odonnell

I've been back and forth on buying a 85.5+ N/A model. My biggest fear is of course the maintenance.

So how often do you have to work on your 944? If you don't turn your own wrench, how often do you find yourself bringing her in?

If I do get a 944, it would be a well-maintained example that has all records and a Porsche inspection. I just don't want to be under it more than I need to- I'm comfortable with working on cars, but I'm also a student and have other priorities.

I guess a few hours here and there is fine. I have a place to work on it, and I make ~$5k every summer that I can buy parts with. Thanks for any info!

Fara

At the moment, I'm working on it every weekend for at least one day.
This is because my project list is significantly larger than average due to my plans for the car.

However, prior to this, I was spending around one day every two months doing routine maintenance and general inspections (car was being driven every weekend and occasionally on weekdays)

odonnell

That sounds about how often I'll be driving it- I take the bus everywhere usually. What types of maintenance were you doing every few months? Like fluids and whatnot?

Hollywood D

When I first got mine I was doing stuff to it every weekend. I finished most stuff at the beginning of this summer and have just been driving it since. A lot of the things I did didn't HAVE to be done though. I did them more for reliability reasons.

Butters944

Not any more time at all than any average 80s or 90s cars... Especially if you get a well maintained car (which you could find under 100k miles for sub $5k EASILY). And parts are cheaper than you'd expect, ie early suspension and many other parts are VW.

odonnell

I really don't have a frame of reference I guess... I drove a '99 Honda Odyssey back in the day (parents old car) and now drive a bike

The van didn't really need that much attention short of oil and tires...if you don't count a $3500 trans rebuild I don't really know how often you would have to work on a car more than 10 years older.

Fara

I spend a fair amount of time working on my car, mostly because it's still been with me for less than a year, so I'm still working out things the Prior ******* did or did not do.

Essentially I'm just going through a series of checks on the car to ensure it remains safe to drive and to help avoid reliability issues. It takes around 2-4 hours to do, depending on if I find a fault or not.

VirginiaF1

OP, how much is your purchse budget?
How much is your monthly maintenance budget?
I paid $1,700 last year for a well-running '88 and spend $100/month to perfect the car.
Best car I've owned over 20 years.

odonnell

Sorry for all the pestering, but what sort of condition did you buy it in?

I'm hoping I can get a decent one for $3k or less. As for maintenance, probably about $700 a year give or take. I don't expect every year to be the same, some might be only a few hundred while some may be a thousand or more. I just don't want to be in ***** deep with the cost of parts and the time it takes to work on the car.

Fara

The body was straight, but there was some customisation of the wiring loom to fit the aftermarket (and non-functional) airconditioner.

The engine was in good condition, but had a leak from the rear main seal, the cam tower gasket and the front crank seal. I went into this knowing those issues and with the intention to repair them after xmas.

Unfortunately, since then, I've had a failure of the head gasket, between the cooling jacket and cylinder on #4. Therefore, it was engine-out time.

Current projects are:

Replace all seals on the engine
Rebuild bottom end if needed (inspect bearings, cyl walls etc)
Replace valve guides

Replace front harness on the car
Swap to a MAF and Late DME.

VirginiaF1

I think you'll be fine with $3,000/$700...
My weekly time investment averages 1 hour.
Best wishes and keep us informed.

odonnell

I would spend 1 hour a week WASHING it and keeping it clean, so that figure is just fine

I've been lurking Rennlist and Pelican Parts for months now, and if I can find a well-looked after 944 I'll be joining the club around May

Fara, that sounds miserable... I cringed just reading that!

Butters944

I bought my car (when I was 15 years old lol) for $1600, a non running, neglected, mess. Total investment so far (2.5 years) including purchase is hovering around $4000 (this is including timing belt/water pump change, all new interior, cooling fans, etc, PLUS a bunch of crap I don't need, like nice rims and tires, coilover suspension kit, stereo, etc etc. My the time I graduate high school this year I expect for my car to be perfectly fine in every single aspect besides the crappy paint.

(click my sig if u wanna skim through my project thread)

odonnell

I looked through it... not bad at all! I'm 90% sure I'm going for it

Fara

I was always intending to return it to the best condition I can, mechanically speaking. I picked it up for a fairly good price and intended on running it to get a feel for what I wanted out of it.

The car's future is in tarmac rally's, so anything extra is being pulled out anyway. I got this one because the body is straight and it has a solid roof.
The transmission is in good condition, but the engine showed use from a young driver who didn't appreciate the expense of a Porsche, particularly when you don't do the work yourself. Specifically, it has floating valves above around 5.8k RPM and the seals were all starting to seep. Also, the tyres that came with it showed that the car had a history of burnouts.