it when you start to hear creaks and cracks and this and that.

i drove the 951 as a DD for a few months (40 mile commute + weekends + runs + this and that, here and there). maintennance really adds up.

REALLY.

if you wanna play, you gotta pay.

bearone

what is it you're doing to require $5-6k/yr in maintenance costs, that seems way high?

Keithr726

What color is your 951? In the last week I've seen a black one and a burgundy one.

dme

two 86 951s. Both daily drivers. Neither ever left me stranded nor had even remotely high maintenance. On the other hand, I do all of my own work. Also, I sold the first 951 for the price I paid for it. That is a huge plus right there. BTW the current car has 165K on the odometer.

Gator_86_951