I need some help with a Pcar

Noah - Why won't your Dad let you buy the car? Hard to address his concerns without knowing what they are.

Also, is $7k the right price for the car? You can fix a lot on a 944 for $7k.

Will

 

Noah,

I'd say that if your Dad is willing to sit down to talk about it, then "no" isn't his final answer....yet. You have 17 days to prove to him that you mean what you say, us not knowing your track record with him on that sort of thing.

Find a place or person that will do a PPI on it, family or not it's a transaction for a used vehicle. Just having fond memories isn't enough, you need to know what you (and potentially your Dad's wallet) are getting into.

Get quotes on insurance.

Get maintenance estimates from a dealer or Porsche club.

Go on a job interview or find a few potential ones that you can set up and spreadsheet what your income will be in relationship to your anticipated costs.

Weigh in the personal aspects. Was your Dad a freak about how that car as well as any current ones are kept? If so, are you prepared to do the same. You know that he will compare how you are with it to how he was when it was his.

Good Luck!

 

I'll take a slightly different tack and suggest that you're just 17... you have more important things to be concentrating on than working a job to support a Porsche and the maintenance and the insurance.

If immediate gratification allows you to drive a Porsche at 17 but lowers your GPA to the point it limits your college options, then I'd say it's a bad deal. If you can easily handle both, great! What you do over the next 4-6 years may very well determine what options you have later in life.

My stepdaughter is 15. She, too, is a car nut and wanted a Mini as her first car. That's not going to happen (sheer mass, safety, and right hand drive issues), but if she does well in driving over the next few years, I promised her we can put a Mini together for her for college if she still has the desire.

In the meantime, instead of wasting her time bagging groceries, she's working for me, helping me restore and maintain my cars, and restoring a 1968 Porsche 912 herself (mostly), and has been saving her money.

She has enough money saved to buy a safe cheap older sporty car ('94 Capri) with dual airbags, pay for her insurance, AND pay for parts to restore the Porsche... which she will likely be able to sell for enough profit to rebuild her savings account to where she started. In the meantime, she's learning valuable skills and getting plenty of wrench time and experience.

While I didn't want to simple BUY her a new car like many of her friends are getting, at the same time I didn't want her to find herself a wage slave potentially ignoring more important aspects of her life.

I worked almost full time in high school but I had to to save for college as my parents couldn't support me (While my buddies were driving Trans Ams and Mustangs, I was driving a $400 MG Midget, becoming an electrician and mechanic unvoluntarily... and having a blast).

Just advice from another car nut...

Bill

 

$7,000 seems a lot for a 944. Can you tell us anything else about the car like the year and model?

 

Noah, as you probably know, 944s came in a variety of flavors, 944 turbo, for example, and 944S2, etc. If the one you're looking at has a V8, well, that's a different bird altogether ....

I have a 16 year old daughter. The reason I wouldn't let her buy a 944 with a V8, even with her own money, is fear that she'd hurt herself or friends with it. Why do I have that fear? Because I remember how I drove when I was 16. If I'd had a car like that when I was 16, I would have worked very, very hard to kill myself in it.

Could be something else, maybe he just thinks it's a waste of money. Maybe he wants you working towards some other goal, school, sports, whatever. Maybe he's right on all those points.

I wouldn't be real happy with guys on some website trying to help my daughter buy a car I didn't want her to have!

I still think you need to know exactly why he's standing between you and your dream car.

Good luck, Will

 

Something does not add up here - there is no way that car is worth $7k. The model question was really the type - base car, 944S, turbo, turboS. All 944's were four bangers - 928's had the 8's.

I would first question the $$ - if he had it for all that time and even did spend $7k, no one would ever expect to get that back. If one spent 3k b/c it needed a new gearbox, does it make it worth 3k more? No way. Figure also that the car was used during that entire time, so $ had to be spent to just keep it running.

As hard as it is to come to grips with it, at your age - or any age - working for a car is just bad economy. Buying it is one thing, maintaining it, etc. is another and having $50 left over for everthing else says that you should just hold off. I bought my first Porsche at 25 - a well used 928S when I was a few years out of school. It was less than a new Honda to buy, but it took gobs of $ to maintain and I did all the work myself- I sold it and bought a motorcycle and a beater 325i and was much better off until I had a bit more disposable income to get something better.

FWIW, I tend to agree with your Dad here based upon the scenario you have provided.

 

Noah,
Do you go to lower merion? If so how is that place? I graduated from there in 92, anyway, if he's willing to talk about it, then maybe you can wear him down. Also, maybe he just doesn't want to see that car anymore. I also, if he gave it away, maybe it should be given back. 7k on a 944 is a lot to fix, and if it only has 35k miles on it, it should be in really good shape what was repaired on it? Maybe your father doesn't want you to occupy your time with a car right now. Maybe he's buying you a car for graduation or something and doesn't want to you do buy that one.

 

It may seem unfair now...but trust me...you'll understand in the future. Your father knows what's best for you now.

 

Noah.

We can work him over for you on the 20th.

3 liter 4 banger is what should be in the car, I believe. I had an 85 944 back in the day.

The 944 drivetrain is expensive to fix, but parts are plentiful.

I have a 17 year old son, who is a great student, wonderful kid, excellent, safe driver, I love him to death, and there's no way in the world I'd let him have a 944. I'd like to see him make 21, and letting him have that car would seriously diminish those chances.

I think your dad understands the teenage male mind pretty well. There's a huge learning curve to driving, and an even larger one to driving a fast, powerful car.

If you want your dad to be able to sleep at night when you're out in a car, tha's not the one to be driving right now, no matter how responsible you are. Let's not even consider that it would probably cost $4K a year in insurance for you.

So, deep breath, relax a little, life can be short, you don't need to increase you odds just yet, ok?

Dave

 

Dave:

Why wouldn't you get your 17 year old son a 944? I thought the stock 944 did 0-60 in 7.5 seconds and top speed was about 130 mph. A VW Jetta, or just about any new car today, can do those numbers. What makes the 944 a dangerous car?

Ken

 

My 18 year old son's rear end is currently parked in either a Honda Civic or a Range Rover. My 16 year old is learning in the Honda.

Sometimes I think the feel of a car can affect how you drive. A Jetta may do 0-60 in 7.5, although the one that the ex drives is more like a 9.5, but it is not a sports car. The 944 is. It also is a considerably more expensive car to maintain.

I suppose another issue is insurance cost. I bet that 944 costs more to insure than the Jetta.

I flash back to a neighbor who gave his 1980+- 911 to his 17 year old son, who within about a week parked it sideways into a tree at 80+ mph. killed tow out of the four people in the car. The guys in the jump seats in back survived.

DM

 

I agree 100% with you. The 944 isn't a rocket when it comes to performance and pretty much any car built today will match the 0-60 time and top speed.

I bought my 928 when I was 17, and still have it. I went to all the auto-x schools and auto-x events I could to learn how the car handled in a safe environment. Maybe you should tell your dad you want the car but you want to do some DEs and auto-x to learn how it handles before you hit the streets.