I need some insight :|
 

I've been reading through these forums for months, and I have been planning on buying a 944 n/a for some time now. However, I'm really questioning it recently for financial reasons, so I'm looking for some insight for my specific situation- people on here actually know what they're talking about (trust me, yahoo answers people have good intentions but and rarely know anything about 944s and give generic advice).

- I'm in college and am giving myself $3000 to buy the 944. Being a post-85.5 NA model, this should be plenty for a well-maintained example. Recent clutch change and new-ish brake work (hopefully shocks) would be key, because I'll be in an apartment and I won't have 8 hours at a time for working under the car. I can use friends' driveways during the day for timing belt and oil changes and minor stuff like that. I'll be doing all the work I possibly can do with my own wrench, buying the parts either here or sourcing them locally for good prices.

- I've been quoted $95 a month for insurance- not bad for a 19 year old male in a Porsche! This is a bit more expensive than, say, a 1995 Jeep Cherokee (if I don't get the 944) but it's totally worth it I think.

- This leaves me roughly $500 to run the car for the next year (purely for maintenance costs). I have everything in a spreadsheet, and have determined that $500 +/- $100 is what I am willing to pay, as I only can work during the summers due to my intense workload :(

I am asking YOU experienced forum-browsers what I should be expecting. Given my stiff budget, am I even sane for thinking about a 944? I could obviously buy in easily enough, but even if I buy a mechanically strong and well-maintained example, am I going to be spending a lot of time and money on it? I might be better off with a Jeep or something "practical." Let me know what you guys think. Of course, once I start making money the next summer, I'll be able to use $500 or so for the next year and so on until I'm out working full time :)

I'll also add that I would driving the car maybe twice a week tops, light city driving... nothing abusive. It would be my baby :D

TL;DR can a college guy economically run a 944n/a on $500 a year if it's well maintained from conception.

I think that 3k for a nice example is a stretch. More like 4k+. In my opinion wait till you have a good job and a decent commuter then worry about getting a 944 as a second car and not a primary driver. These are older cars and things happen.

Hmm well I have found several, I'm not expecting showroom quality haha. I agree- stuff can happen. However I'm using my bike for most things and would rarely drive the 944. I was posting for insight on how my maintenance allowance would go. Thanks though

If you can find a car that's been maintained AND driven on a daily basis, you might just have to change the oil every three months or so and that's all. I also agree good specimens are $4k and up but you might get lucky in what you find.

If you have to do the FOES, you'll need $300 or more just in special tools to do the job, then there's a good $500 or more in parts.

Can you get away with a $500 budget for repairs for the first year? There's possibility and there's probability. Anything's possible, the probability is low.

Good luck with your decision.

Bruce

Financially? no.. bad idea.. You need reliable (perhaps boring) dependable transportation. especially if, as you mention, "driving only 2x/week". imho, 20+ year old cars get more and more finnicky the more they sit.

Emotionally? Sounds like fun.

And then, the what ifs? What if the WP fails? Headgasket? the "new" clutch etc. Anyone of these failures will torpedo your bank account. how about even a set of tires? or shocks?

you are in college.. you should focus on that.. not stressing out over your old car.

Be cautious about the cars you look at. Replacement parts are expensive. Make sure the car you get has had water pump and belts no more than 15k miles ago. Take cars you really like to a Porsche mechanic for a thorough inspection. This can avoid a real disaster for you.

I have had a 944 since 1986 and they are great cars but they need proper care and even then can cost serious $$.

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm gonna keep my eye on the 944 for a few years, but I think a 90's Jeep Cherokee might be the way to go :) i'm gonna own a Porsche one day! Haha

1. Finish school.
2. Get job.
3. Go Porsche shopping.

School
Job
Porsche

These cars are great, I've been working on mine and it is virtually a daily driver, then last week it puked all its power steering fluid and it needs a new rack. I figure minimum 300 if I do all the work and it doesn't need a ball joint or a new hose. It is up on jacks in the garage and I estimate an entire day to do the job with the usual unforeseen stuff and cleaning, plus another alignment - if the shop is nice to me another 100 for that.

Wait. Your time will come.

One of the things I learned in this finance class I'm taking is this: Pay for everything in cash. Never buy something you don't have the money for, or can't afford. Right after that, we got into the discussion of cars and car payments. Pretty much, what the guy said was: Buy a cheap car, pay in cash, and make car payments to yourself until you have enough money to get a better car. Do the same over and over, and in a couple years, you could have that 20k car paid for in cash.

Start small, start cheap. You need something with wheels right now. While the 944 is fun, even driving it a couple times a week and not pushing it, you have to remember it's 20+ years old. Things are always going to break. While you might be able to spend only $500 a year (if you're extremely lucky) you're gonna cut some corners, and it's not going to be the car you wanted. Not sure where you are from, but you could always get a crap honda or miata or something. Good on gas mileage, cheap parts if anything breaks. I'd suggest the miata, it's ALMOST as fun as the 944.

funny - one thing i have learned over the years is NEVER to pay for anything in cash if you can use somebody else's money to pay for it in the short term. the key is not to let things pile up though so that you are paying more in interest than you save in time. in the last 6 years we have done this and saved over $250k.

as for the 944, i would absolutely not choose any porsche as my only car. as fun as it might be, and as "reliable" as they are most of the time, when they do break down, it's usually significant, and often takes a while to get it fixed, which can be a real problem if it is your only means of transportation.

i would start an internet business, and then get something new, like a mazda, vw, ford escape, or something like that, that you could pick up for under $200 per month, as a lease. then, you can take a loss for 3 years, and write off the lease expense to the business, thereby washing out any summer income, and over the 3 years of the lease, essentially saving you likely the price of the 944 you really want. there are some pretty aggressive programs out there right now. then when you are out of school, and can work full time, return the lease and get what you want, without having to compromise on the car.

These cars are cheap enough that if they break, you can sell them and buy another one. Buy one and be done with it. Driving twice a week doesnt hurt anything... Mine sits for weeks at a time, and always starts up and goes. (Thermostats are a ***** though, im in the middle of that and am about to the point where i am going to hire it done)

If you want a fun, VERY reliable, good looking car, Go for a Datsun 280z or something. My dad had one (A 280zx..Just a different body), and when he sold it, it had 384k miles on it, and the only thing he ever had to change was the starter, and waterpump.. They don't take 500/year to maintain.

1978 Datsun 280z
1978 Datsun 280z
78 Datsun 280Z 5-speed very clean

They are also fairly cheap.

flash968, i see more dead escapes on the side of the road than any other car. A 944 is much more reliable than almost any ford.

sure, but during that period, you have no wheels.

again, keeping in mind that the presumption is that this is the ONLY means of transportation, and there is no time to deal with a broken down car, any used car is a gamble, and a performance car is even more so.

the difference with the escape, or whatever NEW car, is the warranty. in and out repair and minimal down time, also often with a free loaner.

the biggest headache i had in college was when my car went down. i had no time or money to fix it, which meant it sat for a lot longer than i liked.

Execept that the old Datsun's dont break.. They are built like a tank. And if anything breaks on it, it is easy to work on, unlike Porsche's where 99% of the stuff on the car is over-engineered and near impossible to fix.

Well, when i buy a car, i want a reliable car, not just a reliable warranty, because i dont like being dead on the side of the road whenever i'm trying to get somewhere.

don't get me wrong, i love the older Z series, have had a couple of them, even spent some time on the track in one, and and wouldn't mind having another 240. they do break though. on top of that, parts are getting harder to find. older cars just develop the problems of older cars.

my entire point is that, as a student, even 1 day of having the car down can be a major pain. a new car, especially today, all but eliminates that issue. if you lease it and write it off, it becomes a zero expense, and can even "make you money" if you do it right.

then, when you get out of school, and can play with such a toy, not only can it be a better toy, but you can enjoy it more as well, since you can then relegate it to "toy" status and not "daily driver", and have something else as a daily driver, which is a luxury most students cannot afford.

I bought my '83 for $2500 with 93k miles and recent timing belt and water pump as well as a few other goodies. I was in graduate school, but I was also getting a small stipend for teaching duties that allowed me to work on the car during the summer (it was my daily but I could borrow a car in a pinch). During the next year and a half, I spent roughly $4k in parts, doing the work myself in a borrowed garage space. Now that I have the mechanicals in working order, $500 a year for maintenance is reasonable, but starting out it would not have worked.

Parts for Z's aren't getting hard to find. There are very good supplies of them, and i have yet to have trouble finding any parts for my 260 and 280zx.. If they break, its because it was rode hard and put away wet ( Thats how a lot of them were treated, and they still live). 500 in maintenance is more than enough... Hell, the cars are cheap enough (You can usually find good ones for 1500) Buy 2 and have one in case that it get broken. Or you could buy a caviler or something that is much more prone to break, and has a lot more expensive parts on it.

Also, he doesn't have new car money. He has 3k, so a new car is out of the question.

This looks like a decent one.. Being an 84, it still has the (Not trying to piss anyone off) ugly dash.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ctd/3116812034.html

i think we have different definitions of "good". i have not seen a "good" Z for under $3k in years. they are all pretty much rust buckets, project cars, or just plain done.

still, i love those cars, and have recently thought about doing another one. sure wish they made a convertible version (not an aftermarket conversion). i think when they made the fairlady a hardtop only, they cut off a big part of the market.

Well, i posted some links, and those are around 3k, and they are decent cars.. Lots of them are rusty, but the 280zx's rusted worse than the z's.

If you look on ebay, (I know its an aftermarket conversion) every once in a while you will find one that someone has done ( I think some company makes them into convertible's) and they look good. I wouldnt mind having one of them, but having a convertible in Texas is damn near useless..

Thanks for all the info! I'm keeping the 944 in the back of my mind for when I have a stable job and can run it the way it should be. However, there's a really well maintained '86 model for $3500 OBO that I sort of lowballed $2200 at (I previously considered offering $3000 but then... I had to be realistic about the maintenance). So if I end up getting it for $2.2k, screw it! I'll have plenty of $$ for keeping it running :)

Otherwise I'm looking at a '95-'99 Jeep Cherokee that won't let me down, and can carry all my gear (includes 5 guitars and basses, plus amps). So I'll see!