1990 944 S convertible

montauk · 03-01-2003, 07:40 AM

Nice website! Tons of information. I've been looking for a porshe for about two months. I've been using information from this site and rennlist to help me search for cars and to give me some idea of what to look for. I decided I wanted the later model 944 with the more powerful non-turbo engine.

I found a 1990 944 S convertible. I have seen pictures but I won't see the car until monday. The car has 80,000 miles. The condition is descibed as excellent with no significant defects other than normal wear and tear. It's white with a blue top. CARFAX shows no problems. They have all service records for the first 50,000miles. The asking price is 14,000. Assuming the PPI doesn't turn up anything bad, is 14,000 too high? Kelly blue book retail is 11,775. I'm guessing from what I've read here that I will imediately get the timing belt, water pump, and thermostat replaced since according to the records it was last done at 46000 miles.

These cars are difficult to find in really good condition so I don't mind paying extra for a good example. I think that Kelly blue book is more accurate than Edmunds. Edmunds prices seem ridiculously low. Any guess's, based on my brief decription, of the cars real value.

Thanks

Dave

overkill · 03-01-2003, 09:15 AM

A 944S for 11,775,....... 14,000!?!?!?!? Check it again bro,.... 944S's are worth about 4 - 5,000 in excellent condition of coarse thats by KBB and NADA. The fact that porsche never made a convertible 944S means that the owner had it specially done,... which means that the chasis has been weakened. If you do not plan on racing the car(autox/ DE) or plan on driving her really hard then by all means go ahead, if so then NO. Also, like I said above 14,000 is out of the question!!!!! I mean if it is 944S. If you made a typo and is a 944S2 then,.... I would say it is a bit high. I would try and talk him down a bit. I think that S2's usually run around 8,000+.

DangerIsland · 03-01-2003, 09:18 AM

I believe any convertible 1990 car you find will be an S2, not an S. 14k is still a little high, but not by much if it's in great shape.

Frank B · 03-01-2003, 09:22 AM

it may even be a Turbo..

montauk · 03-01-2003, 10:10 AM

thanks for the replies. It's an S2 factory cabrio, no turbo.

overkill · 03-01-2003, 12:00 PM

OOPS, didnt notice the year

DUDE, THE MINI IS VERY PROBLEMATIC!!!!!!! THAT IS SO NOT COOL!!!!

montauk · 03-03-2003, 12:22 PM

I looked at the car today. Body, engine bay, trunk, body gaps, all look really good to excellent. Paint is excellent. I couldn't find any signs of accident damage or recent paint. No corrosion. The top is in great condition. The rear window is fine. The interior is good except - small tear on drivers seat, small tear on passenger seat, steering wheel and shifter leather poor. Everything seems to work except the power antenna. It was too cold to check the operation of top.

The worst part of the interior however is the top of the dash. Totally cracked. Can this be replaced? Is there a cover that doesn't look like a cover? Cost?

I'm not qualified obviously to judge this car against other 944's because the last time I drove a 944 it was a brand new 944 turbo in 1986. Anyway, here are my impressions. I drove it for about 15 minutes. I had it up to about 70 MPH. Shifts in all gears are smooth. Clutch pick up was good. Acceleration was smooth. The only downside was a slight vibration that I could feel in the shifter above 4000 rpm. Engine mounts?

There are no receipts for the car but the service was documented in the service book for the first 50000 miles, its now at 80000.

The price is now $13,200. I think its a car that somebody took care of for its first five years then drove it very little. As I said in an earlier post the timing belt was last done at 46000 miles in 1995. So I know going in that I will immediately get the belt replaced along with (based on what I've read on this site) the water pump, thermostat and anything else?

BTW the air compressor for the spare was missing or hidden really well.

Any more ideas on value?

Thanks again. - I forgot how great these cars are to drive!!

Mark_944S2 · 03-03-2003, 08:50 PM

Hi Dave,

Just to give you some idea I paid 11k for my 1991 S2 6 months ago, though it's not a convertible. Convertibles are worth a little more. If you can get a couple of Ks knocked off the asking price it sounds like a good deal.

I'm not trying to put you off at all but I can give you some idea of the maintenance to budget for :

You're right about the timing belt, you'll also need to get the timing chain tensioner changed. The nylon block tends to crack and the resulting carnage destroys the engine. They'll probably find that the belt idlers and maybe tensioners are going too so I'd budget around $800 to $1200 to have all belts, idlers, tensioners checked/changed. Do this and expect another 80K at least out of this engine, skimp and you could need a new engine next week!

If the clutch has never been changed it's going to need doing very soon. Mine went out at 76K. In fact the rubber centre may be failing, this would give you the vibration you're getting.

Good luck, hope you buy it, they are great cars by the way and worth the trouble of looking after them. Mine has grown on me every day I've driven it.

Mark

944s2cab · 03-04-2003, 05:52 PM

montauk: I've got a 90 S2 convertible. 14K might be a little high if you shop around...ebay, classified, etc. There are good deals to be had but then again, you don't have delivery issues and a car sight unseen can always be a disappointment. I bought mine 2 years ago and it looks very clean with 99K miles...people are shocked at the milage. It looks as if it were garage kept - no cracked dashes, seats, etc. If you have a cracked dash, then it stands to reason there is other wear - look at all the seams closely in the doors and the seats. As for maintenance, Mark is right, I have replaced dozens of parts (mainly for improvement vs failure) plus, I had the timing belt done. Ex: struts, control arms, shocks, ac compressor, wiper motor, speakers, stereo, shifter. I've seen low, low milage S2's for under 20K that would eliminate most all this replacement. Another note, I enjoy the work so I don't mind at all. If the dash is the only issue, then negotiate another 1-2 K down and enjoy the summer!

montauk · 03-05-2003, 11:05 AM

Thanks for the help. I got the dealer down to 12,800. He started at $18k. It may be worth a little less but it's definitely the best car I've seen. Of course, it's the only 944S2 I've seen. I did a nation wide search on autotrader and didn't find anything similar for less. Most were substantially more.
I should be driving it home in about 2 hours. I CAN'T WAIT!!! The sun just came out and it's about 45 degrees. I may have to put in a couple of miles with the top down - after I get home. Strange, but this all started with me looking for a mid eighties 911 and not finding anything reasonable. Really good ones are $25k plus and questionable drivers are at least 18k. I had forgotten how much fun the 944's were. I'm glad I found this one - I hope! The car insurance isn't too bad either.

I'll be checking back in on this board for more help in the future and for moral support.

Dave

scottmandue · 03-05-2003, 11:36 AM

Re: the dash IF you can find a NOS one they run over $1000 plus the cost if you have installed. There are plastic caps for the dash but there seem to be more negitive reports (as to there appearance) than positive, I have not seen one up close. someone picked up a "like new" dash off ebay... pretty rare but not imposable. The cheapest fix is a fabric dashmat, most of us just write off the dash cracks as part of the cars character and save the money.

Welcome to the club!

Driveing with the top down in your town, at this time of year,
ay curmba!

rammstein · 03-05-2003, 11:47 AM

congrats!!! Someone in my apartment has a white 944 convertible parked. It makes quite a nice convertible IMO. Enjoy the warm weather (its 50 in cincy!!!).

wjk_glynn · 03-05-2003, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by montauk
The worst part of the interior however is the top of the dash. Totally cracked. Can this be replaced? Is there a cover that doesn't look like a cover? Cost?

The dash can be replaced. New factory part is expensive and the labor costs to install are a lot as well.

Used dashs can be got from Porsche dismantlers. Here's a list:

http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_Suppliers.html#Dismantlers

Your final alternative is to cover it up with a dash-cover or dash-mat. Here's a list of vendors for those:

http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_Suppliers.html#DashCovers

Karl.

montauk · 03-11-2003, 06:05 PM

Picked up the car last Wednesday night. WOW. Had a nice 70 mile drive home. The weather turned bad so I couldn't drop the top. The more I drive it, the more I like it. I'm taking it to a local porsche mechanic tomorrow, Dinardo-Horsham, PA, to get the belts, pump, etc. changed. Thanks for the pointers.

So far I got the power antenna to function, put an led in the key light, and lubed the window tracks with silicon spray. I doubt the antenna will last and although the windows are moving at a normal speed, I think I really need to take the door panels off and lube the windows lift assemblies. Need warmer weather and time. I got neither.

BTW the it came with the original books and window sticker, a little over $50k.

Many thanks.

Dave

Mark_944S2 · 03-11-2003, 09:56 PM

Hi Dave,

Congrats on your purchase, hope you have fun with it.

PS I meant it concerning the chain tensioner, make sure they change it, not all shops know about this potential problem. This is just as important as the timing belt!

Mark

montauk · 03-12-2003, 03:00 AM

Oops - just added it to the list.
Dave

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

montauk: Power antenna? I know my S2 coupe has the antenna built into the window: I thought they did the same thing with the cabrios.

-Z.

montauk · 03-12-2003, 05:44 AM

I have both. I guess the PO got tired of the reception or perhaps the connector broke so he had the power antenna installed. It looks like its the stock location for the older cars. Do cars with windshield antennas still have the mounting hole in the fender?
Dave

Mark_944S2 · 03-12-2003, 07:34 AM

No I have the windshield antenna and no mounting hole anywhere. THe reception with the windshield antenna isn't very good!

montauk · 03-12-2003, 08:10 AM

I guess poor reception required the regular antenna. The radio is the original reno 2. It works great. I'm going to replace it however with a CD player/receiver. Too bad, even the hinge on the cassette holder is perfect. I'll probably stick with Blaupunkt(sp). The San Jose is on sale at Crutchfield.

The shop justed called. Seems like a very honest guy. He recommended not changing the oil, oil filter, air filter & fuel filter because they all appear to be new. I had asked him to do these things because I have no records for them. When a mechanic turns down easy work, it's a good sign. He did recommend changing the transaxle oil, something I had forgotten to ask for. Brakes are also good but I may need new rotors next time I get pads. He checked the chain tensioner and said it's fine.

He also noticed that there were bolts missing around the power steering pump. The dealer said that they had replaced the pump. He's going to put in the missing bolts. It had been making an odd noise when I made a slow sharp left turn pulling into my driveway. I had forgotten to mention this to the mechanic.

Next time - I'll get a PPI.

Oh well, I'll have to drive the old saab 9-5 until tomorrow afternoon.

Dave