85.5 944 w/ 180,000 miles? Stay away or no?
01-29-2006, 11:24 PM
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85.5 944 w/ 180,000 miles? Stay away or no?
I am looking at a 85.5 944 that is local. I looked at it today and the body is mint and never seen winter so is super clean in the engine bay and the under carriage. The car was out of gas so I did not get to hear it run so I am going back this week sometime. It has new tires all around also. Interior is in great shape but needs a cleaning. It comes with some service records but I did not take a look at them yet. It has a light colored tan/white interior. The exterior is a nice silver/blue color I have not seen before..it looks really sharp. It is a 5spd car, and he says it shifts perfect and the clutch is great. The only thing I noticed was the smell of antifreeeze in the garage and in the engine bay. He had it running before I got there but it ran out of gas. I looked all over in the engine bay and there is some antifreeze under the intake manifold on the motor..pretty low on the block puddled up a little. What is it worth? Am I wasting my time? Thanks,
Dave
Dave
01-30-2006, 10:00 PM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Not wasting your time....but a ppi would be a good idea. Letting it run out of gas can ruin the fuel pump. If you don't know when the belts were last changed you're looking at doing that at the minimum, and the coolant could be something as simple as a loose hose, all the way to a headgasket leak. Any white smoke when it's running would tell you that. Check out the clutch, they take forever to change, therefore they are very expensive. Good luck,
Steve
Steve
01-31-2006, 01:20 PM
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I will take a good look at it this week when I listen to it run. I will also get some pics of it. He wants to trade ne for a foxbody Mustang GT I am selling. I already have 2 other 5.0 Mustangs I am driving so I do not need a 3rd. I am unsure what the value of the car is..any ideas? Is NADA or KBB accurate? I know it is not with the Mustangs since the market value is ALOT higher. He said he paid $2700 for it 2 years ago. It looks like it was well maintained though.
01-31-2006, 02:11 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
Well, the kbb and NADA is not accurate, if you look at the 944 board you may get a better feel for the price. I would say around $2200-2500, depending on the clutch and belts. Good luck,
Steve
Steve
02-01-2006, 12:49 PM
#5
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The car sounds like it gives a good first impression at least. They can be great durable machines with the right care, or quite a nightmare if abused / neglected. A good long look at the records, and a PPI are a must.
The coolant puddles could simply be the result of someone not bleeding the system carefully enough
.....or much worse.
Pictures would certainly help!
Good luck,
Brian
The coolant puddles could simply be the result of someone not bleeding the system carefully enough
.....or much worse.Pictures would certainly help!
Good luck,
Brian
02-11-2006, 01:46 PM
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Although I am new to the Porsche world I did shop around and research heavily...I actually sold a MUstang coupe to buy my 944...Sell the mustang and bargain with cash. There are alot of good 944's out there and don't settle because it is local...you must drive it for sure. Oh, and I love mustangs but the 944 is hands the better vehicle! Enjoy...Rob
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05-19-2006, 11:55 AM
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Dave:
Be careful. Coolant around the intake could be the beginnings of a blown head-gasket / valve job. At 180K there's only a slight risk of trouble, but if you have coolant pooling, it could be a job waiting to happen.
If you have to do a head-gasket/valve job, you're looking at $2K to $3K to have it done right. (There is a simple test for a head-gasket failure: pressure-test the coolant system. If the coolant system leaks, you'll find it. If you get a leak-down and don't see fluid, it's pushing into the cylinders past a faulty head-gasket. If the head-gasket leaks externally [as often happens] at the intake side, you'll see that too! That's where mine gave up the ghost.)
My car had 180K when I bought it, but I had all service records from '91, and bought it through a mechanic. I raced it for 3.5 years hard before having to do some maintenance.
Key things to look at:
-Clutch (there's a "window" on the left-side clutch housing to measure disc thickness.)
-Water-pump/cam&balance belts/rollers. If not fresh, do the job when you get it home (about $600.00)
-Oil leaks - esp. Oil Pan gasket (big bucks!).
-Rod bearings (clok-clok sound from the bottom) - big bucks, but you can replace the oil pan gasket while you're in there.
-Head-gasket (with 180K miles, a possibility unless already replaced once) This is where accurate records are important.
The car's worth, with everything working, and decent paint/interior is around $2500 to $3K. Start reducing the price as you find problems.
Good luck
Be careful. Coolant around the intake could be the beginnings of a blown head-gasket / valve job. At 180K there's only a slight risk of trouble, but if you have coolant pooling, it could be a job waiting to happen.
If you have to do a head-gasket/valve job, you're looking at $2K to $3K to have it done right. (There is a simple test for a head-gasket failure: pressure-test the coolant system. If the coolant system leaks, you'll find it. If you get a leak-down and don't see fluid, it's pushing into the cylinders past a faulty head-gasket. If the head-gasket leaks externally [as often happens] at the intake side, you'll see that too! That's where mine gave up the ghost.)
My car had 180K when I bought it, but I had all service records from '91, and bought it through a mechanic. I raced it for 3.5 years hard before having to do some maintenance.
Key things to look at:
-Clutch (there's a "window" on the left-side clutch housing to measure disc thickness.)
-Water-pump/cam&balance belts/rollers. If not fresh, do the job when you get it home (about $600.00)
-Oil leaks - esp. Oil Pan gasket (big bucks!).
-Rod bearings (clok-clok sound from the bottom) - big bucks, but you can replace the oil pan gasket while you're in there.
-Head-gasket (with 180K miles, a possibility unless already replaced once) This is where accurate records are important.
The car's worth, with everything working, and decent paint/interior is around $2500 to $3K. Start reducing the price as you find problems.
Good luck
05-19-2006, 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Dano_944
Dave:
Be careful. Coolant around the intake could be the beginnings of a blown head-gasket / valve job. At 180K there's only a slight risk of trouble, but if you have coolant pooling, it could be a job waiting to happen.
If you have to do a head-gasket/valve job, you're looking at $2K to $3K to have it done right. (There is a simple test for a head-gasket failure: pressure-test the coolant system. If the coolant system leaks, you'll find it. If you get a leak-down and don't see fluid, it's pushing into the cylinders past a faulty head-gasket. If the head-gasket leaks externally [as often happens] at the intake side, you'll see that too! That's where mine gave up the ghost.)
My car had 180K when I bought it, but I had all service records from '91, and bought it through a mechanic. I raced it for 3.5 years hard before having to do some maintenance.
Key things to look at:
-Clutch (there's a "window" on the left-side clutch housing to measure disc thickness.)
-Water-pump/cam&balance belts/rollers. If not fresh, do the job when you get it home (about $600.00)
-Oil leaks - esp. Oil Pan gasket (big bucks!).
-Rod bearings (clok-clok sound from the bottom) - big bucks, but you can replace the oil pan gasket while you're in there.
-Head-gasket (with 180K miles, a possibility unless already replaced once) This is where accurate records are important.
The car's worth, with everything working, and decent paint/interior is around $2500 to $3K. Start reducing the price as you find problems.
Good luck
Be careful. Coolant around the intake could be the beginnings of a blown head-gasket / valve job. At 180K there's only a slight risk of trouble, but if you have coolant pooling, it could be a job waiting to happen.
If you have to do a head-gasket/valve job, you're looking at $2K to $3K to have it done right. (There is a simple test for a head-gasket failure: pressure-test the coolant system. If the coolant system leaks, you'll find it. If you get a leak-down and don't see fluid, it's pushing into the cylinders past a faulty head-gasket. If the head-gasket leaks externally [as often happens] at the intake side, you'll see that too! That's where mine gave up the ghost.)
My car had 180K when I bought it, but I had all service records from '91, and bought it through a mechanic. I raced it for 3.5 years hard before having to do some maintenance.
Key things to look at:
-Clutch (there's a "window" on the left-side clutch housing to measure disc thickness.)
-Water-pump/cam&balance belts/rollers. If not fresh, do the job when you get it home (about $600.00)
-Oil leaks - esp. Oil Pan gasket (big bucks!).
-Rod bearings (clok-clok sound from the bottom) - big bucks, but you can replace the oil pan gasket while you're in there.
-Head-gasket (with 180K miles, a possibility unless already replaced once) This is where accurate records are important.
The car's worth, with everything working, and decent paint/interior is around $2500 to $3K. Start reducing the price as you find problems.
Good luck
AWESOME!! Thanks ALOT for that post!!!!
One thing that did bother was tht he said it got a little hot one time.......ehhhhh
05-21-2006, 06:27 PM
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Simply be carefull, and have the engine leak and compression tested!
Not being able to hear it run, combined with the coolant smell might be innocent, but it could also mean he wants to jumpstart it, fill it up with liquids and put additives in the gas before the demo to cover up problems!
There's all sorts of tricks out there to make a car appear nice for the demo, and there is also quite a bit of service book fraud!
Hopefully it's nothing and you will do a good deal, but not being able to see it run for the first presentation should make you extra cautious.
Call the garage that have stamped the service book, or contact porsche for history update on the car, they are useually VERY helpfull.
Porsche 944 is a very strong car, only very few cars run this trouble free, and the factory actually drove one for 500.000 trouble free KMs (aprox 300.000 miles) in a year with no other services than filter replacements and liquid top ups!
Not being able to hear it run, combined with the coolant smell might be innocent, but it could also mean he wants to jumpstart it, fill it up with liquids and put additives in the gas before the demo to cover up problems!
There's all sorts of tricks out there to make a car appear nice for the demo, and there is also quite a bit of service book fraud!
Hopefully it's nothing and you will do a good deal, but not being able to see it run for the first presentation should make you extra cautious.
Call the garage that have stamped the service book, or contact porsche for history update on the car, they are useually VERY helpfull.
Porsche 944 is a very strong car, only very few cars run this trouble free, and the factory actually drove one for 500.000 trouble free KMs (aprox 300.000 miles) in a year with no other services than filter replacements and liquid top ups!
