User 52121

Heh, no, probably not. I mean, it could be a daily driver - but you definitely want a backup car.

Hahaha.

While not 944's... Ideola moved into a place about 10 miles from me. He has quite a collection of 924's... and I think they all run. I think he's got close to 10 of them. Bunch of rare ones, too - including a 1980 Carrera GT.

Definitely neat to peruse his garage and check out all the options!

Tiger03447

I guess that I can qualify for the village idiot award. I picked up two 944's for a K. I knew that they both need lotsa work, as many parts had been stripped off of both of them. But I thought that they were cars that didn't need to sit through any more New Hampshire winters and rot into the ground. My '89 was a parts car from the get-go. thoroughly stripped out, was barely a roller, but we got it on the trailer. The '83 was more complete, and actually had a complete engine,interior, and a gearshift that wasn't connected to air. So I've been slugging along on it for the past 3 years now. I've never been able to even start the car, or energize any circuits in it. The engine has been gone through, and several other upgrades and many parts replacements later, I hope to get it rolling this coming summer. I don't even want to know how much I have in it, but I am keeping a file of all the receipts. The TT will be finished in the next week, I hope, then we can spend some time putting in a lot of new components with the engine re-install, crossmember, and front suspension. Getting it on the road? Perhaps by late summer at best. It's what I call a "chicken" job..just gotta keep pecking at it until it's done. Thanks..BTW..I'm envious of all you guys who are driving your cars and having fun...

odurandina

it's best to buy a parts car.... you accomplished that.

next, the running car.

if you're in New England, you're welcome to drive mine (for a couple hours next spring).

Martin's928

Fell in love with and ached for a 944 when they first came out. I was in university at the time though so I kept driving my VW Rabbit. 7 years ago, and still a Porsche lover, I bought a 928 S4 and have been maintaining, improving, driving, and loving it since. Still got a little "thrill" when I saw a 944 though…

2 years ago, my wife announced she wanted her own fun summer car. One of those "small Porsches like our friend James had". Yep, a 944! Love my wife!!! So, searched on e-bay and other online sites (you know you are buying a car for your wife when the number one criteria is "silver"!). Found a nice looking single owner one a thousand miles away at a collector car dealer with low miles, maintenance done, good cosmetics. They took it to a Porsche dealer to be mechanically assessed for me and about 3 weeks later it rolled off a transport truck into my driveway. As advertised and in great condition 1985.5 944 N/A 5 spd with 80,000 km on the clock. And SILVER! All told about $10,000 Cdn.

Since then I've done most of the maintenance issues and found, for example, things like the timing belts had been done but the water pump appeared to be original and in poor condition. The shocks/struts had been replaced but with Konis on the front and Bilstein sports on the back. Things were done but not well done…..

Anyway, I've done the clutch, motor mounts, timing belts/water pump, replace all hoses, Dansk exhaust and high flow cat (stock cat started rattling), new plugs/wires/dist parts, OEM Boge struts/shocks, suspension bushings, some minor cosmetic things (wheel spacers to widen stance a little, dash trim kit, fixed cargo cover), replaced/fixed stiff door handles, fixed various electrical gremlins, and generally "kept up" on it. Few other things too but can't remember.

One thing has impressed me greatly through this process: I have used either Porsche or OEM parts when possible and, because of the high quality of these, the car is significantly better now than it was when I bought it. The car drives and runs like a new car. With the stock OEM suspension parts, it handles and rides beautifully: much closer to the "luxury" of my 928 but very sporty too. I love my 928 but, to be honest, around town the 944 is more fun to drive and almost as comfortable.

I couldn't agree more with people who say the cost of purchase doesn't jive with the cost of maintenance. Since I do the work myself, I haven't spent more than the purchase price but I'd be well over it if I paid a shop to do the work. It just doesn't work to use bargain/cheap replacement parts either. They don't even come close to the quality, fit, and performance of Porsche/OEM parts. If you scrimp on parts/maintenance, the car won't get better or cheaper to run.

If you pony up for quality parts and get the maintenance done, the 944 is a fantastic car to own and run. Obviously I'm in the "not daily driver" category as, if something needs fixing, I really hate having time pressure to get the car back on the road. It sucks and I end up doing a crappy job and hating it. I'm NOT a professional mechanic, I'm a hobbyist. We have a 2013 Acura which is always ready to go if one of the Porsches is down……then I have all the time in the world and boy it's fun and satisfying when the car rolls out of the garage ready to go again.

EliteThink

inspiring stuff.

the other day my 7 year old son asked me why we have a Ferrari badge on our Porsche. We had a sit down...

odurandina

yes. and in the spirit of your post, i'll repost my 968 ownership advice;


before my v8 was installed,

i drove my 968 for about 122,000 miles from 77k to ~199k miles.... from purchase in Feb '2008 until about May 2014....

i got a huge head start on a great 968 for pennies with the help of two awesome individuals. the first guy was Hank: the original owner of my car who paid the membership dues at the dealer; and after the warranty period; at a capable indy repair shop... in all, just over $57,000 went into my car, to make it possible to have it the way it was on the day of purchase.

i learned some important things from Hank and his wife, who were very open and honest about their ownership experience.... and also from studying the paperwork on the car. not too long after that, i got a second huge boost from one of the guys here on the forum. through the early process, consulting with forum members, and then, driving my 968 tens of thousands of miles, i was able to form some ideas about how much these cars cost to drive (great distances).

there was also a website a few years ago (that has since been taken down), where an owner gave very specific details of his ownership experience, maintenance and repairs dating from purchase to 145 k miles as his daily car. his experiences was a near mirror to mine.

i drove the car from 77 k to 199 k miles before parting with the original engine. during this time, and with the previous owner, this 968 never went up on a tow truck.... it once required about 3 jump starts to get from a rest area on I-90 the repair shop in Geneva, NY after my 2nd AC pump seized.... i had another close call when i blew my clutch on I-90 just east of Worcester and made it home by starting the car in gear at the toll plaza... and somehow shifting a couple of gears.... then to the repair shop the following day....

verdict: if you do the maintenance, it's an expensive car, but a solid car...

well, to a point.

the 968 is truly a quasi-exotic car... you can't cheat; you can't drive the cars down the road for long when stuff comes due. you will be stopped by the laws of physics as they interface with the Porsche regime.


following scheduled maintenance, you should expect a 968 to run quite well up to about 140 k miles... (during what i'll coin the 1st phase of the 968's life), i believe it's a good idea to replace the AC pump and H20 pump at the timing belt interval, as it will not likely survive the 2nd interval... but if you endure the expense, you'll be a good deal better off.. the Gates belts can be retensioned at about 1500 miles, then checked after about 35 k miles for tension and wear. each of the 2 AC pumps on my car lasted 67 k miles, so just run about 50 k mile timing belt cycle (the Gates belts will go 60 k miles easily).... then, replace everything: belts, rollers, tensioner, pullies, cam tension pads, cam chain, H20 pump, AC pump, front seals, etc...

do the whole smash. this really is the proper way.

at about 140~155 k miles, your 968 will most surely begin to enter a much costlier phase of it's life. there simply is no getting around this reality. you may be dealing with the oil cooler, radiator, ps pump, motor mounts, crappy fuel and brake lines, and more stuff.... some of these items, might be along for their second rodeos. but then with more stuff getting old and crusty, if not addressed, will inevitably cause more problems....

at such time, the best move is to take a pause and dismantle much of the car (at one of the belt/variocam overhaul cycles).... at such time, you should do a head off/gasket, valve job, belt/variocam/ clutch, transmission rebuild and rodbearings. and replace every GD plastic and rubber thing in the engine bay. you can wait and do these things one at a time, but, it's far better to do them all at once. Get 'em done. from there, move on to the suspension; having the control arms rebuilt, new shocks, wheel bearings etc, just in time for the fresh gearbox from one of the go-to transmission guys.... with the transmission, ask one of the guru's if it's a good idea to put off a proper rebuild. they'll respond with an emphatic 'no.'

the lower engines are solid; (the lifespan is probaboy 250~350 k. possibly longer).

a lot of the uber focus on finding a low mile car is overkill imo. unless you're a capable wrench, ALL 968s cost a small fortune to drive the way you'll really want to drive 'em (on the nice days for a lotta years). whether you buy a mint car, one with higher miles, or a very high mile car with deferred maintenance - you might discover the cost to take any of them for the next 100 k miles down the road doesn't vary as much as some might think; the bodies on a well-cared for older car vs the rare low mile car/s probably won't differ much; as they are all highly resistant to rust. the high mile car may require a re-spray. but, other than that, and fresh driver's seat leather.... you can still end up with a solid car.

since an argument can be made that these cars can be set up to @50 k mile big-service intervals, the with one costing more at purchase vs the other costing $$$ to get things 'caught up...' over the long haul, will often compare similarly.

i don't think you'll see a lot of 968s for sale with more than 200~220 k miles. but you could. empirically, i don't see the type of owner loyalty that we see with the 911. perhaps this is because regular service and repairs on 968s is capable of killing off several gererations of owners. i believe that's one reason why so many people don't stay in 968 ownership but for a few years.

all told, the maintenance on these cars is bordering on extreme.

i believe this state of affairs is not only true, but possibly, a blemish on the 968.

dmjames

I'd bet that part of this is that there just aren't nearly as many 968s to start with, and they're still relatively expensive (vs. the 944/951), likely due in part to the age. It'll be interesting to see where things end up in a few more years.

Tiger03447

Dear Odurandina: I live near Keene, NH..on the other side of the world from Boston..about 2 hours down route 2..Thanks for the offer..I'll do it..Have you got heat in your car yet? just wondering..LOL!

mrgreenjeans

Thanks for the post and followup positive feedback guys....

let me tell you about the next couple I found.

The second one with the same package setup I found thru a local Porsche Club ad, but the ad contained the incorrect phone number and voice mails left were never answered. A call to the editor got me the right number, but I was sure the car had sold in the several weeks it took to make the contact.

It belonged to a guy a good 15-20 years older than I and he had gotten the car because as a first Porsche, it had to be in proper 'kit'. It was also an M456 sport suspension equipped, sport spring, 5 speed, and LSD car. Black full leather Recaro sport seats with FUCHS wheels in 16 inch, and a VERY early '82 built car which entered into the U.S. around the Colorado Springs/Denver area to the first owner in mid '82 as a model year '83- 944. One of the first to arrive into America.
I got it with 52,000 original miles wearing it's original Guards Red paint with barely any miles put on during his ownership. He said he liked to keep a low profile on Campus ( college professor ) and drove it on weekends and holidays during the summer.
He wanted cash only, and I couldn't get there quickly enough to hand over the bundle of hundreds and get it trailered back for it's timing and balance shaft belts.
It is nearly a dead ringer to the car I ordered a few years earlier the only difference being the color of the interior. And no power steering.

Next up is the story of the Sunroof Delete, delete special I drove back from Tucumcari New Mexico, getting caught in a late spring blizzard at about mile marker 1400 of an 1800 mile drive ......... on race rubber. ( eyeroll )

In the end it was worth it, but NEVER again.

odurandina

very nice.... another great story. thanks for sharing!!

i have a similar story to tell about the day i acquired my 968. it all began as a lovely mid-February day on the southern North Carolina coast near the S. Carolina state line...

and how did the day end? camped out in the Bronx with 6 inches of snow, NO PARKING AVAILABLE ANYWHERE, and bitter cold on summer tires, running the heat, exhausted.... i should have stopped in New Jersey and waited out the storm. i thought i could make it to the first Connecticut I-95 rest area.... i did eventually get there (about 10 hours later than i'd originally been shooting for)... but, hoping to park and rest turned out just as bad as New York. got home very late that day. the final 250 miles of my new-to-me 968 slipping and sliding all over the highway with 10,000 impatient drivers..... and my house?

16 inches of snow.

should have just got a cheap hotel in Seaside New Jersey down the Parkway.

no heat yet!

yep. Merry Christmas!! i've gone totally insane.

car ain't going near New England until spring (maybe).

https://rennlist.com/forums/968-foru...the-968-a.html

mrgreenjeans

I should actually include the story about the NEXT 944 I found and keep the lineup in sequence. I answered an ad on the internet for it from a guy who had inherited it from his aunt. She was the original owner.

Having placed her order for it in Pasadena, California and my looking over the paperwork which came with it, appears she waited about the same amount of time as I had for it's arrival. About a year and a half with 3,000 down and a build date of December of 1983. Delivery about 2 months later. It is an early '84 car with a whole complement of options but differing slightly from my first and only new Porsche in that it did NOT have washer squirters for the headlights and it was Zermatt silver with Black leather Recaro Sport Seats instead of the Grey/Beige which came in my Guards Red car.

So the guy tells me he was the only heir to his mother's sister and she had died early in life. He went out to Glendale to those beautiful foothills to retrieve his 944 and trailered it to Las Vegas where he lived. It promptly got a belt and water pump change out and a full service. He got to drive it about a month and returning to his garage one late evening, the car abruptly stopped as he was driving it up the incline, dragging the rear wheels and stopping short. He thinks it threw a belt and locked the engine= valves hitting the piston tops ...... long story short he rolls it into a storage container in his back yard.

For SEVEN years it sits awaiting an analysis by a mechanic. He got tired of the ordeal and sells it to me with what is known as a self described "bent valve disaster". I pay nearly nothing for the rust free, accident free, southern CA. car with slightly dried out leather interior, and tires which are petrified from seven years of Las Vegas climate----- hard as sugar cookies. Not quite a hundred thousand on the otherwise blemish free body. ( a few dings that PDR'ed out and some tree sap on the paintwork that baked into the paint, but needing a bunch of dried out hose repair; vacuum as well as fuel and water. )

Actual cause of the engine stopping ? It dropped the set screw out of the rotor. It was not tightened or loctited into the cam and a vehicle with no spark will not run.

Trailering back cost nearly as much as what the car cost me. It has two sets of FUCHS wheels-- one done in a high polish and clear coat the other is painted to color match , the M456 Sport Suspension ( Sport Springs, Sport shocks, h.d. anti-sway bars ), 5 speed, about a 4,000 dollar upgraded stereo and the original Blaupunkt in a box ( Monterey ), plus all the paperwork from new. Dealership service recs, the air gauge and spare tire pump in the o.e. box, tools which look like they were never unrolled and in perfect condition. A sunroof car, with bag, has the rear window wiper and contains an original, un-faded black carpet thru out. The seats will not rejuvenate and are brittle, but other than replacing the leather, it is pretty much a drive anywhere 944. I took it to Porsche Parade in 2013 in Grand Traverse City, MI and it made the journey without a flaw. Round trip of 3,000 miles with around 28 miles per gallon average.

This girls a keeper ~

odurandina

still the best evaar......

odurandina

what to do if confronted by marauding bands of barbarians or single lone nut....

odurandina

great review: sorry if Enzo......


https://rennlist.com/forums/944-and-...n-youtube.html

odurandina

interesting that they had the S2 in this TV spot well ahead of delivery.