I've been out of the 944 scene for a while now and I'm looking at an 89 Turbo with 160k miles on it. The paint is in good shape, but the front has had a poorly matched respray (the hood and nose panel are white, the rest is cream). It seems to be mechanically sound with a recent belt and water pump. Clutch has 80k miles on it but feels solid (from what I recall on my car). On the plus side the car has a clear glass sunroof panel, full leather interior with sport seats (blue with red piping), 17" Boxster "turbo twists". Oh, and the air conditioning and front suspension have been recently replaced.

They guy is asking $9500 which seems kind of high given the cosmetic flaws and the higher mileage.

Your opinons please...

 

Way too rich for my blood. I'm sure if he waited long enough he could find a buyer.

Sounds pretty much like a run of the mill 951 which you should probably be able to buy for 5-6k. Thats only my opinion though.

 

buy an S2 then stick a turbo on that

 

If he can prove that the works been done, then it doesn't sound too bad for a turbo S. If you got the car for $8500 it would be a good deal. In great condition with low miles, that car is worth 15-17k, so I would think half that would be a great buy.

 

The car also has an autothority chip. I know this is noob knowledge, but whats that make a Turbo S good for? 275-300hp?

He said he listed it about four months ago and started at $12k. I would agree that around $7-8k is a more realistic price. All the mechanical goodies are there, but the body and interior rate about a 5 on a scale of 10. Basically its showing its age.

How reliable are the Turbo S cars in comparison to the regular turbo? I know the turbo can pretty easily go 200k without any issues if taken care of properly, is the turbo S similarly reliable?

Anything I should look for specific to the S cars?

 

Here is link on Turbo S info. I believe that reliability is the equal of a non-S. Reliabity most lilkely depends on whether maintenance was performed.

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/4786/

 

How recently have you talked to that fellow? I think that he sold the car on ebay? I inquired about the car when he had it listed there and he didn't seem like the most helpful seller. Thumbs down on the piping as I think that is just some sort of hobby paint applied liberally all over the car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/944-T...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Thats the car. I just stopped by his house last night to look at the car and talked to him for a good 45 minutes. He said someone from PA is supposed to pick the car up on Wednesday, but he's not counting on it since he hasn't got any earnest money. He didn't mention anything about the car being sold on eBay though.

The red piping is legit. The car has a number of oddball features I've never seen before. Both front and back seats are full leather and have the red piping, door panels also have leather and red stitching. Floormats match with red lettering, but I'm not sure they're OEM, a good match if they aren't. The interior door handles had inlaid porsche crests as well, not something I've seen or heard of before.

The car was very dirty and needed a good cleaning, plus it has one of those tacky faux carbon fiber trim kits that would have go. The front of the car is a total mismatch on the paint job. It would definitely need attention. The hood is misaligned. The 3M stone gaurds on the drivers side are clear, and the ones on the passenger side are opaque white.

The guy was pretty unhelpful, but then again he said he'd never heard of rennlist either. Must not be too much of an enthusist....

I get a bad vibe from the car and the seller, but if it can be had for the right price I may go for it. Like I said before, all the good hardware is there, it just needs some work.

 

Still trying to work the price I guess He has the car on autotrader and I think mentioned that the seats were out of a 911? What I can't figure out is how all that piping is factory if the seats were replaced - plus I have never seen a 944 with different colored piping or real blue full leather on the doors and rear seats. Maybe it was all recovered at some time.

All the goodies of a turbo S are tempting I am sure but it does suck about the paint issues and wear on the car. Of course an unhelpful seller doesn't help things either.

 

Remember the turbo S carries with it a small premium. That is worth something to some people and not to others.

Given the seeming decient mechaical condion, but poor paint work it sould like a good candidate for street driven track car.

As for the price... Tough to say. I have an 88 Turbo S with 120k miles. I have had it for 10 years and still like to think it is worth 10k. Not sure if it is, and I no intention of selling, but it just makes me smile if I think I could get 10k. So it makes it hard to see a Turbo S going for so little.

 

I would stay clear, even though it's a turbo S. Too many issues, the paint, mis alignment of the hood. He probably had the timingbelt done cheaply as possible. Spend an extra couple grand and get something in better shape. Reno

 

Well......technically it's not a TurboS since it's an 89 car. While it does have all of the componets of the TurboS it is still a production 89 car and not the special 88 model.

I have an 89 car and IMO the 88 TS is worth more due to the fact it was sold as a special model. This IMO does not transfer to the 89 model.

Just my .02.

 

True, but not many people will recognize the fact that just due to the color of a car like mine, it's worth more. The majority of people probobly don't even know that the 88 S and 89 are the same car. The only reason I've seen 89's command more is due to examples tending to have lower mileage (strictly my own opinion). I hope I find someone who appreciates what my car is if I ever decide to sell it.

-Darwin

 

So my '89 isn't an "S"?

 

That's correct.