Search for a 944 Starts Badly

[peacher]

Been on the lookout for a 944 and decided to go and have a look at one that was for sale at an Independent Garage not too far away from where I live today. Alarm bells should really have gone off when there was only a few pictures of the car on the internet and it was pretty cheap (£2400, 89 2.7 lux). Nevertheless, it was fairly local so thought I would at least go for a look.

Parked across the road from the garage and things were immediately not looking good (had a large dent in the front drivers wing - conveniently no pics had been taken of that). Thought since I had driven there I should at least get out and have a walk round it which revealed;- peeling lacquer all over the front end, more dents on the body work and a badly ripped front seat - didn't even bother looking any further and was back in my car in 60 seconds!

 

[DivineE]

Not an uncommon find, sorry you wasted your time

 

[ukmastiff]

HI, firstly lo and I hope you enoy your search, I love the searching for cars part

Secondly in this day and age 2400 is not alarmingly cheep for a lux by any means.
You can get a well decent one privately for that sort of money and if it was me I would buy one privately and hopefully from an enthusiast (proper). For what it's worth I would be looking for a 2.7 or an 'S' for your budget not a 2.5 but thats just me.

Take a look at the one for sale in the sales section of this forum. O.K I'll admit its 3500 not 2400 but Ant still hasnt sold it as far as I know and it's probably as good a 2.7 as you could find. I'm not suggesting you buy it or anyhting but its a good price comparison as its an absolute peach and hasn't rushed out of the door ( at the right money though youd be mad not too).

There are plenty of decent luxes around from 2,000 to 2,500 ( and the odd good 's') as above that you get in to S2 money.

Possibly worth waiting until one of the many club members ( P.C.G.B or TIPEC) sell one of their cherished luxes since sadly due to the financial situation many long term folk are selling their well looked after cars at the moment.

Best of Luck

Mas

 

[Northern924]

Good advise there, a friend of mine bought an S2 recently from a TIPEC member at Shugbrough Hall for a shade under £2k very well looked after example and with huge service history file. Just keep looking yours is out there []

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Alarm bells should really have gone off when there was only a few pictures of the car on the internet and it was pretty cheap (£2400, 89 2.7 lux).

Eeek! £2.4K is really top money for a Lux in the present market, no way is it cheap. Don't confuse advertised prices with what they actually sell for. I'm not trying to devalue the cars here, one problem is that they are so cheap they aren't appreciated, just that good cars are struggling to sell at reasonable prices.

Not to say you shouldn't pay that amount. Just that I'd expect really decent bodywork and interior plus good recent history for that price. At least a few of the major jobs that a car of this age will require should be done, so look for a selection from the usual list of suspects including clutch, brakes, suspension, fuel and brake lines, belts with water pump etc. The more the previous owner has spent recently the better.

 

[peacher]

Thanks Paul.

I am beginning to realise that £2.5K is top money for some of these cars. My previous assumption was based on a couple of luxs I had seen advertised locally for around £3K but have just spotted an S2 which seems a bit more reasonably priced.

 

[OLD_ian]

I bought mine recently and paid just over £3k for it. I'm certain I overpaid for it, but the others i'd looked at were similarly priced or more expensive and many were in simply appalling condition. It usually went something like this, photos in ad look perfect, phone call sounds good. 30 second look at the car shows that the body is all rust and bondo under a layer of shiny paint. My search was hindered by not having a car, so some of the people I spoke to who sounded like they had good genuine cars were quite difficult for me to visit. In the end I looked at my car locally, the body was great and the rest of the car, while not perfect is pretty good.

Frankly even if I spend another 1500 getting it sorted, it's still a hell of a bargain. It's lovely to drive, still feels solid and properly built, and it's surprisingly comfortable. Where else can you get that for this kind of money?