The end to a bad week.

[84 944]

More bad news on the car. So far this week i had been hoping for the parts to come in from germany for my differential and on monday when i had given up hope they finally arrived. My dad put them in on monday night and finished tuesday morning. I drove the car all day yesterday and then checked all the fluids. I needed coolant and oil so i went out and got some. But as i went to go out tonight i drove towards the next town and put on my lights cause it was getting dark. A few minutes later i realized my oil pressure wasn't lit up and the guage was reading zero. I turned around and went home and looked behind the gauge to see if anything had fallen off since it has always looked fine. I found several wires that where not connected so i had my brother who is often profecient with electrics look at it and he reassembeled it and had it working or so i thought. When he told me to turn the car on so i could see i heard a bad noise.

It sounded like a buzzing going all along the dash and in that instant i smelt a burning smell. I asked him if he to smelt it and he did so i shut it off not even thinking to turn the lights off. A second later i looked inside the left vent and i saw FLAMES!! so i shut the lights off and as i did i looked down the knee bolster panel and there were flames in there to. I ran into the house and got water and my dad got his fire extingusher and i threw it on the fire. It went out and we disconnected the battery. So far i can see that the left gauge is burnt as well as part of the bezel and possibly the dash. My dad thinks we should take the dash off and re wire what needs to be fixed but i think im about done. I have put to much money into this car and have only had it fixed for a day before it broke. I think im to young to have this car and hope someday to find a nice example as a weekend car. My question to everyone is what most likely was damaged and what will need to be replace wiring harnesses or individual wires? Also should i just sell it as is on ebay and state there was an electrical fire? or fix it up and try to get money back? Sorry about the long post thanks for everything on this board

[scheistermeiste]

you could strip it and part it out, you might get more money for the working individual parts than from selling the car as a whole.

[flangermog]

Now now, there's no need to be rash.

The Porsche Gods frown on us all from time to time.

You can get bits for your dash cheaply enough from a breakers.
So you're off the road for a while longer.
Spend a bit of time fixing it up and don't let your brother near the electrics (at least without a manual), you've had an unlucky experience, true, but any used car you get will have problems, thats why people sell them.

Would you rather get another car and a new set of problems?
OR Get a brand new car (lots of money or a very cheap new car - either of which will lose value from the second you buy it)?
OR Invest a little time in your porsche - with the support of the wonderful insight and experience of the guys at this forum to help you do it for as little cost as possible? - You can always sell it fixed up and get a reasonable amount of money for it if you really don't like it!

The thing about 944s nowadays is that they've levelled off in value, in a few years they may well start to go up, especially as more and more jeep drivers forget they have brakes (see MacFreak007's story) and wipe them off the road.

You've already started sorting this one out, you'll get little for it selling it as a fire salvage vehicle (breakers prices) so you're gonna shell out $$$'s more on a replacement car - whatever you get.

Not a nice situation, but keep your head and make the best of it. Find out how much to fix this problem (whether by you or a garage), compare that to the price of a suitable replacement vehicle.

A friend of mine here in the UK bought his 944 for £1k because the belts had snapped and bent the engine, he spent £2k restoring it to immaculate condition drove it every day for a year and sold it for £5k. Now he drives a 911 so I don't talk to him anymore...

There, I've said my bit, the decision is up to you. I don't know what condition the rest of the car is in so it's difficult to help you more with this one.

Maybe if you can post a picture of the damage, someone can say if it's worth the effort - and maybe somebody has some of the bits you need lying round their garage collecting dust!

Nothing ventured - nothing gained.....

[TMH]

Originally posted by flangermog
Now he drives a 911 so I don't talk to him anymore...

Now watch it Flangermog!

Anyway 84 944, what Flangermog says has a lot of value. You are currently depressed and are potentially going to take an action when in this depressed state. It would be like putting your fist through a wall when you are angry: May seem like the right thing to do at the time, but when your head cools off it doesn't seem so smart (especially when looking at the cast on your hand). Selling a vehicle which has had a fire (however small) and therefore requires repairs will get you a very low price. Make up your decision as to what you want to be driving 6-12 months from now, and act accordingly. Fix up the 944 (hopefully not too much $$, and should be easier to get the wiring correct with the dash off/gauges out) and then keep or sell it based on your 6-12 month plan.

And remember, the cheapest car is the one you already own.

Good luck,
Tom

[CJFusco]

Man, it sounds like you're about 20 feet from the finish line and you are just about to give up and sit down! This is probably the least expensive and least time-consuming hurdle you've encountered - why does it have to be the straw that broke the camel's back?!?

Unless, of course, a lot of the car was damaged by fire (which I doubt it was)

[londel]

Hey I had a similar problem. I hooked up some loose wiring at the oil pressure sender thinking I had it right and it melted my engine wiring harness. I replaced the entire engine wiring harness from the DME to the engine. It was not that big of a deal. I got the harness from 944online.com . You can ask them for a dash wiring harnes and it might be a lot easier than patching it up. Email them at jamie@944online.com or call them at 866-944-7883.
I think I felt just you when it first happened but after fixing the harness it was well worth it. Good luck.