jakeflyer

I am in Calif for another 6 weeks and watching the Porsches for sale. There have been four 944 turbo buys that were interesting. A couple of 1986 with hi miles and a 86 lo mile and an 88 S with lo miles.Prices $4500 to $13000. I have been advised that the turbo can get expensive and while cheap seems good, I realize that it can be false economics. What is the opinion of an 80,000 mile S car compared to say the 86 or 87?

88951er

It's more about what maintenance has been performed and how well it's been done than the miles on the car. The seller's maintenance documentation is important.

Have a competent Porsche shop do a pre-purchase inspection regardless.

Any upgrades/mods to the car also ought to be taken into consideration, along with how well they were done. At $13K, the '88 951S ought to be absolutely cherry and have some significant upgrades, done well. That's based upon my experience of buying a very good one, nicely upgraded for DE, 15 months ago. YMMV.

Have fun!

Mighty Shilling

I'm surprised it's not yet been said...

this is a TRUTH. there are very very few exceptions to this truth...

"There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche"

so buy the best example you can find, and make sure it checks out. like 88951er said, make sure you have documentation, a PPI, pretty much anything.

and 88951er, $13,000.00 for a true S if in good condition, with all maintainance records, everything done, everything works, paint is good, interior is good, is cheap.

Jake, if the S has plaid in the interior and is silver rose, just shut up and buy it. it's one of approx. 371 brought into the US. couple ways to tell if it's an S. Options sticker in the Hatch says "758" or something like that, big brakes, factory Koni shock absorbers, adjustable height spring perches up front and chassis supports in the engine bay. Club sport wheels are also a tell.

*Note: there are Turbo S that are not silver rose... they're true S models, they're just not as cool.

*note part 2: if it's an ocean blue Turbo S, buy it. it's the ONLY ONE MADE. EVER.

eatiles

maintenance documentation, This is what you need to know when buying an old Porsche or any old car, remember that this car is 20 years old car, there is a lot of thing that need to be change to get the car in top shape. Suspension, tune ups, water pump, timing belt, brake services, also be aware that this jobs are done recently. Not a receipt from 10 years ago.

Van

I'd have to say, my feeling is that a turbo S (either '88 or '89) is a $15k car in really nice shape - and a regular turbo is a $12k car (minus about a grand for an '86).

By really nice, I mean a car that has been properly maintained and has all documented services that will be trouble free for you for a year or two.

If you start off with a $4k turd, after you've dumped $6k into a clutch, control arms, shocks, engine mounts, timing belt, water pump, slave and master cylinder, brake rotors, etc... and then you spend a few grand making the interior nice (recovering the seats, replace the ratty shift ****, new floor mats, etc.) you'll be at about what I think the market dictates a nice car is worth.

Like Geoff said: there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche!

If that's too rich for you, you can either get a nice N/A car or buy the rat, but expect it to be in your garage on jack stands more frequently than you drive it.

Just my $0.02!

aka951

I like the '86, it's lighter.

jakeflyer

*******Jake, if the S has plaid in the interior and is silver rose, just shut up and buy it. it's one of approx. 371 brought into the US. couple ways to tell if it's an S. Options sticker in the Hatch says "758" or something like that, big brakes, factory Koni shock absorbers, adjustable height spring perches up front and chassis supports in the engine bay. Club sport wheels are also a tell.******

It is supposed to be Silver Rose. Thanks for the picture and the #. Ironic that I did not know enough to ask the question, and you answered it. Will get back with you guys about this. Gonna try to get it.

jakeflyer

********f the S has plaid in the interior********

says it is Silver Rose but leather seats?? is this a problem of does it reduce the value. have not seen it yet so can not verify the data tag

SD Porsche Fan

I know a lot of people who swear by the '86 because it's lighter and has the early offsets.

IMHO it's generally advisable to purchase the latest model of any given make. The bugs tend to have been worked out and updates were made at the factory compared to recalls that may or may not have been done at the dealer.

333pg333

Well also as nobody has mentioned it so far, what are your plans with this car? If you think at any stage you are likely to modify it and / or track it, then a lot of what you pay by buying a newer one may be taken out when modifying. That's not to say don't buy an 'S', but equally so, if you found a well taken care of '86 and you were planning on modifying it medium to high level, then that might save you some money too.
If you want a nice daily driver that is tight and that you can spend a lesser amount on improving it, then the later model is the way to go.

jakeflyer

******If you want a nice daily driver that is tight and that you can spend a lesser amount on improving it, then the later model is the way to go.******

I am not looking for a car to race or modify. A fun driver on some Texas back open roads is my goal. I would like to avoid another project. What I do want to do is avoid the mistake I made with the 911 type. Bought a 911S and now realize that I should have waited and paid more money for the 911SC that I later bought. It has been a good education, I just dont need another one. As you point out, one needs to know want they want in order to seek advice. That is part of the problem. These darned things are so much fun that you need to own a bunch of them to satisfy the Porsche "wanta" needs. But, the world of time, space, and money dictates that one 944 will be all that I can have.

Mighty Shilling

Jake, as far as the plaid doors and leather seats, a lot of turbo S owners have done that. the cloth first of all on the seats was FUGLY. second, it was prone to tearing. as far as I have seen, the leather seats have not dropped the value at all. and mine has leather seats as well.

Mighty Shilling

as far as the 86's go, I personally wouldn't recommend em, for one reason, and one reason alone. it has a 1 piece cross over... it's the part that goes from the exhaust header, splits off to go to the waste gate and up to the turbo. with the 1 piece, if you have to do a clutch job, you have to remove that crossover, which adds a little more difficulty. Also, if you wish to replace the waste gate, the 1 piece severely narrows down the selection you have. it makes it more difficult to fit a Tial waste gate, and I'm sure it also makes it tough for a synchronic waste gate. a Lindsey club gate or lindsey dual port would work however, because they're based on the stock waste gate.

t34418l31

i think the later 86's were made with a 2 piece cross-over. my 86 has a 2 piece crossover.

333pg333

Well then I'd go for the later model in great condition. The only things I believe you will really want to change is to update the suspension. The stock stuff is way too soft. Maybe a dual port wastegate and boost controller. Some better chips. I've got two sets of very good chips for and '89 model if you need some. Then you will probably update the wheels and tyres too. Stock is ugly except the forged fuchs.