What 944?

[Guest]

Hi im new to the forum just joined. Im thinking of buying myself a 944. Just looking for some advice on what to buy. What is the best model to buy? Best year to buy? Does milege have a huge affect on them? Was thinking about the 2.7 lux. What year did they 2.7 start as i believe they were originally a 2.5?

cheers

 

[Fen]

Hi John, Welcome to the forum. In terms of what's best, it depends what you want it for and what your budget is. Money no object (but still sub £8k) a Turbo or S2 depending if your into modifying or not. If you want to spend a little less then any of the "Lux" models which were 2.5, 2.7 or 2.5 16V. The 2.7 I think only ran for one year (1989?) and I believe was a marketing exercise to put it ahead of some perceived competitor of the day, though I forget now what that was. The 16V 2.5 944S is not generally that well thought of, but only because it shares the 16V head with the same potential issues as the 3.0 S2, but doesn't have quite the power or the updated looks to go with it. Search as this is a topic that has been discussed a few times in the past, or possibly give a bit more info on budget and intended use for more specific advice.

 

[Guest]

Cheers for the info. I have owned loads of vws. I currently have a mk 3 golf gti 16v but have decided to come away from the hot hatches and buy a porsche.(fancied one for a while) Just worried about taking the plunge. I will have a good rake about the buyers guides and see what i come up with.

cheers

 

[Fen]

Coming from a 16V GTI and (presumably) using it every day I'd suggest an S2 if you can run to it. £6k is plenty to buy a nice one if you keep your eyes open and know what to look at. Ideally have £7k in the kitty as it will have a few things you want sorted when you get it and you'll be set. Unless you are unlucky or do astronomical miles you should run it for another £1k a year and I doubt they can depreciate much lower than they are currently.

 

[Guest]

£7K is a bit out of my budget i think. Was thinking about £4K to get myself a 2.7 lux. What can i expect to get in a 2.7 lux in regards to spec etc?

cheers

 

[Fen]

A nice Lux is about right for a£4k bugdet; probably pay closer to £3k for a really nice one and hold some money back for tidying up. Spec wise you will be looking at pot luck I'd say, in that you should buy a nice car if you see it regardless of the toys it may or may not have. Most will come with cloth seats (velour pinstripe, "logo" or "studio tartan check) and a sunroof, a handful with leather or air-con. All will be 5 speed manual with 'leccy windows, 15" alloys, ABS (at the age of the 2.7) etc. Available options would have been electric seats, metallic paint, heated seats, sports seats, air-con, "hi-fi" stereo (it's still rubbish), leather front seats, full leather (you won't find it), "toast rack" rear valance, sports suspension, telephone, cloth door card inserts, full cloth seats (standard has "leatherette" bolsters) plus no doubt many others that I'll let other people think of.

 

[ross255]

When i was first looking for my 944 I considered them all. 2.5, 2.7 s2, even a 968. But whent with a turbo, as you gotta have power. If you are not going to get a turbo, its either s2, or if you can stretch to the extra cash a 968.

 

[Diver944]

If you have a £4k budget then definitely do not buy over £3k in case you find things that need doing in the first few months. Older 944s are cheap to buy nowadays but it's still made from Porsche parts and some things can be scarey expensive.

As Fen said, do not set your heart on anything specific in options or colour but LOOK AT LOADS all over the country because there is a huge difference between a money pit and a good car, but most of them will look similar because the build quality is very good. An 18 year old 944 can look as good as a 3-4 year old car, but it can still be a pile of pooh underneath, so take your time to attune yourself to a good one. Try to buy one from a genuine 944 anorak who has spent far too much money maintaining it than what its worth (that'll be most of us on here then [:-])

The wait will be worth it []

 

[jr2015]

Hi,
Lots of sound advice in the above, I would add, check what state the fuel lines and clutch are in on ANY car you look at as both jobs are expensive and are a bit ambitious for DIY unless you have access to a fully-equipped garage.I`d budget a grand for the clutch and probably not much less for the fuel lines.
I run an early 2.5, 8 valve which is not as complicated as the later models ,working on the "there`s less to go wrong " principle.I would guess that any aircon system will need the thick end of a grand to sort out, so do you really need it?Do you want a sports car or a tourer?
Happy hunting,
jr.

 

[sawood12]

Also take a look from underneath at the condition of the very bottom of the wings. The bottom is open so if you can get your head under there with a maglight you should be able to see right up inside the wings. I'd guarantee that there will be some corrosion there but you need to double check that there isn't a hole that might be hidden from the outside by the mottled Wruth coating that runs along the bottom 5 inches or so of the sill. You're looking at anywhere between £300 - £500 per wing at a decent bodyshop to put right if there are holes (unless you are a dab hand at bodywork repairs that is). Good luck and enjoy shopping around.

 

[Guest]

Cheers for all the help guys. Will have a good look around for a good one(hopefully). Will keep you posted as to what i do

cheers

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Speaking as a 2.7 owner I will give you some info on them and why it was my first choice as a stepping stone to the Porsche family

The 2.7 was originally made to be the new entry level Porsche as the 924s production had ceased the previous year, however they couldn't just continue with the base 2.5 944 as it was starting to get a rough time by the press as prices were rising steadily yet the specification remained the same, the answer to this was to up the game just a little, 2-5bhp depending on who you believe but the real difference was in a noticeable torque increase.

The car however never really made much of an impact lets face it the 2.7 unit only made 165 bhp Vs the 3.0 211bhp S2 ,and looking at the figures it's a huge jump so what would you pick back then?. In total there was only 5421 of the 2.7 944 made and it was a near 50/50 split exported between the USA/and the rest of the world, quite a low number and is such in my opinion the 3rd rarest of all production model 944s, 1st being the turbo cup 2nd the 944 turbo cabriolet

Now as to why I choose it,, at the time I never knew much about the pros/cons only that the 8vs were deemed the most reliable of the bunch, reliability was to me the most important factor anyway as I knew from looking around at the available cars that most were high mileage, an easy 95% of those I looked at were over 100thousand miles which really put me off the 16 valve heads and there impressive horsepower figures, I thought to myself why spend all this money if there was a fair chance of an expensive rebuild somewhere in the near future, so I went looking for a good 2.5 8v and came across a 2.7 automatic and did a bit of reading up. I also had the fortune of having my girlfriend's father who is mechanic and Porsche 911 3.2 carrera owner so thankfully knows his stuff and advised me to get the 2.7 which on his advice I am happy I did

I have now owned my 944 for over 8 months and love her to bits, so much so she's booked into a local bodyshop to get a respray even though its not really needed but I think after 17 years and 170 thousand miles the old gal deserves a facelift

Now im away for my tea as this post took a bit longer to write than expected but iv always been told when its something your passionate about the extra time is worth it

Thanks for reading my rather long winded post and I wish you good luck with whatever you may choose

stuart