[gt350mike]

I guess I'm a little qualified to chime in on this one because both of my boys started off with a 944. The oldest son had a NICE 87 N/A with only 86k miles when it bought it. It was our father/son project (replaced t-belt, tires, speakers, DME, and water pump). I made him pay for 1/2 of the car (I thought he would take better care of the car but he didn't). He hardly kept the car clean and I had to make him work on the car when it needed attention. He ended up with a speeding ticket (118 mph!) and after I finished having an aneurysm, I told him the car was mine. I took his equity in the car and bought him the ultimate chick magnet....97 Subaru Legacy. He's been driving it for 2.5 yrs and there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't think about his 944.
Looking back, I should have bought the 87 for me and my wife (as a weekend car) and bought him either a 83-85 944. Keep in mind that most kids WILL wreck the car so don’t make the mistake I made by starting them off with a “A” condition car (unless your daughter is a fanatic about caring for the car).
Regarding the maintenance, they do require lots of attention. T-belts are the first thing to check, but there are other areas that are prone to breaking (based on my experience).......window switches, radiator cooling fans, fuel injectors,water pump, DME (engine control unit/computer), & fuel pump. Considering the car is 20+ years old, the mechanical problems should be expected.
Since I didn't learn from my first experience, I decided to get my younger son an 83 944 that was a basket case. What should have been a 3 month "father/son" project turned into a 12 month nightmare. THANK GOD I bought a parts car (already disassembled and in storage containers) or I would have burned that car! We got it running very well, but I reminded him of the promise that I made (and kept) with his older brother……you get a ticket and the car is mine! So far we have thoroughly enjoyed the car, but it still needs minor attention every now and then.
The best advice that I can give you is to find a solid car if you are dead set on getting your daughter a 944. I highly recommend an 87 or 88 model because I think those years are the best bang for the buck. If I had to do it over again, I would have bought an 87 or 88 instead of the 83 (for the younger son). My younger son and I like turning wrenches but we bit off more that we could chew with the 83 and we spent way too much time getting the car back into presentable condition.
One more comment.....my mechanic has been working on Porsches and BMWs for over 30 years and he told me that I should have bought a 3 Series for my boys because the cars are much more dependable than a 944. If you think she is going to abuse the car (like my older son did), then I would seriously consider getting her a 3 Series.