Sell the car?
10-08-2009, 11:47 PM
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Sell the car?
EDIT: Decided to sell. Not a good car for me at the moment, even if it's only got minor problems.
Last edited by fourside; 11-15-2009 at 07:31 PM.
10-09-2009, 01:02 AM
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Well first you must realize that the 944 P car is a semi exotic German sports car that is 25 years old. There's not too many things about these cars that are not expensive, especially if you have to pay someone else to do the work. What you have described here are relatively small problems. The exhaust leak could be as simple as a cracked manifold. Gas stink is probably a cracked hose near the tank. Like I said the car is 25 years old and most of the rubber is shot. It's a never ending project.
10-09-2009, 01:40 AM
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Alright so here's what's been going on with my car. I bought it a few months ago from Steve, as some of you may remember. Made the drive all the way down from Sacramento to San Diego without a single problem, and enjoyed every minute. But ever since then I've had a bit of a hard time finding the time/money to fix the various problems that have shown up.
I was able to get the following done: new motor mounts, new alternator (because the car died while driving on the highway and was seeming to die sometimes immediately after shutting it off), disconnected the alarm and replaced the battery (both in response to the same issue I replaced the alternator for), oil change, new door switch, maybe a couple of other small things but I can't remember at the moment.
But unfortunately I thought that I had finally cured my battery drain problem with the alarm pulled and a new battery. Before pulling the alarm and battery, the car would always die immediately after being shut off, and this seemed to cure that. But I realized that the gauge was still showing it as getting low when in stop-and-go traffic or when idling, and this morning after sitting in traffic for a long time I parked the car and it was unable to start a second later. Charged it up while I was working and it was okay again, but then on the way home I realized that now the battery level wasn't even particularly healthy while on the highway.
On top of that problem still needing to be addressed, there are a few other things. I've got an exhaust leak that I haven't been able to get to yet, a faint fuel smell on the DS near the rear wheel, the A/C stopped working (I'm told that one of the terminals that should be getting power isn't, but mechanically the A/C system should be fine), and a couple of other small things that could be done to make the car "perfect". They're not necessary, but they'd be nice.
So my question is this: being that I'm not exactly in the position I predicted I'd be in in terms of time/money, should I cut my losses now and let the car go to a new good home that'll be more able to take care of it, or do I keep it? I'm confident that with the battery issue and exhaust leak out of the way, this will be an enjoyable car. The problem is that I've hardly gotten to drive the thing at all, and that's partially due to my lack of time. I've put over a thousand dollars into it already and haven't gotten to enjoy it yet.
What do you think I could get for the car? The car has 149,XXX miles on it and runs strong. K26/8, Vitesse chip, rear Koni adjustable shocks, rear seat delete with folding storage, a great sound system, and a nice black/red interior. But at the moment at least, it's also got these issues. I bought the car because it had a strong motor, but I ended up getting swamped with other issues. I wish I didn't have to consider selling it, but I'm not in the position I pictured myself being in when I first bought the car. Any ideas?
Thanks
Joe
I was able to get the following done: new motor mounts, new alternator (because the car died while driving on the highway and was seeming to die sometimes immediately after shutting it off), disconnected the alarm and replaced the battery (both in response to the same issue I replaced the alternator for), oil change, new door switch, maybe a couple of other small things but I can't remember at the moment.
But unfortunately I thought that I had finally cured my battery drain problem with the alarm pulled and a new battery. Before pulling the alarm and battery, the car would always die immediately after being shut off, and this seemed to cure that. But I realized that the gauge was still showing it as getting low when in stop-and-go traffic or when idling, and this morning after sitting in traffic for a long time I parked the car and it was unable to start a second later. Charged it up while I was working and it was okay again, but then on the way home I realized that now the battery level wasn't even particularly healthy while on the highway.
On top of that problem still needing to be addressed, there are a few other things. I've got an exhaust leak that I haven't been able to get to yet, a faint fuel smell on the DS near the rear wheel, the A/C stopped working (I'm told that one of the terminals that should be getting power isn't, but mechanically the A/C system should be fine), and a couple of other small things that could be done to make the car "perfect". They're not necessary, but they'd be nice.
So my question is this: being that I'm not exactly in the position I predicted I'd be in in terms of time/money, should I cut my losses now and let the car go to a new good home that'll be more able to take care of it, or do I keep it? I'm confident that with the battery issue and exhaust leak out of the way, this will be an enjoyable car. The problem is that I've hardly gotten to drive the thing at all, and that's partially due to my lack of time. I've put over a thousand dollars into it already and haven't gotten to enjoy it yet.
What do you think I could get for the car? The car has 149,XXX miles on it and runs strong. K26/8, Vitesse chip, rear Koni adjustable shocks, rear seat delete with folding storage, a great sound system, and a nice black/red interior. But at the moment at least, it's also got these issues. I bought the car because it had a strong motor, but I ended up getting swamped with other issues. I wish I didn't have to consider selling it, but I'm not in the position I pictured myself being in when I first bought the car. Any ideas?
Thanks
Joe
10-09-2009, 01:41 AM
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btw, let me know if you are interested and have a price in mind.
10-09-2009, 01:41 AM
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Well first you must realize that the 944 P car is a semi exotic German sports car that is 25 years old. There's not too many things about these cars that are not expensive, especially if you have to pay someone else to do the work. What you have described here are relatively small problems. The exhaust leak could be as simple as a cracked manifold. Gas stink is probably a cracked hose near the tank. Like I said the car is 25 years old and most of the rubber is shot. It's a never ending project.
10-09-2009, 01:56 AM
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Like luis said 1k in these cars is nothing. Fuel smell could be your rear hatch seal, frame seperation, etc. Battery drain problem could be a simple grounding issue. How are your battery cables? If you are weary of 1k and it still not being right this might not be the car for you.
These cars are old and will need lots of work to make 100%.
These cars are old and will need lots of work to make 100%.
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10-09-2009, 02:23 AM
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My buddy just swapped his headunit out for the F1 and put down 760rwhp on a completely stock short block..
10-09-2009, 02:41 AM
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For the record, I knew this car was going to be a lot of work and a lot of money. Had things gone the way I had planned, it wouldn't be as much of an issue. I may still keep the car until things get worked out the way I had originally planned, but I'm just not sure when that'll be. That's why I'm considering selling it. Any idea what I could get for the car if I sold it now?
10-09-2009, 06:43 AM
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For the record, I knew this car was going to be a lot of work and a lot of money. Had things gone the way I had planned, it wouldn't be as much of an issue. I may still keep the car until things get worked out the way I had originally planned, but I'm just not sure when that'll be. That's why I'm considering selling it. Any idea what I could get for the car if I sold it now?
10-09-2009, 10:35 AM
#11
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I'l do tree sevnty feyev.....
1) replace your alternator to battery to starter to grounding point cables... you have already addressed all the other parts of that system, but I'm willing to bet your cables are still 20+ years old...
2) Gas smell outside car by the rear wheels is most likely the rubber lines back there (there are a few of them) and while not difficult can be time consuming and expensive to replace with OEM parts... look into bulk hose and DIY fittings to save some $$, but the time is something that cannot be saved...
10 months ago I bought a 951 sight unseen, for a decent price... I have put almost 4x the cost of the car into her, and still need to do a full reseal on the engine ($$ and time) but that will be done this winter...
I know it is discouraging to have issues, and seems like you will never get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but if you hang in there... Oh the rewards...
Our cars prices are not that great, unless fully sorted, and from your description it doesn't seem far from sorted... tough it out and it will pay dividends... I say keep her, address the battery / grounding cables first... mine has had a crack in the charcoal canister (causing gass smell from drivers front fender) since I got her, and 7000 miles later I still haven't fixed it...YET
straighten out the charging issue and you should be able to begin enjoying the car... should be able to do that for less than $200... I would go with the cheap off the shelf replacements from the local parts store to make sure that is the issue, then worry about dressing them up with OEM or IceShark repalcement cables down the road...
1) replace your alternator to battery to starter to grounding point cables... you have already addressed all the other parts of that system, but I'm willing to bet your cables are still 20+ years old...
2) Gas smell outside car by the rear wheels is most likely the rubber lines back there (there are a few of them) and while not difficult can be time consuming and expensive to replace with OEM parts... look into bulk hose and DIY fittings to save some $$, but the time is something that cannot be saved...
10 months ago I bought a 951 sight unseen, for a decent price... I have put almost 4x the cost of the car into her, and still need to do a full reseal on the engine ($$ and time) but that will be done this winter...
I know it is discouraging to have issues, and seems like you will never get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but if you hang in there... Oh the rewards...
Our cars prices are not that great, unless fully sorted, and from your description it doesn't seem far from sorted... tough it out and it will pay dividends... I say keep her, address the battery / grounding cables first... mine has had a crack in the charcoal canister (causing gass smell from drivers front fender) since I got her, and 7000 miles later I still haven't fixed it...YET
straighten out the charging issue and you should be able to begin enjoying the car... should be able to do that for less than $200... I would go with the cheap off the shelf replacements from the local parts store to make sure that is the issue, then worry about dressing them up with OEM or IceShark repalcement cables down the road...
10-09-2009, 10:46 AM
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My buddy just swapped his headunit out for the F1 and put down 760rwhp on a completely stock short block..[/QUOTE]
John you got me lost with this comment. Can you explain.
[/QUOTE]John you got me lost with this comment. Can you explain.
10-09-2009, 11:13 AM
#13
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That is because he is speaking Chevette now..not Porsche... Diesel Chevette at that...
10-09-2009, 11:28 AM
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Joe, I know how you feel. I bought mine a year ago, and since it was stock I thought it wasn't abused and everything would be OK. It had 65K and the PO only drove it 7000 miles in the last 10 years. Well let me tell you It has been a rough year with my wife telling me why didn't I go for a newer model since I wasted a ton of money with this one.. I did most of the work except for all seals, TB, Clutch, Radiator. Pretty much everything on this car is new. Then my headgasket blew up. I spent about 2 weeks fixing it litle by litle. If you don't have the time maybe it's better to sell.
Now about the battery, get a Multimeter and check it it's charging at the battery poles. If it is turn off the car and check if it's draining. The you could go through the fuse box and take the fuses one by one meanwhile checking to see if the drainage continues(It takes time since it might be a small power consumption). Or go to a electrical shop in town sometimes they find the problem quickly. My .02 cents.
Now about the battery, get a Multimeter and check it it's charging at the battery poles. If it is turn off the car and check if it's draining. The you could go through the fuse box and take the fuses one by one meanwhile checking to see if the drainage continues(It takes time since it might be a small power consumption). Or go to a electrical shop in town sometimes they find the problem quickly. My .02 cents.