bergstsm

The wife loves my 928, but I refuse to let her drive it, due to her habit of rubbing the front spoiler against the driveway. I told her that a 944 would be a great intro for her. She was also a bit hesitant about playing with that much weight and power on a daily driver.

My question is, what kinds of things do I deal with as far as maintenance. What are the pitfalls of ownership; gremlins, common failures, etc...?

We will likely get a 944 N/A for her. Much as I tried, she refused to let me talk her into a 914.

Thanks,
Shawn

Porsche5050

"due to her habit of rubbing the front spoiler against the driveway"


I couldn’t stop laughing when I read that line. Why not just say the truth “I don’t feel comfortable when my wife drives my car”. Unless of course she reads the boards and you feel as though you need to state a valid gripe. I for one don’t let my brother touch my car and whenever he asks I’ll make up the most ridiculous excuses. Either way, I’ve always heard nightmares about 928’s when compared to 944’s in terms of reliability issues so I don’t think there will be too many surprises here. Then again some 911’s owners stay away from 944’s for the same reason. In the end hopefully you’ll be a front engine Porsche family. Also, I’d never put my wife (if I had one) in a 914 as a daily driver. The 944’s on the other hand feel rock solid. Good luck.

kennyandersen

Mostly belts (timing and balance shaft), steering rack, ball joints, Power steering pump, and clutches (N/A) can be problematic.

Good call not going for the 951 -- she'd whack that front spoiler for sure!

Raceit

My g/f is really wanting a 968. Which I think would be a slightly better choice for her as a daily driver. Just a bit newer and a bit more refined as far as the 24/44/68 series is concerned. Meaning I think it would be easier to drive a 968 then a 944.

Plus being a bit newer I'll be able to avoid (at least for a while) some maintance issues.

Of course she'd have to get a car that I could work on too.

If she was wanting a 944 (which may happen just due to the initial cost of a 968) I'd try to get her in a 944S. The reason for that is (correct me if I'm wrong) was that those are when they intruduced driver and passenger side air bags.

Plus a 944S would have a very similar engine to my S2.

The only problem with any of these cars for us is that then we would have two small two door cars that only carry two people. Oh well. I guess there's worse things in life.

Deepice

Posted by raceit,

"Plus being a bit newer I'll be able to avoid (at least for a while) some maintance issues"

this thinking will get you into trouble...I think your costs....to be about the same.


"Plus a 944S would have a very similar engine to my S2."

2.7 vrs 3.0 plus the S2 has more in common with a 951 than a 944s

Dave

[quote]Originally posted by Deepice:
<strong>Posted by raceit,
2.7 vrs 3.0 plus the S2 has more in common with a 951 than a 944s</strong><hr></blockquote>
Make that 2.5 vs 3.0

Air bags came at the same time on the 8v and 16v.

Thaddeus

Air bags-- '87 951, both sides. I believe it was the first production car in the world to offer them as standard.

Robby

[quote]Originally posted by Dave:
<strong>
Make that 2.5 vs 3.0

Air bags came at the same time on the 8v and 16v.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Actually, some of the 944S's came w/a 2.7L- I think it was just ONE year, but may have been two, but they DEFINATELY had a 2.7L for at least a year- many people, like Garrity Repta for instance, have used the 2.7L head, when building engines, as it is a better head than even the turbo...

As for the 968- nice idea Raceit, especially if you can track down a '93 or up w/M030 & LSD- later cars had the benefit of LSD being torsen, although there is a debate b/t SOME that the ZF (optional in '92) CAN be better under SOME circumstances. You might ALSO want to look for nice S2's though, as mentioned above- still nice driveability and better gearing for street- the 968 is pretty short, but, it does have a stronger tranny- so you can trade her out when you get a 951 to build up to bad-***- also, custom gears for the 968 are $300ea- $1200 would give you a new 3-6 for PERFECT gearing- 1st is fine, and 2nd is in pretty good relatioon to 1st- not worth $300 to give it 3-5 more mph IMO. Anyway, you'ree on the right track there, BUT- you REALLY WANT air bags? I'm not judging, but I personally HATE the things- you DO have to remember, that even if you get the newest 968 you can find ('95?), it will still be almost 8yrs old! 2003 is coming out right now- I don't like the idea of having a 10yr old virtual bomb in MY face- I'm one of those air bag haters though- at any rate, good luck w/your purchase. BTW- even a Turbo might not be too bad for herr- more HP, but, it really drives normal until you put your foot in it- the 968 would feel a lot more linear and responsive- unless she stuck her foot down too hard and the boost rolled on- I'd say the safest bet would be the S2- less cost than the 968, NICE linear power band, plenty of speed there for fun, great looks- does she like convertibles? Check out that blue one in OH- wait, don't do that- maybe it wont sell for the next year or so and i can step in and buy it...

EDIT: I wrote most of this to Raceit, but I now realize that it was Shawns post- anyway- same opinions- S2's, 968's, 951's, etc- find a well maintained one and you can't go wrong. Oh yeah- one of you mentioned having only two door cars- if you're worried about driving other's around, you can opt for the convertible S2- people actually fit back there w/out the top up...

Matt

Wow.

Assuming your post is serious -

A wife is for life, a car is just a car. A car's just a collection of parts that will be in a junkyard (hopefully) long before you of your wife leave this mortal coil. How about saying "honey, I love you, and you are more important to me than any car could possibly be. If it makes you happy to drive it, I'm happy too"?

This car stuff is great fun, but it's essentially trivial, no more significant than any other hobby, like motorcycles, skiing, stamp collecting, golf or whatever. Don't confuse it with real life, okay?

Matt

Robby

Matt- good point- I was actually thinking that if the problem was parking and bumping the spoiler, you can get around that several ways- just tell her to park WAY short, or, not park it at all in the driveway... In any case, I'd feel bad not letting my wife/girlfriend drive my car- she'd end up getting an S4 or M3 or something and probably not let me drive IT! If she really has problems controlling it, take her to a nice open place, like a big parking lot or something and TEACH her- the old Porsche could be a good aphrodisiac you know?

Thaddeus

I have offered to let my wife drive the Porsche many times (she's an excellent driver) but she always refuses. "If I did anything to your car, I'd feel awful." Too bad, really, I think she'd really dig it if she'd allow herself to drive it.

Thaddeus

CPTdooberhead

Last time I let someone drive my car (my best friend while on a date with a girl), he got attacked by a guard rail trying to show off my car. Noone but me drives my car anymore.

GOBOGIE

[quote]Originally posted by Matt:
<strong>Wow.

Assuming your post is serious -

A wife is for life, a car is just a car. If it makes you happy to drive it, I'm happy too"?
Matt</strong><hr></blockquote>

Boy, it's a good thing I don't let my wife read these posts
<img src="graemlins/icon501.gif" border="0" alt="[icon501]" />

bergstsm

I appreciate the caution, but her driving is not what worries me, it is that fact that she says she is a bit intimidated by the "size" of the 928. The spoiler bit is unavoidable, actually. The driveway is on a hill. Oh, and Matt, that was mostly tongue-in-cheek, although I do cringe every time I hear her grind the spoiler.

We both agree that she does not need a pile of power, so turbos are not necessary. She just wants SOME performance and that nice shiny Porsche crest on the hood. We have driven 2 944's together, and she seemed much more comfortable in it. No complaining about sight lines, easier to handle, etc, etc. I like the idea of having two similar cars in the garage, with many of the same traits.

Does the price/value curve lean to an S or an S2? What are the benefits of paying the premium for a fine S2? Are the 8 and 16 vales all interference engines, thus requiring the same vigilance about belts and rollers? She is enthusiastic about a 944, but I will likely be just as ****-retentive about buying a 944 as I was the 928. Focusing on S/S2's please advise.

Thanks so much!

Shawn

Tabor

[quote]Originally posted by Robby:
<strong>Actually, some of the 944S's came w/a 2.7L- I think it was just ONE year, but may have been two, but they DEFINATELY had a 2.7L for at least a year- many people, like Garrity Repta for instance, have used the 2.7L head, when building engines, as it is a better head than even the turbo...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Are you sure? The 1989 944 NA (8 valve) is the only 2.7L 944 that I know of. This was the normal base model, not the 'S'. I checked the <a href="http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq02.html" target="_blank">FAQ</a> and it agrees.