Help on buying a 944 S2 cab

[Guest]

I currently have a 3.2 911, however I am looking to purchase a 944 S2 cab for use over the summer. Other than the standard checks for leaks, cam belts / chains and noise from the rear end, I don't really know what to look for when buying.

I have recently found a 1990 S2 cab which has covered 127K miles. The car is in very good condition and has just had the belts / chains done. The car is being sold by a good non-porsche dealer, however they calim that the service history has been lost. The car was previously sold be Autobahn who have confirmed that when they sold it the history was present. They are asking £7,500 for the car ( which the claim reflects the history problem), but I'm not sure if it is worth it without the history ?

The only fault I can find with the body work is 2 small spots of corrosion on the tops ob both doors - this is usual.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Fen]

Corrosion on the doors is not usual. I've never had a 944 with visible corrosion anywhere.

£7,500 is very low-end money for a cab and coming from a dealer it is cheap if the car is good. Depending on the supplying dealer concerned you may be able to rebuild some history. Unfortunately when an OPC closes they destroy the archive (or used to at least) but if it was supplied and looked after by one of those still going then you should be able to get some info - but only if you own the car. What would a 944 S2 Cab with no history be worth when you come to sell? I would guess that just now about £6k if it is fit enough to pass an inspection with no major problems.

Aside from the cams/chain, which is a big issue with S2's - and the case hardening is now going on the cams of all those I know personally that have been checked, so just a chain and tensioner may not prevent broken teeth - other things to look out for are all the 944 usual stuff like oil leaks, sticking brake calipers, stiff gearchange, leaky power steering, worn suspension bushes, signs of accident damage, signs of leaking into the cabin. Being a cab you also need to consider the condition of the hood. If it hasn't been replaced then it probably needs to be - the stitching wears away and the cloth goes thin around the top of the C-pillar area. Also check the mechanism to see it works smoothly as the frames can be bent or even broken. It's over £1,000 to replace the hood.

Overall I wouldn't necessarily shy away from the car after your description, but the corrosion on the doors would worry me slightly. Perhaps it's just due to the rubber strips being off and the clips scratching through the paint & zinc coating when they were refitted, but why were they off? Has it been painted? Front end resprays are common but the doors would not normally be included.

Worst case you may have to spend £1,500 having the cams replaced and £1,100 on a new hood, plus get the paint fixed. That would see you owning a £12k cab with no history. Better to spend £12k on a proper one in that case. Then again you may be able to buy this car and only need to get the paint fixed with it standing you in at £8k, in which case it isn't a bad deal. Is the dealer offering any sort of warranty?

 

[ricky944]

FAO Fen,

On trying to get service records back.......does it cost and how do you prove the cars yours if the service station is a great distance would you have to drive their.

The reason being is that i am missing some history for my S2 Cab from Parker & Parker in Cumbria and was wondering the same thing.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Fen]

Richard - I've never done it.

I once bought a 944 Turbo unseen from an auction and tried to chase down its history. It turned out it came from Malaya Garage which was long gone (even at that time) - this came from a friend at Exeter OPC.

I did find it had recently visited a dealer in Yorkshire and called them. The service manager verbally gave me a rundown of the work they had done on the car (89 point check basically - more than 89 problems though!) after I told him it was mine. He gave the impression that an OPC will release copy invoices for a car that they have worked on, but only to the owner.

I fixed the major suspension problem so it was at least not unsafe and sold the car on for a £50 profit because even at £3,500 for an '89 SE 3 1/2 years ago it wasn't worth resurrecting. I wish I'd swapped its forged alloys for the D90's from the S2 I bought to replace it before I did though...

 

[Diver944]

I think it's another one of those situations where every dealer has their own policy. When I first got mine I had stamp but no invoice from the Northampton OPC and while they told me what work had been done, they would not give me a copy because of Data Protection etc. Many years later I helped a friend who bought a car from the Glasgow OPC and they gave him copies of everything.

Depends if they are having a good day or not I suppose

 

[ricky944]

Fen/Diver944

Got my reply and yes you was right...they would not give me copies of invoices as they are bound by the Data Protection as you said Paul.

But they did e-mail all the work that was carried out.

Regards
Richard