ralfie

Hi all,

I have been lurking around here for the past few months researching whether or not getting into the world of 944 is right for me. I am not too experienced with doing my own work on cars but want to learn and it seems like the community around here is pretty great for that. I went and checked this one out the other day and it is very well kept cosmetically but has some mechanical things that give me pause so I wanted to hear your guy's thoughts on them before I committed or moved on.

The first thing that is a problem is that the last time the timing belt was changed was 2001. Obviously that is an easy fix, but it bears noting since they seem to be asking a lot for a 944 with big maintenance needed. Second, when going through the records I saw that it looked like the odometer was repaired around 2011 so it seems like the mileage may actually be unknown. Lastly, it seems like there is a sizable oil leak somewhere. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures but here is a description of what I noticed. When I inspected the car I saw that there was a small oil leak from the exhaust manifold at cylinder 2 closest to the firewall. While driving it I smelled some burning oil so afterwards I put it up on a lift and there was a large amount of oil all over the bottom of the engine in the front. It seemed to be coming from somewhere else but I am not sure where. Also, when driving the engine seemed to whine and be higher pitched than I expected. Is this something that could be caused by old belts?

Ultimately, should the multiple oil leaks be a big red flag? And do you guys think it is a reasonable car for the price?

Thanks in advance!

Pin It

Seems overpriced by at least 2x. Body/paint/interior look to be in nice condition but the dash is cracked and there must be MAJOR deferred maintenance if the timing belt hasn't been done in 17 years (and its leaking that much oil). It probably has the original clutch also.

I would put it at a $6-7k car if the maintenance was kept up; maybe, maybe $8-9k if it didn't have a cracked dash. You are looking at $3-4k easily in maintenance catch up if you cant do it yourself. Add another $2k if it has the original rubber-centric clutch, which I would bet that it does. Realistically, you could easily have $10k more into this car to make it very solid mechanically.

I bought an '87 n/a in the rust belt about 1.5 years ago. I purchased it from the original owner with 65k miles. Have all the records beginning with 1st oil change in March '87. Always garaged, excellent paint and near-mint interior (including a dash with no cracks). I already have more than 2x my purchase price and hundreds of hours in maintenance, repairs, and preservations to make sure it goes another 30 years. I love driving the car and it has all been worth it, but recognize what you are getting into. Happy to share more of my thoughts and experiences more over PM if helpful.

BTW, what are the covers inside of the front wheels that are hiding the calipers and rotors?

Good luck!

ralfie

It is very possible that the timing belt could have been done more recently. The only record I found of it was in '01 at 88k miles (it is now at 93k). However, there were very few records between '13 and the present to piece together it's last few years. The clutch was changed however so that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for your input and words of caution. Sounds like you found a great deal, wish I got into these guys a few years ago haha. I'd love to hear more about your experiences and car.

I don't know what those covers are, they are kind of interesting though. I don't know whether I like them or not.

Spring44

I think that those covers are thin metal discs mounted between the wheel and hub to keep brake dust from accumulating on the wheels. They started to appear back in the '80s along with the widespread use of alloy wheels. They impair air flow across the brakes and fell out of favor pretty soon after they were introduced to the market.