adam's rotors

New to the 944 scene and I'm THIS close to picking it up...

It's a black on black 1987 Porsche 944 2.5L
~193k miles

Recent work within the last 15k miles includes:

- Timing belt, balance belt, and rollers
- All 4 wheels bearings
- Voltage regulator
- Air filter
- Distributor cap and rotor
- Spark plugs
- Fuel filter
- Coolant flush
- Transaxle fluid
- Heater valve hose
- Motor mounts

Upgrades includes:

- Koni Yellow shocks (adjustable rebound)
- Ground control coil over sleeves and 250 lbs springs in the front
- 27mm torsion bars in the rear
- Neatrix spring plate bushings
- Weltmeister rear sway bar
- Rear wiper delete
- Pioneer F310BT navigation unit
- Alpine speakers
- Rockford Fosgate 8" subwoofer
- Rockford Fosgate amp
- Porsche Boxster wheels with Hankook V12 tires (40% tread)
- H4 headlight bulb conversion
- H&R extended wheel studs with 7 mm spacers in the front and 15mm spacers in the rear
- Turbo rear diffuser
- Turbo side skirts
- Carbon alarm with key-less entry and power door locks
- LED cluster bulbs

Extras:

- Turbo front nose panel
- Turbo headlight shrouds
- Two rear quarter panel windows

Lower radiator hose was replaced at 180k.
Clutch, fuel pump, and heater valve was done at 130k.
The car Passed smog on March 26 2011.

Car is super clean...
No creaks or rattles in the hatch, there are no cracks in the dash, and the seats are not torn.
Interior is nearly flawless, as is the body...only issue is a cracked windshield.

Opinions? Thought?
STFU and go buy it or should I hold back?
Let me know what you think...if it's a go and I can pick it up, I'll be seeing you around!

Thanks in advance...
-a

m73m95

I'd offer $5k.

NA values don't seem to change much with aftermarket parts.... not like the turbo cars anyway.

Good running, clean, non-issue 944 seems to be around $5k right now. Search craigslist, and Ebay to find cars in like condition, and see what they're going for.

adam's rotors

oh I have...I'm right about middle to be honest. a bit higher for an NA, but it's very clean.
the add-ons installed coming with the car are also of value to me...the suspension & stereo alone are about $2000, plus turbo body parts, etc.
...and the guy is asking $6500, but I'm firm at a $6000 offer. the seller is reluctant to sell, so I know I don't have much room.
but I'm more concerned with the car's overall value, which I agree is closer to $5-5500 then factoring in extras.

Crackership

If you do your shopping right, you can pick up an excellent turbo for just a little more... is a turbo more of a wallet-eater than an NA? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely!

Just my $0.02

adam's rotors

very true

odurandina

this is sad to say but i'd offer like $4,200 or let somebody else....

VirginiaF1

Howdy!
As a reference point, our $1700 '88 944 n/a bought last month has 230k miles, recent services/belts/etc and also passed Virginia state inspection.

Runs very well apart from a slight hesitation 2800-3200 rpm.. ( worn AFM?)
Absolutely stock everything so maybe your lower miles and heavy mod list warrants the extra ~$4k.. ??

Look fwd to your decision..

Good luck!

Early944

I am an NA owner and I have to say that does sound like it is worth 6k on its own. That being said I think you should shell out the extra $$$ and buy a turbo or an S2. Knowing what you can get for just a little more makes it not worth that much by comparison only.

Unless you already have a fast car I wouldn't recommend buying any NA. You will only find yourself craving more power later down the road, and wishing you bought a turbo (especially if you read about other people's turbos on here).

pnbell

Here is your Answer:

If you have the Money, and Like the car Enough to Buy it for $6,000; Then Buy it!

I bought mine for $5k, and in 2 years have put about $5k into it... (Belts/Waterpump, Lifters, Clutch, Motor Mounts/Rod Bearings, Konis Front/Rear, Rear Sway Bar, Ball Joints, AOS, Oil Cooler Seals, Other Various Seals, New Seats, Sound System, Misc Button/Pieces, and the list goes on...)

So is this a $10k car now? Nope, if i'm lucky its still a $5k car... But I love the car, and when i look at the "Regular Cars" I could buy for $10k i am happy with mine.

Lastly, Do you know how to work on cars? and own a full set of tools? and have a Garage?

I have done all my own work, mostly in my driveway! If I had not this would be a $20k car worth maybe $5k...

"Owning a Sport car is Like dating Beautiful Women; They're Both Fun to Play with, You look Great with Them, But the Money you Spend on Them will Never be seen again..."

dpoul34

How long have you been looking? I do agree the turbo for a few bucks more would be well worth the investment, cuz I don't know many NA owners who have not said, "Damn, shoulda got the turbo!" I'm one of them, and my NA is spotless.

ernie9468

If you like the car I'll say go ahead & buy it ,it migth not have super power and out of this world top speed but NA more then make up by it's road holding.And this one seem to have a well sort out suspension & a bunch of goodies .At least you know what your buying and you won't have to spend your time crawling underneath or under the hood fixing things.Mind you it's still a 24 yrs old car and you'll probably be facing issues apart from maintenance.No mention of the cluth being done ,so be carefull since it's a PITA -time consuming & expensive job to do.The golden rule when buying any 944s don't matter how good it look & how nice it is, is to get a PPI by a mechanic or shop who knows 944s .Beleive me it will be money well spend & a great insurance for you.GL

V2Rocket

Hi,

I will be in San Jose tonight and for the weekend. If you would like a second opinion on the car, let me know and I can probably sneak away to check it out with you. I have been a 944 owner for 6 years now and have been completely through my car and other Rennlisters' cars from end to end.

I will start by saying that even with a nice list of parts like that, I would not pay $6k for a 944NA, unless it had $2k worth of white powder in the gas tank.

ZR8ED

At that price you are paying for the "extras" especially with that kind of mileage. NA's that I see in that price range, though stock, typically have half the mileage or less.

I would also put in an extra caution as you are in CA. There is a much better supply of Porsches there, than here in the Great White North.

PorscheDoc

6k? For a 193k 944? Get off the drugs. The maintenance items don't add value to the car. Those are hits the owner takes to keep the car on the road and in the condition it should be. I wouldn't pay more than $3500 no matter how good of condition it is in.

Crackership

I'm not totally sure that I agree with your assessment... I would definitely be willing to pay a bit more for a car with an excellent service history. On the other hand, I pretty well agree with your assessment of the value... $3500 would probably be my cap for an NA also... but then again, If I were to look for an NA, it would be for a spec build, so I would be looking for the $1500 car with a horrible paint and interior, but fairly sound mechanically.

Here is why I would never spend $6k on that car though:

1. 944 NA is not rare, at least not like 951/S2/968's are... they're not hard to find, so there's no reason to overpay for convenience.

2. 193k miles is not "low mileage". I'm not saying it's "all worn out" or anything, but I bought an 85.5 NA a few years back with 61k on it for $2700

3. $6k is so close to a very nice turbo. About 6months ago, I bought an '86 951, 134k mi, CRYSTAL GREEN METALLIC, immaculate interior, on gold Fuchs, with LOTS of expensive and well chosen go-fast, for $800 more than you're about to spend on an NA.

I mean, if you like the car, you like the car, but I think if you drive a turbo, and especially an even lightly modded one, you'll see what I'm getting at. Don't get me wrong, NA's are great cars. In fact, in my book the 944NA is the benchmark of car goodness. If a car doesn't stack up to an NA, it's no good. But an NA will never be a turbo. Or an S2. Or a 968.

With all that said, if you want an NA, get an NA... but $6k is a lot of dollars for one... even a very nice one.