Hi guys ... I'm kinda new here, though I've been reading the forums for a couple weeks now. I'm not a Porsche owner yet, but I'm hoping to be soon (I just need to find the right car). I've done my homework, and have a fairly good idea of what I should look for/avoid (service records, belts, water pump, coolant leaks etc...) but I do have some questions before I finally bring one home.
First and foremost ... I live in Ottawa, Ontario ... Do any of you live in/around the Ottawa/Hull area, and if so where do you take your cars to get serviced? I hope to do some of the maintenance on my own, but I would like to find a reputable mechanic with a good knowledge of 944s for the stuff I can't do before I actually buy a car. Also, having never owned a Porsche before, any advice you guys can offer me about buying and maintaining the 944 (aside from the obvious stuff) would be great.


Incidentally, if anyone knows of a burgandy or champagne 85.5+ 944/951 in good condition for a decent price (or any 944, preferably within driving distance, for that matter), let me know

Thanks in advance


Matt

 

Blade

Welcome to Rennlist. We have a number of folks in Ontario, but this is posted so early on a weekend morning that they might not see it before it goes to page 2 or beyond. You might bump it later in the day to make sure its read. I'm sure you'll get responses.

<img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

 

Thanks for the welcome Maineiac. Heh, yeah I guess it was a little early when I posted

 

The further you are willing to travel, the better the deal. Don't settle for less than you want. Oryou will regret it. bump

 

Welcome,

I am sure you will talk to some nice people on the list. When I bought my 84 Burgandy 944 I knew nothing about the car besides the things you have mentioned, you know the basic stuff. The first thing that took a **** on my car was the radiator, the plastic factory sides just don't hold up over the period of 10 plus years. So that cost me $300 for a new radiator, and to replace it, well if I took it apart I pretty much fiqured out how to put it back together," most of the time without some hassle. Over the course of the last five years my 944 has become an addiction to me, I Love to drive it, work on it, and always try to make it better! So I don't think you will ever buy a car knowing everything about what to expect in the future from the car, especially if it is used. But proper maintanence and care of the vehicle goes a long way in enjoying your car for many years ahead. It is also always good to know a mechanic who is your friend that knows a thing or two about these cars and cars in general, Because labor at a dealer and the cost of parts will suck you dry!!

LeadFoot944

 

Welcome aboard and good luck with your search. My contribution is this...

1) Take your time looking. There ARE really nice cars out there, but there are a lot of beaten cars too. I looked for nearly 4 months to find mine. 12 cars later, I found her on a nice Sunday morning in the local newspaper. Drove out, saw her and it was done. I couldn't believe how many cars with much lower mileage where just beat (bought mine with 107k miles).

2) I've worked on cars for decades. By far, the Porsche is the nicest to work on. Quality parts, quality design, quality assembly... Add to this the wealth of knowledge provided by this list and you have a great opportunity to have a relatively pain-free experience with the car. From this list alone, you will be more skilled in 944's than 99.99% of the population.

Keep the shiny side up,

 

Hey guys, thanks for the welcome/advice. There seems to be a ton of knowledge available on the forums here, and hopefully I'll be able to tap into that when I need it. I've found a couple really nice 944s and quite a few that are barely driveable, but I'm still looking for the right one. Hopefully it won't take *too* long to find it

I'm still looking for a good 944 mechanic around here ... any Ontario people know of one?


Thanks,
Matt

 

Bumping this once more~