Jer

I am thinking about buying a porsche 944s today. It has 106.000 miles on the clock and is a 1986 model. It looks in good nick with half leather and removable sun roof. What should I look out for and what is the difference between this and a LUX model. It is going to be used as a cheap second car has a private plate and is going for £3500.

Any thoughts

Jeremy

rjs1000

1. Save some money for repair bills...

2. Tyres will cost a fortune to - sorry...

MARK MORRIS

i thought the s was a 16v and the lux was a 8 v
mark

MARK MORRIS

forgot about this, there was a buying guide in ccc magazine a month or two ago
mark

GaryC

Think of the 944 as a Porsche and you will be disappointed.
Think of it as a cheap fun car and you'll enjoy better.


The 944 was a 'review' from the 924, which in itself was no more than a rebodied Audi coupe. The 944 was improved, and made a bit more 'Porsche', but still not a great car. If you are desperate to get a car with a Porsche badge on, then it's a good option. If you want a fun sports cars, there are better ones out there.

That being said, the 944 turbo was a hoot. The suspension improved, and the performance good, but they will cost more than £3500!

MarkJackon

THe 924 Was a Porsche ground up design in 1978, the Audi coupe wasnt around until 1982 !

Unless you mean the old rwd one from the seventies which didnt have a rear transaxle. The 944 was not just a review of the 924 either, it was wider bodied, had a wider track, uprated suspension and different engines.

Nice car but be prepared to get wasted by Golf GTI's, Saxos and the like cos they aint quick by todays standards, even the S wasnt all that quick, the Turbo however was mad quick and handle better than the Impreza (at least in the dry)

Jer

Well, I went and bought it. Very nice looking but very slow compared to my scoob. I got it for £3250 and will spend a bit of money on some dents and getting chips fixed. The car doesn’t need to be fast as I have a scooby for that.
I did notice all the parts that came of an Audi such as Speedo and door locks. I used to be a vw / audi mechanic and have owned an Audi coupe so if it goes wrong hopefully it won't be too expensive to fix.

Cheers for the advice

Jeremy

brickboy

I looked very seriously at buying a 944 some years ago -- most of the ordinary consumables are VW / Audi parts so regular servicing is cheap. The only special 944 bits are clutch, driveshafts and brake calipers, if I remember right.

The bodys are mostly galvanised, so rust isn't a problem!

MarkCSC

Right 924 was designed by Porsche for VW to be their "sports" car. But the fuel crisis came and VW canned the project. Porsche thought it was such a good car that they would build it. The 2.0lt engine is derived from the Audi 100 but reworked by Porsche and pushed out 125bhp. It isn't that quick but WILL still beat Golf GTi's and Saxos.
The turbo had 170 bhp from the same engine and the S had the 150bhp 2.5lt from the 944.

The 944 started life with an 8v 2.5lt 4 cylinder engine (half of the 928's V8).
There was also an S 16v (188bhp)(avoid) and a 2.7 (162bhp)(not bad).
The turbo had a 2.5lt, 220bhp engine(later boosted to 250bhp) This was a great car if a bit laggy. It can be tuned up to 800bhp+
The S2 had a 3.0lt, 4-cylinder engine with 208bhp. Very smooth engine and very quick but it doesn’t feel like you are going fast until you look at the speedo.


Jer, what one have you got?
Have a look at this as well http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html

[edited to correct bhp figures]

[Edited by Mark Champion - 2/25/2002 4:56:37 PM]

Jer

Hi Mark

Cheers for the info, I pick up my 944s 16v (the one that you say avoid) tonight. Do you know why it says avoid this model.

Cheers

Jeremy

MarkCSC

Ooops. The 2.5 16v is quite a costly motor to run and doesn't offer that much more performance that the 8v. Saying that you have picked up a cheap one. First thing to do is check when the cam chain was replaced. Also make sure that the pre-tensioner was replaced at the same time. Ignore this and you could be looking at some big bills.

It is still a great car for not a lot of money. Enjoy.

Mark

PS Watch your back end in the wet.

Houlbt

What about a 968CS??? I really fancy one of these, but am still in the learning stage....

Maintenence??
Depreciation???
Parts???
Insurance??
Drivability???

GaryC

I have a mate with a 968 sport (UK only model - not club sport). Beautiful. Quick, great handler but expensive to insure and run. He has at least one £3000 invoice a year for servicing/repairs plus incidentals

Houlbt

Mummy.... £3k... errr not pretty.

I thought the 968 was expensive to insure yes, but not bad on the maintenence.

What is the expensive bit Gary, are they one of those 'take out the engine just to get at the spark plugs' type cars??

Have heard the handling is sublime.

Thanks H.

MarkCSC

Never driven a 968. I know two guys who have had them. One had no problems and it ran perfectly but the other guy lunched his gear box which cost him a packet.

Anyway have a look at http://www.968.net/discussion.htm

Mark

GaryC

Don't know exactly, but everytime I speak to him it's either going in, or has just been in. Usually service + new exhaust/brakes/engine/.... all maintenance/repair, the car is std.

That being said he has had it for ove 2 year and donw over 40000miles and still puts up with it, so he must think its worth it.

It does drive beautifully. Looks never did it for me, nor did the 4-pot engine note, but the drive and driving position is brilliant.

Houlbt

Thanks for the pointer Mark, thanks again Gary... I'm not in a rush & there is no question it's a buyers mkt for any performance car at the mo, so I'll look into the 968 thing some more.

Most people aren't big fans of the 968 look it seems, but I've always liked it... whatever flicks your switch & all that.

Thanks guys, .H.

Stephen Read

I have been out on track as a passenger with a bloke in a 968CS and was quite impressed by everything, except the engine note which was nothing special.

We did half an hour in one session (more than thirty laps???) and there was no drama from brakes or tyres. This was way more than most of the other cars on the day were capable of and the owner really rated it as a trackday weapon.

He told me that he'd done over 20,000 track miles in it! and had chopped in his previous car, a 964RS, after being offered a great price but he didn't see the 968CS as 'a lesser car' for his purposes.

He did his a lot of his own servicing (brakes, wheelbearings etc.) so that must have kept the costs down (a bit).

MarkJackon

I know of a guy that had a 969, bought a 911 Turbo, kept it for a year and went back to a 968 and it wasnt cos it was cheaper !

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

944 thread with comments by old me, 11 years ago, and now I have a 944, weird !

How can I have been on here in one form or another for this long.

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

Holy thread revival!

How's the 944 then?

The Sheep Worrier

iTrader: (2)

My Old boss who I done my apprenticeship with had a 944 turbo SE ( limited edition of something like 500 he told me- was a bit of a billy bull****ter mind) , that's going back 11 years now, was very very quick to be fair, and did seen to handle very well, at the time I wasnt really into cars do couldn't really appreciate it' for what it was. I remember going out in it for a spin with him thinking it was quick, not long after my college mate from swansea bought a classic wrx (which 5years later became mine, which I still have) and thinking itd be a close match.
If he's still got it It'll be down Pembrokeshire way, unfortunately we're not in touch anymore. Had a private plate A5 DEM.

Sorry for the hijack, just seen this thread and it's bought back memorys!!

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

I think I may own the lowest mileage 944 S2 in the UK!!! 1987 car with 34,000 miles on her in arctic white. Bought it off my next door neighbour years ago, after he was in a bike accident where he thought he would not be able to drive again. Currently dry stored in my garage. I am hoping when the kids get up a bit and are less dependant on me and the wife, I may find the time to enjoy this one again.

As already said in the thread 10 years ago, 944's are not fast, they are however beautifully balanced and I love how they look.

I think I have recounted the story before on here, as a child in the early 1980 I regulalry passed a toy shop called toytown. The owner had a 944, while my brother would have been captivated with the toys in the shop window, I was more taken with the owners 944. I always wanted a car like that - so when Jeff mentioned selling up, we agreed a price and I shook his hand there and then.

davyboy

Classic 80s interior!

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

^^^ Gawd that interior! Does look a lovely car though. I've been thinking about an S2 convertible, just for the 1 warm sunny summers day we have each year.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

To be fair - that was taken in the garage with the flash on the camera illuminating the interior. It isn't as red as it looks in the picture.

I didn't like it at first but it is a constant reminder that you are sitting in something made in the 1980's. I love it.

davyboy

I like it too. I think the Turbo SE red/pink is the best though. Looking back mine was a bit sober.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I was out in mine this morning, very pleasant, not sure how fast the cars people have but it is plenty quick enough for what it is but then mine has been maintained well, has a SS exhaust and remap.

Doesnt have to be warm to use it, the heater is a cross between a normal car heater and a hot air painstripper, a 3.0 old school petrol provides a lot of surplus heat.

For gods sake, get that white one used !