Newbie here looking for 944

[A5OPY]

Hi my name is Andy and I live in Bolton Lancs
I'm on the look out for a 944 Turbo and was hoping for some advise and tips on what to look out for etc

I'm Currently on the committee of the VW Golf Mk1 Owners Club and have a very nice Mk1 Cabby which i have restored to a nice condition.
As a members club we currently have about 600 paid members and 400 forum users its a very active site WWW.VWGOLFMK1.ORG.UK
We have club stands at almost all VW shows in the UK,
My job within the Club is the Regional Meet coordinator, my job is to get local meet going throughout the UK.

this is my Golf, I also have a Audi A4 and a Merc Sprinter van, so the German autos are I'm mi blood

What I want to know is the Turbo the one to go for or is the S2 better what are the pit falls etc

I hope to see some of you soon at a meet when i get my dream 944.

 

[James_G]

Welcome! As always it depends on your budget, and don't be fooled into thinking there is such a thing as a cheap Porsche. There isn't.

As an S2 owner I would highly recommend them for everyday/weekend use. However I intend to keep using mine on the track and were I to have my time again, I would opt for one of the later, 250bhp Turbos. Why? Well they have bigger brakes, thicker anti-roll bars, a limited slip diff (well some of them did..) stronger gearbox and obviously more power.

Having said that, I would far rather a tidy and well sorted S2 than a ropey, rot in the sills Turbo. Have a good look through the posts on this forum and you'll quickly see some of the potential purchasing pitfalls for both models. Good luck.

 

[Fen]

Welcome. a Golf sportline is something I'd still quite like in the toybox and I nearly bought myself a Rivage many moons ago.

Anyway James has the basics of what I will tell you. If you want to modify the car to improve its performance then get a Turbo, otherwise stick to the S2 as it is a nicer drive in standard form. You will struggle to find an S2 with leather sports seats and air-con which pretty much all the late Turbos had, but the air-con is frequently a money-pit to get working right and you can swap the seats easily if that bothers you.

On the other hand you won't get much more out of an S2 than it left the factory with in terms of power while a Turbo will go to early 300's bhp without getting silly on the mods, and it will have the bigger brakes, stronger driveshafts & bottom two ratios and LSD (all the 250s had them), plus they usually have more options like the leather (air-con was standard on all Turbos).

If you opt for an S2 then be aware of the cams/chain which is the model's only real Achilles heel.

 

[edh]

Andy

have a read through this recent thread

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=415102

...then buy a turbo []

you're very lucky that you've go one of the best Porsche specialists on your doorstep - check out their maintenance programmes.

http://www.hartech.org/

They should also be worth using for PPI's

What's your budget? - There aren't many Turbos for sale at the moment, fewer 250's, and even fewer nice ones. I reckon £5k is the minimum to get you in a good 250 turbo, if you get very lucky (and then budget £1000-2000 to sort it out). Of course if you just want a road car, get an early 220 Turbo with Fuchs []

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Worth having a word with Barry at Hartech anyway, as he might well know of customer cars that are coming onto the market. Mention this forum and he'll know that you're doing your research and not just wasting his time!

 

[zcacogp]

Andy,

As a previous owner of 2 Mk1 GTi's (both 1800cc, both Lhasa, one campaign - beautiful cars), as well as two non-GTi Mk1's, and a Mk2 8v, and a (ghastly) Mk3, I suspect my motoring heritage is similar to yours ... and I'd recommend a 944.

Turbo or S2? I chose an S2 for a number of reasons, mainly because I like N/A cars. I occasionally get the urge for more power (as many on here will testify), but am very happy with the car I have. It's a daily driver, and does around 15k miles a year, mainly in London. I have never driven a turbo, but the general concensus is that the S2 makes a better daily driver than a turbo, so make your choice accordingly. I would also add that the S2 is probably quicker than a turbo in standard trim, and is certainly quicker than you need in all but the most nutty of road driving. Yes, they are slower than the modified turbos on here, but are not slow cars.

If you want to know about costs, have a look here:

http://pistonheads.com/members/showcar.asp?carId=35695

It's a pretty warts-and-all description of what it has cost to run over the last 3 years. Be warned - they aren't anywhere near as cheap to run as a Golf. Disks and pads, for the front, relieved me of north of £160 a couple of months ago. And that was buying daily-driver-spec parts, not track-warrior kit, and fitting them myself. A job that would have cost me alot less than £50 on my old Mk2 GTi. And I have yet to meet any really big costs on my S2 yet - clutch, brake calipers, cams and cam chain are all as they were when I bought it. And I haven't had to pay for new sills either.

They are worth it. But if you assume they cost around twice as much to run as a good Golf, they aren't twice as much fun. But then I guess the law of diminishing returns applies to many things, and cars are only one of them.


Oli.

 

[appletonn]

Welcome and I do know of this very nice one possibly for sale on the Wirral....!

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=414690

Lee (Lemon) is a regular contributor on the 944 forum so do a search on all of the work done to his car over the last few years..!

I'm fairly local if you wanted to have a nosey round mine to give you a comparison against any others?

 

[Guest]

Welcome Andy.....!

I just love the Golf.... It has just struck me - when was the last time I seen one....

There's plenty of help on here ... I dont have to say this but get a feel for the 944 by looking at as many as possible. Get driving a few and see which one suits you best. I know its common sense but dont let your heart rule your head. A good history is very important. Big miles are no bother to a well looked after 944......!

 

[nicholaswgmay]

Hi Andy, if you want a turbo but aren't in the same league bucks wise as a lot of turbo owners don't nessecarily be put off. I bought a very long in tooth early 220 turbo nearly four years ago and paid a bit less than 3K, that was all the money I had to spare but I wanted a turbo!! It had some history good sills but a couple of dings in the rear wings, and very tatty interior. In the fist year I spent £880 on a brake refurb and I'm now just about to spend £1000 on the clutch, I replaced the interior for free by buying a leather clad s2 with no mot, swapping the interior putting an mot on the s2 and selling it on for about the same as I paid for it, the dings can wait a bit longer, apart from servicing that's it so far and whilst it's not the best around it goes, gets used a lot and is a hoot to own, if you're careful (and a bit reckless!!) you can do it on a budget but flip me it's worth it!!!!!

 

[zcacogp]

Nicholas,

You're a braver man than me! 'Tis a good story - well done.


Oli.