nh7cy

Thread title basically explains it. Whats the story behind your first 944?

I'll start with mine.

I had just received the receipt for my tax return, and rather than doing something logical like putting it into my savings account, I decided to spend it. I immediately went on Craigslist searching for something to buy. I decided that what I would really like to have is a sports car some other neat transportation device, so I searched and searched. I initially wanted to buy a BMW 318Is, or an Audi A4 but only wanted to spend what I got on my return, I didn't want to spend an additional thousand or so dollars (the cheapest 318Is I could find was $3500). I looked around a bit more, almost buying a jetboat in the process and eventually came down to a Mercedes 190E (yes I know, not really a sportscar), a Mitsubishi 3000gt, or a Yamaha Enduro. Still looking for more options I did a little more searching and came across EXACTLY what I was looking for. A red sportscar that was right in my price range ($1500) and it was a Porsche! I immediately jumped on it. Upon arranging to look at it, I fell in love. I sat in it and it was perfect, it was small, it was un-refined, and the interior was all black. Within a week I had purchased my guards red 1983 944 and the rest is history.

bjzorn

I was working for Porsche at the time at was looking at Cars for 15K or less(Wholesale mind you so I had lots of choices) well I originally wanted a early 911 or SC which I am considering getting in the spring now. But having done no real racing experience. (I had only ever dragged race up until now and had a couple of Mustangs in my past.) My Sales manager suggested I look at 944's and learn to drive first before gettig into a 911. So I started looking at 951's but I was kinda disappointed with the lag of a stock 951(I didn't want a modified car because I wanted the modes to be done my way and professionally installed) so again my manager suggested I look for an S2. Which I did and I found one for sale in the State 250 miles away. the rest is history

Keithr726

I was out walking my dog and I came across this ugly looking 83 944 (guards/brown and beige) with a for sale sign. I didn't think much about it for a few months and as I started walking by it more often, it grew on me. Called the guy up and went for a ride, loved the feel and considering the amount of work done and the asking price of $2,500 it was a deal to me. I owned it for two years. Then about a year and a half ago a friend calls me up asking why my car was for sale in the paper, it wasn't. The car in the paper was a 86 951 that was owned by a lifelong PCA member. I wasn't too sure on selling the NA until after seeing and driving the 951. It was the handling of the na with a more satisfying power level. The price was $8,900 if it would sell quickly. I looked at the car in may right before the owner decided to remove it from the market. He said he changed his mind and wanted to keep it but if he decided to sell it down the road I be the first on the list. Well a few months went by and I was reading the paper in October of 06 and I see the car listed again just this time at $14,000. I called him up and bought it the next day for $8,000. The car also had a good $13k in receipts for the last 4 year alone. I considered it another deal.

Van

I wanted a cheap sports car that I could drive - since I was two years into a 914 restoration project...

Andy1212

Who doesn't want a porsche for $1500? and the fact that are dead sexy and incredibly fun to drive helps a little.

cylan

My first 944 came into my hands just a month ago now....

On a late September evening, having just walked out of the office I got in my trusty rust-on-white '89 Buick Skyhawk and turned the key. A dead battery; it was an odd thing, since I had driven the car mere hours before and it cranked up fine. I called my brother over for a jump and we connected the cables... and a nice cloud of smoke rose from the engine bay of the Skyhawk. A hand-me-down from my Grandfather, the car got me through the end of high school and all of college; now, seeing that I had a Real Job, it must have decided that it wanted a rest and that I could finally afford to replace it.

So I got looking for a replacement with the features that I wanted. The Skyhawk was a nice comfortable and roomy ride, but it was not quite the car that I really wanted. This time I wanted something small, something fast, something with two doors, and something with a manual transmission. And something rather 80's in looks if possible (I'm weird this way - pretty much all 90's automotive styles do nothing for me. I blame it on growing up with The Transformers).

The only problem was that I had never touched a manual transmission before in my life.

So my first test drive was in a manual Saturn SC2. I made every newbie mistake in the book, and apologized profusely to the salesman during the whole jerking, stalling trip. Leaving the dealership with my confidence in shreds, I gravely considered not bothering to look at another car I had found in my price range: a "plum" 1987 944S with 77,000 miles on it.

But this saying (or others like it) kept echoing through my mind: "Nothing can happen 'till you swing the bat". So I steeled my will and gave the Porsche a look. And then steeled it some more, and took the car for a spin.

And it was like heaven.

The shifting, where before in the Saturn was dodgy and difficult manage, was beautifully smooth and easy in the 944. The sense of power, the connection with the road, it was all a surreal experience that I had never before felt while driving. Even with my completely novice skills at working a manual transmission, the 944 responded with ease and agility. And I even liked the way it looks. It was almost everything I'd ever wanted in a car, and fit in my price range to boot. On the way home from the dealership, I couldn't imagine myself in any other car. So I bought it!

And it seems as though I purchased a mechanical/maintenance roller coaster as well! These forums are an indespensible resource; I've never been afraid of a wrench, but never really did any work on my previous car myself. With all of the info available here though, I think can tackle just about anything. (Timing chain tensioner is going to get replaced first thing this weekend!)

Deansk8flip

i was looking for used cars in my price range on craigslist and started fantasizing. what would it be like if i could afford a ferrari? or even a porsche? my curiosity led me to start searching for exotic cars just for fun. while i was browsing through the porsche's i saw that there were cars in my price range! i was excited and completely taken off guard. being who i am i immediately dove into research. in those months of searching for the right 944 i was like a walking 944 encyclopedia, even telling owners of the cars things they didnt know. after alot of patience i found exactly what i was looking for. a 1987 944 n/a with black/tan interior and script cloth/vinyl seats. i immediately fell in love with the car and bought it shortly after.

Mighty Shilling

I was a senior in high school. went and got a job at the Porsche dealer, and determined that I hated 944's. I liked the 911's. a friend at the dealer says, "Hey, I've got a 924..." I had never heard of one or seen one... then he brings it to my house one night... I saw it, and it didn't have the (IMHO) ugly valance of a 944... I fell in love immediately. a couple months later, he calls me up and says, "Hey, I just bought a Toyota MR2 Spyder... gotta sell the 924. for you, $3,000.00. anyone else, $4,500.00" I went home and talked with the parents about it. Dad said "If you sell your Nissan within the next 5 days, for $3,000.00, we'll get the Porsche for ya as your car." He wasn't expecting me to, thought it was impossible. 2 days later, we were giving my friend $3,000.00 cash. Honestly, I don't think it was coincidence... I beleive I was meant to have the 924.

Then, I started hanging out here... still think the 944 NA is ugly. determine I love the looks of the turbo. Dad buys a 1988 Turbo S in silver rose, and like all cars, 2 years later, was ready to sell it. I having graduated college recently and having just got a decent job determined it was time to add another Porsche to the stable... so I bought my Turbo S from him... nice thing about that, he's the cosigner on the loan, and therefore, his name is on the title. according to the state, it's not changed hands, and I don't owe for taxes . And to make things better, he sold it to me for $4,000.00 less than it's worth, so I've already got equity in it!

So, Now, we as a family have 2 BMW 335i, a 1985 911, and my 924S and my 951S... the neighbors think we're insane.

76 911s

My first 944 was my dad's daily car before it was mine, he bought it when I was about 2. He gave it to me when I got my license as I pretty much grew up in the back seats and always loved the car. After two years, the handbrake didn't agree with my steep driveway and ended up going off the side of it one night, landing on my neighbours driveway below. I tried lots of cars to replace it, but nothing felt 'right'. I figured that to get a modern car that had the same feel, I'd have to spend 40K or more, and even then, it wouldn't be the same... So I ended up with an '88 ROW 951.

saxman

ok... not quite a 944...

I had my previous(and first) car for a good 7 years... decided it was time for something new. Wanted something that was powerful from the factory(messed around with power adders on the old honda with some success... but smog was always a pain in the butt, etc). Decided I wanted a nice rwd sports car that was as far away from the fast and the furious scene as possible. Driving a honda, no matter how you try to stay away from that, everyone tries to come race you and such.

968 was in my price range, is a beautiful car, etc. Test drove one a year and a half ago and loved everything about it. Decided to start looking for what I was after... found one around the beginning of the year, almost bought it. Had things fall apart at the last minute with financing and was very sad.

Come july, I found the perfect car about 500 miles away. Was nearly identical to the one I had almost purchased at the beginning of the year, but had 10k less miles and was $2500 cheaper. Had it checked out by a few 968'ers and bought the car without having ever laid eyes on it.

Flew down in August, and drove it home, and have loved it ever since.

xsboost90

i had been through alot of different cars from a 71 nova to a 69 firebird w/ a full race drivetrain, 53 BelAir etc.. even some lowriders. I got into Supras for awhile and learned to appreciate how well imports held up and how nice it was to have power windows etc. My best friend had a 944 he bought and totalled, so we were working on his second 944 converting it to a turbo and he kept bugging me to get one. I had sold my supra and bought a Harley Davidson sportster i was riding around since my dad worked at a bike shop. I finally broke down and told him that if someone on his "renlist?" board would trade a harley for a 944 i would trade. The next day I was on the phone with Oilslick964 about his 89 2.7l n/a he had for sale. That weekend we were on our way to Arkansas w/ the bike in tow to pick up my first porsche.

since then ive had another n/a 944, a 924s, 914, 924, and a 944 turbo. Slippery slope indeed.

ChrisJ951

My parents bought an 86 944 N/A brand new in April 1986. The car came off the boat and went to the dealer for paperwork and prepping. My dad arranged to meet them half way at an office park on Long Island. My twin brother and I were 12 at the time and my older brother was 14. We heard the car coming down the road and the guy delivering it pulled into the parking lot, got out and said "I'm sticking to vette's", I guess the guy never drove a car that handled as well as the 944 did. The car didn't have a stereo, so my dad and us 3 boys went directly to a stereo shop and had one installed. The car was Alpine white with black leather. We had it for 3 years and my parents only put 6600 miles on it. They traded it in on a Jeep Cherokee for my older brother. I knew one day I'd own a 944, and when the time came I bought the 944 turbo because of the added power and modification possibilities.

BeerBurner

I asked out a cute blonde. She said "no". I decided to lick my wounds by seeing what cars were available for sale in the sub-$10k range. I have always loved Porsches and decided to see what came up... I found a lot of 944s.

I had mine a few days later.

BB.

knfeparty

I wanted something that:
was cheap
I didn't mind running into cones
I could learn to work on cars with
was unrefined
had hideaway lights

Spidey944

I had always love the styling of the 944, and secretly wanted one even though my roots were hardcore into the American muscle cars. Had been building and racing Mustangs for 10+ years with great success and knew the cars like the back of my hand. Last one I build was an 86 Mustang GT with a 347 stroker 420 hp at the crank. Had a blast racing/driving it. Then I got rid of it.

I had not had a project car for 5 years when one day at the shop, a lady called and asked for the phone # for Stuttgart Haus here in Mooresville, and I asked her why? She said the had a Porsche she was selling. "Oh realy? What kind?" a 944 Turbo 1986. "Sweet! I've been wanting one of those since I was a kid in the 80's. Where do you live?" So I went and looked at it that night as it was only 30 minutes away.

Body was amazing, new $2500 paint job, custom gold. A box of parts in the pass. seat, belt covers, batwing etc. in the hatch, and I pop the hood to find minor engine fire damage, timing belts not attatched, vacuum hoses melted everywhere, hood liner melted onto EVERYTHING in the engine compartment. "Oh $hit. Um, I'll let you know." I was discouraged with the engine condition mainly because I had no idea what I was getting into with this car. Never drove one let alone worked on one before. Turns out she was getting divorced, moving to Cali in two weeks, and couldn't take the car with her. She wanted $2500 for it as is.

Called her a week later, offered her $1700 take it or leave it, knowing she didn't have time to put it in the paper and sell it. She said, "come and get it." And now it's mine and after $1500 in parts and a few late nights, it's an amazing driving machine and I could never be happier!