Roger Collins

Hey I need some input from you 968 owners about a car I'm thinking of buying. I been on Rennlist for about 2 years. Currently I own a daily driver 85.5 944 NA, that runs great, but that my son is lusting after, so I'm looking for something else for myself, and I think 968's are awesome. I've found a local dealer who moves a lot of pre-owned P-Cars, and is involved in local racing. Been around about 20 years, and have a good reputation. They have a '94 968 coupe, 6 speed, with 94K miles. They claim to have gone over the car, top to bottom, and have recent repair receipts (more than 5K) from the previous owner, for all belts, hoses, water pump, mounts, brakes, and transmission bearings. Body (white) looks good, interior (tan) has some wear and sun fading, but no cracks or tears. Radio drains the battery, and is now unhooked. They are asking $14,800. What do you think? Also, what 968 potential repair problems should I be looking for? Remember I want to use the car as a daily driver. Thanks in advance for any advise.

The Dave

April '04 issue of Excellence, 968 Market Update. 1994 Coupe poor $11,900 good $13,500 and excellent $18,113. If the belts and bearings are done, you ought to be in good shape, and your 944 experience ought to give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

RajDatta

With everything else already done, only major issues left would be Variocam and DMF. I would have the cam checked and make sure no teeth on the cams are missing. Same with Dual Mass flywheel. Check to make sure its not going. See if they changed the DMF when they did the clutch.

The cam chain stretches over time and causes this failure which can cost you a lot of valves. This is must for any cars over 75k in my opinion.
Price does seem very good. I would say, if the cams are ok then buy it and do the tensioner pads and chain yourself for peace of mind.
Regards.
Raj

mrsoul55

Just a quick question about the pinion bearing thing. If the car hasn't had the pinion bearing replaced but also isn't making the noise associated with a problem bearing, does it still need to be replaced? I'm looking at a '94 968 cab with 64,000 miles and the seller says it has never had the problem so it hasn't been replaced. I drove the car and didn't notice it either but don't want to buy it and then have to replace the pinion bearing later on. Would the problem have surfaced by now if it was going to be trouble? Any thoughts?

RajDatta

Mrsoul, its one of those hit or miss things. It might never happen or it could happen in the next month. No way to know for sure if your trans will have this problem. I have been very fortunate that of all the 968s I have owned, I have never had one with this problem.
Now that I say this, I expect to have it soon .
Regards.

The Dave

I took a chance on my '93 with 74,000 miles, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If you consider this list to be statistically valid, it appears the percentage of cars exhibiting the problem increased through the years.
http://members.rennlist.org/martin/list.htm
You might use this info when negotiating with the seller.

Roger Collins

I want to thank all of you for the input. Now that I know the price is in the ballpark, I will look to get my Porsche repair shop to look over the car, and check the Variocam and DMF. As a 944 owner I wasn't familiar with the variocam, but on reading other threads on the 968 forum, I now have an idea of what it is. Along this line, can you tell me about the DMF, and what is a dual maff flywheel? Are there other 968 issues I should be concerned about?

RajDatta

Roger, the DMF design was used to eliminate some of the transmission sounds. It is a 2 piece design which has one end connected to the crank, and the 2nd end connected to the clutch disk. The center section is made out of rubber and is flexible and allows dampening transmission related sounds. This piece is also very heavy at over 35lbs.
Over the years, the center section can harden/deteriorate and break and hence cause knocking sounds. If ignored, it can do additional damage to your setup as well.
The part itself is close to $1000 so its not cheap.
Most of new cars have DMFs now. The S2 used a solid unit but with the 968 and 6 speed, they went to a DMF design.
Gaskets and seals are always something to look for as well. I think its pretty much variocam, pinion bearing, DMF, belts and scheduled maintainence.
Good luck.
Regards.
Raj

Roger Collins

Thanks Raj, I now understand the DMF, and like the 944, I guess maintenance, or lack of it, is critical to the reliability of these cars. I keep up with the maintenance on my 944, and therefore it never leaves me stranded. I hope all works out with this 968. I very much look forward to owning one. The extra power alone is a kick, and even though I love my 944, the refinement of 968 seems light years ahead of the 944. Again, thanks for the good wishes, and I'll let everyone know how this all turns out.

RajDatta

Roger, good luck. You have plenty of help here. You are not alone by any means. We have a nice group of people that will go beyond the line of duty to help each other out.
Regards.
Raj

The Dave

If you think the 968 seems a lot more refined than the 944, you can imagine how I felt. I love my 912, but when I first got my 968, I would repeatedly open and close the door just to hear the sound it makes. Very satisfying.