Possible purchase

[appletonn]

Honest opinion? Spend a little bit more on buying the car rather than spending even more sorting rust and damaged interior. Those rust bubbles could cost you £1k to sort out properly, plus another £400 to sort the seats. The paintwork looks a little like it's been 'blown' over at some point to tart it up and that's before you think about the gearbox - that said, all 944s have slight or significant wines from box/diff and it might improve with a gearbox oil change - or it might need a rebuild! I would get a local indi to stick it on a ramp and have a good look around underneath. Good luck!

 

[rav]

Im still on my quest to get back into the best car i ever had. I want a 944 turbo.

Ive seen a 1989 G plate 944 turbo advertised. Its up for £3750 and is white with blue pin strip cloth interior. Car has 102k miles on it.

So my questions are:

1. Seller mentions a slight gearbox/trans axle whine. What is this all about and what can it cost to fix?
2. I have asked for pictures inside the vent panels within the door shut. Looking carefully (bottom left of picture) i can see rust and also the white of the plastic bodykit? How bad does this look and what will it cost to fix?

Some further pictures are here including rust spots on doors http://s123.photobucket.com/albums/o310/rsb377/G269%20EBL/

Please let me know your opinions.

 

[944 man]

Good in theory, but the harsh reality is that all 944s are suffering now; just as the galvanised 911s did before them. S2 and Turbo sills are a little worse and plain silled cars a little better, but they all need work, unless someone recently spent a lot of money.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

they all need work, unless someone recently spent a lot of money.

True, my new one needs one wing repairing and will need treating so stop the small amount of rust spreading. That's after me taking care to find a good one. [&o] There are really good cars out there, but they take some finding and it's unusual to find a cheap turbo that won't need so much money spent on it that it's no longer a cheap turbo! I guess the choice is between how much work you want to do over time and how much you pay up front.

 

[DavidL]

I don't think that looks too bad for the money. Those rust bits were on the doors rather than the sills weren't they? Yes the wheel arches aren't great but they won't be an MOT failure and could be treated and filled to stop it getting worse before the are cut out. Unless you look for a long time or get very lucky you aren't going to find a rot free one for this money but there my be the option to accept what there is and prevent further deterioration before getting stuck in and cutting it all out. The crests on the wings are a bit chav (its not a Ferrari!) but each to their own and they look like they might be heated seats which would be a bonus. It does rather depend on the rest of it. Does it boost properly, belts, brakes, waterpump, exhaust etc etc. Certainly worth a bit more digging. Just my 2p

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Those rust bits were on the doors rather than the sills weren't they?

I thought the picture with the daylight showing through was the sill? [8|] You're right, if everything else is fantastic it's worth the money and spend some on the bodywork. If it needs a clutch and a belts/waterpump service soon, and has caliper lift and needs brake and fuel lines it's less of a bargain. From the look of it a proper job on the bodywork will be 2 sills, 4 wing bottoms and, unusually, work on the doors. And, probably paint most of it.

 

[Alpine]

the inside of that cill looks pretty clean to me, but you need to check yourself with a torch the bottom of that door looks as though it has a number of bubles, but I bet it just needs a rub down, a bit of suface filler and a re-spray along the bottom of the door, up to the rubbing strip. I don't think that would be too expensive. is the car at a dealer? could the damage on the seat indicate that it has done more miles than £102k it looks a nice one, and in the best colour too !

 

[rav]

Good point Phil, but the damage is on the vynil and ot on the material of the seat. The car is on sale privately.

 

[Alpine]

oh yes, you might be right there, its just on the corner, not the cloth. I'd still get it checked out by an independant, to be safe

 

[edh]

If it hasn't had paint, then you may be OK - the rust isn't structural, so you have plenty of time to get it sorted My worry about any car that looks a bit sad, is whether the owner has paid any attention to maintenance at all - If you are handy with tools, then this isn't a problem, but if you have to pay for somenone to do belts, waterpump, calipers etc.. then it will be expensive. Then there's all the other little problems - hatch seals/catches, sunroof, water leaks, heating full on, etc... Paul's (Hilux) car is a much better bet - and I can guarantee will be cheaper over 2-3 years (probably over the first 6 months). I've never seen his car in the flesh, but you know he has looked after it (and it has all the great suspension goodies )

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Here you go again doom and gloom 944 ownership I can not beleive that all of you have concourse cars that you have had to do no work on. I bought my 944 cab 2 years ago yes in your opinions its a shed and i should not have bought it(as above) shock horror it has filler in the body work shock horror it has had a blow over shock horror it has a noisey gearbox shock horror it has slight signs of sill rust worse of all the service history is minimal

I don't think there's anyone here saying they've not spent money on their cars? As we keep banging on about, even a well-bought car will be likely to cost at least £1K to run in it's first year. You might get lucky, or be a DIYer, but everyone who has had the cars long-term quotes £1K per year as an average. That's not doom and gloom, that's the real cost of running one of Porsche's finest cars and a true useable classic. Pretty cheap, and pretty good news, actually. [] What people are saying about the car in this thread is that it will cost more in total than some initially higher-priced cars once the bodywork is done. Assuming the mechanicals are all great, it's possibly worth throwing money at the body. What's wrong with pointing this out to someone considering buying it? You might be right that not everyone wants a concourse car, I certainly don't. I also don't want to be driving a car around that is seriously tatty and getting worse. There's a middle ground. Please don't forget that once the sills are rotted through, as it appears the car above could be suffering from judging by what looks like daylight in the pic, it's likely that the car will need welding for the MOT. The area behind the outer sill and rear wing is structural, so it's not a case of doom and gloom but advice to get it checked before buying and budget accordingly. [8|] The list of things you say are wrong with your car are fine as you're aware of them and prepared to either live with them or pay to get them put right. Please accept that some people aren't aware of exactly what to look for, and where the big bills might come from, so it's up to us to advise them. It would be slightly churlish to tell a prospective owner to spend most of his budget on a car we can see needs further investigation without mentioning it, and giving a rough idea of what the costs could be?

 

[rav]

Thanks all -it wasnt my plan to cause any ruptions, but i can see both sides of the arguement. I will go and see the car in the flesh this weekend and coming week. I have narrowed the search down to two cars now. The white one as in the start of this thread and a 944 turbo 220bhp on a C plate. I prefer the newer 250bhp car, but the older 1986 silver car is a two owner machine.

 

[u63af]

For the money it looks quite good value. You would probably be able to get the paintwork and rust sorted out by a good local painter cash in hand for not that much. It would be a good bargaining point if one of the sills is dodgy then negotiate the price down to reflect it. The seat does not look too bad. The side of the seat is vinyl and is not expensive to repair. I would estimate the drivers seat to cost £100-150 to replace the damaged panel. If I were in your position then I would look at it and drive it and if it seems ok then go for it. At the end of the day, it is a 20 yr old car and will have problems. Spending more money on a car does not guarantee that you will not have problems. I bought my 1990 turbo for £5k it has had a few issues and was not immaculate. So far I have spent about £200 on leads, plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter. Then spent £300 on dual port tial wastegate, £75 on greddy profec, £180 on promax chip, £50 on 3 bar fpr. I had both front seats re-conolised. Car probably needs £200 on bodywork to redo the stone chipping on sills. But I now have a good example at a cost of about £6k. I have the comfort of knowing the parts I put on it are new aswell. I would hold out for a 250 bhp car. The 220 cars are good but it is worth getting the lsd and bigger brakes of the newer car. The most important thing to remember is the the car is not guards red. It is a well known fact that red cars are worth 10 times that of any other colour and that they are faster. Red paint gives the car another 200 bhp. :[]

 

[rav]

UA63af, Your reply has been the best so far from this forum and any i have placed this request for information. Your honest opinion is great to hear. I know that red cars are by far the best and as my budget is low, i must steer clear of the high power /quality of red cars. I will let you know how i get on.

 

[James_G]

ORIGINAL: u63af So far I have spent about £200 on leads, plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter. Then spent £300 on dual port tial wastegate, £75 on greddy profec, £180 on promax chip, £50 on 3 bar fpr. I had both front seats re-conolised. Car probably needs £200 on bodywork to redo the stone chipping on sills. But I now have a good example at a cost of about £6k. I have the comfort of knowing the parts I put on it are new aswell.

That's the sort of maintenance bill I could only dream of. I am very pleased for you. Alas, mines a different story in that I've had to replace the lower wishbones/bushes/shocks/discs/pads/heater matrix along with all sorts of weird and wonderful trim items. So to the OP, choose wisely.

ORIGINAL: u63af I would hold out for a 250 bhp car. The 220 cars are good but it is worth getting the lsd and bigger brakes of the newer car.

Agreed, although I hear they are more laggy?!?

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: James_G Agreed, although I hear they are more laggy?!?

They're all laggy as they come compared to your S2 James! Oli.

 

[jasonp]

hiya rav, i think she looks fine and bodywork/seat issues seem not to big a deal and yes i would go for the 250bhp would ideally be better [imho] and yes we all have to spend money on our cars, i have no mechanical skills what so ever and take any woes straight to my local specialist, at present about to have bonnet/lights/pass side wing re-laquered and wheels refurbed, all this work is by choice instead of nessesity, i would check/have checked all big jobs have been done, regular services, all mechanical bits checked which could make a cheap car a false economy, i am sure you know all this stuff already, so good luck and if your ever in the essex/east london area and a g/red 944s2 on a g reg is behind you, please do the right thing and move over*as we red 944s2s ARE quicker, once again good luck and enjoy your wise purchase whatever you go for [220 0r250bhp] regards jason p

 

[u63af]

I have not driven a 220 bhp one so do not know about the lag difference between the two. Once you get used to the power band, the lag doesnt really matter, just have to keep the revs up. I think the 250 bhp holds power better up to the red line as the turbo is better. It would not be that hard to make a 220 bhp car up to 250 bhp spec its mainly the lsd and bigger brakes that made me get a 250 bhp over my previous MO30 s2. A supercharged s2 would be amazing. After having both an s2 and a turbo, the s2 has better low down grunt but the turbo is ultimatley faster. All the best with the hunt for the car. Cheers Sandy

 

[944 man]

Id leave an early car making 220bhp. Youd be sacrificing drivability and longevity: every high miler is a 220, after all.....