Thinking of buying a 944, any advice?

[Mayo]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum, I was refered here from the Road and Track forum....

I'm thinking of getting a car next summer, something to have fun with.....and I was thinking a 944, I love Porsches, and I can find them fairly cheap...

is there anything about them i should know, things to watch out for. stuff like that...

Thanks a lot

[James84-944]

Welcome to the board. Glad to see another Canadian here.

Do some keyword searches here at Pelican and you will find tons of advice and technical assistance. The members are great, and will help with any questions no matter how dumb you think they are. (Believe me I know) :-)

[T86951]

First thing get the cam belt and counterbalance shaft belt and water pump changed. Water pump may not need it but while you are in there do it.

That is unless you are positive and I mean positive that the belts and water pump have been done in very near past. 30,000 miles for the belts and about 100,000 for the waterpumps. That is about their expected life.

reliable cars mostly though! and fun to drive. I have 202,000 miles on my 944 daily driver.

[Z-man]

Mayo,
Welcome to the board! The most important thing to do is to research as much as you can about this car! There are books, this board (and others), magazines: so information is available. Excellence is a great magazine that is a Porsche only mag. The February 2000 issue has an excellent article on buying a used 944, with a helpful checklist (If you want a checklist, I have one based on the one in Excellence in MS-Word format that I can email to you). Back orders can be bought directly from the publisher: get a new issue, and you'll see a page towards the back that has the details. Also: Grassroots Motorsports has a project 944 they are writing about: there's some good information there. (The current issue has an excellent article on affordable Porsches)

With the newest 944 still over 10 years old, make sure that the car you buy has been taken care of. Service records and overall condition can verify this. Unless you are a mechanic, make sure you get a pre-purchase inspection done on perspective cars. You'll be surprised what they can find!

Porsches are emotional cars: don't let your emtions buy the car: do lots of research and choose carefully: there are enough good examples of this fine car out there that you don't need to settle for second best.

A couple of 'trouble' spots on these cars:
1. Clutch: the rubber center on the clutch hub would deteriorate over time: if you hear clanking underneath and behind you while driving and shifting gears, it's mostly likely the clutch. Expensive to repair!
2. Oil/antifreeze mixing. If you see a chocolatly foam either in the antifreeze res. or on the oil dipstick, the engine block needs to be repaired.
3. Since the non-turbo cars are interference type engines, if the timing belt snapped, it's most likely that the valves got bent. (Expensive repair!) Check for timing belt replacement: if there is no record of it, get it done ASAP!

Good luck! Hope you find a great 944!
-Zoltan.

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My toy: http://www.pelicanparts.com/gallery/Z-man

[RPM'S S2]

This FAQ is indispensible when considering a 944:
www.connactivity.com/~kgross/944faq.html

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89 944 S2
77 911 (R.I.P.)

[jg944]

I used to own a 84 944NA, I recently purchased an 87 944 Turbo all I can say is go Turbo!! This is whole new porsche experience no comparison.

[newoldguy]

This advice has been offered before and I agree--take your time, look and learn a lot. Since you're thinking about next summer you have plenty of time to gather information, compare prices, look at some cars, and have fun with it all! That way, no buyer's remorse later. Kind of like dating women--when you know what you want and need you'll know it when you see it.
Curtis '87 944 n/a

[Rollins]

DON'T BUY AN AUTO!!! The guys on the board will never forgive you.

[FRANKYDOOM]

Shaun would love yaaa if you get a Auto - welcome to the board the guys here are cool and hopefully they can asssist you buying your Porscha

Frankydoom/Reading/UK

[SnoopDogg]

Hey Z-Man i would love it if you could e-mail me the checklist u got? I'm lookin to buy a 944 n/a in about 2-3 weeks.... it would be a GREAT help thanks........

[AFJuvat]

A couple of thoughts...

1. make sure the car has fairly accurate service records... - you should have at a MINIMUM - the date and mileage the timing/ballance shaft belts were replaced.

2. Watch for clutch chatter - if you are mechanically inclined, you can do the work yourself and get all of the parts (the clutch kit here at pelican seems to be the best deal I've seen..) for about $700 Otherwise plan to spend about $1500 to have it done. Also, look for leaking fluid behind the clutch pedal.

3. Look for bondo/hidden body damage - these cars were galvanized before they were painted - you should not have a rust problem on a car that has not been in an accident. In particular, look in the battery tray (corrosion), the oil pan (never jack the car up on this), fenders/wheelwells

4. When doing any kind of electrical work, one key thing to remember, BROWN IS GROUND.

5. Though I am usually the last person to say "go to your local porsche dealer" I highly recommend the following: Most dealers will give your car a checkup for about $150 - $200 Once you find a car you want, take it and get it checked out - if there is significant repair work needed - and on a porsche "significant" is defined as costing more than about $450 - $500 the seller pays the cost of the inspection, otherwise, you pay the inspection.

On the bright side, generally speaking, the people who own these cars tend to treat them well and maintain them properly.. How many broken down Porsches do you ever see onthe side of the road?

AFJuvat

[Mayo]

Thanks for all the help guys, sorry it took so long to get back, but my net was down....there is so much info comming in it's rather overwhelming...but i'm deffantly going to do my reasearch....the 944 is my first choice...well possible a 928 if i can find a good one....

Would I be able to use this as a year round car??? it won't be a daily driver, but I live in Winnipeg, so that means 6 months of winter, and -40 in January with lots of road salt....is this a death sentance for my car??