]. I for years kept buying lowish mileage cars needing a bit of work (my Stag was one of them and I ended up changing alot of the drivetrain due to age and a lack of use). Until recently (where I bought the best example I could for an objective point of view ; brakes, interior, rust etc.) I was throwing cash and time down the drain. However, with my latest acquisition I may have overstepped the mark ; bought something a little too nice to drive out on wet roads in its condition! Anyway, enjoy whatever you buy. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but this thread going around in circles now I feel . Some peeps simply believe the rest of us are complete idiots. Let's leave them to it chaps .
] I had been wondering how to respond to this thread when I saw that the OP would consider a 220k miler like mine to be ready for the scrap heap [] We've been saying for at least 15 years now to ignore the mileometer on these cars but do some simple background checking on each and every car you consider buying. There are some low mile cars out there in awesome condition, there are some high mile cars in great condition. There are also some low mile cars in shocking condition as well as low mile cars that look nice and shiny but underneath and mechanically, all may not be as it seems. It is very easy to polish a turd. Let's also not forget that back in the 80's and early 90's these cars topped the list of the all time most popular and EASY cars to 'CLOCK' the mileometer. I know that back in the 90's I racked up over 60,000 miles in mine in just two years, it would have been very easy to turn back the clock, lose one or two service invoices and any prospective buyer would never know the 80k car they were buying was in fact a 140k miler. If you are that fixated by mileage then you need to make sure any car you buy comes with every single service invoice, every single stamp in the multiple service books and every single MOT. Without these bits of provenance you can't believe what the mileometer says, thats why I am confident my 220k clunker hasn't been turned back from 300k - eek! [] The only thing that lets my car down nowadays is the interior is finally starting to wear, so I'll be getting a complete retrim at some point in the next few years when I can't stand it anymore. I only wish I had spent as little as the £19k that Martin is asking in maintaining mine and actually driving it every day at the same time. These cars are awesome and when the OP finds the right one he will be very happy indeed []I'd (controversially) go the other way and suggest that a higher-mileage, well-maintained car is better bet than a low-mileage one. They don't take kindly to sitting around doing nothing and a car that is driven a good distance on a regular basis, and maintained accordingly, is likely to be in better nick than one that sits around doing nothing. Certainly, anyone who disregards a 944 because of the mileage alone is a nincompoop. Oli.
Not controversial at all: I have said it for ten years and it's reinforced regularly when people buy cars that have sat around un-unsed for years. If you service it as Martin sets out, giving it the full works even if it's only done a few miles in a year, then that's fine. Otherwise, you'll be in to loads of problems and expenses. As has been said, 944s don't wear out if you use them, and look after them! You can't replace miles (clocking aside), so a lower mileage has a value to an investor. I've a client who's bought the lowest mileage F360 in the UK, purely to store as a future classic, and there's a market for those cars. This thread seems to be about someone wanting a car to use, with reasonable future costs. To me, that would be the car with most money recently spent on it. That'll be the high milers..... Like-for-like, mileage is a factor. But, like-for-like, a lower miles car will cost far more to buy, and that's what you de-value by using it.
] [] not standard but can soon be put back to standard, my 86 car had a massive history from day 1 and was absolutely rot free and straight with a few daft electrical issues, it had just been fitted with brand new belts and a couple of oil leaks and minor mechanical issues sorted. The headgasket blew on the new owners way back home and damaged occured ( i did help him out with repairs) i honestly do not think he knows what a good car he has bought. I fear it may not be looked after and preserved the way it deserves [] which is a crying shame as it was a very genuine example. If i was selling it now i would be looking for at least a couple of k more to ensure a sale. Good ones deservedly are bringing a premium and are becoming rare indeed, that said there are some undervalued bargains out there if you are prepared to root them out. I have been banging on about the rise in values for years on here now so will leave it at that []
Yeah, but careless use can damage a mint interior. How many low-milers have holes in the dash for a phone, for instance? My interior is so good I questioned whether it was original, but some Porsche leathers and fabrics wear incredibly well (Berber? [&:]) Sports seats wear far more quickly than comfort, so two identical cars with the different bolsters could look years apart. Interiors are replaceable, and stone chips are inevitable and easily treated. Wear on engines can often be higher on cars used for short runs, of course, so again a low miles engine might have significantly more "wear", if it was never warmed up properly and the oil changed too infrequently. Most of the "wear" items on a 944 are the cheap ones to replace. The "time" dependant ones are where the real money come in to it? The clutch on a 944 with 10K miles, or the brake and fuel lines, will likely be as bad as a 200K car. In fact, probably worse as the more used car will have had them replaced. Rust is no worse on cars with different mileages, it's down to exposure and prevention. A Guards car left outside but never used will fade as badly as one that's used daily. All generalisations, but valid points.
Or you could say they aren't being discounted just because of the miles. These cars are 20-25 yrs old and there comes a time in a cars life where the mileage becomes irrelevant against its maintenance and condition. But having said all that a low mileage car will always attract more attention on the forecourt...
90% of those are self inflicted, changing turbo's, exhausts, suspension.......i never had a big bill surprise in 2 decades of using 951's. Probably break the torque tube next week for saying that [8|] The things use proper West German engineering no skimping on components and they last as is said above, a bit of Calliper plate lift or a wheel bearing can be dealt with by any half sensible DIY spanner, with Clarks Garage and this forum [
] The Crank is fit for double the design power and the power train / transaxle is like a bulldozer. Everything else feels fragile, except perhaps a 964RS or GT2 or ......a fancy Datsun I would not know what to drive in winter if the old 951 was locked up, for 2WD they are really great in winter - LSD helps [] George 944t
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