School Me: 1985.5+ Porsche 944 Non-Turbo

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Philly

Philly

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I need a car just for a few months this year, and thought it would be cool to get something that I wouldn't normally get. I found a 944 with 170,000 miles and a reasonable looking body for $3000 recently.

Is there anything I should look out for on these cars? I read up a little and they're supposed to be pretty tough (by sports car standards). Seller only says it needs some TLC. Could I expect anything to go catastrophically wrong in the next 5,000 miles or so?

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And I know that I should look for something more reasonable like a 318 or a Protege, but the 944 is a bit of a guilty pleasure that might be awesome to have.
 
I'll be totally honest and say that I'm not completely sure. Everything that I've been lead to know suggests that the 924, 944 and 968 are generally pretty reliable cars, but like most German vehicles, when things do break... Its expensive. The good news is that the 924 and 944 are fairly common vehicles considering the Porsche badge, and furthermore, their pretty basic mechanical bits and pieces (many of them VW/Audi sourced) make the car somewhat easy to work on.

Its interesting that you mention the car since I had found one for sale not too far away from here with decent mileage for about the same amount of money. It had the timing belt and water pump replaced, and I believe they said the clutch was newer as well, which would suggest that there would be at least 30-50K worth of running before any "major" problems would need attention. But, the economy being what it is, I didn't have the money to spring for it.
 
Parts. Especially at 170k miles... engine parts.

I'd love to get one... but as a daily driver... errrrrhhhh....

Buy it, blow a headgasket, sell it. Perfect plan, I think. :D

EDIT: Seem to remember hearing/reading somewhere about the timing belt being a PITA, but I'm not sure if that was for the 944.
 
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I'm pretty sure I recognize that car.

Anyway, I don't have anything to bring to the table that someone else hasn't already. Pretty reliable, kinda expensive to fix, but these cars are fairly common, and it'll be easy to source parts. Well, relatively.
 
Pass. The miles on that car are alone to drive some away.

If you're serious though, do a PPI on it and have the inspector look specifically at the timing belt & transmission. The timing belt is a common problem and needs near frequent change. The transmission is also fragile so any hard driving could require a new one & at a 170,000 miles, it may very well be on its way out.


The cars themselves, yes, are bullet proof for an older Porsche. My father owned a 944T & a 944TS and loved them very much. They rarely had any issues besides the timing belt & ended up being sold as near-pristine examples for a pretty penny. But, that's because they were maintained at any point necessary. When this isn't done, the engine is going to go downhill and it's hard to fix it after a certain point.

So, PPI, check trans & timing belt, and make sure the engine is running. The exterior stuff will get pricey, but judging from the picture, it looks like it's good shape. Otherwise, I bet you can find a much lower mileage one for $6-7K.
 
Generally very tough cars, particularly the non-turbo versions, which are seriously over engineered compared to their power.

Timing belt has already been mentioned, also ensure there's plenty of life left in the clutch... it's a big and very expensive job to change.
 
170k is pretty long legged, but if it's tidy on both inside and out, someone's probably looked after it. If you're only going to run it for a few months anyway you'd be unlucky if something catastrophic went wrong on it in that time, and if it did, you'd get most of your money back selling it for parts i'd imagine.

The latter S2 944 is one of those cars i always keep an eye out for on Autotrader. One day i'll get myself a tidy example of it as a weekend beater. Maybe.
 
Well it's a 944, so when it does break, it will cost you a pretty penny! I've seen 944's with much less miles going for little more than the price of this one. Before you settle on the car you want, look around a bit. You may find a much better deal.
 
McLaren
So, PPI, check trans & timing belt, and make sure the engine is running. The exterior stuff will get pricey, but judging from the picture, it looks like it's good shape. Otherwise, I bet you can find a much lower mileage one for $6-7K.
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Thanks! Yeah, if there is anything wrong with it, it's a definite pass. But perfect weight distribution, a manual gearbox and rear wheel drive certainly are tempting with this car.

And I'm buying more for the price and not for the car. If this thing didn't work out my alternatives would probably be a MKII GTI, G60 Corrado and (bad choice) an XR4TI. That's as of now.

Stotty
Generally very tough cars, particularly the non-turbo versions, which are seriously over engineered compared to their power.

Timing belt has already been mentioned, also ensure there's plenty of life left in the clutch... it's a big and very expensive job to change.
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With only ~150 hp from the factory, I'm guessing that the engine should be pretty tough. And I heard that they're good for over 200k miles. As for the clutch, there will be two, maybe three people learning to drive stick on it so if the clutch is particularly fragile that may be an issue.

TheCracker
170k is pretty long legged, but if it's tidy on both inside and out, someone's probably looked after it. If you're only going to run it for a few months anyway you'd be unlucky if something catastrophic went wrong on it in that time, and if it did, you'd get most of your money back selling it for parts i'd imagine.
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That's kinda what I was thinking. Or hoping at least.
 
Philly
And I'm buying more for the price and not for the car. If this thing didn't work out my alternatives would probably be a MKII GTI, G60 Corrado and (bad choice) an XR4TI. That's as of now.
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Well, if you're looking for cheap, reliable sports cars... I'd swap out that G60 for the SLC (a bit more reliable, easier to drive), and probably keep as far away from the XR4Ti as possible. The old Toyota Celica-Supra is a pretty reasonable choice, and surprisingly, the 300ZX fits in that category as well.

The weird thing about Michigan is that we love weird cars. Keep your eyes peeled and you're bound to find a good deal.
 
Those are just the cars that are for sale in that price range in the Seattle area now. I did some looking around and the $3000 price tag doesn't look too far out of the ballpark for either the Corrado or the 944. I'll probably take a look at them this weekend or sooner. Unfortunately, both are ~45 minutes away in opposite directions. But I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for something else that pops up.
 
Philly
With only ~150 hp from the factory, I'm guessing that the engine should be pretty tough. And I heard that they're good for over 200k miles. As for the clutch, there will be two, maybe three people learning to drive stick on it so if the clutch is particularly fragile that may be an issue.
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Clutches aren't fragile, but it's a big job to change one... a clutch kit in the UK is around £500 (inc VAT) but there's a lot of labour involved... I heard £1,000 was a good ball park figure for the full job. This is a lot considering a clutch change on a 911 is only about £650.
 
928s can be had for not much more these days. I've looked around a bit and seen some going around the 5K-7K range. Probably even less if you don't get the 32 valve.
 
Nice as they are, 928's are much much more complicated though. They have so much more to go wrong on them.
 
Time_Attack
928s can be had for not much more these days. I've looked around a bit and seen some going around the 5K-7K range. Probably even less if you don't get the 32 valve.
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I don't know much about 944's.
However, I've read over and over that the 928, while a great car, should be avoided if equipped with a manual trans.
They are reported to have a ridiculously short clutch life. Like 10 to 15,000 miles short.

I don't know if that can be ameliorated by using a "stronger" aftermarket clutch, or not.

You don't see too many Porsches in this neck of the woods, much less 944's. Though we do have a dealer here, the vehicle most popular in these parts is the Cayenne.
 
928's are serious money pits.

Everything for them costs large amounts of cash. They have very complex electrical systems which, if not working properly, can cost more to fix than car is worth.

Best avoided unless you either 1) buy a really, really good one or 2) you have very deep pockets.
 
I have had mine since new. It was my graduation gift. It has 70k miles on it. It is my daily driver now. It has never left me stranded or broken down on the road. With that being said.... MAINTAINANCE IS KEY. Expensive timing belt changes every 3 yrs or 30k miles. Try to buy one with a recent timing belt change or with records of. Parts can be expensive. Clutch jobs can be expensive, parts and labor can run over $2k
It's not uncommon to see a 944 with 250k miles on them.
It is a fun car to drive. It's still turns heads. People stop me daily to ask about it.

Most want a 85 1/2 or later. They updated the interior and dash.
86 the Turbo was introduced
87 the wheel offset and pattern was changed.
The 944 isnt VW or Audi. It's pure Porsche parts. Porsche Engine
The 924 is VW & Audi. The 924s had the Porsche engine

My rule of thumb in most cases...If they didnt take care of the paint and interior, chances are they didnt care for the motor.
 
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