951/968 as daily driver?

[mxt]

sold a 3.2 Carrera to look for something with more creature comforts. want to drive everyday in LA traffic. looked in the archives and read some good posts on the subject. 968 is my first choice, but finding a 6-speed coupe is not easy, and I'm worried about maintenance costs. drove a 944na and it didn't have enough power for my tastes. 951's are easy to find (but hard to find a clean one...looking at one tomorrow). ppi is mandatory.

how is 951 maintenance costs vs 911?

[Rollins]

The 968 has more creature comforts, it's a newer car. It would also probably have lower miles. IF you find a good one a couple of states away it wouldn't be a bad idea to fly there and drive it home. Good examples of these cars are worth it. I personally love the look the 968 coupe. I don't like the cabs so much. I would also venture to guess that the 968 would be a tad bit more reliable since it is N/A. Where the 951 lacks in creature comforts it makes up in capability. It is MUCH more capable of being souped up. Just look at some of the monsters on this board. The 951's would prolly be a little cheaper to maintain, but would require more maintainence. Either way, both have decent stock power, and a fair amount of creature comforts, but ultimately if you want a really comfortable car a Porsche is not for you. Good luck looking!

[ribs]

Either one will be a good choice, but the 968 will be a much higher price initially, and has some unique quarks specific to the model (pinion gear failure = $$$$$, cam tensioner is finnacky, and a few other things). The 951 is a very reliable car (mine has never left me calling a tow truck in the 2 years I have had it, and this was with more miles on it than any other car I have owned, while all the other cars I have owned have left me calling the tow truck at least once - even a brand new dodge neon that I bought in 1996), and probably cost the same or less to maintain than the 968. I have spent about $3000 on repairs that I should have never had to make (I didn't get a PPI and had to deal with a bunch of crap right after I got it) and $500 on maintainance since I bought it. I now need to spend another $1000 on maintainance (I am replacing the entire suspension, fixing an oil leak, doing the brakes, and a couple other odds and ends) but am going to put it off until I have time to do it...probably over winter break since I don't want to walk a mile and a half round trip to class every day in the cold for the rest of the semester.

My mechanic has told me that an average of $1500/year for maintainance costs is normal for a daily driven 951, and this means that some years you will spend less and some years a lot more maintaining it. I don't know how this compares to 911 maintainance, but for the most part, sounds about right.

The 951 is a good platform for tweaking as well if you want a monster track car that can be driven on the street.

Despite what rollins says, the creature comforts of 951's and 968's are about even, the interior is almost identical (you could get 993 seats in 94+ 968's, the digital clock is located somewhere else, and a few other minor differences) and the suspension and brakes are identical on both models, all though the 968 could be had with the M030 package, which is identical to the 944 turbo S's suspension. All 968's come with an LSD, while it was an option of 951's except the S came with it standard. Both cars are great, and there is no wrong choice, so good luck, and let us know what you do.

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ribs
'86 951, guards red, tan interior, APE stage II, LBE, 3" cat back, 17" 993 replicas, needs everything rubber replaced except the tires!
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[lordgrommit]

I have a 951 I drive daily on the LA freeway system. The clutch is a little stiff and the Koni Yellow Suspension I can feel every bump. The seats are comfy, the air blows cold, and if you leave the suspension stock you've got a great daily driver.

matt

[mxt]

How critical is mileage? I'm looking at one with a little over 100K, but a lot of the usual stuff has been replaced recently (timing belt, water pump, balance shaft, clutch, and he put in M30 control arms). I figure the turbo should go until 150K (give or take) and then engine maybe longer without rebuild? I know it depends on how it's driven and maintained, but high mileage on a 911 isn't too much of a worry, and from reading posts here, it seems the 944 platform is in the same league (or some maintain it is even more robust...and I read that on the 911 board)

[MAS]

Another car to consider would be an 89 or 90 944 S2. They're more common than a 968. In case you don't already know this, they were non-turbo with a 3 liter 16 valve engine. They produce between 208-211 hp, and have at least 200 lbs-ft of torque too.

The performance specs are (according to "Motor"):

0-60 mph in 6.0 secs
14.4 sec 1/4 mile

The 944S2 has the reputation of being a great daily driver, since the 3 liter engine has excellent low and mid range torque. Even though a 951 is about 1/2 sec faster to 60 mph, the 944S2 is actually the fastest of any 944 model *below* 50 mph, owing to its fat flat torque curve.

-MAS

[Skwerl]

This "Motor" magazine...is it European? I only ask because 6.0 is substantially lower than the lowest American claim I've seen of 6.4. I would love to find out that my car can do it in 6 seconds, but is that a Euro spec car? (If so, what did they do to the US spec to make it so much slower?)

[Dave951M]

My 951 has over 140k on it and still runs very strong. Box stock and reliable thus far. They have the usual maintenance issues like the waterpump and timing belt. If you do your own wrench work, these cars are surprisingly affordable for the performance. I drive mine about 80 miles each day, mostly 4 lane highways, and get about 25 mpg unless the foot gets mysteriously attached to the firewall

Dave951M

[Booster]

I have never had any problems out of my 951 either (1 1/2 yrs.). As comfort goes the late 944, turbo and the 968 have pretty much the same creature comforts.

[seb928s]

Last year I spent 1,800$ in maintainace on the 951 they are really good cars. Right now I need to get a new water pump and put it in. Besides that the cars drive great so much fun to drive.