Matts944

That car fits right in with what I have found here in Florida. $7k is a good fair price and she's beautiful. Nice purchase my friend!

odurandina

oh I get it Cole.... because a 968 Turbo S is the car,

this fully validates spending $40k to maintain a 968 n/a powerplant.

thanks.

Cole

I'd MUCH rather drive a 968 powerplant than a Chevy one in this platform. It also doesn't take $40k to maintain one

Honestly there is so much more to the driving experience. I own 3 HP V8s and my turbo 4 puts a huge grin on my face everytime I drive it. It's such a different beast. If all I wanted was big Chevy power there are much better platforms to get it in for less money and time!

phlfly

Engine sound is priceless and L - series doesn't do that at all.

It's easy do loud car with just straight pipe but engine sound is impossible unless it was intent to so from beginning of the design. And Porsche succeed this

divil

Worst case? Now way is that the worst case, not by a long shot. If you can get a 4K 951 sorted for just 4K in parts, you are very lucky. You could spend that on suspension alone, just restoring it to stock condition, and a 4K car could easily have a lot more issues than that...belts, seals, cooling system, clutch, turbo, DME, wring, exhaust, leaky steering rack...it never ends. You could drop 10-15K in parts into a neglected Turbo in in a hearbeat, and you'll still be crossing your fingers hoping you don't grenade the transaxle or spin a rod bearing. Oh, and it will be worth about 7K when you're finished

I think there's a tendency to underestimate what it takes to really keep a 951 in good shape. Maybe because so many of the guys here are serious DIY guys or pros. Maybe because a lot of them got into the game when the cars were still not too old, and have kept up with maintanence since then. But people buying a 25-30 year old 951 now for the first time...they will get a shock IMHO.

I agree they are probably as cheap now as they'll ever go, but I think they'll stay there for a while. Until Lart has parted out all the 4K cars....but the only cars that will go up will be the ones that have been showered with money their whole lives (and not driven much)

Cole

I replaced and/or rebuilt my entire 951 and didn't come anywhere near those numbers! $4k for parts to restore a stock suspension Where the hell are you buying parts?!!

divil

OK I just added it up, and including stuff I still need to do, but have priced, it only comes to about $2800 for shocks, strut inserts, strut mounts, bushings and ball joints...my mistake

Still, I stand by the other estimate I made. I definitely have 7-8K into my car in parts. And I'm still thousands away from having it sorted (and it was not a 4k car to start with!).

I have bought most of this stuff from the same places everyone here goes to...I added it all up last year and got such a shock I swore I'd never do it again

Cole

This is the funniest thing about 944 owners. They just bitch and bitch about parts prices for a classic Porsche

From the links I posted above it looks like the really well taken care of 951s do sell for good money. Just like 911s.

The difference is that the 911 owners spend the cash and effort to make them right and the 944 guys sit around and bitch about the cost of part and don't end up doing the work.

I don't understand why some people just hang around here and complain and try to bring everyone else down?!

If a 951 had been even half way maintained it wouldn't need every single suspension part replaced at once. But......that isn't exactly a 944 problem either. I've put $3k worth of suspension bits on several cars, not all German either. It's just part of owning cool cars.

I currently have 6 cars (3 Porsches, Audi, VW and Mercedes) and the 951 isn't any more/less expensive to maintain than the rest of them.

catamount

What a rather interesting discussion about 944s, specifically 944 Turbos and attitudes about them.

How many here have tracked their 951? A well sorted 951 on the track is something to behold, especially in the hands of someone with some talent. What's interesting are the comments from other drivers. Generally it's a good bit of praise over it's balance, handling, ability to put its power down, overall speed and lap times. If you track a 951, you'll find that most drivers, including seasoned and experienced drivers hold the 951 in high regard. They'll also have to work hard to keep up or overtake.

odurandina

money-pit motors corp;

968 parts cost A LOT.... parts and labor just in the engine bay, extrapolating my receipts and adding for some additional scheduled/unscheduled/needed work.... also factoring in the experiences of other owners.... it's every bit of that and more to go 250~300 k miles. including at about 200k; valve job, rod-bearings/pan-gasket/new pick-up tube.... still leaving out other stuff.... but the 968 block is solid and can make it to 400 k miles.... I can post the list again, including radiator replacement, multiple ac and h20 pumps, belts, oil cooler fun.... assured headgasket failure... and all the other maintenance averages out to be about 13~14 thousand dollar/100 k miles. and you can go higher for other issues commonly experienced, such as camshaft failure or seized h20 pump somewhere along the way possibly leading to bent valves.....

do it all yourself? whoever does the wrenching, your time is money too... I drive 32 k miles/year... i'm working 72 straight days/1300 miles from home in Florida right now..... wrenching would just take away from my earnings and precious time.... and I wouldn't want to wreck my high strung exotic German 4 cylinder.... I enjoyed driving this pricy engine. but in the end, it just didn't produce the level of performance and service to justify the cost.

the 968 would be the car w/ a Goodwrench 3.7 liter inline 5 turbo making 480 hp.

such a car would have the personality of a German in line engine you all love and make endless power.

I'd be in.

still, a v8 built to make high rpm will always be better....

Cole

If you are paying labor on ANY classic car it's going to cost you. Not a Porsche 944 Specific thing.

I've driven the V8s. They are cool. But I'm appreciating the factory motor and the experience of driving it more then a V8.

Will a hamburger feed you faster and cheaper than Sushi? Sure. Would I rather have sushi? Yep!

divil

I track mine...although I'm not experienced enough to really comment on it, I will say that in stock form it definitely ranks highly among 80s Porsches. Don't see many other cars form that era at the events I go to, other than Porsches. I was in a really fast 951 driven by an instructor, and it was incredible, but it was a heavily modded 2.7L.

Personally I get a kick out of the fact that I can drive a classic car this cool to the track and thrash it around all weekend and drive it home without a care in the world. Unmodified and well maintained, they are really reliable. The low market value is liberating...there is no reason not to drive the hell out of it

Tom R.

Cole,
You lost me after the first car. You cannot seriously be comparing an 89 with under 50k miles to a 200k mile car. As for the asking price of $30k - GLWS, I Couldn't get $15k for my 89 with 50K miles. If the others are apples/oranges comparisons...

As for the post suggesting we invest in Apple, I sold my Apple at $27 to buy my first 944.
And if you cannot drive it home you are not bankrupted. That's why I like the 944.

Cole

I wasn't making any comparisons at all. Simply posting data point for those that seem to think "every" 944/951 is a sub $5k car.

odurandina

look everyone loves the cars....

but, the examples you cite are becoming increasingly rare.

not typical of the normal entrance/ownership experience.

and the remedies to get you there with most cars are very costly.... rebuilds, endless expensive parts, tuning 3.0 blocks, etc....re; [upside down economics]. becoming more unrealistic by the day....

and the marketplace for a timeless '80s classic confirms this....

we have many better options theses days. some so hot.....

but it's a free country.