Another clichÃ©d baby forces sale thread - maybe?

944psi · Mar 20, 2009

Long time no posts from me, mainly due to other commitments and also that we now have a new baby in the house[

]

So, I have a 1991 S2 which although I love to bits and catch myself just staring at it on the drive, it looks like I may have to move it on. Apart from the baby, other events are conspiring against me and we are now a 3 car family with 2 drivers and me probably having to start cycling to work rather than driving and last of all some ongoing DIY projects which mean I will have even less time (and cash) to devote to the S2.

So, putting the feelers out to see if anyone would be interested in taking this one on?

It is by no means concourse and needs some bodywork. It has a linen interior with linen metallic (LM5U) paintwork with just over 150k on the clock. Oil pressure is 2 bar when hot on idle and 4+ when driven. It has some new bits on it such as

clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder, master cylinder
KLA strut mounts with Koni rebuilt struts
driveshafts (4 * CV)
ARB Bushes
Ignition leads, dist cap, rotor arm and some other bits and pieces.

I also have some spares too including a set of D90 wheels, doors, bits of trim, sunroof seal, brake calipers, caliper plates and seals.

It feels too good to break, but at the same time it will need some money spending in the near future on bodywork. It has been serviced by me on a regular basis and still pulls well.

I keep on swinging between keeping it and selling it - or thinking I could keep it as a track car project such that I could do the body work myself.

Any thoughts or should I just ebay it on impulse?

Phil

(Some pictures from last summer, taken by the recycling bins at Tesco on a Sunday morning at 5.10 am.)

Peter Empson · Mar 20, 2009

Congratulations on the baby Phil.

My response is going to be completely predictable, you'll regret it if you get rid of it. It's a very pretty car and knowing your thoroughness I'm sure you'll be able to sort the bodywork out.

Saying that, it is the right time to be selling a 944. I could almost be tempted by it if my wallet hadn't taken such a bashing recently (I do fancy replacing the 944S at some point [8|]).

sawood12 · Mar 20, 2009

Congrats on the little one. I've got #2 coming early July and can empathise only too well with the demands on time and money meaning i'm having to keep on pushing back my plans for my car as simply keeping hold of it is tricky enough. Luckily i've been able to keep hold of her and am very glad of it so I agree with Peters sentiments. You've got a good car there and they are hard to come by. However if you decide that keeping her is just not an option then good luck and make sure you let her go to a decent home for a price that justifies the time and effort you've lavished on her.

Stu Alderson · Mar 20, 2009

I am not sure this will help any further than the previous two posts, but having survived a number of prevous "crunches, by the skin of my teeth" my experience is that if you love the car, can afford to mothball it i.e. dry store it, then you should, if you have a good one, you will regret getting rid, and when the tide turns, you will never find one which measures up (if the cruntch is as bad as everyone predicts even good ones are going to be devoid of the regular maintenance they require) so bed the one you know etc etc.

If you can take it on the chin, I would suggest you hold on (for as long as you can, storage and finances permitting, one further point, is when your back is REALLY against the wall, something often pops up to bail you out.)

Notwithstanding the above, with my cars, even I am considering reducing the numbers, the signature block only shows what I love, not what I own. Modern metal is worthless at the moment, old metal will fade a little but never die.
Best wishes and I hope you make the choice best suited to you.

Stu

Guest · Mar 21, 2009

Congrats Phil on the new arrival....!

As you all know I got married last June - This thread makes me afraid, very afraid...

amrbose14 · Mar 21, 2009

I've got a 9 month old and am still managing to hang on to the 944 - although the phrase 'get rid of your silly car' comes up pretty often.

I've been wondering about removing the rear seats and bolting (literally) in a child seat. My thinking is that this would be a legit 'running cost' which will make the 944 more pratical. As it is, I hardly use it except to dust off to drive to work every few weeks. Long (mechanically sympathetic) trips tend to be family ones in the family car.

Anyone tried this?

Kev_turbo · Mar 21, 2009

Managed to keep my S2 cab through my first little one, as soon as she was able to go in a front facing seat she was in the front giving it the royal wave with the roof off. I now have the problem that another little monster is due in the Summer and there is no way I can get 2 child seats in the cab (lap belts only in the back) so the cab is going to have to go.

My point is you can keep and run a 944 with one kid, the baby seats go well in the front. 2 it appears is one step too far. For sale thread to appear shortly [&o][X(].

Kev

amrbose14 · Mar 21, 2009

I failed to get the 'baby' size seat into the front of mine - the big bolsters would have been damaged. Can't see the front facing seats going in any easier.

George Elliott · Mar 21, 2009

Phil,
I got my current 944 when our 2 boys were 5 & 6yrs. They fitted the rear seats perfectly back then, although that was 6 years ago and now its a bit of a squeeze.
The point is - if you do as has been suggested, the 944 will be fine for your family transport in the future.
Congratulations
George

944t
964

sawood12 · Mar 22, 2009

ORIGINAL: amrbose14

I failed to get the 'baby' size seat into the front of mine - the big bolsters would have been damaged. Can't see the front facing seats going in any easier.

I've got a Brittax Freeway which is a discontinued model now but I found a source on ebay of brand new end of line ones. This was the seat that came up on Brittax's car selector against 944/968 on their website a couple of years ago. It fits in the rear, though I couldn't get the seatbelt tensioned satisfactorily and fits perfectly in the front which is where I use it. It works fine. Just moved over to the booster seats with the backs, not tried in the 944 yet.

944psi · Mar 23, 2009

Thanks for the responses. Our little one (8 wks old) is a very welcome addition to the family and despite my thread title, she really isn't forcing the issue.

Peter and Scott's kind words spurred me into action, so on Saturday I went in the 944 with my 7 yr old son over to Kirkman Brothers at Shardlow for an estimate on the body work that needs doing and I will be booking it in soon to have the bodywork issues resolved!

I was under absolutely no pressure from SWMBOAAT to get rid, in fact it was her who came up with the solution. We already have a 7-seat family car; my eldest two still fit in the back of the 44, but getting all of us in (2 + 2 + car seat) is no longer an option. Then a 2001 BMW 318 dropped into my lap (so to speak) and it seemed the more practical option - not that we needed practicality from my car!

So the current plan is to stick with it and tackle the body issues first - whilst it is out of the way, run the BM and finish my projects (yeah, right!). The BM will then go and hopefully fund the bodywork. Well, that's the current plan anyway!*

Phil

*terms and conditions apply.

Peter Empson · Mar 23, 2009

Nice one Phil [

]
Just out of curiousity, what bodywork does it need, is it just the sills or are there other areas too?

sawood12 · Mar 23, 2009

Phil, my philosophy is that there is no point in having more than one sensible car in a family. We've got a Focus that so far with one child has managed perfectly well and has not left us wanting for space, though i'm lucky that my wife works at the same place as me so we share the communte. Though for the baby #2 we will probably upgrade to a larger estate car and as I don't really want to continue running the 944 as a daily runner we plan to get a small micro-mini, like an Aygo or something equivalent (dirt cheap to run), which will do when the wife needs to go into work seperately as it is perfectly big enough for the commute to work and dropping the kids off at nursery. This will leave the 944 as my hobby/toy car. I'm often amazed at people at work who as soon as a baby comes along they get rid of their nice cars and buy a couple of people carriers. Firstly I don't see the point of a people carrier as a large estae car does the job much better, and secondly I can't see the point in having two of them!

Ephraim · Mar 23, 2009

I have daughter impending, due in early july, and the missus and I have decided to go the same route as Scott, and just have the one "family" car, allowing me to keep the 944. Luckily, my missus likes her cars, so she understands fully the reasons to keep the Porsche, and is very supportive - even if she does keep threatening to make me trade it in for a grey Skoda Octavia estate!

I should also point out that her idea of a family car is her Subaru Impreza WRX!

944psi · Mar 24, 2009

Firstly, it is the sills - which for the most part are still solid, they're just starting to go though, despite the interiors being dinitroled by me not long after I got the car. To be fair, the car was fairly well used in lots of salty weather when Mrs. Phil was in hospital.

It also needs the screen out and the screen surround issues sorting as well as a previous badly matched paint job on the rear panel sorting out.

And just for fun, a dying fly I picked up on Saturday

And Ed, training to be a plane spotter from the 944 ....

Phil

944psi · Mar 24, 2009

Agree about not having two people carriers - one is certainly enough! Two sensible cars is also pushing it.

I fear though I may disagree on the MPV vs large estate car argument. [8|] It has worked for us so far with two older children and working now there's two + car seat. It is something about having the separate seats and having the room around them for the kids to get in and out, plus being able to secure the car seat without becoming some sort of contortionist! Call it an aid to stress reduction.

Phil

edh · Mar 24, 2009

I think that's the right conclusion Phil - Tony should do you a reasonably priced job on your bodywork - as long as he doesn't find too much lurking underneath.

I helped my sister in law buy a 7 seat MPV a couple of years back - I was very impressed by the Touran (Ok - about as impressed as you can be by a diesel powered ultra-practical van with seats - it's less of a car, more of an appliance ).
Can't say I approve of MPV's myself though - a Legacy Estate is good enough for us, but we only have 2 kids to accomodate.

944 man · Mar 24, 2009

Tony blows hot and cold; so Id keep on top of him. That said, he can do a superb job and he can do a job for a good price: its getting him to do both thats the trick.....

944psi · Mar 24, 2009

Not sure I spoke with Tony; perhaps he was the 'normal' bodywork man that was not there. Kerry looked around my car and gave me a good case price and bad case price.

Phil