hi all and thank you in advance...i am interested in a porsche 944 s. it is selling for $9k. black on black. sellers says its in great condition. first of all is $9k a fair price? how is the S different from other 944s? i found it on cars.com but i cant post the link for some reason

also what make a 944S different from the rest? thanks

 

It may be a fair price depending on if it is a very low miles car and how well it has been maintained. You are going to need to post a LOT more information in order for anyone here to tell you if its a good price.

You should probably start here if you are trying to understand what it is you want.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_944

 

I've said this before...personally, I would never pay more than $4-5k for ANY N/A 944. Because for that price (and definitely your $9k price) you can get a decent to very nice 944 turbo. Only way that 944S is worth $9k is if it has like 30k miles and all records....and even then, it will be very hard to find a buyer. Probably just some dealer that sees the name Porsche and thinks it's worth 2-3X what it really is.

 

Sounds pretty high to me even in very good condition. The 944S was the first 944 with a DOHC 16V engine. HP is approx. 25 hp more than the same 8V NA. I like the wider power band than the 8V.

I paid $3500 for this one with Cayman wheels last year.

 

ok the car has 67k miles on it. black on black leather with manual trans. 2 owner car. timing belt recently done

 

I paid under half that in Canadian dollars for one in really nice shape two summers ago, then had the timing chain break on me the next summer due to ignorance. That's the only caveat: the timing chain (unique to the 16v cars) is pretty tough, itself, but it runs on two plastic guides on a tensioner which will eventually wear out and will let the chain snag and break.

This is not to be confused with the rubber timing belt, which is on every 944 ever made, including this one.

They're good cars, and mine uses _way_ less fuel than my Turbo does.

 

so there is a timing chain and a timing belt??

 

Not sure what your 944S does, but I've gotten 30mpg out of my 951. Not much worse than my 924S that would get 32-33mpg.

 

Yes, on the 16 Valve motors (the 944S, 944S2 and 968) there is a timing chain between the two cam shafts on top of the engine. The 924, 944 and 944 Turbo all have only one cam (since they're 8 Valve engines) and thus no cam chain.

So far, 24mpg or so? Maybe my Imperial conversion is rusty, but I think that's about what I got this fall. Mind you, that was on a tank of old gas, with a bad ground, old oil and old plugs. Things may be far better when I start it up in the spring and finally get the dust blown out. My S gets roughly what your 924S does -- 31.3 mpg on average (7.5L/100KM).

 

It also depends on your area. I paid $9,900 for my 88 944S. It has over $20k in reciepts since 2005 including a brand new engine through the dealership ($10,000). Its in absolutely perfect condition inside and out. It was a fight to get to this car first and over 10 people offered full price for it. I was the first one to the airport. I see them go for $5,000 to $7,000 all day in the Lake Norman area with 100,000 miles in decent shape. It could be a good deal, just look at the market in your area.

 

Yeah, I really really love my S, but $9K is just too high for that mileage unless it's something really really special. I suppose if the maintenance is very good it still could be a deal (new clutch, cat back, shocks, chain tensioner and t-belts, brakes, water pump, oil seals...).
Offer less, and keep looking.

 

Man, I need to take my cars there to sell them. I bought an 87 924S with 46k miles for $2k a few years ago.

 

You could get at least $4,500 here for that. probably more if you werent in a hurry to sell. Theres a dealership about 10 mins from my home asking $5,000 for an automatic 944 with 180,000 on it. Its not even in great shape.... probably a 7 out of 10 overall.

 

hey Im dont mean to contradict some of you guys but where in the heck can you get a nice 944 S with low miles for 5k?? please point me in that direction. Ill buy 2 of em. I look all over the country(online) and I never see a low mileage 944 for less than...id say 10k..so this car seems like a real bargain, and its an S..of course its being sold for more than its worth, but what can I do!!??

im also looking at 928s...i found a nice one with less than 50k miles and the guy wants $23000...are these people serious? its the red one on ebay..the 89

i also like a low mileage 968..manual, hardtop, manual, 93, 46000 miles...the dude wants $15k and I cant get him to budge...

there are a million cars i can buy with 100k miles but i dont want them!! 60k miles or less!

 

8 valve NA = 150 hp, regular transaxle
16 valve NA = 188 hp, robust transaxle with hardened 1st and 2nd gear syncros

16 valve - watch for cam chain tensioner/tensioner plastic guides...they get brittle with age and need replacing, or the whole tensioner needs replacing, the j-tube can need replacing too (feeds oil to the tensioner)

both cars need service regularily on timing and balance belts, waterpumps

records, records, records!

enjoy!