Guidance on 944S prices

[Guest]

Hi Gents,

I am trying to get a rough idea of how much would be a fair asking price for a 1987 US spec. 944S (from relatively unbiased sources [] ) In the US a lot of people reference what's called the Kelly Blue Book for market values, but even that's misleading because it understates the book value and doesn't accurately take into account rarity & market demand etc.

The car is left hand drive, but fully legalized for UK driving. It has 109K miles and was modified by one of the previous owners, who had planned to so some track days. It has Koni gas shocks, thicker sway bars (Weltmeister I believe), a computer chip, 17 inch Cup wheels, and stiffer springs, so it handles very sharply indeed. I have most of the maintenance records- certainly all of them from my ownership, all done by qualified Porsche specialists. It had one repaint years ago and it was a quality job so the paint looks nice. It runs strong, has the touring package, the A-C works well...doesn't need anything mechanical that I know of- the rear hatch rattles a bit but it doesn't get any more serious than that.

So what would you say is a reasonable price for the car? Around 3700 quid? And are there any objective reference guides out there for the UK market you could recommend? I may sell it later this summer or if not then next year, due to my E36 328i Sport fetish.

Thanks for listening to me ramble on about my car![&:]

 

[Fen]

Maybe not what you want to hear but I'd say it's worth 15%-20% less than a comparable UK RHD car and that one of them is probably worth no more than £4,000 unless stunning. I'd say you might struggle to get over £3k for it.

There is someone on here looking for a LHD 944 to use in Spain - could be a match made in heaven?

 

[Guest]

Hi Fen,

Thanks for your feedback. I was a little surprised by your comment about LHD being worth 15-20% less, mainly because I'm not seeing that trend generally with BMW prices (unfortunately for me!)- sometimes it almost seems the opposite.

Do you know how I can find the member who is looking for an LHD 944? I can't sell it yet but perhaps he doesn't need his car right away.

Thanks

 

[Fen]

If you search he was only posting a few days ago, his name is Vinnie Mabbs.

BMW buyers must be strange indeed if LHD are worth as much as RHD in the UK - why on earth would you pay anything but less for a car where you sit on the wrong side and which was originally intended for another market? Obvious exceptions are cars like the real M3 where there were never any RHD examples of course, but otherwise I'd have thought it's just common sense that LHD will be worth less and sufficiently so to make a worthwhile difference. Before you ask I have owned 3 LHD cars in the UK and after the last one (an S2 coupe) I vowed I would never have another. For my money even 20% saving doesn't make the inconvenience worth while and I doubt I am alone in considering most LHD cars as being owned by people who couldn't quite stretch to a "proper" one. No offence intended of course.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I'll see if I can contact him. As far as RHD/LHD is concerned, it's partially a matter of what we grew up with- I've found I can tolerate RHD, but will always prefer LHD, as I've driven it all my life, and also hope to leave the UK in the near future, so I'll be shopping for LHD.

 

[pae]

ORIGINAL: JayGatsby

......... and also hope to leave the UK in the near future........

Crikey, Fen, now look what you've done. He's only on his 3rd post and you've caused enough offence to make him leave the country.... []

Phil

 

[Guest]

Ha ha! Believe me, the property prices here are even more offensive than Fen, by a rather wide margin! []

 

[Fen]

ORIGINAL: JayGatsby
the property prices here are even more offensive than Fen

Note to self - must try harder []

 

[iangrant]

I just bought a 1988 944S recently (my first Porsche ), £3750. Of course, mine is UK RHD, 105k miles, and also black.
I came across a lot of red and white cars, which were often cheaper, but very few black ones.
I don't think mine has any fancy options like the sports package, or AC, but it has the rear under-spoiler, and is generally in decent condition.

Even so, I think I probably paid a little over the odds for it. Very little history, it checked out clear with HPI, but the VIN begins SABTVR and not WPO. I had it serviced after buying it and the mechanic said it was in decent condition, but said he was puzzled by the VIN also, probably means its had some kind of chassis rebuild. Must've been done privately or something not to show up on the HPI check.

Was I conned? I dunno, but I'm happy with it now, anyway.

 

[Mikie_gb]

My 1988 944 S cost £5000

(sorry, long post but it demonstrates that even excellent condition cars can eat money very quickly if no work has been neccisary to the point of purchase and the car is as it was from the factory, that is everything working at purchase but 17 years old)

India red, 74k miles, full service history with receipts, tear on drivers seat backrest (jeans with studs) handbooks, full tool kit, porsche tyre pump, unused jack, unused spare, perfect body ie not gaurds pink, sunroof, alpine tape deck (with manual), aftermarket cat 1 alarm/immobiliser with certificate, two sets of keys, 3 month warranty, logo/vinyl seats, porsche OEM mats, stainless steel exhaust.

It was owned by a garage owners wife, so the history was dealership up to 50K then their own workshop there after. Only mistake was not to change the pulleys with the belts. This failed within four months and knackered the valves etc. It also had Simex tyres on the front which were leathal and lead to a rain/car-in-front/ lock up misadventure. My biggest complaint is that they sprayed 'varnish' on the engine and is sure has made an awful mess.

I have had it now for two and a half years (12k miles)and have replaced:

Idle control valve
Handbrake cable
new handbrake drum mech. one side.
Handbrake shoes (twice on the one side)
Waterpump
thermostat
all water hoses
belt and pulleys
two batteries
sunroof giude
rebuilt the head, new valves guides, head gasket etc
timing chain, new slipper
fuel filter
K and N filter
15inch wheels with 18 inch turbo OEM rims
Michelin pilot sports 235 front 265's at the rear
Fan relay
Indicator relay
DME relay
leads, plugs (2 sets) distr. cap
new wheel locks
windcreen
MD player
front badge
raditor cap
oil cooler seals
oil pressure sensor
headlamp
radiator temp sensor
polished the aluminium rocker cover
resprayed inlet manifold
changed gearbox oil to Swepco
windscreen washer nozzles
Swissol Smaragd wax (also have used Zymol, and Incero wax waxes in the past
32 litres anti freeze


next on the list 'to do' current mileage 86k .

braided hoses (bought)
shocks all round (the new wheels showed the shocks up as being knackered)
repair seat.
replace all suspension bushes and change to 968 rear castor mount
Fix cills (£2000 quote by porsche approved repairer). Fit 968 cill covers and punch any garage owners whose staff damage them again by incorrect jack placement.
dash lights
replace speakers that are now on their last legs
four wheel alignment.
new front discs
derust corroding suspension, tank straps etc which have been eaten badly by salt
headlamp height adjuster.
indicators not cancelling

Was the car a rip off at £5k? Don't think so save for the belt snapping 17k miles after it was replaced, the rest of the items replaced are pretty much what you would expect to fail on a 944. Possibly the previous owner sold it on before things started to go awry, ie at the economic turning point in a cars life.

Would I do it again? No. I would buy a Lotus Esprit Turbo and expect to walk everywhere. ([][]

 

[Fen]

Have you priced up the 968 sill covers? If not I think you should, might shorten your list by one item...

 

[danmason]

Fix sills (£2000 quote by porsche approved repairer).

Cripes, what's wrong with them?! £2k sounds like big money.

Have you priced up the 968 sill covers? If not I think you should, might shorten your list by one item...

Oh bother, I was thinking about getting some of those too. []

 

[Fen]

£315 ea for the back bits, £128 ea for the fronts, plus fasteners and the seal, plus VAT. No change from a big one.

 

[Mikie_gb]

There was a set on ebay for £75, but I expect that the £300 mark I have seen else where is a likely price. OR pray for a moonless night at Brands Hatch in August and take along a cat burglar suit and a six foot long bag with 'swag' written on it. ' they were just lying on the lawn over at the 968 register gazebo, just doing my bit to keep the place tidy, honest guv'. [8|]

(this is an attempt at humour. swiping bits off cars is not on, much like doing 90mph in a 20 zone past a school, before the Charlton Hestons of this world start point'n their shoot'n irons my way)

 

[iangrant]

Damn, that's a whole lot of work! That India red has changed my opinion on red cars, though, it's very nice.

Mine has loads of things like sunroof bag, air compressor, etc. missing. Have started to find bits like this, new cassette armrest, etc. on eBay.
I think I'd like an S2 or maybe Turbo in a few years, so I'm not planning on going all out on the expensive stuff like big wheels (although those Turbo Twists with the red brake calipers look very cool) on this one.

It seems there are loads of Porsches in Bristol, mostly Boxsters or 911s, so the odd 944 turns the heads!

 

[Mikie_gb]

Cripes, what's wrong with them?! £2k sounds like big money.

Four dents in the cills where two different garages placed lift/jacks in the wrong place and crunched the edge of the cills. (I warn garages now on dropping the car off. Teeth clenched and wheel spanner in hand).

Then a while back I noticed that infamous bubble in the rippled finish at the rear, out comes the screw driver and before I know what is what the corner of the wheel arch and half a foot along the underside of the cill is lying in a red dust heap on the garage floor. So. that is the base of the rear wing stuffed and a section of the body pan and the inner arch where it meets the body pan and the section around the torsion bar. Not much gone off each panel but that is four seperate panels damaged. So although the body looks OK in Photos (small blemish now sealed, where you can't see it, it is shot where it meets the floor pan. Will post pics maybe in another thread.

I think £2k is ott. While I don't want a bodge-up I think yon porsche approved beater upper over estimated the value of the car not realising that in real world terms that is half if not more the value of a reasonable example on the open market.

No other rust anywhere else on the body, so why this fell apart so spectacularly is beyond me.