Quote:
Originally Posted by dgcantrell
Having owned my 87 944 N/A since February of 1992 (I was 24) and putting almost 250K on top of the 50K miles that were on it when I bought it, I would have to say the car has been quite reliable. IF you are not a mechanic and cannot change the oil or do basic maintenance on any car on your own, it will be expensive. Otherwise, I don't think they would be any more expensive to maintain than any other comparable car. the 944's are NOT complex vehicles compared to the computerized nightmares that are coming out these days. While I work in IT as my day job, I grew up working on cars in my Dad's shop and I would consider myself a very good mechanic having worked on a wide array of vehicles besides my own.
As mentioned before, the 944 (except the S's and S2's) are not rocketship world beaters. BUT, they are exceptionally well balanced, well handling cars that get pretty good gas mileage. I used to drive mine from SW VA to the New Orleans area (730 miles each way) about 10 years ago every month or so. I could get over 30mpg cruising at 75mph on the interstates with ease..
If you are competent mechanic you can maintain a 944 and even do major jobs on them. Just be sure to equip yourself with the manuals for the cars (now available in PDF's on other sites) and use the trouble shooting and other reference sites like this one, you should be able to rescue most 944's barring they have been butchered by some idiot hack.
But, the FIRST thing you need to verify before buying a 944 is the state of the timing belt. Has it been changed lately? If not, plan on doing it ASAP to establish a baseline to start keeping maintenance records on that engine. Replace ALL of the idler pulleys. I've had two belt failures because of them. Had to do top end rebuilds both times. Fortunately, I was able to do the work myself.
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I am a beginner mechanic but I can always learn by working on the car and the 944 will not be my daily so i will take my time to learn and fix it myself unless it requires some tools and special technique or experience to be able to do the job. If I buy one I will try to get one that was maintained and there are records for it, I guess it is better to pay a little more up front and make sure you get a maintained car.
Thanks for the tips, I will do PPI before buying for sure.