lovemyp-car

here it is, it has a LOT wrong with it, such as a bad headgasket, bad ring and pinion, it's an automatic, and has no interior...http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...730826026.html

lovemyp-car

oh and it's an 84 not an 83 so no manual rack, sorry guys!

Stien

Wow that is shady as hell.

82-T/A

Hahah, that's kind of funny when that happens.

The car doesn't seem so bad. If the exterior body is in OK shape, and it doesn't need /EVERYTHING/ then it's really not such a bad deal at $800.

I bought mine that "runs" for $1,200.

I took it home... and... well... 21 months later, and an additional $3,800 dollars poorer. I now have a $3,000 dollar Porsche! hahaha...

That said, I did learn a lot, and... while I could have done better by buying a better car, I still had fun working on it. I now know EVERYTHING about the car in terms of how it was assembled and it's weak and strong points (in terms of servicability that is).

Don't know if that still makes up for it... but I at least have a certain confidence level when driving it around.

I pretty much did everything though. I love to pass around this link because it shocks people how much time I spent on this one car:


http://www.PontiacPerformance.Net

Go to Current Cars and scroll down to the 1984 Porsche 944.

Potomac-Greg

Agreed. I never understand when people will say to avoid a car at any cost. With a car like a 944, you need to do simple math.

a. What's it worth in fully functional condition?

b. What's it going to cost you to get it into that condition?

Subtract "b" from "a".

> If you get a negative number, then you run.
> If the you get a positive number, then you should be willing to pay the lesser of that or the ask.

rmconner80

Including the initial cost of the car, I got a negative number, and I have no problem with that! It's all about the car man - it's not a rational economic endeavour!

I don't own it to sell it. You can't put a price tag on the ownership and enjoyment of having the car work right and set up how you want it.

white924s

I rarely get a positive number, but then again, that depends on what you define as "fully functional" and what one wants to do with a car. When I bought my car, I was looking for a project that I could work on and have a blast driving and restoring. The economics of that decision are very different from someone who just wants to get an old car back on the road and in good shape to sell for someone else to enjoy

Potomac-Greg

No doubt. By "fully functional" I mean that it's up to KBB snuff meaning that it drives, and all the major systems are functioning. So, assume a fully functional 1987 944 n/a is worth $4,200. And the one you're looking at needs suspension repair/replacement, A/C repair and a timing belt job. You're probably looking at a $2,500 tab (if you buy the services). So your ballpark price is $1,700. If YOU don't care about the A/C do you pay more? Heck no.

What we want a car to be (appearance, handling, etc.) is another matter. I think I've almost bought my car a second time with my suspension modifications. And I love every minute I drive it.

There are enough available 944s out there that you do not need to compromise your standards much. In fact, I am frankly shocked at how many 944s are for sale at any given time. You can get a junker to a show car.

bearone

i'm unclear what you're whining about. you sold the car probably with the stuff wrong with it that you mention and it's wasn't mentioned if you told the buyer or how much you sold it for.

if the car was being advertised for $4k, in pristine condition, it would be a different story, if known problems hadn't been fixed.

if it still have issues how can you complain about an $800 selling price, you made your sale.

somebody's garbage is somone else's treasure.

87951
95sl320 dd

mtccl

My sentiment exactly. Now using that rationale it is a good idea to not have too big a negative number, but I've bought quite a few $25k dollar cars that were worth next to nothing 10 years later.

It's all about the love of the car.

Jay W

The craigslist seller says it needs a transmission and that it is a project car. He left out the headgasket part but did not say how well it runs but that it does run. I think is is a fair ad. A car can run with a bad headgasket, and its up to the buyer to ask the right questions when he/she hears it run. Its not selling for a crazy price and the seller is not making any outlandish statements about its condition.