mchorn320

Just bought a 1988 944 base model with 82,000 miles on it. While the car is fairly rough cosmetically, the body is straight with no rust, and it runs good. Apparently it sat under a bad car cover which took it's toll on the paint. Not having a ton of experience with this model I went ahead and took the plunge for $2450. I think it could be a pretty nice restore project with new paint, and some interior work. Has good tires. The CarFax came out clean on it. Just wondering what the general opinion is of this deal ? I know a good paint job locally will be over 2K. I am having some second thoughts. I am pretty good mechanically but will have to get familiar with this model. Thanks !!

951Dreams

88 had higher compression, so that's a plus. Slightly more power and torque Value wise, we need more info and pictures to really give an opinion. Depends on how bad the body is, and how ruff the interior is. Rare colors can help a little. Do you have any history? Clutch and belts been done recently? What options??

Just need more to go on. If the belts and clutch have been done I'd say you got a good deal. It would be about par for the course around me.

ramius665

Like you pointed out, you could easily spend the purchase price in a new paint job. I've researched painters in my area and to get a quality job with a proper glass-out respray starts at $5k. But if you just want a 10 foot job then you can spend quite a bit less.

As far as the interior, it really depends on what is damaged and how well you intend to restore it. It's very common for the seats and dash top to crack. Unfortunately, you can again easily spend your purchase price in getting a pair of seats recovered. Having a shop recover the dash top can run up to $1k as well. I've recovered my own seats and dash in the past for considerably less ($350 for seat covers, $100 for dash cover) but they are clearly replacements to anyone who knows what to look for.

The 88 944 is an interesting car due to the one year only bump in compression (IIRC 10.9:1?) but still retaining the 2.5L displacement. The 89 MY cars kicked the displacement up to 2.7L but didn't retain the high compression if memory serves.

Prices for 944s continue to increase for examples in good mechanical condition with solid paint and interiors. At less than $2500, you've at least picked up a car which will be fun to drive.

Mister Quickie

If it runs well I'd say it's a good deal.
Personally I'd get a compressor, hose, sprayer, and materials and do the 10' job. (If you wanted a little better finish you can rent a booth that sucks out all the particles and that will help)
You can easily end up spending $10k to make a $5k car

mchorn320

Thanks for all of your inputs, and all valuable. It has an automatic transmission and runs out pretty strong. Drives and handles great. I think first task will be to do the timing belt since I don't know how long it has been, then probably just do a punch list and work through it. My fiance loves this stuff as well so I have a really cool partner to work with. The interior is pretty ratty, back seat is good. Passenger side is good, driver side is bad. Dash is cracked. I should get the car tomorrow and will post some pictures. Have to clean the garage tonight to make room for it. Not going to worry about the paint until I go through it mechanically. Should be a fun learning experience.

porscharu

Don't worry about whether it was a good deal or not. The money is already spent, if you are happy just enjoy the car in good health.

mchorn320

Prepared it a place in the garage last night. Don't think I'll worry about it too much. Just fix it up and keep it.

951Dreams

Good to hear