My 944 theory....kinda scary!

[944S Boyeee]

Ok - before anyone reads this, don't take me the wrong way. All of you are wonderful and the help here has been golden.....

but......

I was thinking last nite about this board and the 944 Porsche car. Before I bought my S, I was reading this board for about a month. I was both scared AND delighted when reading this board. Scared because of the "horror" stories and delighted because no matter how bad the stories were, someone here could help.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting two fellows who own 944's. Neither one of these guys has ever heard of Pelican or Rennlist. Neither one of them knows very much about their cars at all. They take them to the Porsche mech. and he does what has to be done (timing belts, etc). Their cars are neglected in some fashion because they are not really fanatics like us.

My theory is that a lot of people have bought cars that belonged to guys like this. Sure they had records. Sure they looked good. Sure they seemed like a good bargin.

I say this because I just got my S back last nite from it being at a Porsche Mech.'s shop. I told him to check EVRYTHING over and make me a list of what has to be done. My car is an 88' and has around 75,000 miles. Judging from the stories and posts here, I should be looking at replacing a ton of stuff. The list only included new spark plug wires, some new vacuum lines and that's it!!!! It cost me $200 to have him do this, but it was worth it. Why is my car so free of all the problems that seem to arise?? After 13-14 years, I should need this and that right???

I think there are a wack of 944's out there that are fine. Everyone here is either a true enthusiast and just likes reading about 944's or they have bought one of the "bad" 944's that are out there. Why else would anyone be here?? Everyone here is a representation of the faulty 944's in the world. There is whole other world of 944 owners who have minimal problems or none at all. We don't see them, hear from them or even know they exist. How many 944's are there out on the road?? Probably a whole lot more than the just the ones we own. We probably only represent like 25% of all the owners out there. What is up with the other 75% of the 944's??

My suggestion - never buy a 944 from anyone on this board (lol).

[ae1969]

the other 75% are whinning over the POS we bought on rennlist....

LOLOLOLOL... just kidding........

Interesting none the less...............

...but most people come here because we have something in common and usually most of us cause our own...trouble......like me updating my suspension (didn't have to do it), changing my oil pan gasket etc........... and other people trying to shoot flames out of their exhaust.........

Just tinkering and playing.................

[Crippler]

Sure lots of people that belong to this bulletin board have problems with their 944 or just plain bad examples of 944.

My car has nothing wrong with it, aside from the A/C needing recharging, and I have had to only do routine maintenance. I belong to this bulletin board to learn how to keep my car in the excellent shape that it is in and what type of things to watch for. I would assume that this is the same reason that may others belong. It is also just nice to be able to talk to other porsche owners that love their cars as much as I do.


So now you can't say that you never hear from the people that have minimal or no problems

[Panzer909]

Originally posted by 944S Boyeee

There is whole other world of 944 owners who have minimal problems or none at all. We don't see them, hear from them or even know they exist. How many 944's are there out on the road?? Probably a whole lot more than the just the ones we own.

I've been snooping around this board ever since I've had my "S", and am starting to feel bad for so little posts. The fact of the matter is that I am part of that "whole other world of 944 owners" who have almost no problems. Knock on wood. Until then, I continue to be the "U-2 Spyplane" of the Pelican board.

Now watch my timing belt snap on the way back home tonight

[Z-man]

Ok, I'll chime in. There are two kinds of 944 owners: those who have spent lots of $$ on their car, and those who WILL spend lots of $$ on their car!

I used to be part of the latter, (didn't spend a dime on maintenance from June 2001 to January 2002) and then came my first big maintenance: over $3000! And then I've spent more on the car on various track stuff: fire extinguisher, harness setup, ATE brake fluid, Swepco tranny oil...etc. Getting a car in stock form to work properly on the track an become expensive!
I've spent enough $$ on my S2 to BUY a decent 944 n/a! (That's a double eek!!!)

My car's a cream puff: I bought the car in, and all of the mechanics in the shop had to come over and take a look at it!
I have received lots of compliments on it's condition. It's just that even a well maintained car will need attention once in a while. I've paid my dues, now, I won't have to worry about ANYTHING breaking. Besides regular oil changes and new brake pads, the next time I need to do serious stuff is in 45k miles, while it's time for a new timing belt. I figure that's about 4 years away!

So if I spend $3000.00 to $5000.00 per 4-5 years on maintenance, it really isn't that bad.

A WORD TO THE WISE:
May I stress the importance of maintenance: for those of you who think there's nothing wrong with your car: make sure of it! If you neglect your car, the $3000.00 you'd pay in maintenance will add up to more than double that in repair costs! Do the research on everything to make sure it's ok. Check regularly for oil and fluid leaks. Listen to your car for strange noises, watch the areas that you know need attention, and take care of issues before they become big problems. The car you save could be yours!

Just my $0.42.
-Zoltan.
My Gallery:

[wolfrpi]

I don't think people come here only because there is a problem with there car. People come here 1) to learn how to increase performance 2) to learn about preventitive maintenance and 3) to learn how to fix problems on their own without the mechanic, among other things. I know I originally came here to learn how to make my 924S faster (all of 1.5 years ago).

Z-man is correct - you will pay the piper at one time or another if you keep your car. The car is a Porsche, not a VW. Keep it properly maintained and the damage will be minimized.

[Obin Robinson]

here's another theory...

944s, as badass as they truly are... are simply cars nevertheless. the more paranoid you are about something, the more likely you are to tinker with it, and the more likely you are to screw up something that was actaully working well within the normal operating range. but we're picky and we want it PERFECT.

i drive ALL cars the same, and i treat them the same. i don't get overly worried about something on the 944 like belts or hoses because deep down, i know it's just another car.

ever notice those people that will drive a car for 40,000 miles OVER the recommended belt replacement interval? and they NEVER have the belt snap? they just don't know anything about cars so they don't ever change the belts. for some reason, God is just letting the laws of car maintenance slide by for these people.

my theory is that if i pretend to be one of these people that don't know when the car is not running how it should be... the hand of God will push me along in my travels as i ignore all this stuff that everyone else worries about. i'll maintain the car according to what the book says, and keep on the lokout for anything unusual.

but get picky about something? naah. the 944 lives to serve ME, it's not the other way around. if i bust it, i'll just say "damn" and then go out and fix it, or buy another. in the meantime, she'll stay shiny, and run smoothly. and i'll just pretend that i don't know any better

so far, it's been working

obin

[adrial]

I'm one of those finicky, enthusiastic want it to be perfect people.

My car is subject to the piss poor (IMO) roads of westchester county...The saw mill for example and other less traveled roads. With all the money that people make in this county, why can't the county/state/whatever spend the money and repave the roads that need it?
Anywayy...because of the roads the car battles rattles/creaks...I can't stand them so when I hear one I fix it ASAP. Anybody else, even another Porsche enthusiast will get in the car and be like "THAT's the "rattle/creak" you were talking about? HA HA HA" Nobody else really thinks they're bad at all...or any of the other "flaws".

ahh well...the next owner of my car should be a happy camper.

[Roger Hall]

there is a difference between having a problem an enjoying working on cars most of us like to work on our cars and when cars get 15 or 20 years old they want things most of the people on this board enjoy finding what the car wants its not that much different than any other relationship in life

we want to make the car happy

ps dont trust a mechanic i took my 99 intrepid in to the dealership and they have been pathetic the last time they missed a leaking trasmission line and rusted muffler even though they advertise a 22 point inspecion with every service

do it yourself

[porsche1984944]

I too am in the same boat as Z-man I haven't had any problems with my car and get compliments of how good of shape it is in. The only problems I have run into so far have bee self induced trying to increase performance. I am also a perfectionist with my car I want everything to be perfect but I just can't afford to do it so I have to live with the damn rattles and squeeks that drive me crazy. Today I changed my front discs and brake pads not realizing I should have replaced or at least regreased my wheel bearings (I should have asked you guys first) It's stuff like that that make this board so valuable and why I think a lot of people come here, to learn that little extra thing they should have done while they had it torn apart or just to get some tips on how to do things or to make things easier. ( I never thought I would have to use a hammer on a car until trying to take out bolts that haven't moved in 16 years) Sorry this is so long.

[sd01]

Ignorance is bliss.

Some of these guys have timing belts with 50-60K miles on them. If it ain't broke, don't fix it?

Then, they sell it to a 944 nut, and we spend hours making up for lost maintenance time. Necessary? Maybe...depends if you want the car to last 100K, or 250K...

[944S Boyeee]

My theory has changed!!!

I now see that this forum is basically a "social" place and there are a handful of people who have the "bad 944's".

I know what everyone is saying about, "If you know it could break, it will". I wasn't worried about my Cam Tensioner at all (because I didn't even know it existed), but now I had to go and get it done because I couldn't drive the car. I kept "waiting" for it to break. It does seem there is some power in the Universe that MAKES things break if we think about it enough. Some sort of mind power or something. Like Yuri Gellar bending spoons. Perhaps if we all just stop thinking about the timing belts, we may never have to replace them again!!!

944SBoyeee

[Obin Robinson]

Originally posted by 944S Boyeee
I know what everyone is saying about, "If you know it could break, it will". I wasn't worried about my Cam Tensioner at all (because I didn't even know it existed), but now I had to go and get it done because I couldn't drive the car. I kept "waiting" for it to break. It does seem there is some power in the Universe that MAKES things break if we think about it enough. Some sort of mind power or something. Like Yuri Gellar bending spoons. Perhaps if we all just stop thinking about the timing belts, we may never have to replace them again!!!

944SBoyeee

heh heh, my wife's brother has this Nissan that has gone SO DAMN FAR over the timing belt interval it just sickens me. he got the car 4 years ago and it needed the belt replacement. he's in college and has no cash for car repairs, so he just ignores it. 4 freaking years later, that damn belt is still hanging on. he's skirting death, but he just ignores it because he hates his car (a Nissan). over 60,000 miles OVER the belt replacement interval. damn.

also, when i got rid of my Nissan at 178,000 miles, a mechanic said "when did you replace the timing chain?" i said "oh, never". he said "because i've seen a lot of these things go at 100,000 miles or so.

so if i ignore the 944 belts, they won't break either

obin

[lm6y]

Keep in mind also, if my car will run 130mph stock (I'm NOT condoning speeding, or racing on public roads here), or 131mph with a few hours worth of mods and a few bucks, I'm gonna run 131 mph!

One of the great things about these cars, is that while doing the maintainance yourself, you get to see the awesome engineering and thought that went into the design. There really is no substitute. Some of us enjoy just driving them, and some of us enjoy the whole experience. There's nothing better than cleaning up after a repair, and then going for a long drive.

I just drove mine the other day after a long winter. I had even thought I needed to sell it, after owning it for about 7 years. After that familiar smile hit my face, I know I'll never get the Porsche bug out of my system, even if I can't afford it!

P.S. Anyone want to buy a kidney?!?!?!?

[Moneyguy1]

Awesome engineering?





Bob S.

[overkill]

Hey, 944S BOYEEE, I had checked out my car recently and found some minor things and thats it! I still have to change my cam tensioner I am going to do this in about a week or two. I found a couple of leaks, and my passenger windshield wipe crap out on me! Other than that I'm smokin alot people out on the ROAD! I love this FRIGGIN CAR!

[hoover]

I am waiting for the day when I can go and buy a normal car with 3years parts & labour & no worries about tensioners, belts, expensive servicing, insurance, tyres, accessibility and the general tension of something going bang.
If only I didn't like my 944 so much.
les.