944 newbie

912UK · Aug 22, 2007

Ok not rushing out to buy one yet but would like to learn abit about 944's

I think we would like to run one for a while and I find that there are cheap enough already and also lots of nice wrecks on the market. Just what I want. As I can get stuck into a bit of doing up and learning..

any models to avoid any to look for.. Not after lots of power but already do like the look of the face lift model and burgandy as well but colour not worried

One like this.......

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/212573.htm

xenon · Aug 22, 2007

That PH one looks nice. I'm a newbie too, insofar as I've only had my 944 for a couple of months (and loving it). I would seriously recommend an S2 or a turbo as they have some serious grunt and, as I have seen from other member's cars, the turbo can be modified to provide prodigious power. Both the S2 and the turbo have the 'facelift' PU bumpers.

Other than checking for rot they're fairly bullet-proof, as long as the timing belts, chains, tensioners and rollers are changed per the service schedule. There is a lot of fuss made about belts, indeed when I bought mine I was in something of a panic about them, but as long as they are renewed every 3 years or 30000 miles they'll be OK. Clutches are expensive as is the water pump (labour) so worth checking to see if done recently.

If you don't get an S2 I would personally avoid the 944S (16v) as the extra complexity doesn't yield enough power to make it worthwhile (IMO!)

John Sims · Aug 22, 2007

Labour on the water pump is dead cheap.....provided it is done at the same time as the belts. [

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Don't under estimate the Lux. It is a great car, and far better value for money, but get an oval dash model with cast front wishbones, ABS hubs, battery in the boot etc. The only down side with the Lux is it is a bit of a Chav magnate. They like to chase them so they can tell their mates they "...did a Porsche" - but with a 912 you will, no doubt, be immune to this any way. [

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Rust is starting to become an issue with 944's so be careful. A good repair will cost several £1,000 and the car could be written off for little more if it were in a minor shunt.

MarkK · Aug 22, 2007

The interior on the burgandy car is spanking from the pictures!

wblackw9 · Aug 22, 2007

Shame i got rid of mine a year ago and deply regreted it. A great car to drive and very comfortable. Mine was mint condition through out but finances forced sale and it went for really really sill money!!!!

912UK · Aug 22, 2007

ORIGINAL: John Sims

. The only down side with the Lux is it is a bit of a Chav magnate. They like to chase them so they can tell their mates they "...did a Porsche" - but with a 912 you will, no doubt, be immune to this any way. []

No your right in my 912 I just wait till a corner and then take them .. shuts them up then...[

] as their saxo understeer and shoot off to the other side of the road.. I then sit back and trundle at 60 and they don't seam to want to take me on after that. Funny that [

] it's not power it's handling and knowing what to do with it......

rust and body work are nothing to me. I can and in fact would rather find a nice mechanical car and rough paint and body..

John Sims · Aug 22, 2007

ORIGINAL: 912UK

.....rust and body work are nothing to me. I can and in fact would rather find a nice mechanical car and rough paint and body..

You'll be soooorrrreeee [

]

Diver944 · Aug 22, 2007

ORIGINAL: John Sims

You'll be soooorrrreeee []

Let's all be very nice to the guy as he seems to know a thing or two about rust and how to deal with it [8D]

He could prove very useful to most of us in the Register over the next few years [

]

zcacogp · Aug 23, 2007

Flippin' Norah that Burgandy one looks lovely! Someone got a bargain at £3K!

Interestingly, there is another S2 on the same page for the same money as well. Is this all a good S2 is worth these days?

Oli.

Fen · Aug 23, 2007

I think the colour would have driven the price down considerably, much like Arena red does for the 993.

xenon · Aug 23, 2007

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

Flippin' Norah that Burgandy one looks lovely! Someone got a bargain at £3K!

Interestingly, there is another S2 on the same page for the same money as well. Is this all a good S2 is worth these days?

Oli.

If it's 100% rust-free and has good history i think between £4k - £5k is reasonable.

zcacogp · Aug 23, 2007

ORIGINAL: Fen

I think the colour would have driven the price down considerably, much like Arena red does for the 993.

Really? I thought it looked fantastic in that colour. For me it was a bonus.

Didn't realise that cars as cheap as 944's were particularly colour-sensitive, although I had heard that white ones were harder to sell.

Guess that makes today a day in which I have learned something new.

£4-5K for a good one? Hmmm. I have seen adverts where they are asking quite a lot more. Perhaps they simply didn't get it.

Oli.

xenon · Aug 23, 2007

Mine (which fortunately is completely rust free) and in a nice colour (IMO) and leather was up for £5400. 120k miles, full history, new clutch 1000 miles ago, belts just done, chain done 10,000 miles ago, brake calipers refurbed, new discs and pads, 1yr MOT and 6 month's tax.

I take it he hadn't had that much interest as we settled on £4600 folding.

I think you can get a reasonable price if you're prepared to wait for an enthusiast to stumble upon it - otherwise you'll end up selling it cheap to a scratter.

zcacogp · Aug 23, 2007

Ian,

Interesting. Mine sounds very similar, but Baltic and no leather.

I paid £4250 18 months ago. So very comparable. I thought i had a bargain, but in the light of yours going at the same price, maybe I just paid market rate.

Oli.

912UK · Aug 23, 2007

I do like to do paint and body work I am doing a 1954 356 Pre A at the moment..happy to point in right direct and helphttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v17/912uk/mark_912_closeup-1.jpg

Fen · Aug 23, 2007

I think anything is colour sensitive if the supply : demand ratio is such that there are plenty to choose from. I wouldn't buy any car that could be described as "burgundy" myself because I don't like the colour. Clearly others do or it would neot have been offered by Porsche and/or nobody would have ordered one.

It is a fact that Arena red 993s make poor money compared with equivalent cars in silver for example, hence I imagine I'm not alone in my view. Dark silver, metallic black, metallic blue (but not as dark as midnight) and possibly silver are the colours to have IMO, and I think resale values back that up as the popular colours at the moment.

zcacogp · Aug 23, 2007

Supply

emand is a good argument, but it will (I imagine) depend upon what you are looking for, or what is for sale. For instance, I think that the supply of 944's is OK, but the supply of well-maintained and decent-nick S2's is pretty thin (something I found out when I tried to buy one.) Therefore, as beggars can't be choosers, you buy whatever colour comes up (or accept a long wait.)

(Funnily enough, I looked at 7 944 S2's when I bought mine, and ALL of them were the same colour - Baltic Blue. What are the odds of that?)

Colour-wise, I know my tastes are unusual. I have a strong liking for green cars, although I recall your comments (Fen) on here about some people not wanting green cars as they are unlucky.

Oli.

Fen · Aug 23, 2007

I had a green Alfa 164 - I thought it was an awful colour, but better than doom (non-metallic, dark) blue or burgundy...

The flaw in your analysis of the 944 market is that for the average uninformed buyer a shiny black/blue/silver piece of junk will be more attractive than a shiny and well maintained car in an undesirable colour such as white, doom blue or dark red (note I like white and it's coming back, but Alpine white is too cream). Sure if you know what you're looking at the supply is much more restricted, but most buyers don't.

Also some people don't know what their car is worth which could be the case with this one as I agree £3k was cheap for it from the way it looked. I think some people assume that because they can spend £6k on a BMW and 2 years later it's worth £3k that the same will go for a 944.

zcacogp · Aug 23, 2007

Fen,

I agree. All summed by by "There's nowt so queer as folk" (as my Yorshire-bred Father would say), or simply that they have yet to stop making idiots.

I guess my penchant for green cars stemmed from my first Mk1 Golf 1300 in Lido Green (think of squashed peas), and my second in Lhasa Green (delectable dark green-blue metallic.) My fourth Golf was another Mk1 in Lhasa Green as well, come to mention it, asn was the only car I have been picky about the colour on (it had to be Lhasa green, and I spent a LONG time finding it.)

Oli.

ETA: Now you've got me started on Mk1 GTi's again!

Piccie of Lhasa Green (not my car, unfortunately.)