Just bought an 88 944 Turbo S

[Evan70]

I'm back, after a 4 year hiatus I now own another 951. And not just any 9951, but an 88 951 S. I flew down this morning to look at it, and drove it home today. It's got all the options including sport seats and upgraded audio system (and of course LSD, ABS, M030 supsension which are standard on S). I'd list them all, but at this point I'm too tired/lazy to go out and get the codes off the car.

Yes, it does have some cosmetic flaws (the nose piece in particular can use some work), and a few repair needs: AC condenser needs replacing (car comes with new condenser), at least one motor mount is bad (vibration at idle), and a slight oil leak. Yes, it was in an accident (front) at about 4000 miles (now has 67,000) but it appears that mechanically there either weren't many repairs needed or they were done very well. The paint job wasn't the best (decent on body, but a good bit of overspray), but that doesn't really concern me since I'm going to use it as a daily driver and don't really want a "perfect" car that would get beat up from the daily grind. Finally, it does need all the maintenance done on it too: belts, waterpump, wires, plugs, etc.

Now on to the good parts:
I got it for only $6500!! (NADA average is $10,500) The guy said he'd had over 30 calls on the car, and several buyers who were willing to wire him the money without even seeing it in person first. Lucky me, I got my dibs in first, and he felt more comfortable deeling with someone relatively close (he's in Dallas, I'm in Tulsa).

The car runs and drives great. No vibrations, shimmy, pulling or any other issues while driving. Car feels reasonably tight and handles very well. Brakes are good (although their is an Antilock warning showing up). The motor runs well and pulls strong all the way to redline. The car does have a manual boost controller, which I think was set just a tad too high (got loss of power under full throttle once), so I've dialed it back just a little. The owner also had Autothority Stage II chips that he hadn't installed yet. Once I get all the maintenance done, I'll probably install those. I haven't had time to thoroughly examine it otherwise yet, so there may be a few extras lurking on the car (blowoff valve maybe to go with the boost controller?), but otherwise it looks fairly stock.

Anyway, here's a link to the pics:
http://www.LT1.net/951.htm

So tell me what you guys think? Good deal? Anything in particular that I should do while getting all the maintenance done? My tentative list is:
belts, waterpump, plugs, wires, change all fluids, all hoses, get oil leak fixed.
Then I'll add the chips, a Lindsey Boost Enahncer, add a new head unit (the stock Blaupunkt sucks on this thing, plus I need my Sirius satellite radio) and maybe upgrade the speakers, put in a short shifter (recommendations please), and do the H4 light upgrade. Am I missing anything?

[1.2gees]

Sounds like a great deal, but perhaps not for a daily driver. I would be worried about the location/severity of the oil leaks, and the extent of the original damage (and I would venture to say that it has been in an accident a lot more recently). From the pictures it appears that the driver's side airbag trigger has overspray on it (which would be peculiar). Of another note is the repainted area around the fenderwell on the driver's side, as viewed from the engine compartment (behind the headlight).

I can spot many things on that car (original turbo water pump, if it's not already broken, it's aobut to, spliced vacuum hoses, might want to double check vacuum hose routing, etc), I would re-sell that car to someone who's looking for a track car candidate. The costs of performing these repairs will add up...
Ahmet

[Evan70]

Got it into the shop yesterday. The oil leak is from the cam tower, and will be fixed while they are chaning the waterpump and belts. They also found that the radiator needs replacing, but otherwise it's in pretty good shape. The vacuum hoses are spliced, due to their being a manual boost controller (and dual port wastegate, both from Lindseyracing) on the car.

[1.2gees]

Sounds like it's working out well so far. I tend to be pessimistic about cars that have problems...

Best of luck with it.
Ahmet

[gobogie]

Sounds like you got a good deal if your willing to get her up to speaks yourself (for the most part).

Cory