Paul Waterloo

It started a few weeks ago when I was driving in Michigan and drove by a guards red 1981 924 turbo sitting on the side of the road. Stopped and looked at it. Okay, not the car for me.

Then I thought about how cool the 944's were (from my days of high school) and then figured out how inexpensive they were to purchase (purchase being the key word).

Then I posted to some of my forums and figured out that getting a turbo of this age is probably not the best (read: cheapest) idea.

So the 944 S2 was high on my radar screen.

Have driven a 86 944 with 55K miles, oh what a dog, don't need that.

Drove (2) S2's, they are very torquey but one was a convertible (already have an Alfa Romeo spider) and the other sprung like a race car.....BTDT, don't need to do that again.

Yesterday I saw a 1989 944 Turbo S locally "original owner, must sell this weekend", and looked at it. People really have no idea how to prepare a car for sale. It had water spots ALL over it and the wheels had a year's brake dust caked on them, and the interior needed a good detail. But it was the "original" owner, I think if the car changes hands a few times, it probably gets more attention.

That car has zero torque (okay, it has a little torque, but no noticeable torque), and it really didn't seem that fast. The owner said it had a chip that with WOT, it over boosts for a period of 10 seconds. It was quick above 4500 RPM, but I like torque.

There is not one 968 for sale in the Chicago area, but I travel a lot for business. Looking at two in CT tomorrow. Coupe six speeds is what I am looking for. Hopefully I will like the engine feel....I'm thinking I will. Will let you know what I think!

badcoupe

As a owner of both a 951 and 968 I love them both for totally different reasons. My 951 is brutally fast although extensively modded. It's my fun car rides a bit rough but I live it. I sold my 9 sec mustang and bought the 968, not fast by any stretch but an awesome car to look at comfortable to drive daily and much more refined in ways than my 951 even when it was mostly stock. I have done the airbox mod and made a custom stainless exhaust for it but otherwise that's it. It's torquey for a 4 cyl natural aspirated motor but nothing that sets the world on fire. To me there is no one solution or one just plain better than the other. The turbo you drove must've had some issues because they typically run pretty good chipped

jeff968

Have fun. I'm in CT and if you are near I would be glad to give you a tour of my examples.

Paul Waterloo

I am flying into LaGuardia, looking at Paul Anthony's in Darien in the morning, then going to Stonington to look at the one that is presently on ebay. Staying at Spicer's Marina in Noank for two nights....if you are around there, I would love to come by and see them.

docmirror

If you didn't like the 944 Turbo S I suggest you shop elsewhere. The 968 has more low end torque but the Turbo S will be faster overall. I think you may need to move up to the very or very late model 928 with a 5sp. I have a 90GT with the higher ratio rear gears and a grunty 5L V8. Pretty good torque.

If you don't want the 944 turbo, pass along the contact info. I can always have a look at it for the right price.

Paul Waterloo

Hopefully this link will work for the 89 Turbo S:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...51242710&Log=0

If not, it's on autotrader in Hinsdale, IL 60521

I would have to agree with badcoupe, I bet there is something not sorted with the car, as my old Audi A8 with 300 HP seemed to be faster or as fast as the turbo S. My present 07 S8 is SIGNIFICANTLY faster than that turbo S. I have heard that they are very quick....probably something with the boost.

odurandina

968 with a good exhaust will bury the needle.

jeff968

Paul,
I am around. Will PM you with my cell phone #.

BTW, Paul's car is great and unusual. The silver coupe is a great example as well with many options. A cool thing about the silver car, it is the first NA 1994 coupe produced.
Jeff

Paul Waterloo

I looked at both cars yesterday, and while I think a 968 is in my future, I don't think Paul's is, and the silver one in Eastern CT was very, very nice with exception of some really bad body work on the driver's door, plus it needs some paint work on the passenger door and some other areas of the car.

It sold on ebay last night for $12.2K or so, I wonder if the successful bidder saw it in person. If not, I think they will be surprised with the body work issues. The rest of the body is incredible shape, but it's going to take some $$$$ to get it back to new shape. And the last time any maintenance was performed on the car was when the gentlemen bought it in 2003 or so. No timing belt or anything else since then.....so it's going to need quite of bit of mechanical work to get it up and running.

Paul Waterloo

After looking around everything in the country, I only found a few 968 coupes with a six speed for sale and two of them were black, which I am not interested in.

I have been speaking to a gentlemen in Kentucky about his red 93 (was on ebay) and we came to a deal based on my in person inspection of the car, which will happen next Tuesday. So with a little luck I will be driving home a 968 to Chicago next Tuesday afternoon!

RajDatta

Good luck. Looks like you are doing your due diligence.

BikePilot

Congrats! There are few enough of them out there that just finding your prefered combo of roof, gearbox and color isn't easy. I casually shopped for a couple of years for a white 968 6spd coupe.

Paul Waterloo

I have to say that I have really just started looking....but I would like to have the car...this one has high miles (159K), but after talking to the owner many times, it sure seems like a nice car....will see next week. And it's guards red.....so I don't think I could go wrong.

I plan to keep it for a year, two years, or more.....depends on how much I like it. I figure I could always sell it for a similar price that I am going to buy it for. I will do additional work on it I'm sure....but in the end, if it costs me $100/month to own it based on the purchase/sale price, that's a cheap hobby.

I really want it for the rest of the year also. Will park my 2007 Audi S8 and drive the 968!

155

Guards red is one of the hottest P car colors hands down (IMHO of course). Mileage is up there but honestly it's a small part of the story. Regular maintenance and usage bode well for these cars as you know.

Is it garage kept? Mine wasn't and I'm working on replacing a majority of the body seals and a rust issue in the sunroof tray.

RajDatta

I don't consider a 20yr car with 130k miles high mileage. That is only 6.5k per yr. Most 964's and 993's are driven often and have similar or higher miles. What is more important is maintenance and condition.