944 -- considering buying one. Thoughts?

Thats silly small miles. I would rather have more miles. At least if it was a turbo. Hey speaking of turbos try one out before you by this one. Better yet find yourself a Turbo S and you will be happier.

Maintenance is very important. New belts, hoses and seals is going to be costly. Ask me how I know.

The Turbo S is my nominee for best $15,000 sports car in the world. But I'm biased.

 

I think an 1985 944 with 11k miles has its merits. Neat cars with fine handling. The early dash (beckons from the 924) is dated but this is a "vintage" 944 after all - and that is the way they were.

Look for belt service records as the previous poster notes, but don't let the deal fall apart because of it. The belt service can be expensive only because the normal procedure is to replace the waterpump at that visit. I don't advise going cheap on it (this is a low mile car that should be kept up so don't be afraid to spend the maintenance money) but keep in mind that the belt service does not have to be super pricey.

I have had lots of them. Bought one near new way back in 1987. I still have one in fact. It has a few "upgrades" that keep it interesting.
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A new Porsche for $14k;
Hard to beat.
I remember the first 944 I saw. A Burgundy one that used to go past the house on a daily basis. HAD to have one.
Along with the Blue TVR ...
And Honda FVR750...
And...

The perils of living on a traveled street.

 

Clutch is a bugger because you have to take the transaxle out... Then get the torque tube out of the way... Then remove the clutch from the rear of the engine. $2500 is high retail. I am certain a better qualified Independent shop would be more favorably priced. But why sweat that? Those clutches dont get over-used (its what 140 HP?). Just dont abuse it and they can go 100K miles.

I just replaced a hood pad on a 1986 944. It looks just like the factory unit, and was no big deal to get. Forget the silver stuff. Enjoy!

 

A couple thoughts...first, is this an early 1985 or a late (1985 1/2) model? There was a mid-year change which was very significant - the biggest and most obvious item being the dashboard and instrument cluster. The 1985 1/2 and later models have a MUCH more contemporary design - I know it sounds odd, but it doesn't feel nearly so much like you are driving an "old" car as the earlier layout does.

Second, while it is true that nice 944s are getting hard to find, it still seems like that's ALL the money (unless it's a turbo...more on that in a moment). I think super low mileage cars like this are generally overvalued (both by the buyer and the seller) if they are then going to be driven regularly - and 944s aren't likely to be real hot collector's items in my lifetime, regardless of mileage. Having said that, I'm not sure we understand for what purpose you are buying the car - is it a weekend toy, a quasi-daily driver, or ?? If you are going to drive it regularly and enjoy it, it realistically won't be the nicest 944 in existence after a while, yet that is what you are paying for now.

Third, the 944 Turbo (and Turbo S) are LOTS more fun than the regular 944, and consequently are much more desirable. Still, $14,000 should buy a really nice one if you can shop hard and be a little bit patient. I second the comment made above - by any measure, these cars offer tremendous value, and they are versatile enough to do almost anything one can ask, from daily driver duty to hard track work.

 

If that price includes the timing belt and water pump you should negotiate a set of motor mounts as well. They are a very common 944 replacement item. Also, inspect the radiator and the fittings.....get the cooling system pressure tested.

Personally, I doubt it has 14K miles........

 

My parts department got it... about 2 months ago from my Porsche supplier. I am certain we can get you another if you pursue this purchase. Just contact me if you need it.

 

Interesting direction you are taking...I've also had several 911s (about 8 or so) in the past; furthermore, I recently bought an 86 944 NA (a factory Cup race car model), which I'm restoring. These cars are known for their great balance. They are certainly more balanced than 911s. I understand that these cars are fairly bulletproof as street cars, but regular maintenance is key. Go for it!

For comparison, there is another nice 944 for sale ($12995) at www.parkplaceltd.com.

 

I believe it, but just be aware that 944's odometer's roll over after 100,000 miles. For instance, my 87' 924S odometer reads 8,000 miles when it really has 108,000.

Do you know if the odometer in that car works? 944's with such low of mileage are very hard to come by. Drive a good example and see how you like it. They are great driving cars if up kept right. If you are looking for the ultimate performing 944, I'd tell you to check out a later 944 S2 Coupe or a 944 Turbo or Turbo S. A very nice one with relatively low miles should run for a similar price or less. However if you are just looking for a car to subtly drive and just keep as a pristine collector car, a 84' 944 with 11,000 original miles would be hard to beat.

 

++1 For that kind of money you can step into an S2. Pay a little more and get into an S2 Cab. Both are head and shoulders above the standard 944. Yes they're great handling cars but so is a Boxster and some of those are in your price range these days as well. If you're looking for a GT then go with a Turbo and forget the rest. They'll eat up miles, take all your luggage and get fairly decent gas mileage as long as you stay out of the boost. Throw on some BBS LM wheels and IMO you’ve got one of the best looking cars ever made.
Be warned though. Most 944 owners I know will tell you "Just keep up with the maintenance!" but what they aren't telling you is that it requires a LOT of maintenance to keep them going. A good example will require $ to keep it going and a poor one will quickly drain your bank account.

Go to Rennlist.com and check the forums for real world operating cost.

Just my .02

 

A lot of 944s are TMU (true Milage unknown). Seems a common problem is the plastic gear for the odometer breaking. I would be very careful if looking a ta true 11k car. As others have said, for around $15k you could get a nice turbo, S2 or S2 Cab. You might even be able to find a decent 968.

As far as the clutch replacement goes. My dad had an 87, and the original clutch went out around 110K. We took it to an independant and I think the bill was around $1500.

 

I didn't read the whole thread, but here are two quick comments:

1) Replacement foam pad is available in the same brown foam, only it's a diagonal pattern instead of the original perpendicular/horizontal waffle pattern. They're all crumbling due to age now.

2) If you don't thrash the car, expeck to get 75k-120k out of the original rubber clutch disc. The number of heat cycles it goes through factors into its life quite a bit, too. You'll probably go a while on that original clutch. Even though the rubber is old, it's been out of the sun, heat cycling, elements, etc; should be fine for a while. My current daily driver is a 70k mile '84 944 with original clutch; I expect (hope) to get another 10-20k out of it.

3) $2500 is about right today for a quality shop to do a thorough job. That includes things like flywheel bolts, release fork bearings, spigot bearing (or whatever you call the one in the crankshaft), etc. All new parts.

Enjoy your "new" Porsche!

(I've owned 7 944s now, drove over 250k miles between them.)

 

$14k ??????? there is no way I would ever pay that for a 85. Is it even a 85 1/2 when they upgraded the interior. As someone said it might be a roll over be careful. For that price you can pick up a turbo and have 3 times the car or better yet buy what I have and have all the power you need minus the turbo trouble plus enjoy the sun. I have owned 6 of them and this is definitely my favorite hands down, plus it has very sexy lines and doesn't look as dated as the coupe.
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That is a beautiful 944 Cab. Always loved those cars. Enjoy it!

 

IMO the 85 1/2 interior has aged VERY well. It doesn't look outdated at all. I've got a buddy who's got a white on blue cab that's just been sitting in storage for about six years now. Every now and again when I talk to him he'll talk about going through it and getting it ship shape again. Then I remind him what a huge undertaking that'll be and it gets put off for "maybe next year."

Maybe I should make a low ball offer on it...

 

That is Waaaay overpriced. I have had 5 944's back in the day, the first being an 85.5 and the dash on an early 85 looks terrible. In 86 they went to dual airbags which updated the interior looks big time. In 86 they also started the 944 turbo which was a great performer and in 87 they had the 944s which had the turbo body minus the turbo. In my opinion if you have to have a 944 I would go with at least an 87 Turbo or a 90-91 cabriolet. For not much more you could move to a 968. They were fun cars back then when I had them but I recall water pump issues and other small misc things that always seemed to happen. The 91 cabriolet didn't have any issues though. I would pass on that car especially for that money. I have seen 91 c2cabs for less than 20k these days.

 

Please take a look in your Porsche books again.

Duel airbags did not come until '89. For sure on the S2, I'm not sure about the 2.7L. The 944S2 and 944Turbo share the same bodywork. The regular 944 and 944S share the same bodywork. The S2 is a big jump over all the other normally aspirated 944's. 3.0L 16V instead of 2.5L 8V. Similar power to the turbo with different engine characteristics. If you want more power than stock, get a Turbo and modify it, there are very few ways to get a lot more power out of the NA's without a HUGE amount of money into it.

At that price, if the car does drive likes its new, it might be worth it to you, but mint 944's are tough sell as I could get one for $3K, redo the suspension and rebuild the motor + fix the interior for less than what you are buying. Someday these cars could become more valuable, but I don't see that happening at all in the next five years. I've owned four of the cars, one(early '85) was sadly wrecked by a lane splitting pick up driver that must of thought he was on a motorcycle, one(86) was a dog and I turned it into a parts car, A '86 that is still a work in progress, prior owner did not keep up with oil level... I also have a beautiful '84 with sport suspension and limited slip trans axel(from the '86).


My early model 944http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=845532&d=1227619281

 

You are right about the S not being the turbo body, I meant the S2 but I had an 87 turbo and an S and they both had dual airbags so I assumed 86 did as well but maybe not. Back to the topic though I still think that is way too much for any 85 944.

 

I saw a really nice 968 yesterday in the Wellington, FL area. I forgot what a cool looking car they are.

 

What did you decide to get?