buying a 944 turbo problem!

[bazza]

it's really took me a long time to find the right car , until i saw is black one on the pistonhead, http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/155027.htm

does anyone know about this car!? is it worth the money!?

 

[sawood12]

On the face of it assuming it is in good nick with a good history the price is not completely out of the ball park but it is a good price for a car of that age and milage. Check out the wastegate mod (probably shimmed or uprated spring) - increasing boost levels should be accompanied by uprating the fuel system to deliver the extra fuel for the extra boost or you could be in big big trouble in very little time. I'm assuming when he says 2 bar boost he really means 2 bar absolute - i.e. 1 bar boost. Standard max boost is 0.8 bar so in order to be safe at 1 bar boost i'd expect some sort of fuel system tweak (uprated FPR or ECU chips). But other than that if it checks out as being a pretty pukka car the price seems fair. I'm sure you've seen the plethora of threads on this forum on things to look out for when buying a turbo. Nice coulour!

 

[bazza]

I did contact the seller going to see the car on sunday,he also did sent me some more picture but picture quality are not that good as he look those picture from his phone.

 

[bazza]

bad news ! i just did hpi check for that car which has been reported total loss .

category-D car damaged but repairable but insurer decided not to fix it!




i am going to cry!!!!!![][][][][][] i been wasting £40 to check that "£%£^£

 

[wibble]

As your HPI check confirmed your doubts, then it's time to walk away. Be patient, as another turbo will be listed. I looked at several 944's (and a 968CS), both S2 & turbo. After getting advice, scanning this forum and driving them, it had to be a turbo. As a generalisation, you will be looking at >£5k for a good turbo. The more you see will give you a better understanding of what you're prepared to pay. And as a final note get an independent Porsche engineer to check the car over.

 

[Big Dave]

Did the seller know it was a cat D.???

Either way... ide be asking for a refund of my HPI report money....From him....

It looks like its been withdrawn ..!!!!!!!!

 

[bazza]

yes! i told the seller about the reported and he said he known nothing about that, then he said he now has to keep that car forever.

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: bazza

[][] i been wasting £40 to check that "£%£^£

Not quite correct Bazza. You've just saved yourself £000's and all for a £40 HPI

I'll bet the current owner is wishing he had done one. It really surprises me how some people do not do this when buying a secondhand car [&:] The risks are huge without one and I will gamble that the owner will re-advertise it and hope to eventually catch someone who does not do the check.......

..........of course I would never do that []

 

[Hilux]

As your HPI check confirmed your doubts, then it's time to walk away. Be patient, as another turbo will be listed. I looked at several 944's (and a 968CS), both S2 & turbo. After getting advice, scanning this forum and driving them, it had to be a turbo. As a generalisation, you will be looking at >£5k for a good turbo. The more you see will give you a better understanding of what you're prepared to pay. And as a final note get an independent Porsche engineer to check the car over.

I looked at around 13-15 cars before I found one that was the correct price for the car.

You can only take a proper view by looking at as many as you can. I was prepared to pay absolutely top whack (Over 10K) for the right car and never found one (even though they were advertised as such) I bought mine for half that knowing it had been meticulously looked after over the last 8 years at any cost BUT even then it then still needed a little bit spent on it to ensure reliability.

Look for RECENT history if it hasnt a perfect OPC stamped service book. Independents are a lot cheaper and are Porsche enthusiasts. If its just had the odd service and there are no other receipts over the last few years then I would walk away as there are always niggles so lots of tiny bills for bulbs and brake shoes etc etc show its been cherished and regularly looked after.

To summarise, look around so you can compare like with like, price for price. A lot of them will have been bought as they are cheap, ragged to death with a minimum spend on maintenance. Dont buy the first one you see. Look on this forum for buying guides. Ask on this forum for advice. Research servicing a 944 so you know what to look for in its recent history (its history at 12,000 miles is now irrelevant)

 

[Big Dave]

He doesnt have to keep the car forever,, it just isnt worth as much as before....

It all depends what happened in the accident , ie what damage it sustained...If it was only cosmetic then no probs...
It "could" now be a cheap car...[][][]

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: bazza

bad news ! i just did hpi check for that car which has been reported total loss .

category-D car damaged but repairable but insurer decided not to fix it!


i am going to cry!!!!!![][][][][][] i been wasting £40 to check that "£%£^£

That is almost irrelevant on a car of this age when the parts and labour are so expensive. We have seen many good cars "written off" for relatively little damage.

Consider this:-

Car A - Leaves the show room with a value of £50K (todays money) and is hit by a lorry doing £15K worth of damage. Because the damage is less than 30% the value of the vehicle they repair it.

Car B - Now 20 years later, gets hit by a Caterham damaging the rear bumper and splitter cracking the number plate and lamp cluster. The book value of the car is now £5K and, with £750 labour, £450 splitter, £300 bumper, £200 bumper irons and fittings sundry other bits, new number plate and lamp cluster £200, new rear sticker £200 the car is written off.

If the owner of car B has the car repaired which would be the better car? [8|]

 

[pauljmcnulty]

ORIGINAL: John Sims

Consider this:-

Car A - Leaves the show room with a value of £50K (todays money) and is hit by a lorry doing £15K worth of damage. Because the damage is less than 30% the value of the vehicle they repair it.

Car B - Now 20 years later, gets hit by a Caterham damaging the rear bumper and splitter cracking the number plate and lamp cluster. The book value of the car is now £5K and, with £750 labour, £450 splitter, £300 bumper, £200 bumper irons and fittings sundry other bits, new number plate and lamp cluster £200, new rear sticker £200 the car is written off.

If the owner of car B has the car repaired which would be the better car? [8|]

The Caterham? [8|]

 

[John Sims]

Caterhams never die. They may have four new bodies and two new chassis and numerous engines but they never disappear. []

 

[random hero]

I wouldnt let a cat d put you off buying a car or . As said above a cat d is down to car value against the repair bill not the damage to the car itself. I think its all a bit misleading as when people hear the word write-off they tend to think of 2 halfs of a car welded together. I ve enclosed a picture of my old 944 which was a cat d write off,i spent £5 on an indacator lense and the guy who bought it spent about £100 getting the wing/bumper repaired and painted !!! http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t308/ramdon-hero/dent-1.jpg

 

[bazza]

but the problem is the seller don't know what was the damaged before! if he know how the car was damaged that will be the better case!

 

[sawood12]

Well if you are prepared to spend £6.5k - £7k on a turbo with a little patients you should get a good early one. If you do stumble accross another Cat D car then as long as you can establish the extent of the damage and it turns out to be superficial and properly repaired with OEM parts then you might be on for a bargain.