Camsti

Hey guys i live near Seattle , Washington and im looking for an early 83-84 944 in black with black interior, 5 speed. I prefer an 83 because of the lighter weight and manual steering, no worries on power steering leaks etc. My budget is around 3 - 4500k. I just want a good daily driver and i like working on cars so thats a plus. Any help on finding a good deal would be greatly appreciated.

ALFAPU

Hello fellow Seattleite!

Be patient, these pop up on Craigslist quite often. The chances of finding a black on black '83 are slim but not out of the question. Chances are you'll either find an '83 or a black/black.

Unless you want an absolutely perfect '83 944, you won't need to spend anywhere near your budget. Early 944s in good condition usually sell for around $2,500 in this area. If you've been watching Craigslist, the cars priced higher than that have been relisted for months because NADA value is higher than what the market will bear right now.

If you want to spend $4,500, I've seen a couple of 951s in that price range or not much more. I've even got an '87 944 I was planning to sell in the spring for around $3,000 after I paint it.

See you around!

Camsti

It's good to see a local around the seattle area lol, yea im having the toughest time to find a good 83. I dont want an 85.5 and up because for one i think the interior in those are boring and japanese like. I really just want a manual steering , low on power options and just a simple good sports car that wont break down lol.

Camsti

I am actually really debating about this 84 black on black in Salem , Oregon. I called the guy and he said they ( its at a dealer) got it from an auction and dont have any maintence records. He said that the interior is realllly clean but he is also a salesman lol but he says overall the car is in pristine shape. It has porsche wheel but there silver alloy wheels? Its on autotrader right now if you want to take a look. I asked him how many miles were on it and he said he didnt know and that the car was at the detail shop and he would call me yesterday which he didnt. I know since it doesnt have any maintence records, that a timing belt/water pump replacement is a good idea. Would be it alright if i waited a little bit to do it? I wouldnt put serious miles on it right away, i would only have money for the timing belt parts after i offer 4k for it.

Camsti

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

JimGinKC

I wouldn't make an offer until you saw it and drove it. Front spoiler has been hit, so it isn't as "pristine" as the salesman thinks and there might be some damage on the LF fender above the tire. hard to tell in the photos with the car being wet. I'm guessing those are Boxster wheels with spacers, as the offset doesn't look right.

also, you don't have to buy the first one you see as the other poster mentioned, this is probably a $3,000-3,500 car. For $4k, it would need to have all the records and verified (by records) under 100k miles.

if you have no record of the timing belt change, don't drive it. if it breaks, you're looking at a rebuild on the head. I bought an 83 of eBay and trailered it home because I didn't know how old the belt was.

Belts are not that expensive, and you can always come back and do the pump, rollers, seals later if necessary if you don't have the money to do the whole front end at once.

also, budget for all the other things that haven't been done - shocks, bushings, exhaust, radiator, etc.

you would be money ahead buying a car from another RL'er that has all the records and most of the maintenance already done.

good luck with your search

Camsti

Thanks for the input, my plan is to go there in a couple of weeks(if still there) and see it in person, drive it, listen to it and get an inspection. I think if im there with cash in hand (if i like it enough), im going to start offering at 3k and then max is 3500. I dont mind the wheels, they do like kind of odd on the car..a little narrow i guess..but then again im not getting a 20,000 car lol.

ALFAPU

It can guarantee that for the price of $4,500, it will still be there in a few weeks when you go look at it. It has the wrong offset wheels on it, the door panels have been hacked for speakers, you don't know the mileage and you don't know the history of the car. Personally, I'd pass on it.

With an unknown history, this car could have 80,000, 180,000 or 280,000 miles on it since the odometer does not have a space for 100k on these early cars. Although the condition of the motor, dash/interior and electrical will give some clue to it's actual mileage and history.

If you really need to have this car, I'd offer no more than $3,000 for it ($2,500 is better), especially since they probably got it for somewhere around $500-800 at an auction. Really, if you wait you will find one locally for half the price from a private seller and you will be able to talk with the owner about the history of the car.

ALFAPU

Did you call on this one for $1,700?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/2081146499.html

It's an early 85 which means it has the "square dash" that you like. You can probably drive it away for $1,500 and the maintenance is already done. That leaves you with $3,000 for one hell of a black paint job!

Also, I have a storage unit full of 944 parts, mostly late model but some early. If you find one locally for a good price that needs some work, I'm sure I'll have all the parts you need for it.

Camsti

Wow good find, thanks for that..i just emailed him for pictures. I'll probably only have around 1500-2000 left over after buying it for 1500.

Camsti

I got a mailer demon back saying that the email address to this ad is not in use but when you click on the link..its still there.

Camsti

Alright guys i decided im going to wait until i find a decent 83 with manual steering. Ill go with red,black,silver but not brown or the dark blue. I have a daily driver right now so im not in a hurry, just excited about getting a running 944 lol.

ALFAPU

Sounds like a good plan!

Craigslist was flooded with 944s from private sellers until the last few weeks, I'm sure this is due to the holidays coming up.

I'm sure that the market will be flooded again just after the holidays and you will see several in the $1,500-2,500 price range. Just do yourself a favor and DO NOT BUY FROM A DEALER! A dealers job is to get as much as possible for a car so they are basing their price on what NADA says it's worth. A private seller sells a car for what it's worth to them and what the market will actually bear to pay for a car. By buying from a private seller you will get to know the owner, how the owner treated the car and the history of the car. Dealers don't know any of this because they will only have a car for a short time and will tell you anything to sell the car.

When you find the right car you will know it! I won't buy a car unless it "talks to me" first.

BTW, I have owned 7 924/931/944/951s and countless parts cars. If you need someone to give you advise on a car, shoot me a PM, I'd be happy to help you find the right car.

Camsti

Alright thanks for the help and advice, i just want a simple sports car. None of that power this and power that lol, more stuff to break. It would be a daily driver for a while and then i wouldnt mind in the future taking it to Pacific Raceways to road race it. A Few years ago my buddy had a couple 84 944s and i helped him install two transmissions, so i bought his yellow one (Which he spun a crank bearing in). The shell was sitting on his garage floor and most of the parts with it, so i decided to buy it off him and try to restore it back to normal use. I bought new shocks for the back and put the back suspension together and put the wheels on, then i found out how much money it would take for the engine lol. So i had to get rid of it ( basically give it away, infact its on craigslist now listing in kent..yellow one with a fender missing). After that my parents bought me an S2000 for a graduation gift and it was a good car but it just didnt have that "IT" factor, really needs someone to know those cars to handle well. One mistake and the front end will be facing the guard rail, anyways since i gave away the yellow one i have always wanted to get another RUNNING one. So i appreciate your guy's help on this forum, I ve been brought up in the muscle car community most of my life and just learning about european cars. Also to make this short, When i had the power steering rack out of the yellow one i remember it was HEAVYYY, i would imagine that would effect some performance out of these cars.

ALFAPU

In 83, the only thing manual is the steering, you'll still get power windows and mirrors. Also, there are mixed feelings on power steering. My friend who runs wide R-compound tires in autocross hates his manual steering because it's harder to turn the car and his arms are incredibly fatigued at the end of the day. Track guys seem to love manual steering, but they also don't have to parralel park their cars on the street.

I saw your yellow one for sale and if all it needs is a motor, I've got a running motor from an 84 that I'm about to pull. I'd let it go CHEAP! I've also got the rest of the body panels and a black interior to complete your car.

I know the previous owner of the car that I'm about to pull the motor out of and he recently changed the timing belt. The only reason I'm pulling the motor is because I'm stripping the car down so it can be built back up as a race car and I've got a recently rebuilt motor to go in it.