944Ross

Clark's Garage is a huge resource: http://clarks-garage.com/
Even has a Buyer's Guide

John_AZ

Do not buy an automatic...
Do not buy a car with over 145K (unless engine done).
Do not buy a 924S or 944 until you ride in a 951.
Do not believe the PO.
Do not think you can work on a 944 without making mistakes.
and....

J_AZ

Van

The reality is 30-year old Porsche need care and feeding. Parts cost pretty much the same regardless of model. So, really the only money saved is if the initial purchase price is lower (e.g. 944=$6k and 964=$20k).

Because I think the OP is looking for a number, I'm going to throw out $2-4k per year.

A typical year might be a few oil changes at $75 each, then you're going to have a smattering of other things like: timing belt service - $600; clutch job - $1200; tires - $600; brake job - $500; windshield replacement - $400; shocks/struts - $1000; etc. And there will probably be some minor things along the way, too... like broken climate control, fluid changes, tune ups, alignment, ball joints, CV joints, steering rack, vacuum leaks, etc.

BoulderGeek

Thank you, Community, for the helpful info in this thread and others for the 944.

I am also in the final stages of my research to pick up a nice example 29 year old 944.2 NA.

Please feel free to comment and advise. http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/4963897428.html

Rebuilt steering rack and seals/boots also going in before sale, at seller's cost.

Waterpump and timing belt installed one month ago. Seller is on a 30,000 mile schedule for those items.

Going to drive in person today.

Arominus

Decent looking car, a little bit of a premium there cost wise but with konis and recent service your doing ok. It looks to be turn key.

Hes over hyping the water pump though, its not a 30k replacement item, its a 60-80k item. You do it every other belt generally.

BoulderGeek

Thanks, Arominus.

What's the reality of owning a 944 in Colorado? How much do you drive the car through the snowy months?

I have an AWD Volvo XC70 for real snow. My old RWD Volvo 244 Turbo was atrocious in the snow. Will the Porsche sit for five months?

V996

I'm thinking budget for 2k per year. That should be worst case scenario and that's if you are terrible with a wrench too. My cars have stupid annoying issues that don't keep me off the road from time to time but have been fairly reliable in 2 years of ownership (a 924s and a 968). They don't just randomly break down on me and have gigantic issues ; but I'll admit there's been a couple no-start horror stories on this forum.

Otto Mechanic

Be careful buying a car that needs a clutch; the temptation to rebuild the entire drive train and suspension at the same time will be very high. On a car with more than 100K miles on it that's 30 years old, you're going to rebuild it all soon anyway.

I'm with the fellow who said he has $15K in his 944 and he hasn't bought the car yet. I bought a nice looking '89 that needed a clutch. Then I thought I'd do the torque tube "while I was in there" and also rebuild the transmission since I had it out anyway. Then I decided to inspect the CV joints and after 125K miles they were worn so I replaced them. The list went on.

I've had the car almost a year now, I've never driven it further than to and from the DOT for registration, and I've got over $20,000 in it not counting my labor. Mine's an '89 S2 and I'm building it as a stock class track car. It's very pretty and once it's finished I don't expect it to give me much trouble for a long time, but they can be expensive if you decide to restore them all at once, and it's a lot less labor intensive to do it that way than it is to do the clutch one year and the transmission the next.

But I enjoy restoring cars too and that's the reason I bought it so I look at things differently than someone who wants to just get it on the road. I guess a lot depends on your attitude and your goals.

Arominus

I DD'd with over 100 days up in summit county snowboarding over 5 years of DD duty in my 924S, 944S and the S2. I used snow tires and the car was awesome in the snow. I used the saab in my sig now as i don't want some idiot smashing my S2 trying to get to the lift 2 minutes ahead of everyone else.

Its great in the cold.

NM'87 951

My .02 cents on the subject. Cost of ownership is going to be impacted by a bunch of factors, some more critical than others. Wear and tear of a daily driver is going to be different than wear and tear on a free time tourer. Weather effects, storage conditions, local culture, availability of parts/tools/knowledge.. Driving it like she's made of glass or rapping her out, tires burning... you get the picture.

Having mechanic skills you trust is a big help, as is having a place to work on it that is out of the way of others and protected. My honda sits in the driveway and I crank on her there, I don't do that for the 951 (anymore ). Older parts need replacing, down to the nuts and bolts and seals and gears and ***** and switches and levers and carpets and glass and wipers and ... again you get the point. If you need a part, you start at $100 and go from there. Not so much a rule as a guideline really.

Do a realistic assessment before buying a Porsche. While the 944/951 is user friendly it is a luxury vehicle and you should expect it to exist as such. If your income sheet doesn't have at least a few digits in the green monthly, more often than not, you should likely look for something as reliable and cheaper to own.

BoulderGeek

>> "Do a realistic assessment before buying a Porsche. While the 944/951 is user friendly it is a luxury vehicle and you should expect it to exist as such. If your income sheet doesn't have at least a few digits in the green monthly, more often than not, you should likely look for something as reliable and cheaper to own." <<

Good info and perspective. Happily, my 29 year old adopted family member will be a fair weather commuter and weekend picnic car. Not going to track, not intending on thrashing.

We each have boring, stable cars for utility (268 BHP Camry and XC70 (though my Volvo has been upgraded to sporty)). And I have a 155MPH motorcycle for when I really want to go fast.

944 will live in the garage, and there is an independent Porsche boneyard and affordable Porsche specialist mechanic two miles away. I'm hoping that these factors will give us some happy years together.

NM'87 951

If you don't post pictures it didn't happen Looking forward to you sharing your new ride with the world!

odurandina

another aspect of the overall cost picture is covered in the first 12 posts here....

https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...r-bad-buy.html

naturally, you'll want to give your utmost attention to posts #4 and #9.

HOWEVER; the real costs of ownership are somewhat more complicated than just spewing maintenance numbers. eventually, due to the almost absurd, supercar handling of the cars, our emotions, and enthusiast dreams expand.... grow to astounding proportions, and sometimes, even spiral out of control..... you'll discover more and more your burning desire to assault the pavement with MORE POWER.... this most likely, will mean calling upon the help of a TURBO.... and you can get a fast introduction about how 944T owners rub themselves out/destroy their lives - here...

no, really: it's best we confront this beast now....

https://rennlist.com/forums/944-and-...for-an-ls.html

I produced an expanded list of the 7 stages of 944T ownership.... somewhere on the 928 forum.

*i'll try to find it, and post it - here.

in any case, as the pressure mounts, you may ultimately desire to create a list of trust.

and it is here, that the hard lessons of and human costs of 944 ownership are revealed in stunning detail in this legendary thread; (culminating in post #48)....

https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...f-trust-4.html

now; I don't wish to cast aspersions and give a false impression that the costs of 944 ownership will eventually, spiral out of control.... I don't believe this is always true....

like most things in life, there are exceptions.... yet, far too often, owners get in too deep, and eventually, are cast into oblivion..... a diligent search of the 944 forums proves this; you can find hundreds of cases just like this (moment of silence)....

https://rennlist.com/forums/944-turb...-an-offer.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/944-turb...mming-out.html

a few months ago; these sad realities were stated somewhat bluntly by one the grownups in the room:

so, costs of 944 ownership? if you really want to drive the car every day without considerable care, repairs, constant tweaking and solving electrical problems... then actually get some speed and performance coming back your way in return,

ultimately, this will be a number that only you can determine.

V996

Was wondering when you'd show up

BoulderGeek

I keep thinking that Toyota's 268BHP 3.5L V6 would be cheap and sufficient for a 944.

You would have to spin it 90 degrees, and ni idea if you could set one to work with a rear transaxle. Probably stupid to think of a FWD engine, isn't it? JB Weld up the half shafts, you're good to go.