968 over 944 ? Tips please ?

proenca · Oct 27, 2006

Hi there,

Im hoping to buy a 944 soon, possibly a S2 or Turbo, but within my budget seems to start appearing some 968's ( 6/7.5k ) .

As far 944 goes, what can mainly go wrong are the cambelts and their lack of replacement. They are the first tip that people gave me, is to ask how long the belts and tensioners were replaced and check the service history ( apart from the usually check for leaks, eletrics, rust etc ). 90-130k are fine, according to members ( miles ie ), how about a 968 ?

I just asked because I see several 968's with 100-130k miles, manual ( which is a must for me ) withinh 6k or 7k range.. is this the rock bottom price and therefore the car will be, a money pit ?

As far money goes, how much , if it is, the maintenance costs vs a 944 ? Any real life experience ? Serching in delears it seems pretty much the same.. true ?

What are completly stay away tips from a 968 ? The more the merrier

on a final note, why the 968 forum is so quiet and discreet compared to the 944 one ?

thank you !

ianreeves · Oct 27, 2006

I can answer the 968 forum issue easily.

If you want to visit www.968uk.com then I am sure you will find us all !

Obviously 968 are not worlds apart from the 944 in terms of interior & exterior, so most common faults apply to both, the 944 obvisously is a bit more dependant on the model year. The main things to look at in 968 terms ( most cars by now have had work to address these ). I am sure others will add to my short fault list !

Cams - they suffer from wear on the sprocket teeth from the cam chain, can be expensive ( cams alone each approx £1000 )
Gearbox - The pinion gears can be an issue, but is easy to notice as it will sound like a milk float ! ( £1200 approx fix )
Brakes - They can suffer from corosion inside the calipers ( plate lift ) again a costly repair.

As with all cars of this age they suffer from general wear & tear, just look out for one with a good background history. If you can raise the bar slightly then the 968 moderator then he is selling his 968 which has had all of the above sorted.

Cheers

Ian

968CSReading · Oct 27, 2006

Cheers Ian, the cheque is in the post.

There is much debate over the 944 v 968. At the end of the day they are both very good cars so it is probably best to try a few of both to see what you prefer. The only other thing I would add is to check if the head gasket has gone because they will at some stage.

Dont let mileage put your off, as long as it has been looked after well it is probably a better buy, especially if all the weaknesses have been addressed.

Yes my car is for sale but it is a little above your budget. However, it has had the head done, new cams and has no plate lift isssue. If you ant any more details or help send me an email. I would be pleased to take you out in my car.

There is a very nice white coupe of Pistonheads which seems good value, just beware of any low priced cars and get it inspected before you buy.

Good luck

proenca · Oct 29, 2006

cheers, sent you an email

sawood12 · Oct 29, 2006

The main benefit of a 968 over a 944 is that 968's are generally younger so alot of the age-related issues cropping up on 944's may not be an issue on 968's......yet. Dynamically there is no difference between a 944S2 and a 968 - same chassis, same suspension and brakes but he 968 has more power due to the varioram. So you have a choice - blow your total budget and buy a 968 at the cheaper end of the 968 market or get a good 944 S2 and use the money left over as a maintenance/repair kitty. In my veiw you should only really consider a 944 turbo if you intend to modify the car to get more power. A std turbo (a 220bhp car at least) in the real world will not be any quicker than an S2 or a 968 despite the on-paper performance difference. However a sub-£1k investment in a turbo will buy you at least another 50bhp giving you a truly fast and exhilirating car, even by modern standards. If you want a car for the track then a later turbo is worth looking at. These had uprated suspension over the S2/968/early turbo's, LSD's, strengthened gearboxes with oil coolers and bigger front brakes- but S2's/968's/early turbo's are still fantastic track machines.

If you are not particularly fussy as to which model you end up buying then my advice would be to buy a car on condition. At your budget you can afford a top drawer S2 with money left over or a 968 at the lower end of the 968 market i.e. potentially nowhere near as good a condition car as the top drawer S2.

I started off looking at 968's (I do prefer the more modern styling) but after driving (what became) my turbo I was hooked!

Good luck and happy hunting, whichever model you end up with you will not be dissapointed.

968CSReading · Oct 31, 2006

ORIGINAL: proenca

cheers, sent you an email

Never got it

dparslow · Oct 31, 2006

I have owned 3 944`s, a standard 2.5, 2 944S2`s, driven a few turbo`s too but now have a 968 sport as my daily driver.

The 8v 944 especially the 2.7 is probably the safest bet of them all, they are pretty much bulletproof mechanically if you can get a good one that has been looked after well. There aren`t that many about compared to 2.5`s and S2`s but a great car all the same and make a great practical everyday driver thats also fun to drive.

The S2`s are brilliant cars, but higher mileage ones suffer the same as 968`s with camshaft wear. They are very quick and there are a few around with the upgraded M030 suspension and brakes, notably the very rare S2 SE. I found the S2 a much easier car to live with as a daily driver than the turbo, the power and torque delivery is more linear. Standard suspension S2`s are very comfortable, they have very good brakes, a torquey engine, give good fuel economy and are very reliable.

All 944`s are getting old and most of them are starting to rust along the sills, bottoms of the wings, wheel arches, around the screens and generally underneath. You would probably need to look at many of them to find a really nice one with no corrosion and an excellent service history.

The 968, because it is younger and the design of the bodywork utilises more plastic panels than the 944, they tend to be on the whole, free from serious corrosion. My car is 12 years old now and has no corrosion on the bodywork or underneath on the chassis/suspension at all. I am quite confident it will be in a better condition when it is 20 yrs old compared to the average 20 yr old 944.

I think the 968 is the better car compared to all the 944 range, especially if you are going to use it as your daily driver. In real world driving its probably quicker than all the 944 range with the exception of the modified turbo`s. The handling is amazing for all the model range, they are torquey enough for a lazy driving style and have an awesome power delivery when you choose to use the full rev range.

968`s have come down in price in recent times and if you are prepared to put up with a few cosmetic issues there are many good usable and reliable ones about. For a bit more than your budget say £8 - 10k you will eventually get a good car mechanically with the major jobs already done that you can use and enjoy everyday.

sawood12 · Nov 11, 2006

ORIGINAL: dparslow
All 944`s are getting old and most of them are starting to rust along the sills, bottoms of the wings, wheel arches, around the screens and generally underneath. You would probably need to look at many of them to find a really nice one with no corrosion and an excellent service history.

The 968, because it is younger and the design of the bodywork utilises more plastic panels than the 944, they tend to be on the whole, free from serious corrosion. My car is 12 years old now and has no corrosion on the bodywork or underneath on the chassis/suspension at all. I am quite confident it will be in a better condition when it is 20 yrs old compared to the average 20 yr old 944.

Sorry, I have to disagree with this. The only corrosion 'problem' on 944's are the very bottom of the front wings on the S2's and turbos as they had a different wing design to the other 944 models - which wasn't Porsches greatest design. On the 968 the bottom of the wing is cut off and the plastic wing extension is used. Sills are not a problem as such on 944's but some cars are suffering corrosion and in any case a 968 sill would be just as suseptable than a 944 sill as they corrode from the inside out so the 968 plastic sill trim wont provide any added protection. I'm not aware of any other plastic panels on the 968.

Don't forget the 944 was produced in far far greater numbers than the 968 and as a result there are alot out there that have lead tough lives so there are alot of tatty examples out there, whereas a higher proportion of 968's have spent more time in garages than 944's. A 968 having as tough a life as a 944 would suffer all the same problems as the cars are virtually identical apart from a handful of cosmetic differences. My 944 is 19 yrs old now and is my daily driver and totally rust free apart from the bottom of the wings which i've already mentioned, however about £500 will get this sorted at a top notch body shop and they will be good for another 19yrs and 113k miles so in the grand scheme of things it's not really so much of a problem at all.

As far as the windscreen surrounds are concerned this is also the same design as a 968 (unless you are talking about the very early 944's) and it's not a problem as far as i'm aware and any cases of rust in this area is most likely to be a neglected stone chip.

I wouldn't want to sway anyone towards a 944 over a 968 as it is a personal decision and as I said before I was actually after a 968 until I got hooked on the turbo sensational and brutal power delivery, but I feel I need to stick up for the model as I do read alot of bad press about the model which is simply not true. 944's are just as robust as any other Porsche model (and I would argue more robust than the more recent models - Boxsters/996's) and the chances are the tatty 944's you see on the roads have most likely lead hard lives - so feel sorry for them!!

m bannon · Nov 12, 2006

No debate, go for the 968, looks like you wont get a CS. but perhaps try to get a sport.
if you end up going for a 944 then make it the S2.

john11 · Nov 16, 2006

Hi,
I have owned a 944 2.7 lux, 944 S2 cab and now have a 968 cab. The 968 is a much more modern car all round and is much easier to drive every day, as I do. The 968 has all the finishing touches such as proper Porsche door handles, more contemporary styling which is closer to the rest of the Porsche family of the time. Little things like the interior light goes out when the ignition is turned on and the fuel gauge will actually go up to the full mark. From a driving experience point of view, the gear change is lighter and more positive, and the ratios are closer together, so first and second last longer. The engine is so much more flexible; if you are feeling lazy, you don't have to use all 6 gears if you don't want to and third will still pull cleanly from walking pace. Fuel consumption is alittle worse at around 27-28mpg in the 968, but you should still get about 400 miles to a tank full.
Have fun!

968CSReading · Nov 17, 2006

My CS will be going back up for sale when the flywheel and clutch are fitted. It will be sold with a full MOT and had a 12K service in Oct. It has had news cams, the head has been done and it has no plate lift.

It will be £9K though.