logical progression..... vw to porsche

[Deeks]

I've been reading this bulletin board for a while now....and today finally registered myself since I'm now looking for a successor to my much loved 1965 Beetle.

Having owned 3 VW Beetles over the last 6 years, 2 stock and one custom built with 911 tranny, 2.3 Rimco motor and Weber 45 Carbs and now that I'm 24 I want to move onto something more modern that comes without the hassles of classic car ownership. Porsche is the only marque I'd consider - air-cooled German motoring is in my blood to stay. Obviously I'd love an early 911, but I've heard and read legendary stories of the 944 handling, so after much research I've decided to go for a 944 as my introduction to Porsche !!

Maintenance costs and car insurance (stupidly high in the UK) are my main barriers, and I've never really liked the concept of turbos (only because of the non-linear acceleration). but my question to all you 944 gurus is do I go for a late, good condition 2.7 8v, or a mediocre condition S2 ???I'm trying to weigh up the benefits/costs of 8v and 16v taking into account reliability and performance. I just haven't had experience with either...

Any advice from you guys would be really appreciated

[Goku]

Well...what is your price range? If power isn't a big deal then N/As are great. Don't look to try to get these things powerful. It is not cost effective or easy to do. They handle great though. Just an FYI, you aren't getting an air cooled or rear engine car in the 944 series. All water cool (just like modern 911). They are front engine rear transaxle. Have a 50/50 weight dist. are are very good looking. Make sure the timing belt has been changed, clutch changed (updated to a spring loaded one like a 951 would be great.), and MAINTAINED. Records....i'm impartial to that. They aren't as important as everyone stresses AS LONG as u get a good PPI that will tell you everything has been changed. Make sure you take your time and find a good one. It's tempting to buy a 1000 dollar 944 that needs a 'little' work ...but 9time out of 10 u get a beater that costs you 2-3k just to keep running. Well hope that helps a bit

[Deeks]

Cheers for the advice...
I've got around £5-6000 (around $9K US) to play with which in England will buy you a not so great high mileage S2 or a good condition 2.5 or 2.7 with around 70,000 miles on the clock.

My customised Beetle went like **** off a shovel... so I'm slightly worried about lack of power in the 8vNA engine in comparison..... ( I'll find out when I start looking ) People say that off the lights they're not quick cars.... but are they better once on the open highway? I've heard that the S2 has quite a bit more grunt throughout the whole power range.... but is it a noticeable difference and is it worth the extra money/maintenance costs ???

Also... is there much difference in performance between the 2.5 and the 2.7 ?? Cheers for the advice.

ps. why is this website only used by Americans ? It's gotta be the best Porsche BB in the world !!

[kenny]

Deeks,
You'd be gob-stopped at the amount of money it takes to put a 'wrong' car right. I would be more concerned about the condition to price ratio than which car I could get. It took me four + months to find my car (perhaps my expectations were too high). I finally found one that very well cared for, low mileage, and owned by an apropriate aged individual. Try and find a one or two owner car if possible. If not, then make sure you get the records. The reason I think the records are important is that it established a pattern of car care. You don't want a car that has been thrashed, bashed, and neglected. A PPI will turn up a lot of stuff, but it will miss a lot of stuff too.

[Z-man]

Deeks:
IMO, buy the best condition car your money can buy. I'd rather have a car that was well taken care of than a faster, rougher car. (Then again, it seems like you've done some work on cars before...)

I'd also rather have a 'slower' 944 n/a on the road, than an S2 or Turbo that's always in the shop! Seems like a logical choice.
I wouldn't worry about mileage: if the car was taken care of, then the engine will last a good long time.

I feel that maintenance records are a must, especially if you're planning on driving the car hard, like tracks and in auto-crosses. If you don't have records, you may have to needlessly replace parts that are fine. The more records you have for a car the better.

I researched Porsches for 4 years! And spent 6 months looking for a 944 before I landed my 944S2. For me, it was worth researching and waiting and test driving: the more you know about the 944 before buying one, the more easily you can determine the true condition of a car you're looking at.

Just my $0.42.
-Zoltan.
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