Ian964

I currenly have a 911 Turbo as a weekend car, and I drive a jeep grand cherokee as my daily driver. I really want to do more track/autocross events but I don't like the wear its putting on my car. The car is pretty much 100 percent perfect. I was thinking about trading in my jeep and buying a 951 as a daily driver/track car but I had a few questions.

1. Reliability. I've been reading through lots of posts and I see some people with quotes like "I've spent 17k on this car on service". If I get a good example that passes a PPI should I run trouble free? My Jeep is like a tank, i've only had to put MAYBE 2k into it in the last 4-5 years and its got 120k miles.

2. SNow, we get a fair amount of snow between december and march. Any major problems in the snow?

Ethan

If you can find a car with good records, I would not worry about maintenance. It will be more then your Jeep, but is a very reliable car if kept on top of. As for snow, they do well if equipped with the proper snow tires.
-Ethan

Ag951

Mine is just regular replacement of parts: filters, shocks, tires, bushings.
If you start looking at them check the flex fuel lines going into the fuel rail, if they go bad you have a fire hazard.

What is this 'snow' thing you speak of?

Oh...and they're awesome on the skidpad and track.

MichelleJD

I have a 951 and an Exploder. Obviously, the 951 will never ride like your truck in the snow. I park mine for the winter, but I've talked with people who drive them in the winter with snow tires. The consensus seems to be that they're okay if properly at"tired" <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Luis de Prat

Ian, the collective wisdom is that if you find a decent stock 951 and don't modify it, it should be just about as reliable as a non-turbo 944.

They're not the greatest in the snow, but better than you would expect.

Have you ever driven a 951S? Try it sometime. You'll love it.

Ian964

Well I've been looking around and I think I can probably get about 8k for the jeep. I could probably put another 2k of my own money into that for a total of 10.

If I looked around and tried to find a good deal could I get a reliable 951 for that kind of money?

I don't think snow is going to be THAT big of a problem. I work at home so I don't have to make any real comutes. Also they keep the roads pretty bare in the winter. If there was a snow storm you MIGHT see 3-5 inches+ on the roads for maybe a few hours but after that its all clear.

Ag951

The black book value of an '87 951 is $9250, so you shouldn't have much trouble.
The 951S and 89+ 951 (same car as the S, but no 'S') have a bigger turbo. It spools slower, but gives more power. They also have a better suspension and brakes.

Legoland951

If you are mechanically inclined the 951 is a great car to have. The parts are reasonable, but the labor is a pain compared to n/a. I think if you drive a 911 turbo, you will not be complaining about the costs to upkeep the 951.

Ian964

I havn't had to do much maintnance on the 911 turbo, its been rock solid. Although I don't put many miles on it at all.

Vaino

944 Turbos are relatively high maintenance (No flames here please). Expect that any car you find for that price range is going to require assorted updates/repairs. Unfortunately, many people have bought these cars, and just driven them, and pass the headaches on the next unlucky soul. A '87 is sixteen years old car. Even if very low mileage, the rubber parts are going to start to fail. That includes hose, seals, pressure diaphrams, etc. The Head Gasket has a expect lifespan of 10 years (it too has built in rubber seals). (I got 17 year out of mine).

If you have a good, solid car, with a very good history (paperwork backing the repairs and maintenance), you have a good shot at it. Just don't expect the purchase price to be the end of your expenses. Budget a couple of thousand on the rest. (Do you really want to depend on 16 year rubber hoses for high speed braking on a DE event?). THe other poster are correct. The price of spares have become reasonable, and plentiful. They aren't too bad to work on (Much easiler than the 930). And have a very good support base of experience owners to get information on problems and repairs.

How many miles on you 930? How many a year, versus your Jeep?

If you go in with this understanding, I think you will enjoy the car greatly. They are a great car to have and own.

Ian964

My 964 C2 Turbo just ticked to 40k miles yesterday. The paint is like 99% perfect and its in great shape.

I probably should sell the Turbo and buy a nice 964 C2 for the street and a 951 for the track. I just love the turbo. Its a shame becuase I really am only using like 20% of what the car can do.

I put probably 2000-3000 on the 911. Not to many more on the jeep becuse I work at home now.

Luis de Prat

Ian, it kinda sounds like you don't need another Porsche and you definitely should not let go of your turbo. Sell the Jeep and find something more interesting for daily driving, like a Volvo Sport Wagon <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />