Another data point albeit Canadian - paid $7500 5 years ago for a very high miler - have about another $4K in it and it's still rough - but a blast to drive and I get more compliments on it than I do on my new 330XI.

RK

 

I'll inform you of my current project. 1989 944S2 coupe. The only option besides the standard US options (i.e. sunroof, a/c, abs) was a custom color "velvet red metallic". when purchased 86,500 miles, it had the typical rubber clutch "clunk", but ran a drove "ok". Just had timing belt and cam chain, waterpump and a few hoses done too. I thought it was a bargan at $5,500.

After spending a month or so on my back replacing a ton of "busted" stuff-Spec AL flywheel, centerforce clutch, Master and slave, fork bearings and shaft, throwout and pilot bearings, rebuilt CV joints (did all 4), new solid trans mount, used t-tube from 86 turbo, motor mounts, rear main seal, fuel filter, ignition tune (wires/plugs/cap/rotor), tires, heater valve, ignition switch, directional cluster (had a missing cruise stalk), sunroof gears, home-made exhaust, and a few other odds and ends. And soon I am having the transaxle "refreshed" because of bad pinion bearings.

total investment to this point is approaching 10K and I have yet to think about suspension, brakes, and A/C issues. It is hard to look at all the bad stuff when you know the car has soooo much potential to be bad ***, just do you best to be thorough when looking. Make a list of all the bad stuff you are reading about, and if the car has something you can't deal with, move on, you'll almost always get what you pay for.

 

i bought a 90 with 68 or 69k miles in dec 06 for 9. replaced some small stuff and tensioned the new belts for about 600 when i got it.

since then I put in recaros 1800, koni M474 shocks front and rear about 1200 with corner balance, clutch and short shifter for close to 3k, redline roll bar for about 650, weltmesiter strut tower brace.. and someother stuff. i think i have about 16k into it, and it has either 71 or 72k miles on it.

 

I'll say $5.5K is a definitely a bargain. I'll second this view: whether you're buying a $5K or $15K example of the S2, Turbo, NA, whatever - every one of these cars carries a risk of needing something expensive one day or one year or whatever after you buy it. Factor that in.

Then, aside from the stuff it needs and wants to be driveable and reliable, there is also a lot of opportunity to "make the car right" with upgrades or finishing touches. In short, although luck plays a small part in it, if you're going to own and drive one for more than a year or two, you're going to be spending a lot of money on it. As much as 100% of the purchase price again, usually, in the first couple of years.

 

I paid $12.2K for my 90 cab with 75K miles last year. I put $2,500 in maintenance and I am now going to put about $3,500 in suspension upgrades which is wanted but not needed. These are great cars and bargins to have as a driver but if anyone is looking for an investment they have picked the wrong model. This is my 2nd 944 and they seem to be about $2K/year plus gas to run. JMO

 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!!

jsaindc- if you can perform the work yourself, these CAN be inexpensive to run. I did just complete the ever expensive "Full" drivetrain overhaul ($2000+ in parts, plus a $2000 transaxle overhaul), but by doing the work myself (sans trans rebuild) I saved a Ton on the "Porsche Tax" of inflated hourly rates and leisurely fast techs. Once you get the big items out of the way like clutch/driveline and the timing belt/water pump service (which at these ages, most cars will have to be delt with), most other stuff is pocket change in comparison. And if you use them for a daily driver, fuel efficient too, mine is making 28 MPG on long highway trips.

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/img_17183.jpg

 

Yes,

I agree with Jsaindc...you have to be out of your mind to think these are budget cars. Yes you do have to do the work yourself...my Dad was a "water cooled" Porsche mechnic. But the parts are still expensive and break often. The problem is these cars were designed to perform well when tuned...which means Porsche expected the owners to bring them in to be serviced by very experienced mechanics "often". I see people write all the time "dont worry about this, don't worry about that". BS...you let things slide on these cars and the motor will blow up ! Maybe a little dramatic...but this is no Honda. i doubt (expect for a few) could bring our cars out to the track and just hammer on them all day long without something going wrong. When i lived out in California I had an NASA prepped Honda Prelude and that car could be driven so hard you arms felt like they were going to fall off, and never give me in trouble. I can drive the 944 to the store and the car will give me some sort of complaint...but damn does it look good