944 value

BURN-BROS · 04-07-2004, 02:29 PM

I am wondering if you guys can help appraise a 1983 944.
Info is limited but lets just say it looks and drives as new and has 30,000 miles on it. Thats all I know about the car.My buddy's parents bought the car new and have kept very good care of it. With the limited info given, whats the general selling price for such a thing? Thanks in advance!

speedracing944 · speedracing944's Garage

In my opinion I would think it would be worth $5K-5.5K since it has such low mileage. That is if it is in perfect condition and doesn't need any major repairs. Other posters may think it is worth less than that. The real question is "what is it worth to you?"
Make sure to get a prepurchase inspection before laying any money down if your thinking of buying. Excellence magazine posts values for cars every month. Also check the papers and try to find a comparable car for sale to gauge the value.

SoCal Driver · SoCal Driver's Garage

In southern California it could go for $2,000 to $5,000. Depends on who wants it and how bad.

If I had the $$$ I would offer at least $4,000.

singpilot · 04:45 PM

Are you sure that's not 135K on the miles? That would be a lot more believable for an '83.

35K works out to 145 miles a month. I would be more worried that the time and non-use would be worse than a typical or even better maintained vehicle than one that had been driven more.

The 135K car would have already been thru the upgrades (water pump, belt rollers, transmission, clutch, suspension, etc).

A good PPi will spot the difference. As would a carfax. If the bona fides are impeccable; the original owners are known to have had the car and only drove it on weekends, etc. Then you can talk about the low mileage being a plus.

Let us know how it turns out.

SoCal Driver · SoCal Driver's Garage

Good point on the milage. I'm down to $3,000 now.

BURN-BROS · 04-08-2004, 06:39 AM

Milage is indeed 30,000. The car gets used during the summer and is not a daily driver. I would agree that if the car does more sitting than going you can get problems if they are not prepared for the duration. Thanks for all the input guys, our forum here has been extremely usefull.

SoCal Driver · SoCal Driver's Garage

Any 944 that has sat for extened periods then used briefly in the summer is a prime canidate for belt failure. About three maybe four years on a set of timing and balance belts is taking a chance. Should you be the broker intending to sell this car change the belts or you may find yourself eating a $1,500 head job just after the sale.

BURN-BROS · 04-08-2004, 07:36 AM

Heres the story. My buddy's parents live in Alaska,so there isn,t much time for driving your sports car there. They plan to move to the states soon and would like to sell sometime when they get settled in. They are not looking for the pie in the sky buyer to write a large check, but rather an honest price. Bruce Anderson's appraisals are not accurate imo. (if it was I would be buying a 70 S tomorrow!) I do not intend to broker anything, I just want to help them out. Keep the help coming, the timing/balance belt is a good one.

serge944 · serge944's Garage

Hmm, im not sure the market for 944's is very large in alaska. You'll most likely have a hard time selling it. Id try to get 3.5-4k for it if i was selling it.

tank · tank's Garage

mine only has just over 60k and I got it with 19k when it was two years old. and i used mine as a daily driver except for four years when it sat with a bad clutch. 30k is believable to me.

Nabeel · 04-08-2004, 01:31 PM

The first owner of my car put only 48K miles on iot fron June '85-Summer '98. So the milage is definately believable. If the car is truly in fantastic condition, with that 'preserved in time' aura, I can see if going for a sizable sum of money. I bet if advertised porperly a showroom-quality vehicle with that description can fetch $8K on eBay. Not that I would buy it for that price, though....

For what its worth, on my first post to this board in early October '01, I posted details of a car I was going to go see. The people here told me that the price was too high and I think some even told me that it was not even worth looking at for that price. Well, I saw the car, and it was truly in amazing condition with only 63K miles and all service records since new, so I ended up buying it for more than what many people here would have paid for it. Did I get my money's worth? I think so. The car has been reliable and the service records made it really easy to track down what has been done to the car in the past. In all, i think paying a small premium when buying the car is worth it, if the car makes you feel good and you can justify the extra cash on a well-maintained, good condition car.

UconnTim97 · UconnTim97's Garage

Nabeel, I agree. I paid a little more then the going rate, but it was a one owner car in excellent condition with 60k miles. Considering there was a new clutch, belts, suspension, etc just added, I felt it justified paying a little more.

MrPants · 04-08-2004, 02:29 PM

If i were them i would be asking $5k-5.5k (expectiung to get maybe 4k-5k). Thats if the paint/interior is in excellent condition.
Knowing the original owner is EXTREMELY nice in my opinion. An enthusiast would appeciate that, i think.

pico11653 · 04-08-2004, 02:35 PM

where exactly in alaska is this 944?

I am living in Juneau and have an 1987 944 i just brought up here.

Chris_924s · Chris_924s's Garage

This is completely subjective.. a pristine car ( I mean a 10 interior, exterior and mechanicals), a good location, 30 K miles, meticulously maintained, ALL RECEIPTS UP TO DATE, and properly stored, right options (leather, AC, Fuchs etc) and a rare wanted color (like Diamond Blue over black leather w/ M030..) could fetch as much as 10 grand- If (and I mean a BIG IF) you can find someone who wants a garage queen and has a huge wallet and is looking for that exact combination..

5K sounds reasonable, a 944 will never get as much as a vintage 911- that's just the way it is.

I would pay $4500 CASH for THAT VEHICLE as described if it was within driving distance for me and I could drive it anywhere right away- and I watch 944 prices verry closely.

BURN-BROS · 04-08-2004, 03:04 PM

Great feedback! The car is in Juneau right now. I don't have a date when they are moving. I don't think that it is immediate. I will check into records and such and let you guys know. Thanks again for the help.

TCMdocs944 · 04-08-2004, 04:46 PM

I am in the higher priced camp.

I think that a 944 in excellent condition, low miles WITH regular maintanance would be in the 8,000 range. But, that said....

This kind of car is going to start to "wake up" as you drive it more often. You can probably bet on a belt change in the very least and rubber bits still deteriorate with time, not just heat.

4-5 grand would probably be a good price but leave yourself 500-1000 to take care of "this and that". It will come up.

Congrats, sounds like you will have a great car on your hands....

Welcome to the board.