New member, and I am sure same boring questions that are always asked!

[Guest]

Good afternoon,

I am a new member and soon to be a new owner of a Porsche, Basically I have decided to ditch the GTI and 200SX Idea and get a Porsche (944) for weekends and general fun. However the thing that I have really noticed since looking is the vast price difference between cars, even of similar mileage, year, condition and model. I have realised that there is no way that I can afford an S2, or newer 2.7; however I have seen many 2.5 95'ish cars around, for pretty resonable prices.
The car that I have found that I am particularly interested in is a D reg 944 (Oval Dash), in white with full Porsche dealer history and 106k with belts changed at 104k for £3995!
This seems like a shockingly good buy, or am I being a complete mug, is it too good to be true? And of course I have the usual question of which being better a 2.5, 2.5 16v, 2.7? Is there a massive performance difference? Will I be able to scare myself in a standard 2.5? should I save and not follow my heart?
Thankyou for any help,

 

[John Sims]

Hi Kel,

Welcome to the gang.

Personaly, I wouldn't go for a 2.5S as you have all the problems associated with the twin cam engine (chain wear and tensioner failure) without any of the advantages.

The 2.5 Lux is a great car. I had one and still miss it.

All car manufacturers update their cars over time, but Porsche seem to do it much faster than most, so I would try to get as young a model as possible. As an example there were extensive changes from the 85 model to 86:-

'86 Lux got Turbo's lighter cast-aluminium lower front wishbones and rear semi-trailing arms, flush mounted windscreen with radio aerial, UK wipers park on left, seats lowered by 30mm steering wheel raised by 18mm, battery moved to the rear, increased oil sump and pump capacity and enlarged oil galleries, polyurethane fuel tank, lighter starter motor, revised transaxle fixings and a few other bits and bobs.

'87 got improved wheel bearings (and means you can fit wheels off later cars without spacers) and a sport suspension option.

'88 got a reduced compression ratio and reduced power so perhaps best avoided in favour of an 87 car.

 

[nfearn]

Kel, hi

The quickest and I would suggest the best way to get a feel for the various 944 variants is to look at a number of cars at one time, so you can start to develop a feel for what is a good 944.

The event that springs to mind is the Porsche Festival at Brands Hatch (Sunday and Monday of the August Bank Holiday weekend) - see PCGB website for more details.

If you come along and make yourself know to the friendly folks on the 944 Register stand you'll find there's plenty of people who will be delighted to give you a guided tour of the cars there, pointing out good and bad points of each.

By the way, £4k for a 2.5 944 is by no means inexpensive. I would expect to get a very nice car, possibly with less than 80 or 100k miles, for that kind of money.

regards
Nick Fearn
Asst Register Secretary, 944 Register, PCGB

 

[wedgepilot]

ORIGINAL: John Sims

Personaly, I wouldn't go for a 2.5S as you have all the problems associated with the twin cam engine (chain wear and tensioner failure) without any of the advantages.

Oooh, controversial! []

Don't discount the poor old S, it has a not insignificant power/torque increase over the lux, and a few other bits and pieces like bigger ARB's, turbo gearbox (albeit with different ratios and no cooler), better emissions/economy, etc.

There's a decent comparison of the various models on
Pistonheads.com if you haven't seen it already.

Best thing is to drive as many as you can before deciding.

Regards,
Alan

 

[Guest]

Hi Kel,

welcome...I joined this forum two days ago. So also a total newcomer, although I've been driving my 86 Auto Lux for years. Still finding my way around this site, but I can assure you that a good late 80's Lux is a fine car.
You're talking just 3.5K for one that is "good condition for year and mileage".(120-140,000 miles) That means FSH either Porsche or Specialist, with receipts, mots etc. Keep about another 1.5-2K in the bank for stuff you want/need to do, and £600 for a good service.
AA do a police/insurance check for about £40.
Excitement factor...I drive the slowest version 0-60 about 8 secs, cruises endlessly at 105-110mph. Far from neck-breaking but cornering at high speed is the best in the world...fact! When everyone else slows down for that bend, floor it and the old girl sticks (even to a wet road) like glue.
Hope you get on well with your purchase.
Keep your sensible head on.
Check everything you would check on a 'normal' car.

Best wishes,

KEITH SCZ

 

[Guest]

i have a 2.5 lux just spent 3k on it its like new but i am going to get a s2. its in guards red, had a new clutch/ belts/ sunroof seal/ boot seal/ new boot catch/ oil cooler/ throttle cam/ and the car is totaly origional with full history and loads of previous bills mots and service recipts/ i want 4.5K with the brand new cup 2 17" alloys with new pirelli 6000 tyres. oh and trust me this car really will get you scared because you wont believe how fast you can really take those corners. i raced my friend in a 360 ferrari on a country road and thrashed all over him. hope you manage to find the car of your dreams (mine hopefully, as i need the money) oh and im in leeds if your interested..