Considering buying a 944

[craiginuk]

Hi, very new to the forum so hello.

I am considering buying a 944 in the near future. Budget will be around £3500 and then can probably manage about £100 a month on maintenance for it. I have seen a few around the £2700 mark but even if mechanically sound, the bodies seem to be needing work that is out of my skill set.

I've been told the S2 or Turbo is the one to go for. Not sure why though. Can anyone give me a bit of an introduction to pros and cons of the various models please?

What do I need to pay for something that won't need work straight away, and what do I need to watch out for? I have read a lot about rust in the sills but don't know how to check for it properly without poking a screwdriver through it - hardly going to make a prospective seller happy... How do you check these? From inside car or underneath? I've seen one where the actual outer skin is showing bubbling but the sill itself appeared OK.

Are there any buyer's guides available?

Thanks in advance.

Craig

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Hi Craig,

Your best bet is to read through previous threads on this forum, it covers pretty much everything.

Basically, with your budget I'd buy a good 8-valve NA car, and avoid the S2 and Turbo. I don't do any work myself, so have to pay garage prices, but my S2 is dramatically more to run than my old Lux was.

 

[craiginuk]

Thanks Paul, Just reading a thread on sills now. Was also thinking the S2 and Turbo may be a bit heavy for my limited monthly budget. Power wise is there a huge difference?

 

[Mystique]

Hi Craig,

How much maintenance will you be doing yourself?? - this can make all the difference on a £100/ month budget.

Graham.

 

[craiginuk]

Hi Graham,

I'd be happy tackling most of the mechanical aspects of the car. Oil, filter, plugs etc. Not kitted up for a total engine out job etc and my experience has mainly been on bikes the last few years. First car was an old' 72 escort that I did a full rebuild engine rebuild on in my teens.

Fairly mechanically minded so happy to take on most things suspension etc. Just never tried anything cosmetic on cars and don't really want to.

Does the 944 need a lot of maintenance? Will be just for the weekends really so won't be doing high mileage..

 

[JamesBall]

You should expect £1000 to £1500 in the first year. It just seems to be the way it is. My Turbo cost me over £2k in the first year inc servicing and I do very little myself on the car. Of course there are exceptions but generally these are not cheap cars to run (unless you do the work yourself)

 

[Suffolk944]

ORIGINAL: craiginuk

Thanks Paul, Just reading a thread on sills now. Was also thinking the S2 and Turbo may be a bit heavy for my limited monthly budget. Power wise is there a huge difference?

Hi Craig,

Yes a fair difference - a Lux has 163bhp, and S has 190bhp (very peaky engine though). the S2 has 211bhp, Early Turbos 220bhp, Later Turbos 250bhp. Modified turbos go all the way up to around 400bhp.

 

[Lowtimer]

On that budget if you shop wisely and carefully, you will be able to get a very good Lux, and if I were out buying a car with that amount to spend, a really good Lux is exactly what I would look for. You would have to be a lot luckier to get a really good Turbo or S2 for that money, and with any Porsche you should buy on condition - the best quality individual car (which on any given day might be the example of its sub-type with the highest windscreen price) is always the one that gives you the lowest bills in the long run.

The Lux is a car that can easily keep up with the best of the modern 2-litre diesel repmobiles, and as the owner of a current model BMW 320D let me assure you that I don't say that to damn the Porsche with faint praise. A Lux in good nick has about the same straight-line go as my BMW, which means both will leave something like a 2.8i Capri for dead, and both are pretty quick. As many will point out, though, the real pleasure is in the balance and poise of the cars. With suspension and brakes in good fettle a Lux is still a genuinely rapid car across country once you have learned its ways, an d a pleasurable and predictable thing to drive. Incidentally, although the 190 bhp 2.5 16v S has more paper horsepower than the Lux (and don't confuse the S with the much beefier 211 bhp 3.0 litre S2), in reality on the public highway, the S is no faster than the Lux, because the Lux has a much stronger bottom-end and midrange.

Don't buy anything that shows external bubbling on the sills. If it has evidence of recent paintwork, find out who did the body rectification and paint and talk to them about what they did and didn't do to the car. These cars are of such high inherent quality that they can look superficially good, and drive OK, while being very tired indeed, so the one you want has a history file which shows the owner has been refreshing things on the basis of them being old and worn out, not merely fixing whatever needs to be fixed to make the car pass an MOT and start in the mornings. Be aware that on cars which have never had a head gasket replacement, head gaskets are starting to corrode out through sheer age, so a head gasket replacement and head overhaul in the last few years counts as a strong bonus.

The S2 is a fair bit quicker and a lightly modified Turbo is a rocket-ship by comparison, but less user-friendly. The Lux remains an excellent package, very well balanced in every way, and a conspicuous bargain (mind you, all 924s, 944s and 968s are conspicuous bargains if you buy the very best examples of each sub-type).

The only other thing you need to know is that white is the fastest colour! But I love them all, regardless of colour, even the red ones...

 

[craiginuk]

Thanks low timer, that's some great advice. Of the lux model, are there any to look for. Square dash vs round dash etc? I,ve read reports of the older ones being less prone to rust etc. I guess it's a case of looking at as many as possible.

 

[Lowtimer]

As you will read if you devote an evening going back through the forum, the choice between square-dash and oval dash cars is quite significant. The later cars are more the grand tourer, smoother, more modern-feeling and more refined, while the early cars are a bit more elemental and old-school, a bit more darty and pointy. Try both and see which appeals.

Don;t worry about which model might be more prone to rust: just buy the most solid, thoroughly maintained, rust-free example that you can find of the type that draws you more strongly.

.

 

[Hairyarse]

This could be good if the work was done well - http://pistonheads.co.uk/sales/3053951.htm

Not sure if it's known on here?

Good luck in your search and welcome []

Andy

 

[craiginuk]

Thanks for the welcome Andy! That looks really good. Have asked for more pics. Cheers. Craig

 

[Hairyarse]

No worries, it does look tidy. Let us know how you get on

...and if you need help or a second opinion on anything you're viewing I'm sure there'll be someone on here in your area willing to volunteer []

 

[Lowtimer]

Craig

Do make sure you see several cars, ideally of various sub-types, and experience them and give them a good look over, even if only as a passenger, as you will learn a lot that way and end up getting a better one than if you just go out and buy one. You have not said where you are based. Chances are you will be close by at least one or two of the folk on here, and most of us, I am sure, would be happy to show you over their cars and give you a ride round so you can get some first hand experience. It would be very useful for you to come to one of the big PCGB events if at all possible. Especially this one, and it's quite soon...
http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=587742

 

[craiginuk]

Thanks all - based in Sevenoaks, Kent but work up in Rugby Warwickshire a couple of days a week. Also travel around uk a bit for work. Will definitely have a look at a few first.

Time is on my side as i Also need to get my wife to warm to the idea. Am considering selling my honda fireblade to exchange for a toy (944) I can use in all weather and take the little ones in (age 2&5) occasionally. Would have thought she would be happy but plan might need a bit more work. Watch this space!

Thanks again for the warm welcome to the forum.

Craig

 

[craiginuk]

Hi - went to look at this one today. This pic is on drivers side. Actual underside of sill looks ok except for the big hole in the underside of the wing (See next pic)

Mechanically car seems good with a decent amount of history. Passed MOT in APRIL with no advisories. Drives really well but not a haapy bunny cosmetically

My gut feeling though is walk away Any thoughts? 1988 Lux with 125000miles asking 2695 (Dealership)

 

[Gavin944s2]

Check it out thoughley, if its externa rust l, its cosmetic. Nothing that cannot be cured very cheeply. Check the rear of the sills internally. a good garage can fix the sill up reasonably priced, even if there Kna**ckered !! Look at loads before you choose. History helps, old mots etc etc.. Good luck.....get one soon , you will not regret it

 

[Fat Albert]

I went looking for the best example of any model for up to £3k just over a couple of years ago and ended up buying a 194k Turbo for £2,600
Cosmetically it was unloved but mechanically it had been maintained regardless of expense and it was the most 'honest' car I drove

It has been a fantastic car, I have done 22,000 miles in it in 28 months and have spent £3,500 on it in total

I spent 6 hours in it today, many of which stationary going either direction over the Dartford crossing without it skipping a beat, all whilst hitting 216,000 miles!

Oh and the Air Con still works.....

 

[zcacogp]

Craig,

Hi - we met on the PH thread you started. Well done and thank you for coming over here; you'll get good advice and quite often first dibs on good cars for sale.

Everything said here thus far is good. Find the best example you can, and buy it. 'Best' means both the most rust-free and the most mechanically sound. Remember, nice people sell nice cars, and buy a car as much on it's previous owner as on the car itself.

If you don't know much about 944's then it may be worth either paying for a Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) at a local indie, or taking someone who does know them along with you. There are a number of members on here around the country, and if you find one you take a shine to then ask around on here; it may be a known car, or someone may be happy to come and have a gander for a couple of pints of beer. I'm not that far from you (East End of London), and am more than happy to extend this favour if you find one in my neck of the woods (which is a bit unlikely, but not impossible; I bought my S2 from a chap pretty close to you in Kent.)

That one you have shown photos of looks rusty in the front wings, which is rare for a Lux (Lux's tend to do better on the rust front than S2's/turbos), and I would be wondering where else the tinworm had got to. However, if the rust is no worse than that pictured then it may be a good 'un yet; such rust is cosmetic and unlikely to be structural.

An evenings good reading on here will be very educational. Do come back with questions.

Oh, and welcome!


Oli.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Hi Craig
I'm in Leicester, have had an early square dash and now have a late Lux.
As Oli says lots of would be happy to look at locally advertised cars.
My number is 07811 944 953.
Good luck