944 buying angst, please help!

[Rat]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I'm currently looking to buy a Porsche 944. My budget is about £2,500, which has led me to look for late model Lux cars. As I'd be looking at a car that is at least 20 years old, my criteria are as follows: I want a good solid car that has good paintwork, the sills having been replaced, has a verifiable mileage, preferably a service history and a recent cam belt etc change. I'd also prefer not to have a white or a red one (I have nothing against these colours, it's just my personal preference). I live in London and unfortunately the car will be parked on the street, so I'm not after a concourse car. I realise that as I have a fairly low budget, I may have to compromise on one or two of my criteria and every car of at least 20 years old is a risky buy to some extent.

I went to see a car yesterday and would be interested in peoples advice. The car is a 1989 2.7 Lux in light metalic blue and it has done 132,000 miles. It is in generally good condition and I like the look of it. The mileage is verifiable through the old MoT certificates and the car has a service history up until 9 years old, when it had done over 100,000 miles, but doesn't have any service history for the last 11 years. The current owner, who is a mechanic has recently carried out a full service on the car, including changing the belts and replacing the head gasket/skimming the head. The car feels responsive and gives a nice drive. The interior is nice and all the elctrics seem to work, although there are some small cracks in the dashboard and there is a small patch of the half leather trim (about the size of a 5p) that has worn through, I realise that these are common faults with 944s and am not bothered about these. The bodywork generally looks good and the panel gaps and panels seem consistent with each other. The current owner thinks that the sills have been replaced at some point and on the drivers side there appears to have been some respraying that is quite obvious (I spotted it immediately and I'm in no way an expert, but a bit pedantic!) and I would definitely get it fixed if I was to buy the car, as I think it lets the cars overall appearance down. There is a surface rust patch on the drivers side front wing and another on the rear of the car, near the 944 badge, both of which are about the size of a 5p.

There are a few things that I would like advice on, please:

1. Approximately how much would it cost for a respray of the bit on the drivers side between the wheels underneath the rubbing strip, most of the front wing and a bit of the front bumper? I realise that this is tricky to answer without seeing it properly, but I'm just after a rough estimate, ie will it be around £200 or more like £1,000?

2. Approximately how much would it cost to repair the two small rust spots?

3. Can anyone recomend a good quality, yet reasonably priced place that I can get the paint repairs done in the London area?

4. Does this car seem like a good deal considering my budget and criteria, if I can buy the car and get the repairs done within my budget? Or should I let it go and keep looking?

Thank you in advance!

Ian

 

[Stu Alderson]

Rat,

I am no expert myself, but a easy check on the sills can be made by removing the heater duct on the B post, and either inserting a small digital camera (with flah) or if you have access to a laptop and USB webcam this could also be used, but you will need some illuination. You can get a pretty good idea of the state of the sills by this method.

Hope this helps someway to a plesant ownership.

Stu

 

[JamesO]

Hi, the sills or cills rust from the inside out as do the wings. In my experience a small rust bubble means a big hole underneath no idea on costs.
As for history only recent stuff really matters, in order of expense:-
Clutch
A big bonus if it's been done £400 parts minimum (long job to change).
Mine was still on the original clutch when it failed at 115000 miles.
Waterpump
The 2.7 uses the s2 waterpump £3-400, cant remember what mileage they are due. Some people say every other belt change.

Belts and rollers
every 3 years mileage not that relevent as these cars tend to be low miles per year now.
Lots of people cheap out and just change the belts and not the rollers.

 

[Rat]

Thanks for the feedback about these issues, it should make it a bit easier to make my decision....

 

[zcacogp]

Ian,

If you haven't had any experience of 944's before then it can be well worth while to pay for a pre-purchase inspection from a good indie (probably about £150 ish), or take along someone who knows something about the cars.

Rust ... check the inside of the sills, using the method Stu mentions. That will tell you a lot, but you are looking at a Lux which has a different (better) design of bodywork to the S2 and Turbo, and they tend to rust less.

Ditto for the rust on the wings. Get behind it if you can, and have a really good look. Try poking around it with something sharp to see what the surrounding area is like. Don't run a mile just because of a couple of rust patches, but do look carefully.

Can't help with costs. Sorry.

Whereabouts in London is the car? There are some Londoners on here who may be able to lend you a Mark 1 Eyeball and offer an opinion (to keep) for a pint or two of ale.


Oli.

 

[Rat]

Hi Oli,

Thanks for the advice. The car is actually in Anglesey, although I travelled up from London to Shrewsbury to see it last Saturday. The only nationwide pre-purchase inspection service that I can find is £275, which, whilst I'm sure would be worthwhile, is a lot of money to pay to check a car worth under £2,500.

Maybe I should just wait until the right car turns up nearer to home.

Cheers,

Ian

 

[zcacogp]

Ian,

Some people might suggest that going from London to Anglesey is a long way to go for a sub-£2500 car as well! []

Try asking whether there are any members in the area who might be able to pop over for a gander. Or, if the current owner is involved with PCGB it may be worth talking to the local regional organiser chappie to see whether he knows anything about the car.

Or, as you said, wait for one to become available closer to home!


Oli.

 

[Ephraim]

Ian,

Be aware that most of the big national car inspection services won't look at performance or classic metal. And as the 944 counts as both, that counts it out entirely. You might be able to find one that does, but I couldn't when I was buying mine. I managed to get an agreement (in writing) from the garage that sold me mine that they'd take it back if the inspection showed any major faults beyond those that they'd told me about. When the belts showed up as needing doing, and the water pump gave out during testing, they were obliged to get them fixed or return my money. They chose the former, and so I got some known good repairs done right at the start.I can probably get the written agreement dug out and sent over, if it's of help - it was drafted by the missus who is a litigation solicitor, so should be pretty good (though, obviously I'm obliged to point out that no liability is offered, implied or otherwise, and if you wish to take advantage of it, then you do so entirely at your own risk - see what being married to a solicitor does for you!!).

The first few months of ownership were "exciting". You never know when you turn the key whether another thing is going to go wrong, and there is always a gut sense of dread when you hear a noise that you've not heard before (even if it's just altered tyre noise from a changing road surface). However, i've now got to the point where the majority of the anxiety is when MoT or service time comes around. And the payback from driving such a fantastic motor more than makes up for it!

 

[Rat]

Oli,

I went to see the car in Shrewsbury, although obviously that's still a bit of a trek! I think that now I've decided to buy a 944 and have put the money aside, I want to get one as soon as possible, which is potentially dangerous! Maybe I should just bide my time and find one closer to London.

John,

Thanks for the advice, I like the standard disclaimer! I am a bit nervous of things going wrong with the car, but hopefully, as you say, the joy of driving the car will make up for it!

Cheers,

Ian

 

[Suffolk944]

There are plenty out there so it should be perfectly possible to to find one for youyr budget which is

a) In better nick than the one you were describing

b) A darn sight closer to home !

Would also agree that it wont be worth using a "national" pre purchase inspector as frankly they will be more used to taking a look at Mondeos etc and wont have a clue about 944's. If you do want to go down the route of an inspection then do contact one of the independent specialists. There are a number of them we could all recommend to you.

Or failing that as Oli says am sure there are folk here who would be willing to take a look with you at any potential purchase.

 

[amrbose14]

Three pieces of advice:
1. Be patient.
2. Buy the best one you can - spend more at this stage to save later.
3. Ask lots of questions on the phone and only go if it sounds REALLY good.

I found the patience thing hard when each trip was quite a distance. Plus be open minded - I was after an S2.
On the inspection front - I always felt that when I found 'the one' it would sell too quickly for me to be able to arrange the inspection.

Good luck!

Chris
87 944t