S or 2.7? Opinions please

[WBray]

Hi guys
Im hoping to get my first 944 sometime in the early new year. Though I have a quick question for those who have probably had the opportunity to try both the 2.7 and the standard s (not the S2), which would you recommend of the two to get? Unfortunately because of my age (22) I'm not considering getting a S2 yet as much as I would love one.
Thanks for any advicein advance.
Will

 

[944 man]

2.7l is newer (although plenty are being dismantled now), bu the 2.5l 16v S promises more. Unfortunately it usually fails to deliver despite being far 'more' engine from a technical perspective.

The 16v engines have plenty of issues of their own and few deliver much more than 2.7l power, so Id say buy a nice clean 1989 2.7l 8v.



Simon

 

[loc944]

I would and did go for the 2.7. Much better with low down torque, where as 16v'S' needs to be revved.

If you are looking for one early next year pm me your email address as I may be selling mine.

Alan.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

2.7 every time - Andy W may disagree.............

 

[pauljmcnulty]

My thoughts? At 22 you might well be spending more on insurance than the car; all 944s are group 20, and regardless of the real-world performance being on a par with pretty average modern cars, insurers really don't like them. I can't see it being viable unless you have a huge budget.

Why the 2.7 specifically? Any Lux is going to be bought on recent history and the condition of the bodywork, surely? A well-sorted 2.5 will be better than an average 2.7, and there is plenty of evidence that the very late 944s rust more than the earlier cars built in the old NSU factory. The 944S is a rare car, and again often not maintained well as it's seen as the low-value model. A good one can be a bargain if you like the revvy characteristics, so again you need to look at the condition and recent history.

Please don't take this as patronising, for all I know you have £10K as a budget to buy a 944 and insure it. Personally, I'd look at the 924s as a way in to the front-engined Porsches. A 924S has the same engine as a 944 Lux, in a lighter and more nimble body, at probably half the price for a good one. Even a 2.0 924 has the same handling as a 944, and a well-sorted one will arguably be a better drive than a knackered 944.

Buy a good one and you'll be sold on them for life, but I guess we need to know a bit more about your budget before we can give a really honest opinion as to whether you should buy one now, or wait for the insurance to tumble as you age a bit. [&:]

 

[david924s]

I would agree with Paul, buy on condition and history with a view to buying a particular model but have an open mind the look at them all and buy the best one not necessarily the model you first thought of.

I would also second the 924S route I loved mine and would happily have it back in return for my S2 considering it was 5 years older than my S2 with almost twice the miles it was probably in better condition excepting the faded red paint which is just how red goes.

 

[ALZ 1933]

Buy a good one and you'll be sold on them for life, but I guess we need to know a bit more about your budget before we can give a really honest opinion as to whether you should buy one now, or wait for the insurance to tumble as you age a bit.

I agree fully with this quote as I bought my 1st Porsche 15yrs ago when I was 22, a 944 2.5 Lux. Since then I've owned many other Porsches ( 944s 924S 911 Boxster) and I currently have a 944 Lux again. Insurance wise I paid £650 all those years ago but once you turn 25 you'll qualify for classic insurance & the price shall fall dramatically (now it's under £130).

As for the recommendations to buy a 924S I fully back them (owned 2), great under rated cars that you can pick up for little money & drive just as well as a 944 but they don't suffer from the same rusty sill problems that 944s do.

 

[edh]

hmmm

I had a rusty 924S...sills were a bit rough & needed patching for MOT. I didn't know much about the cars then but I assume they were pretty well gone inside

But I did buy another one that wasn't rusty at all

Lovely cars, although I don't think they are much cheaper than a 2.5 944 TBH

 

[andy watson]

ORIGINAL: A9XXC

2.7 every time - Andy W may disagree.............

Huh! [][]

I love my car and like the way you really have to drive it, but if I was to be really honest and knew a bit more back then I would probably not have brought an S

Having said that, still today I would buy on condition, paperwork, history and the seller which is how I came about owning mine, and it really depends on what you want the car for.

My advice buy the best 944 you can from an early square dash to a late S2 they are great cars, oh and the S ain't that bad!

 

[vitesse]

It really gives me tremendous pleasure to read all the plaudits on here for the 924S given as this is the 944 area-
Gravel boy

 

[WBray]

Thank-you for all your replies and sorry for my late response I am currently working nights so not getting much time to get on the computer.
For those asking why a 2.7 rather than a 2.5 I was looking at a slightly newer model though I hadn't completely ruled out the 2.5 if I found one in good condition.
Paul surprisingly any insurance quotes I have had for any 924s's I have looked at insuring have been higher than any 944 (except the s2). Insurance on a 2.7/2 are coming in at around the £900 mark for me which though is a £600 increase in insurance on my astra next year I think it would be worth while for a nice classic and real car. When looking at buying a car all being well I am hoping to have a budget with a top end around the 3k mark.
I've had the porsche bug ever since my dad had an old 924s as his run around which has only since been increase since he got his cayenne and a cayman as a courtesy car. Just thought I would note this before anyone thinks im a 22year old boy racer who's got bored of his nova/106 and looking at chavving up and ragging the hell out of nice cars lol.
Thanks again everyone
Will

 

[GlennS]

Gosh... the poor old 944 S really is the Milkman's ginger love-child* that everyone likes to beat on around here, isn't it? For what it's worth I'd choose the S over one of the 8v NA cars. Yes, you need to rev the S to get the best out of it but that wouldn't really bother me. It's a sports car and I was brought up with 16v motors that needed a bit of a boot up the rev-range to do anything; all part of their period charm. It was interesting that in mixed company on the way up to Snetterton in November the Ss held up well against the S2s and Turbos whilst the 8v cars seemed to struggle a bit for pace.

Up to you what you really want in a car and if it is relaxed cruising then one of the 8v NAs is surely a better choice but then relaxed cruising isn't often what I want in a sports car.

(* no offence intended to milkmen, love-children or the ginger)

 

[edh]

This one looks nice, although I have heard some bad things about this dealer. Rare 16" teledials & sports seats. (Does this mean the car is a pre-ABS oval dash? they look like the deep dish early offset ones to me)

A 2.7 also looks very nice - very clean, but looks can be deceiving. There's a strange paint line along the bottom of the sills. They may have been repaired properly, but on the other hand...

 

[pauljmcnulty]

The 2.7 is a lot of money for a cat c....

 

[edh]

[:-] I did say looks could be deceiving[]....

cat c - not so attractive.

have you noticed there seem to be far fewer private sellers on autotrader and pistonheads these days?

...and have you seen the 944 with lpg conversion (and with kwv3) on eBay?

 

[944 man]

The 1986 car looks quite appealing for the money, if its as clean as they say.

 

[loc944]

My 2.7 lux '89 Guards Red is at the top end of your budget, but is a good honest and well presented example.
I have not put it up for sale yet, but contact me if you are interested.
Where do you live?

Alan.

 

[WBray]

thanks Glenn nice bit of info, really not sure the car will be my only car so will be used for running about and will have the odd trip for cornwall to north wales with a kayak on the roof (if i can grab some roof bars, once ive gotten the car) but would also be interested aswell for something maybe for a bit of fun on the odd track day as such, so maybe the 2.7 is possibly a bit better? :/

Cheers edh I have seen them but currently not finished getting the fund togther just yet and insurance is due for renewal in feb, so having to hang on as someone said for a cat c bit pricey :/
Cheers loc but please dont hang about for me as im not sure when I shall finish collecting the fund just hopefully be before feb ideally if not maybe just after, all depends on work atm :/ But i'm probably as far away from glasgow as you can get down in far west cornwall.
Could you message me details anyway thought please man as would be interested just to read them if thats ok?
sorry for my grammer and lack of punctuation ive just finished and gotten in from a long night shift (just making excuses for my general poor grammer really )
Cheers all
Will

 

[andy watson]

ORIGINAL: GlennS

Gosh... the poor old 944 S really is the Milkman's ginger love-child*

(* no offence intended to milkmen, love-children or the ginger)

Was a milkman once, I am somebody's love child, married to a red head and drive an S........OMG, I got no hope [][]

 

[Hairyarse]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

The 1986 car looks quite appealing for the money, if its as clean as they say.

It does look very tidy and I like the colour, not too common. From memory this one has been up for sale for quite a long time - maybe a good point from point of view of haggling the price, but may be for a reason!