I'm thinking about a 944, advise and thoughts please.

If you want the car right, expect to replace anything rubber the car has as soon as you buy it, its twenty some years old and will appreciate it. Try and get a car with a good maintenance history on record. The early model cars(through early '85) are more basic, lighter, and update the right suspension pieces with used parts from later cars and you will do quite well. The interior of the late cars is much more modern. Relays and fuses in later cars are placed conveniently under the hoood, rather than bending over under the dash like in early cars. I've owned an early '85, and own two '86's, and a '84. I turned one of the '86's into a parts car to steal some of its goodies such as a limited slip transmission for my '84.

My '85 was totaled by a pickup truck trying to use a gas station entrance as a passing zone, he did not make it. The only thing I had go on that car while I owned it was an AC hose. I had a minor oil leak that would need replacing, but never had to deal with that.

My first '86 had some rust, drove awful, hadn't been well taken care of, was a bad idea to buy it, if it hadn't of had that gearbox it'd of been a rotten deal.(I doubt I'll ever buy a car from the north again!!!)

The '84 was in need of some body work, the engine's been pretty good, had to replace the radiator, replaced timing belts, the AC died, I've had to do a fair amount to that car, can't remember it all. I have yet to replace the front suspension with the aluminum arms from the '86, I also have stiffer front springs, and Turbo S sway bars to put on it. My '84 is a rare non sunroof car which is why I've been willing to put what I've given into it.

My latest addition is not yet a driving car, the prior owner never checked oil levels... it needs a complete engine rebuild that is slowly in progress.

If you like to launch these cars, get an '89, the gearboxes in the normally aspirated prior are from Audi, and destroying them from abuse is a good guarantee. The transaxel from my '86 I put in the '84 is really a '89 as the prior owner of the '86 had...need to replace it. The weakness is the ring gear on the diff.

My '84 is a real beauty when clean, I live on a dirt road so it doesn't always look this good. When I took care of the bent front right quart
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Spend $2000 more and get a turbo. Awesome car, quick, easy to modify...

I would love to buy another. $5000 or so should get you a decent one...

 

I've had 4 over the years. My favorite was the 90 944 S2 Cab. Terriffic car, and I would buy it back from the guy I sold it to in 94, but he won't give it up.

Good luck with the search. I had one 968 as well, but I preferred the 944 styling.

Cheers,

Bob C

 

Are you serious? I have bought $5000 turbos and they need like $10k in work! These cars, turbos and non turbos can be a maintenance nightmare. Clutch job can cost as much as the car is worth. I have always said, the 944 Turbo is a $15k car, whether you pay 5k, 10k, or 15k. The attraction of the 944 is that they are so cheap and they can take an unreal beating, great beginner sports car, but they are a pain to work on, porsche mechanics hate them, and they are not cheap for parts. If you want a driver, also buy a parts car, it will be worth it in the long run.
Seriously, an e36 bmw is a much better buy, and easier to live with.

 

The last 944 turbo I had 2-3 years ago had 110k miles, paid $6300... Ran great, no problems. I would imagine its way cheaper now.

I see folks on cars.com asking 12k or so for turbos. They were 2-3 years ago also. They are selling for 1/2 that. The porsche dealer that did the PPI on mine, told me I overpaid. Said they pay about $2000-$3000 for similar cars...

 

I too would love a 944 at some point. My dad had an 87 NA car when I was in high school. I would suggest checking the forums at Pelican Parts and Rennlist. As others here have said, take your time to find the right car. They are cheap, which means a lot of them have led a rough life (turbos especially). Clutches and head gaskets are weak points. And if the car has a very rough idle, that leans the motor mounts need replacing.

Good luck!

 

I think he means including all work at shop prices to bring it up to the level he expects from the car. Given the price of repair or maintenance work vs getting a car that is right to start with I agree with him. However, if you can do your own work, and have the time to hunt up used parts, it won't be so bad.

 

yes this is what I mean. Just wanted to give fair warning that a $5000 turbo can turn into a $10k turbo real quik, similar to a $70 modena turning into a $90k Modena. There are probably some good turbos out there for under $7k, they will be tough to find. And like someone else said, many of these cars have lived hard lives, many turned into track cars. That being said, if money is a non issue, you gotta have one, and don't mind dumping $10-15k into a $6k car, a 944 turbo can be turned into a real monster.

 

If you are going to rely on the 944 daily, then look for one that has had all of the following done in the past five years:

1) Clutch (or damper plate if automatic)
2) Oil cooler seals
3) Motor mounts
4) Water pump (along with timing belt/balance belt and rollers)
5) Struts, control arm/ball joints, and an alignment
6) If it is a 16v car, the cam chain tensioner

Pay an extra grand or two or three for a car with all of the above recent.

In addition, check for the following. I wouldn't call these deal breakers, but use them to judge the true worth and condition of the car:

A) No water in the footwell of whichever side the battery is on. Best place to look is to either lift up the carpet in the rear seat footwell to check for water, or pull away the front edge of the carpet up under the dashboard (later style) to see if water has dripped on the wooden board or its bracket. The repair is simple -- glass over the battery tray -- but annoying.
B) No water leaking from the sunroof (replace the seal)
C) No water leaking from the hatch (usually the glass-in-frame is the culprit, not the rubber seal). A cheap fix is clear flowable silicone.
D) Climate control (late car) or heater control (early car) work properly; about a $500 fix on a late car, and a $50 fix plus a lot of aggravation on an early car.
E) Power steering not leaking . . . too much. Not an urgent repair, but like the camshaft seal, an annoying and not really cheap repair.
F) Air conditioning -- working (i.e. cold) AC is a hallmark of a maintained and adult-owned 944

And finally, and most of all, inspect the car closely for body repairs and previous damage. Imperfect panel gaps around the front are a dead giveaway. If it's going to be a driver, don't discount a car just because of that, though; look further to see if it just had a tiny fender bender in the past, or if it was something more serious. If it was something more serious, walk away. Also, if the car was sanded to the bare metal for any body work performed, it will no longer have galvanic protection there.

I have owned six 944s and have done about 250k miles in them. If you take care of them, they will be reliable and rewarding to drive every day. Just remember that they were expensive cars when new, and need to be cared for like expensive, semi-exotic cars.


Cheers,

Tony K.

 

I had an '83 944 several years ago. I loved it, but constantly had problems with it, and then it was maybe 7 years old. I know the clutch was going when I sold it. I also had some kind of weird wiring problem once where I turned off the key and took it out of the ignition and the car kept running. Then I turned off the headlights and it turned off. The sunroof did leak and the car had a musty/moldy smell. I think I may have had a motor mount problem, but never had it fixed. The car sort of shook when I was on the interstate. My timing belt broke and I had bent valves. Also the water pump blew on me. That was in 2.5 years of ownership. I bought the car when I was in college and took the best care of it I possibly could. I bought it from an attorney who seemed to have maintained it well himself. It was a PITA but I still loved it.

 

944's are really fun cars, but unless you get a turbo model, don't expect much performance. They handle great, but very underpowered. I've owned quite few - common problems are: bad oil cooler seals, you'll have oil in cooling system-alot of people mistake this as a blown head gasket. I bought a 16v car a few years back cheap for this reason-easy fix. Stripped sunroof gears, another easy fix. Leaking steering rack-can be fairly expensive. Timing belts need serviced regular (sound familiar?) Replacement valves can be almost as expensive as Ferrari valves, if you go to a Porsche dealer if a belt does break. Clutch/auto damper can be expensive.
They are an easy car to work on for do-it-yourselfers though.
I highly recommend a turbo--you can work on those to be a true beast!

 

Well no need for me to say too much here looks like everyone else has already done that and now you know what to look for so how about a couple of pics. This is my last 944. I sold it a lil over a yr ago. Its a Euro model 1983 w/ power steering( U.S. spec 83's did not have powersteering). The Euro spec's have a higher compresion engine and different front and rear bumpers. I loved this car. Has been like my 4th 944. Next one one day WILL be a Turbo.
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Non US version also have different bumpers. Light weight, but not as strong. Also the parking/running lights are all in the bumper, instead split like on a US 944. I did not originally look at your location, so I do not know what spec you have in NZ.

 

I love 944's, I wouldn't mind one someday but I already have three cars to worry about.

 

The 944s are great cars, I think they move fine and they handle excellently. I had an 86 Euro that was somehow sent back to the States. It was one of the better cars I owned, I bought it for cheap with only 27,000 miles on it. I loved this car, unfortunately I was not versed with the timing belt change intervals and wound up changing 4 valves. Later it developed a head gasket leak which took awhile to fix. I ultimately gave it to a mechanic who crash it although it still lives and is being restored on his free time. All in all, as with every car buy a good example that hasn't sat unattended. This factor alone will end up costing you enough to lessen the experience. The later cars have better interiors too.

 

I had 2 of them...and really loved them both..FUN cars

 

Here is the last one I had-'87 944 s 16v. Super nice, low miles. Bought it CHEAP because the PO thought the head gasket was blown (bad oil cooler seals)>
This is the only pic I have, this was the day before christmas about years ago.

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One freak Easter:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32313178@N07/3091921014/

 

Pretty much all of the advice here is spot on, I would only remind you that getting a later model that's in very good shape is the only way to buy. Piece of mind is well worth it.

 

When shopping for a 944, you should go 86 and up!! I've had a few... trust me!!