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Buying a 944

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Hi. I've just joined this forum because i've been a Porsche fan for ages, and i've decided the lure of owning one is too great to resist. I'll probably wait til the spring, but i like to research buying a new car thoroughly. My question is this; will £3000 buy me a decent 944, and which model should i be looking at?

Thanks

Marge
 
I'll try using my eyes next time, there is a buying guide above! Anything anyone else I should watch out for?
 
Buy the absolute best you can afford as there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche. Currently a rough price guide would be £10k for a very good Turbo, £6k will be average and under £3k will be ropey and could cost you £££££s in the long run.

The expensive things you want to avoid having to do yourself are:

Rusty sills and wings - ££££££
Clutch - £1000
both Belts, rollers and water pump - £1000
Fuel and brake lines - £1000

If you can find a car with evidence of recent activity in those areas then you could be saving yourself ££££s
 
Cheers guys, good talking to you to. Sold the kit car last night and going to look at an S2 on friday after work!!! I'll let you know how it goes!!
 
Jonny,
I used both Michael Cotton's Collectors guide for Porsche 924, 944 and 968 and Peter Morgans Ultimate buyers guide for 944 and 968 - ISBN No's
1-899870-47-4 and 978-1-906712-07-5 respectively.

The Peter Morgan book is better as a buyer's guide with Michael's book better for history of the 944.

There are also various buyers advice in this forum.

Mike
White 2.7 automatic
 
If your interested in looking around a solid example, you're more than welcome to come and have a look at mine.

Main points to look for:
Rust - you'll notice many threads on here about rotten cars, it is very important you look EVERYWHERE! Sills, floors, suspension mounts, boot floor. Front wings often go rotten around the leading edge and aren't cheap to replace properly. Most 944s look good on the outside.
Engine and drivetrain - the car should run at 2.5bar oil pressure once it is warm. It should be very quick to go up to 4.5/5bar on start up and when on the move, whilst moving it should not really drop from this. Each gear should engage positively and shouldn't have a massive amount of slop (but it's not anywhere as direct as an MGB for instance) it certainly should be an improvement on a 911 though! Make sure reverse engages positively and doesn't jump out of gear. If the car is fitted with power steering they are notorious for leaks - it can be a better option to just swap it out for a manual rack.
Interior - most are terrible! Dashes crack, seats are often ripped / worn badly and trim is not cheap to replace!
 
Hi Jonny, as a 944 driver who aspires to own an old 911 one day, I'm interested in your decision to go the opposite way. Care to explain?
 
I can certainly understand it: it depends on what you want out of a car, really, and the two cars excel in very different ways.

For me the 944 is a far more relaxing thing to drive, far more reassuring and forgiving in adverse conditions.
But best of all it doesn't trigger off all those people who despise the 911 as an icon of flash yuppie gittery. Which, sadly, is still a lot of other people on the roads and on hte streets.

I reckon you get let out of side streets a lot more easily in a 944 than a 911, and that you have a lot less chance of it being keyed or vandalised by some moron or other. And then there's all the people in Scoobys and Evos wanting to show their mates how they are faster than the 911...

I still like 911s though, it's just that I would not find it as carefree as having a 944.
 
Don't overlook the 944S3 - otherwise known as the 968. Are you within striking distance of Silverstone? There's a "middle years" do 22nd May at the Porsche centre Silverstone, posts about it on the forum, you'd see a lot of front engined Porsches there (including my 968 tip coupe, which just happens to be for sale - 'cos I've bought a cabriolet!).
 
Never heard of the dealership nor seen the car before.

Thoughts on looking at the pics:

The aftermarket sills are my cuppa - what are they hiding ? Sill corrosion can be VERY expensive on these cars.....

The D90's having been messed with and arent the correct size IIRC, the tyre picture is the rear N/S the later Turbos came with 8j fronts (225) and 9J rears (245) combination.

The rear disc shown through wheel also looks a bit rusty too...

Interior is not nice (80's fashion.....), I thought most Turbo's had leather ? I'd check the options sticker in the boot to see if all the extras correspond with advert.

66k is low mileage for a 1989/90 car, still high price though and I'd be asking the question what/where has the car been when it's not been driven.

Chris
 
I was going to say something, but will restrain myself to say - the forum search function is your friend. They've been discussed at some length several times in the past.
 
thanks a lot for this. yes it had long spells of not being driven. they said the sills are perfect underneath but its a long drive to check... also the colour of the rubber around the back window and top of doors doesnt seem right...
 
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