First Porsche - 944 convertible?

[Guest]

I am considering a 944 S2 convertible - around 1990 - I have seen them for around £10k - £11k. Whilst you may have answered this a million times before, what should I look out for? Will it be prohibitive to maintain in running costs (putting aside the usual unwelcome surprise when you buy a used car) ? Any advice or tips welcomed! (The alternative is a merc sl from the 1990' s around £15k!)

Thanks

 

[944Turbo]

there is one for sale here http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=11965&s=81&sc=LHY3,
quick points
Some cab owners have reported problems with cracks and rusting of the sills, the S2 has a tensioner on the cam chains that should be inspected / replaced, otherwise damage to cams can result, make sure belt changes have been done - around 3 years 36,000 miles, clutches can be expensive, so it' s nice to know if its been done.

otherwise generall stuff - oil in water and visa versa, smoke on cold start up, even panel gaps etc. an internet search will probably find you a buyers guide, and I' m sure the cab s2 owners will be in later to tell you about the bits I' ve missed,

Good luck

Tony

P.S. look at more than one and the depreciation (or lack of it) should offset any big bills,

 

[ricky944]

Hiya......this is my first reply.......and i must say this is a great BB.

I have just bought a 944 cab after converting from a Scooby,and i was in the same boat as yourself.
Mine is a lovely Tahoe Blue colour with 78000 on the clock took me about 2 months to track one down.... as per 944Turbo' s reply history is a must with this car.
I have just had a full 12000 mile service at JZ Machtech at Kings Langley and boy it was a big service... Tune engine and road test,replaced all belt idler pulleys, replaced cam belt and balance belt and reset cam timing and tune,front engine seal kit,new cam chain and reset vernier cam timing,fitted new locking wheel nuts,replaced O/S/F track rod end,carried out a full geometry set up........(fantastic bit of kit its all laser),4 new tyres,replaced front discs and pads and overhauled front caliper plates,replace oil cooler seals,replace oil filler neck seals,replaced clock and fixed backlight in boot and door opening light,removed seized camshaft retaining bolts and replaced,new water pump while access is good....and thats about it i think........i suspect i have missed a few things off the list.
Mine was left standing for 2 years in a garage at Havant and the owner was selling up and he wanted to get shot of it thats probably why it had a few niggles.
I must say a very Big Thank You to JZ Machtech as they looked after my Porsche and quoted me all the time when problems came to light........very professional outfit and i would recommend them to anyone.

I dont regret buying it.........its the best car i have ever driven and the quality is fantastic i am looking forward now to the rest of the summer with trouble free motoring

 

[ricky944]

Here it is.......

Hope these come out...!!!!

 

[Guest]

That looks great! I am six foot two - will I really be able to stand a long distance in a 944 cabriolet?

 

[ricky944]

rupert

sorry mate i cannot say...........as i am only 5ft 8.

Regards
Richard

 

[Diver944]

Hi Rupert,

here' s a couple of good links with buying tips and what to look out for when buying a 944

http://www.clarks-garage.com

http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html

The best bit of advice I can give from personal experience is to look at a lot of cars before deciding. There is a world of difference between a good car thats been well maintained and an old dog. [:' (] The trouble is they will look the same because of galvanising and good paintwork so you can' t tell until you drive them.[]

When you do find one, it really is worth paying a Porsche specialist to inspect it for you, not the AA or RAC, it could save you thousands in the long run. Whereabouts in the country are you?

The seats can be lowered electrically by quite a way and they slide back a long way too so over six foot should not be a problem. You' ll have the roof down most of the time anyway [8D] The first time you test drive one will answer this question anyway.

Good luck with the hunt and keep us updated []

 

[Guest]

Thank you all for your friendly help and advice. I will keep you updated!

 

[Guest]

I am 6ft 1in and drove all the way to Le Mans with no problems at all. There were 2 of us with all our kit, tent etc, so you should have problems with your height.

Regards

Phil

 

[Helen Goff]

I am 6ft 1in

YA right!! now take the platform shoes off Phil

 

[Fen]

Only just seen this one, so sorry for being late to the party.

I' m on 944 numbers 4 and 5 just now, 5 being a cabrio.

I' m 5' 11" and I can drive the car with the roof up while wearing a crash helmet (just). The seat has one or two clicks back to go from where I have it too.

I' d agree with Tony' s assessment of the faults. What I would say though is that S2 cams seem to be starting to suffer from failing case-hardening as they get older so even without being worn they can get brittle and the teeth start to break off. I had the cams replaced on both of the S2' s I have had. I also had all the front oil seals and the tensioner rollers replaced on the cab. Separate work was completely new suspension. It had has new discs at Specialist Cars of Malton just before I bought it. It probably could do with sterring rod ends and CV joints to be spot on. The hood was replaced last year (by the previous owner). It leaks slightly in very heavy rain - earlier ones (mine' s a ' 92 J) are worse because they have different seals at the A-pillar.
The white one is suspiciously like one I looked at at Camtune a couple of years ago, and that they had again 3 months ago - not too many white, K-plate with logo cloth and no options ones around...

£10-£11k is top money for a 1990 car - I suspect that paying top money doesn' t necessarily mean you get a car that doesn' t still need a bit spending on it either.

Ricky - I really wanted a Cobalt blue one, so I' m a bit evious of yours. I' d recommend chnging your gear lever gaiter for a linen one - I did in my Turbo and it looks much better.

Did you use Scoobynet when you had a Scoob?

 

[ricky944]

Hi Fen,

Yeah i used to use Scoobynet and i still do as its a great site for imformation.

Thats how i found about the Porsche 944 after seeing several of your own posts about this particular model,dont know if you remember but i e-mailed you and you gave me some excellent imformation about things that go wrong,i work for SchlumbergerSema and you said you used to have problems e-mailing to this particular address.

So is my colour Cobalt Blue as the sticker in the engine bay says Tahoe Blue so i am a bit confused now...???
Where can i get a new gaiter from in Linen

I must say your Turbo looks fantastic in the other post how long did it take you to find one like that..??

Whats the difference between the two cars in particular driving experience..??

Ricky

 

[Fen]

Yes! I remeber. I got the email thing sorted out ' cos I couldn' t email my work address either after I changed job. It was something to do with Demon' s DNS servers.

You bought the car you were going to see then. It may be Tahoe looking at the pictures again. I didn' t think that the 944 came in Tahoe, but Cobalt is darker - more the colour of your hood (since that is definitely Cobalt...) like this:

.

My Turbo is nothing special. It was a 126,000 miler that had belonged to a dentist' s wife and happened to come up at Shirleys of Meriden a couple of years ago when I had been looking for a couple of months. It was totally standard with FSH which is what I wanted, but I didn' t like the colour at first - I had had it described on the ' phone as Titanuim and I was there when it arrived so Glacier was a bit of a shock. As you can guess the colour has grown on me since []

The two cars are fairly different to drive (bear in mind it' s 18 months since the turbo ran, so this is from memory). The S2 feels slower because it' s so smooth but there isn' t much in it between a standard turbo and an S2. The cab' s chassis is surprisingly flexible compared to a coupe, although it doesn' t feel that way unless you compare them. After the mods I had done to the Turbo there' s no comparison - the cab is much more a cruiser and quick enough, the modded Turbo is a bit more of an animal.

I got my gearknob and gaiter from Prestige Parts www.prestigeparts.co.uk
It' s run by a guy called Keith Pink who is fantastic (as many on here will tell you). The are about £45 exchange. I' ll try to take a piccy of the interior of my Turbo to let you see what it look like, but it' s dirty and in the garage where I can' t open the door properly.

 

[Guest]

YA right!! now take the platform shoes off Phil

Helen

Bring your tape measure with you on 4th August and we can see. I must admit that I do believe I need a longer tape to measure my height than you would!!

Ha ha ha.

See ya soon

Phil