How durable is a 944

[Jcon]

I know this is the 911 forum, but a lot of you guys have had or still have 944s.

Here's the issue. I did a cruel thing and let a good friend drive my 81 911 at a DE. He still has the grin , but not enough coin for a 911 of his own. He really wants to start going to the track, but has a car budget of about $4,500. This would be a third/toy car, not a daily driver.

It seems you can find some very nice examples of mid to late 80's 944s in this range. Most have around 100,000 miles. Assuming that the car has been maintained, belts, water pump etc, are these fairly reliable cars. With basic maintainance is it reasonable to expect to be able to use this vintage as a summer driver with mostly track and autocross intentions with solid reliability?

Thanks

[agabriel]

I would prob go for an older 911 (early 70's), the 944's don't seem to be worth the maintence....

sorry -

Anthony

[rfuerst911sc]

The 944 series are good cars,but just like the 911s they have their own finicky parts.I have a 1987 944S that has 145000 miles and was running fine till a week ago,it appears that the timing belt tensioner lost its tension,I'm not happy about it but I look at it as its no different if a chain tensioner on my 83SC let go.The 944s are good handling,not bad performance and not bad to look at,however they are prone to timing belt failures,oil/water cooler mixing problems,the clutch is a real pain in the butt to replace,you get the picture.The problem I see is that if your friends budget is around $4500.00 you can find a decent car in that price range but will he have the money for the upgrades that a car in that price range will require?

[Sunroof]

I owned a 1985.5 944 for 12 years and sold it with 345,000 miles with no major engine or transmission work! Everything else got replaced two-three times (radiator, fans, pumps, mounts, etc).
Pound for pound the 911 is the better because it will hold its value. The terrible thing about the 944 is that many are up to a fourth or fifth owners and since they are a bargain they attract a younger buying market for the P-appeal. These kids pick up a mid-80's 944 for 3-5K and think that Pep-Boys or Midas can replace belts, repair engines, and do major repairs. When they find that they are paying a shop rate as high as a new Porsche, its a shock! Indeed the 944 was the smoothest highwat cruiser, incredible in the turns, and one hell of an excellent sports car. But BE ADVISED.............your going to have ot fix things and the older they get the more you will be confronted with. Considering the costs, your better off with a 911 that at least will give you some return a 944 will not. I sold my 944 for $1,500. Tough choice, I know, but in the long term you will appreciate the 911 more.

Bob
73.5T

[1fastredsc]

I agree with what all these gentlemen said. But if the car will be a track car, it might not be a bad idea for you friend. Especially since the car has nearly stupid proof handling. Plus, for a DIYer, it'll probably cost less to have fun at the track with a 44 than it would with an 11.

[RallyJon]

Grassroots Motorsports did a comparison a while ago between a turbo look late-80s Carrera and two 944s (an early one and a later S2). All three cars had the "usual" mods and the 944s showed extremely well against the 911. IIRC, the 911 was quicker off the line, but the 944s--even the old one--were right with it on the track.

[Rot 911]

If I only had $4,500 and wanted to track the car I would be looking for an older Miata. $4,500 doesn't buy much for the track.

[CJFusco]

Jcon,
As a 944 owner, I can tell you that the above COULD be true, assuming that your friend isn't a DIYer... when I first got my car, I had no idea how to even change the spark plugs. Now I tackle most minor repairs and maintenance myself becasue 1) it's pretty easy, and 2) it would cost a fortune to pay someone else to do it.

Anyhow, here's my experience. I have owned my 944 for 3+ years, and (except for an accident repair) have spent less than $1000 on repairs and maintenance. Sure, mine is a low-mileage example, but things just don't seem to break on this car. And when they do break, if you search hard enough and have some connections, you can often get the parts cheaply. I bought my 944 for $3000 in 2000, and I bet I could get $4500 for it if I sold it tomorrow.

And performance? That aforementioned GRASSROOTS MOTORSPORTS article that put a stock 83 944 against a stock 83 911SC saw the 944 put up the day's fastest lap time...

[Milu]

How durable is a944? About 21 hours on the Pelican 911 Tech Board

I had two 944s from new. Both were built great and continued to give good service to new owners until I lost touch with them. I also had a 924 Turbo from nearly new until three years ago and that was an all time great. One of my best friends now has it with 110k miles (all mine, its become a garage queen in its retirement), still great. The problem with a lot of 924s and 944s is that because they depreciated a lot the later owners either couldn't afford or couldn't be bothered to maintain them as the cars deserved.

[singpilot]

I have both. Pound for pound, both daily drivers with commutes to Los Angeles from Vegas, the 911 costs slightly more mile for mile. The 944 is 3 times the value for dollar purchased. Meaning a 911 purchase (in spite of what you'll hear here) will run you 3 times what a 944 will run.

Both cars drive completely differently. I drive the same route typically, so I get an apples to apples comparison. Love them both. The 911 gets more attention on the Inglewood onramp to the NB 405. A posted 25MPH 180 degree turn. Recently repaved. You do the math. I usually go thru there at 4am.

The 944 gets the grins climbing out of Vegas; the outside temps will be 110 at the bottom of the grade, and mid 70's at the top after a 4400 foot climb. A/C on ice, the water cooled temps never go above mid range.

Go for the 944. The '83 doesn't have the problematic power steering or the power roof.

[Nabeel]

In 2 years, my total repairs have been only about 500 bucks. That, plus the cost of regalr maintenance (t-belt/waterpump, etc.). These cars are very dependable IF you can find one in excellent condition with most, if not all, the maintenance records. I spent a small premium to buy a car with all maintenance records since new, needing nothing, and with only 63K miles at the time. Looks like my initial investment is paying off so far...

They make great track/autoX cars as well.

[Z-man]

Regarding durability, here's my story:
I lost my H2O pump while at a DE in Watkins Glen. (at about 120mph on the back straight.) Limped into the pits, pressure tested the system, and followed a friend of mine with a trailer home. (In case the car would over-heat constantly, he'd let me drive his 944 racer while my car rode the rest of the way home).

Well, I almost made it home: after 4 hours of the 5 hour trip the car over-heated again. We pressured tested it again, and made it to my mechanics.

When they took apart the H2O pump, they saw that the plastic impeller had fallen off the spinning rod: ie: the water pump was doing absolutely NOTHING for me, yet I drove the 5 hours home.

Granted, it was a brisk October night, but still, that's some good engineering!

One side note: I do "over-maintain" my car, since it regularly sees the track!

-Z-man.