alxdgr8

None of them... Is that an option?

A N/A 944 most likely will never really be a collectors item....hell, it's highly unlikely for turbos too. They just aren't desired enough. I would only ever pay $$$ for a low-mileage car if it had a possibility of being collectable. Even then, cars should never be an investment.

Even though they say maint. is up to date, I wouldn't trust it. None of them are obviously driven enough to really know all the issues. And driving them more will only show the weakness's of the 20+ year old parts. I would much rather pay less money for a higher mileage car with well documented maint. But that's just me.

I wouldn't ever pay more than $5k for any N/A, regardless of condition. I have no desire as do many others. So if you ever plan on trying to sell it, prepare to wait a long time for a buyer at the price that you are probably going to think it's worth. Ask the sellers of each car how long they've been on the market.

alordofchaos

Depends on usage and preference.

I'd go with #2 as well, more choice of wheels. Red/black is pretty common - whether that's a plus (easy to find parts) or minus (common rather than rare) is your preference

With #3, good luck on finding replacement seats or carpet if needed That may not matter to you though.
However, if it has the deep dish original phone dials, or OEM Fuchs, it would be tempting.

I'm assuming you've looked at the dash closely and that there are no cracks (and it's not a cover on the dash)

#1 is right out. For a non-track car, I'd get annoyed at the inset windshield (not flush mounted). Never liked that.

Also, the 3 speed automatic is on the sucky side. I know it's not an econo car, but your 5 spd should get you 30mpg hwy at 70ish. 5 digit odometer, good luck on proving the mileage. Car could have 212k miles of Sunday drives (not that the odometers are all that reliable anyway, but still...)

Actually, for $10k, I'd look for a decently maintained $5k 944 with around 100k miles. You're really not getting that much more for $5k; save it for the next Porsche (you may decide you want an S2, 951 or even a Boxster afterwards)

^^^ Alex beat me to it

bshah1976

Wow - never expected that, but appreciate your candidness.
Stupid question, but what is N/A? North America????
To each is own I guess and the couple of cars I have seen...have been sold right before me - in about 3 months.

bshah1976

alordofchaos - thanks for the info. In the $5K cars - the paint job are usually wacked out. I am quite **** about my cars and always keep them in shape. With all these postings, I am now really confused.

alordofchaos

NA = normally aspirated, to differentiate from turbos.

Also... +1 on these never being a collector car.

Got mine off eBay for $4,200 about 4 years ago, with a documented brand new clutch.

That's something else to look for... low mile cars are likely to have the original rubber-centered clutch which are prone to disintegrate.

New clutch = $3k + to have someone else install it, and not a fun job even for experienced DUYers

Price depends on location. Midwest USA, $4 to $5k is normal. Lower in CA, other countries can be much higher ($10k in Australia?)

Mine has decent original paint, could be color-sanded and buffed to perfection if I wanted to do the work. Depends on what the original owner has done and what you want to do.

Some good how tos for restoring and detailing on here if you search for them.

black944 turbo

Bshah, I would say if you are going to drive the car, skip an extremely low mileage car. There is no reason to have one that you can't enjoy. Also a low mileage cars this old tend to have a lot of problems that higher mileage clean cars don't have. If you are planning on spending around $10k, I would say buy a turbo or s2 as they hold there value much better than N/As. This is not to say standard 944s are not great cars, but if you 5k miles a year on a 20k mile car you kill the value. S2s and turbos also give you a lot of performance. My 102000 mile car looks just as good as most 20k mile cars, there are very nice higher (relatively speaking, 102000 mile for a 24 year old car is very low mileage) examples out there.
This is my $.02 and I learned the hard way.

jsaindc

Not to contradict a lot of the comments here but I have to disagree. The question was which of the three you would buy not what are these worth or what would you do with your money. The value of the car is what the buyer is willing to pay. A low mileage non track car may not be for many; however, it sounds like you are looking for a nice 944 to cruiser around with. These seem to fit that mold. I think folks are right to say that these cars will not be collector cars, but then again nice clean original examples are always sought after. I would also agree that a low mileage car will most likely experience issues that a more used example might not. Because of age many things will need to be replaced such as the suspension, fuel lines, oil lines, etc.. which may already have been addressed by a previous owner on a higher mileage car. One thing I would look at is if you can find out if these cars have been used over the last year or so. If so, the problems probably have been addressed. As I mentioned early, I would go for #2. Just make sure that no matter what you get you plan on keeping some cash in reserve for repairs. JMO

944CS

#3

bshah1976

I appreciate the replies. I agree with some and disagree with others...but that is the point - it's a forum. I am beginning to agree with what everyone says that more mileage is "better" based on vehicle documentation. I am going to start to look for Turbo or S2 to see what I can find...if any of you know of any, please let me know. I am looking for a Excellent Condition car - I do not have time to try an restore one to my liking - plus in the city of chicago, not too many options. I will let you all know what I decide, but it could be some time...

bshah1976

Any opinions on a price to pay for #2 or #3.

BlackOp

New seats and this looks nice....recent TB/water pump

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/ctd/1431605902.html

bshah1976

yeah - I spoke to this guy. No records. He is a small time dealership have about 30 cars. I might go see it on Saturday. How much does it cost to re-upholster seats? Also, what about color sanding and buffing to make paint look good? Thanks in advance.

BlackOp

I wouldnt touch a turbo without records.....the ad made it sound like it was well maintained. It may be but I would rather spend $1500 more for that exact car WITH proof of service. NEVER take someone's word about a timing belt.. These cars are cheap to buy but expensive to maintain...

I would look for one between 70-90k w/ service records. Look for these things (in order of cost/importance) Clutch, Timing belt/WP, fuel lines..check the color of the brake fluid (should be blue), See if there are any leaks around the P/S reservoir and under the car. Has the a/c been converted and does it work, dash cracks will drive you crazy, check sunroof and odometer for functionality, feel front foot well to see if carpet is damp. Check under battery for any signs of rust. Does the clock work? Has the gear oil ever been changed?...oh yeah, motor mounts and does the undercarriage have much rust.

Anyone else care to add to this list?

This could be decent..has the larger 2.7 engine.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/cto/1426784431.html

vt951

If you're afraid of turbo maintenance, for $10k you can find decent 968's and nice S2's these days. I would go that route. Of course, they will not be low low miles like what you're looking at, but that is sort of a warning flag on these cars anyway (not good to let them sit).

sj340

It depends on what you really want. Some will pay next to nothing for a 944 (less than $5000) and be perfectly happy.I am not one of those.Maybe you are not either.
I will give you an example of what you could be in for though.
I bought my 1987 944 na for the range of the cars you are looking at with 49000 miles on it a little over a year ago.It was a one owner car for the first 20 years and was in perfect cosmetic shape.It was purchased by a member of this forum.After he purchased it,he wanted to do a complete mechanical refresh to bring everything up to date because of the low mileage.He used a trusted independant shop that maintains his other Porsches and told them to go through it and make it perfect.I have receipts for $10,000 dollars worth of work on what was an low mileage original car.That does not include the original purchase price.Things like belts,pulleys,hoses,waterpump,motor mounts,torque tube,brakes,rotors,stainless steel brake lines,clutch etc. are what come to mind off the top of my head.
I basically bought the car for the amount he had in repairs and would do it again in a heartbeat.I don't want to always be working on my car.I have not had any problems to date and love the car.
I may have overpaid by some peoples value of these cars,but I am happy.
Of course if you can and want to do your own work,it would be much less,but still be aware of what a low mileage car may cost you.