I've been trapped in this conundrum for a few years now. I have a beautiful mint 86 n/a, and everything you can imagine mechanically has been sorted with it. Couldn't ask for a better driving car. Perfect interior. I still drool over how beautiful it is, but after 8 years driving it just doesn't seem to excite me like it used to. Kind of like making love to the same woman time and time again. I'd love to try an early 944 as i've always loved the quirky dash, or definitely a 911, but I have serious money in my car and still like it just enough that i'm having a hard time putting it up for sale. How do you know when it's time to move on, and how do you get over the attachment hurdle??


My 86 n/a:

 

https://rennlist.com/forums/944-turb...-0-liters.html

BTW the 3L cars... you CANNOT build one for that $$..

 

I felt the same way about my '87 n/a before i sold it. I put alot of time and work into that car and hated to sell it. But having had the 951 and n/a both in the driveway overlapping for a few weeks.. lets just say the n/a was not driven at all until i picked the guy up who bought it from the airport. That is the easiest way to sell a car you are attached to..find another to fill its spot first, of course if you can afford it and have the space. I was going to take this approach with my 951 and buy a 993, but that would leave me with 3 cars at my parents house..which has space for 3 cars with a 100 foot, 1 car width wide approach. Besides.. buying another car before selling the 951 would make it very easy for me to somehow rationalize keeping 2 Porsche's and my Jeep daily driver. Mind you i am only home to drive the P-cars maybe 4 months out of the year with my work schedule and working around the north east winters. .

Otherwise i say post it up for sale at a price that you realistically could walk away with and not feel like you lost a ton of money. You have to be realistic with your price though, otherwise there is no point in even posting it for sale.If it sells it sells, if not hold onto it and see how you feel and lower the price accordingly.

This is the approach i am taking with my 951 as i too, also feel its time for a change.

Personally i would not move to another 944, but rather a different model.. either a 911 or 951 or S2 if you want to stay in the 944 model line. I dont see much point in selling your already sorted car for one with unknown history for the sake of a different and very dated interior.

 

You could consider replacing the 2.5 motor with a 968 motor (or alternatively, but considerably more expensive, with a Chevy V8) and tightening up the suspension. This definitely would make your 944 exciting again.

I did this after getting a bid bored with my 944 86 after fifteen years of ownership. Did the trick.

 

don't even think of selling that car. you've kept it so well... find more inspiring places to take it.

 

Maybe i'm crazy... but I think a well kept early dash is retro cool and find the driving experience of a late car to be much more bland or vanilla in comparison. I've never had to live with an early car tho, so just maybe i'd miss the late dash once the novelty of an early dash wore off?

 

"Kind of like making love to the same woman time and time again." I would have to guess either you are not married or your wife doesn't read this forum....

 

i started feeling that way about cars until i started autox-ing and tracking them. Its like opening up a whole other side to the car. That car is too nice to cut it up though. Ive actually been jonesing for an n/a after having my turbo so long. N/A is much nicer around town.

 

get into autox. PCA or SCCA. it's alot of fun and you'll love your car again

and it's cheap. $30-$40 an event no special prep other than cleaning out the car.

 

Get a 996

 

ill trade my quirky, decent-shape brown early car for that one. and by decent shape i mean it has a handful of door dings, needs paint desperately, has a dash with more cracks than a 45-year old beach bimbo's face

 

No love like your first love.
Hang on to it. Buy yourself a 951 or 968. You will look back someday and wish you had kept it. Put it up in storage (using proper prep to stor it.) or make it a weekend driver.

 

I know what your talking about regarding the early 944s. I thought I was the only one that actually liked the early dash!

I've owned a few 83's and those to me are by far the funnest, most pure N/A 944s. 1983 was the only year that came without power steering and the power sunroof making them the lightest of the bunch. I'm not sure if most people realize this, but the seat mounts on the body are different also. You sit much lower in the early cars, which I prefer. I always feel like I'm sitting up too high in my 951. I would take an 83 over any late N/A car.

Maybe buy an early car and just keep yours. They are different enough and cheap enough to justify this in my opinion.

 

If you want a more "raw" feel, stay with the devil that you know and do some work to it. Get a manual steering rack, tear some unneccessary weight out of the car, and upgrade the suspension.

 

I was supposed to sell my S when I got the C4, but I just couldn't.
You'll never be able sell that '86 for what it is worth to you.
If you can keep her and get a 911 (big if, I know), you will not believe how much more you'll love the 944. A 911 it's not, but that can be incredibly refreshing. It's its own thing. I drive the S much less frequently now, and I am always sad to switch back to the the 993. For a little while, anyway ;-)